Last update: Nov 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Playa del Carmen and Zell am see

For one person, living is cheaper in Playa del Carmen: $1,202 a month against $2,284 in Zell am see, rent and utilities included – about $13,000 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

57

Cost of Living Index in Playa del Carmen
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Playa del Carmen Living Index
109

Cost of Living Index in Zell am see
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Zell am see Living Index

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Playa del Carmen

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,202

/mo nomad

Zell am see

🇦🇹 Austria

$2,284

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Playa del Carmen and in Zell am see

Real prices from locals and on-the-ground checks – rent, groceries, transit and the daily extras. Here's what a month in Playa del Carmen and in Zell am see actually costs, broken down by who's living it.

A single person spends $1,202 per month in Playa del Carmen vs $2,284 in Zell am see, rent included.

Playa del Carmen $1,202
Zell am see $2,284

A couple spends around $2,082 per month in Playa del Carmen vs $3,355 in Zell am see, rent included.

Playa del Carmen $2,082
Zell am see $3,355

A family of three spends $2,962 per month in Playa del Carmen vs $4,427 in Zell am see, rent included.

Playa del Carmen $2,962
Zell am see $4,427

Playa del Carmen is about 47% cheaper than Zell am see, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Playa del Carmen sits 11% below the global median, while Zell am see is 69% above – they fall on opposite sides of the world average.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$10.67 MX$201

$16.93 €15.10

-36.98%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$43.80 MX$824

$83.3 €74.3

-47.44%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.79 MX$222

$9.92 €8.85

18.85%

Cappuccino

$3.79 MX$71.2

$4.18 €3.73

-9.33%

Coke/Pepsi/Fanta/Sprite (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.30 MX$24.41

$3.43 €3.06

-62.10%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.83 MX$15.69

$2.93 €2.62

-71.67%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.15 MX$59.2

$5.61 €5.01

-43.85%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.93 MX$92.9

$5.29 €4.72

-6.81%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.41 MX$26.51

$1.72 €1.54

-18.02%

White Bread (500g)

$2.20 MX$41.32

$2.46 €2.19

-10.57%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.47 MX$27.71

$2.44 €2.18

-39.75%

Eggs

$2.50 MX$46.99

$4.58 €4.09

-45.41%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$7.29 MX$137

$21.53 €19.21

-66.14%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$7.95 MX$150

$12.72 €11.35

-37.50%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$12.86 MX$242

$21.30 €19.00

-39.62%

Apples (1kg)

$2.90 MX$54.5

$2.90 €2.59

Banana (1kg)

$1.38 MX$26.03

$2.59 €2.31

-46.72%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.49 MX$46.88

$3.43 €3.06

-27.41%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.03 MX$38.20

$3.98 €3.55

-48.99%

Potato (1kg)

$2.02 MX$38.11

$2.48 €2.22

-18.55%

Onion (1kg)

$1.90 MX$35.82

$3.12 €2.78

-39.10%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.14 MX$21.54

$2.23 €1.99

-48.88%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.24 MX$23.32

$1.22 €1.09

1.64%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.27 MX$80.4

$7.92 €7.06

-46.09%

Wine (Bottle)

$9.81 MX$185

$8.78 €7.83

11.73%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.59 MX$29.85

$1.30 €1.16

22.31%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.75 MX$51.7

$2.21 €1.97

24.43%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.51 MX$9.69

$2.76 €2.46

-81.52%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$27.39 MX$515

$56.9 €50.8

-51.89%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$4.76 MX$89.6

$2.85 €2.54

67.02%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$3.25 MX$61.1

$0.91 €0.81

257.14%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$5.39 MX$101

$30.99 €27.64

-82.61%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.53 MX$28.76

$1.76 €1.57

-13.07%

Midsize Hatchback 1.4l (Volkswagen Golf, Toyota Prius, Honda Civic, etc)

$21.2K MX$399.2K

$30.4K €27.1K

-30.21%

Compact Sedan 1.6l (Toyota Corolla, Mazda3, Kia K4, Hyundai Elantra, etc)

$23.3K MX$437.8K

$30.6K €27.3K

-23.86%

Utilities for 2 People in 2-bedroom Apartment (Heating, Electricity, Gas, Water, Garbage) (85m2)

$83.5 MX$1,571

$342 €305

-75.58%

SIM Card Monthly Plan (Calls and 10GB+ Data)

$23.19 MX$436

$15.74 €14.04

47.33%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$27.61 MX$520

$37.72 €33.65

-26.80%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$56.4 MX$1,062

$40.28 €35.93

40.09%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$28.19 MX$531

$22.52 €20.09

25.18%

Cinema Ticket

$5.00 MX$94.1

$15.60 €13.91

-67.95%

Preschool or Kindergarten, Full Day, Private, 1 Child (Monthly)

$207 MX$3,897

$443 €395

-53.28%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$5,231 MX$98.4K

$15.8K €14.1K

-66.93%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$43.45 MX$818

$84.7 €75.6

-48.70%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$42.54 MX$801

$60.1 €53.6

-29.17%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$72.8 MX$1,369

$113 €101

-35.63%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$88.4 MX$1,663

$123 €110

-28.31%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$995 MX$18.7K

$1,011 €901

-1.57%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$382 MX$7,197

$900 €802

-57.49%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,674 MX$31.5K

$1,571 €1,401

6.60%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,081 MX$20.3K

$1,409 €1,256

-23.28%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,909 MX$73.6K

$7,018 €6,260

-44.30%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$6,138 MX$115.5K

$5,784 €5,159

6.12%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$832 MX$15.7K

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

11.45

3.5

227.14%

CityCost data is based on AI and user input – minor inaccuracies may occur.

Last update for Playa del Carmen: November 2, 2026

Last update for Zell am see: November 3, 2026

Monthly budget structure

Share of the monthly basket for one person, rent included.

Accommodation & Living

Playa del Carmen

$382 31.8%

Zell am see

$900 39.4% 135% $517

Groceries & Markets

Playa del Carmen

$257 21.4%

Zell am see

$391 17.1% 52% $134

Eating Out

Playa del Carmen

$200 16.7%

Zell am see

$279 12.2% 39.5% $79

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Playa del Carmen

$134 11.2%

Zell am see

$395 17.3% 194% $261

Clothing & Footwear

Playa del Carmen

$111 9.3%

Zell am see

$171 7.5% 54.2% $60

Sport & Entertainment

Playa del Carmen

$66 5.5%

Zell am see

$71 3.1% 7.6% $5

Getting Around

Playa del Carmen

$50 4.2%

Zell am see

$75 3.3% 49.4% $25

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $995 in Playa del Carmen versus $1,011 in Zell am see. Rent is usually the largest line item in a monthly budget, so the gap here sets the tone for the overall comparison.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $44 in Playa del Carmen versus $83 in Zell am see. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $257 vs $391 – making Playa del Carmen the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇲🇽 Playa del Carmen

🇦🇹 Zell am see

🕒 Local time

04:11 4:11 AM

10:11 10:11 AM

6 h ahead of Playa del Carmen

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

149,923

10,131

💱 Currency

Mexican Peso MXN $

Euro EUR €

📈 Exchange rate

100 MXN = 5.31 USD

100 MXN = 4.74 EUR

1 EUR = 1.12 USD

Exchange rates and currency converter

EUR, USD to MXN – Mexican Peso Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇲🇽 Mexican Peso ($)

Mexican Peso exchange rates as of November 4, 2026: 1 USD = 18.82 MXN (100 MXN = 5.31 USD). 1 EUR = 21.1 MXN (100 MXN = 4.74 EUR).

Euro exchange rates as of November 4, 2026: 1 USD = 0.892 EUR (1 EUR = 1.12 USD).

USD to MXN in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Playa del Carmen Zell am see 9,050 km ≈ 12 h nonstop flight

From you

Playa del Carmen
Zell am see

Distances are measured in a straight line. Your location is detected approximately.

City Median Internet Speeds Comparison (Updated April 2026)

The chart highlights the Precision Threshold for mobile and fixed broadband internet speeds, updated quarterly.

Digital Nomad Cost of Living Index

Playa del Carmen vs Zell am see: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Yes – Zell am see is pricier by about 90%, and outside of rent the gap shows up most in groceries.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $1,804 per month in Playa del Carmen and $3,426 in Zell am see. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

A central 1-bedroom goes for about $995 in Playa del Carmen and $1,011 in Zell am see. The gap holds across neighborhoods – outer areas show a similar spread, just at lower price points.

Monthly expenses with rent come to $1,202 in Playa del Carmen and $2,284 in Zell am see. That makes Playa del Carmen about 47% cheaper.

Public transport costs about 52% less in Playa del Carmen. For daily commuters, that gap adds up to noticeable savings over a year.

A $1,500 monthly budget goes further in Playa del Carmen, where all-in costs run around $1,202, than in Zell am see at $2,284. In Playa del Carmen it covers expenses comfortably, while in Zell am see it requires careful planning or may not stretch far enough.

It depends on your priorities. Playa del Carmen has an edge in some lifestyle areas, with costs from $1,202 in Playa del Carmen to $2,284 in Zell am see. Climate, culture, job market, and personal taste all factor in.