Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between St. Moritz and Playa del Carmen

For one person, living is cheaper in Playa del Carmen: $1,204 a month against $3,626 in St. Moritz, rent and utilities included – about $29,100 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

174

Cost of Living Index in St. Moritz
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St. Moritz Living Index
58

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

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St. Moritz

🇨🇭 Switzerland

$3,626

/mo nomad

Playa del Carmen

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,204

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in St. Moritz and in Playa del Carmen

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

A single person spends $3,626 per month in St. Moritz vs $1,204 in Playa del Carmen, rent included.

St. Moritz $3,626
Playa del Carmen $1,204

A couple spends around $6,508 per month in St. Moritz vs $2,082 in Playa del Carmen, rent included.

St. Moritz $6,508
Playa del Carmen $2,082

A family of three spends $9,390 per month in St. Moritz vs $2,959 in Playa del Carmen, rent included.

St. Moritz $9,390
Playa del Carmen $2,959

St. Moritz costs about 201% more than Playa del Carmen, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

St. Moritz sits 166% above the global median, while Playa del Carmen is 12% below – they fall on opposite sides of the world average.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$34.20 CHF 28.35

$10.92 MX$204

213.19%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$143 CHF 119

$43.37 MX$810

229.84%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$14.40 CHF 11.93

$11.78 MX$220

22.24%

Cappuccino

$5.90 CHF 4.89

$3.81 MX$71.2

54.86%

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

$5.54 CHF 4.59

$1.28 MX$23.96

332.81%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.60 CHF 3.82

$0.78 MX$14.63

489.74%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$9.90 CHF 8.20

$3.17 MX$59.2

212.30%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$6.03 CHF 5.00

$4.93 MX$92.2

22.31%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.81 CHF 1.50

$1.41 MX$26.28

28.37%

White Bread (500g)

$3.96 CHF 3.28

$2.22 MX$41.43

78.38%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$3.60 CHF 2.98

$1.42 MX$26.48

153.52%

Eggs

$7.67 CHF 6.36

$2.52 MX$47.14

204.37%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$27.09 CHF 22.45

$7.26 MX$136

273.14%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$28.89 CHF 23.95

$7.70 MX$144

275.19%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$60.5 CHF 50.2

$12.69 MX$237

376.83%

Apples (1kg)

$4.09 CHF 3.39

$2.78 MX$52.0

47.12%

Banana (1kg)

$2.75 CHF 2.28

$1.37 MX$25.56

100.73%

Oranges (1kg)

$3.60 CHF 2.98

$2.55 MX$47.66

41.18%

Tomato (1kg)

$4.59 CHF 3.81

$2.12 MX$39.67

116.51%

Potato (1kg)

$2.55 CHF 2.11

$1.94 MX$36.22

31.44%

Onion (1kg)

$2.34 CHF 1.94

$1.89 MX$35.24

23.81%

Lettuce (1 head)

$2.49 CHF 2.06

$1.15 MX$21.42

116.52%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.25 CHF 1.03

$1.18 MX$22.03

5.93%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$10.77 CHF 8.93

$4.30 MX$80.3

150.47%

Wine (Bottle)

$13.92 CHF 11.53

$9.95 MX$186

39.90%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.88 CHF 2.38

$1.58 MX$29.59

82.28%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.21 CHF 2.66

$2.67 MX$49.91

20.22%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$3.92 CHF 3.25

$0.55 MX$10.34

612.73%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$92.6 CHF 76.7

$26.62 MX$497

247.71%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$8.08 CHF 6.70

$4.97 MX$92.9

62.58%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$4.54 CHF 3.76

$3.33 MX$62.2

36.34%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$87.8 CHF 72.7

$5.36 MX$100

1537.13%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$2.14 CHF 1.77

$1.44 MX$26.98

48.61%

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

$38.6K CHF 32.0K

$20.7K MX$386.2K

86.82%

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

$39.6K CHF 32.8K

$23.5K MX$438.5K

68.78%

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

$96.8 CHF 80.3

$84.8 MX$1,584

14.18%

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

$39.12 CHF 32.42

$23.41 MX$437

67.11%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$54.8 CHF 45.38

$28.66 MX$535

91.03%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$73.0 CHF 60.5

$57.1 MX$1,066

27.91%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$28.91 MX$540

Cinema Ticket

$18.96 CHF 15.71

$5.14 MX$96.0

268.87%

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

$3,402 CHF 2,820

$207 MX$3,860

1547.15%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$41.2K CHF 34.2K

$3,927 MX$73.4K

950.13%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$140 CHF 116

$43.35 MX$810

222.75%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$55.1 CHF 45.65

$41.44 MX$774

32.92%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$161 CHF 133

$74.2 MX$1,386

116.56%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$249 CHF 206

$89.3 MX$1,668

178.67%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,794 CHF 1,487

$980 MX$18.3K

83.14%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,753 CHF 1,453

$381 MX$7,116

360.32%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$5,403 CHF 4,478

$1,708 MX$31.9K

216.32%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$4,730 CHF 3,921

$1,075 MX$20.1K

339.94%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,943 MX$73.7K

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$12.3K CHF 10.2K

$6,158 MX$115.1K

99.74%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$4,889 CHF 4,052

$735 MX$13.7K

565.58%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

1.8

11.45

-84.28%

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

Last update for St. Moritz: October 26, 2026

Last update for Playa del Carmen: October 25, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

St. Moritz

$1.8K 48.3%

Playa del Carmen

$381 31.6% 78.3% $1.4K

Groceries & Markets

St. Moritz

$670 18.5%

Playa del Carmen

$255 21.2% 62% $415

Eating Out

St. Moritz

$490 13.5%

Playa del Carmen

$202 16.8% 58.7% $287

Clothing & Footwear

St. Moritz

$272 7.5%

Playa del Carmen

$112 9.3% 58.9% $160

Monthly Utilities & Internet

St. Moritz

$191 5.3%

Playa del Carmen

$137 11.4% 28.2% $54

Getting Around

St. Moritz

$139 3.8%

Playa del Carmen

$50 4.2% 63.7% $89

Sport & Entertainment

St. Moritz

$111 3.1%

Playa del Carmen

$67 5.6% 39.3% $44

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $1,794 in St. Moritz versus $980 in Playa del Carmen. Rent is usually the largest line item in a monthly budget, so the gap here sets the tone for the overall comparison.

Salaries in St. Moritz are about 6.7 times higher. Purchasing power depends on which expenses matter most to you.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $143 in St. Moritz versus $43 in Playa del Carmen. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $670 vs $255 – making Playa del Carmen the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇨🇭 St. Moritz

🇲🇽 Playa del Carmen

🕒 Local time

12:58 12:58 PM

06:58 6:58 AM

6 h behind St. Moritz

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

5,000

149,923

💱 Currency

Swiss Franc CHF Fr

Mexican Peso MXN $

📈 Exchange rate

1 CHF = 1.21 USD

1 CHF = 1.08 EUR

100 MXN = 5.35 USD

100 MXN = 4.81 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

MXN, USD, EUR to CHF – Swiss Franc Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇨🇭 Swiss Franc (Fr)

Swiss Franc exchange rates as of October 28, 2026: 1 USD = 0.829 CHF (1 CHF = 1.21 USD). 1 EUR = 0.923 CHF (1 CHF = 1.08 EUR).

Mexican Peso exchange rates as of October 28, 2026: 1 USD = 18.69 MXN (100 MXN = 5.35 USD). 1 EUR = 20.8 MXN (100 MXN = 4.81 EUR).

USD to CHF in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

St. Moritz Playa del Carmen 8,870 km ≈ 12 h nonstop flight

From you

St. Moritz
Playa del Carmen

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

St. Moritz vs Playa del Carmen: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Yes – St. Moritz is pricier by about 201%, and outside of rent the gap shows up most in groceries.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $5,438 per month in St. Moritz and $1,806 in Playa del Carmen. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

Rent is clearly cheaper in Playa del Carmen, especially for central apartments: a one-bedroom in the center costs $980 there versus $1,794 in St. Moritz.

Monthly expenses with rent come to $3,626 in St. Moritz and $1,204 in Playa del Carmen. That’s a gap of about 201%.

Public transport costs about 71% 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 $1,204, than in St. Moritz at $3,626. In Playa del Carmen it covers expenses comfortably, while in St. Moritz it requires careful planning or may not stretch far enough.

Families tend to lean toward Playa del Carmen – lower housing and cheaper childcare make a real difference, especially on a single income or when paying for private education.

If budget matters most, go with Playa del Carmen. If higher salaries, better infrastructure, or specific career opportunities are the priority, St. Moritz makes more sense. Both are solid long-term options with distinct trade-offs.