Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Aberdeen and Playa del Carmen

For one person, living is cheaper in Playa del Carmen: $1,210 a month against $2,264 in Aberdeen, rent and utilities included – about $12,600 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

111

Cost of Living Index in Aberdeen
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Aberdeen Living Index
59

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

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Aberdeen

🇬🇧 United Kingdom

$2,264

/mo nomad

Playa del Carmen

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,210

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Aberdeen 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 Aberdeen and in Playa del Carmen actually costs, broken down by who's living it.

A single person spends $2,264 per month in Aberdeen vs $1,210 in Playa del Carmen, rent included.

Aberdeen $2,264
Playa del Carmen $1,210

A couple spends around $3,528 per month in Aberdeen vs $2,113 in Playa del Carmen, rent included.

Aberdeen $3,528
Playa del Carmen $2,113

A family of three spends $4,792 per month in Aberdeen vs $3,016 in Playa del Carmen, rent included.

Aberdeen $4,792
Playa del Carmen $3,016

Aberdeen costs about 87% more than Playa del Carmen, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Aberdeen sits 68% above the global median, while Playa del Carmen is 10% below – they fall on opposite sides of the world average.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$19.95 £14.96

$10.76 MX$199

85.41%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$94.0 £70.5

$43.03 MX$795

118.34%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$10.71 £8.04

$11.79 MX$218

-9.16%

Cappuccino

$4.59 £3.44

$3.87 MX$71.4

18.60%

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

$2.71 £2.03

$1.37 MX$25.29

97.81%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.12 £1.59

$0.84 MX$15.44

152.38%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$7.15 £5.37

$3.10 MX$57.3

130.65%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$7.79 £5.84

$5.07 MX$93.6

53.65%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.49 £1.12

$1.44 MX$26.55

3.47%

White Bread (500g)

$1.71 £1.28

$2.23 MX$41.23

-23.32%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.96 £1.47

$1.47 MX$27.17

33.33%

Eggs

$4.36 £3.27

$2.53 MX$46.71

72.33%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$8.81 £6.61

$7.30 MX$135

20.68%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$12.10 £9.08

$7.86 MX$145

53.94%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$16.59 £12.44

$12.79 MX$236

29.71%

Apples (1kg)

$2.85 £2.14

$2.90 MX$53.6

-1.72%

Banana (1kg)

$1.38 £1.03

$1.44 MX$26.53

-4.17%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.80 £2.10

$2.55 MX$47.07

9.80%

Tomato (1kg)

$3.66 £2.75

$2.06 MX$38.03

77.67%

Potato (1kg)

$1.70 £1.28

$2.00 MX$36.97

-15.00%

Onion (1kg)

$1.50 £1.13

$2.01 MX$37.07

-25.37%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.25 £0.94

$1.19 MX$22.02

5.04%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.62 £1.22

$1.26 MX$23.23

28.57%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$21.97 £16.48

$4.40 MX$81.4

399.32%

Wine (Bottle)

$11.20 £8.40

$9.59 MX$177

16.79%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.64 £1.98

$1.59 MX$29.41

66.04%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.07 £2.30

$2.81 MX$51.9

9.25%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$2.70 £2.02

$0.57 MX$10.47

373.68%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$120 £90.1

$27.82 MX$514

331.85%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.88 £2.91

$4.98 MX$92.1

-22.09%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$2.45 £1.84

$3.50 MX$64.6

-30.00%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$24.17 £18.13

$5.40 MX$99.8

347.59%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$2.13 £1.60

$1.47 MX$27.08

44.90%

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

$37.5K £28.1K

$21.0K MX$387.8K

78.48%

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

$40.2K £30.2K

$23.9K MX$441.8K

68.13%

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

$400 £300

$84.2 MX$1,556

375.22%

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

$28.11 £21.09

$23.99 MX$443

17.17%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$42.10 £31.58

$29.02 MX$536

45.07%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$53.5 £40.15

$63.0 MX$1,164

-15.02%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$22.06 £16.55

$29.14 MX$539

-24.30%

Cinema Ticket

$11.23 £8.43

$4.94 MX$91.3

127.33%

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

$1,770 £1,328

$204 MX$3,763

769.19%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$23.2K £17.4K

$3,941 MX$72.8K

488.09%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$96.3 £72.3

$43.60 MX$806

120.96%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$48.95 £36.73

$43.12 MX$797

13.52%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$102 £76.7

$75.8 MX$1,400

34.90%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$112 £84.1

$88.6 MX$1,637

26.54%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$833 £625

$1,008 MX$18.6K

-17.42%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$771 £579

$374 MX$6,911

106.22%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,573 £1,180

$1,708 MX$31.6K

-7.91%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,611 £1,208

$1,106 MX$20.4K

45.61%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,281 £1,712

$3,944 MX$72.9K

-42.16%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$3,390 £2,544

$6,169 MX$114.0K

-45.04%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$3,625 £2,719

$754 MX$13.9K

380.58%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

5.11

11.45

-55.37%

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

Last update for Aberdeen: October 12, 2026

Last update for Playa del Carmen: October 10, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Aberdeen

$771 34.1%

Playa del Carmen

$374 30.9% 51.5% $397

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Aberdeen

$470 20.8%

Playa del Carmen

$137 11.3% 70.8% $333

Groceries & Markets

Aberdeen

$320 14.1%

Playa del Carmen

$258 21.4% 19.3% $62

Eating Out

Aberdeen

$317 14%

Playa del Carmen

$202 16.7% 36.3% $115

Clothing & Footwear

Aberdeen

$162 7.2%

Playa del Carmen

$113 9.3% 30.2% $49

Getting Around

Aberdeen

$147 6.5%

Playa del Carmen

$53 4.3% 64.3% $94

Sport & Entertainment

Aberdeen

$76 3.4%

Playa del Carmen

$73 6% 4.1% $3.1

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $833 in Aberdeen versus $1,008 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 run about 381% higher in Aberdeen, which partly offsets the higher cost of living there. Purchasing power depends on which expenses matter most to you.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $94.0 in Aberdeen versus $43.00 in Playa del Carmen. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $320 vs $258 – making Playa del Carmen the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇬🇧 Aberdeen

🇲🇽 Playa del Carmen

🕒 Local time

15:24 3:24 PM

09:24 9:24 AM

6 h behind Aberdeen

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

229,060

149,923

💱 Currency

British Pound GBP £

Mexican Peso MXN $

📈 Exchange rate

1 GBP = 1.33 USD

1 GBP = 1.19 EUR

100 MXN = 5.41 USD

100 MXN = 4.81 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

MXN, USD, EUR to GBP – British Pound Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇬🇧 British Pound (£)

British Pound exchange rates as of October 18, 2026: 1 USD = 0.75 GBP (1 GBP = 1.33 USD). 1 EUR = 0.843 GBP (1 GBP = 1.19 EUR).

Mexican Peso exchange rates as of October 18, 2026: 1 USD = 18.48 MXN (100 MXN = 5.41 USD). 1 EUR = 20.77 MXN (100 MXN = 4.81 EUR).

USD to GBP in detail →

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Aberdeen Playa del Carmen 7,790 km ≈ 10 h nonstop flight

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Aberdeen
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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

Aberdeen vs Playa del Carmen: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Aberdeen costs about 87% more than Playa del Carmen, and outside of rent the gap comes mainly from eating out. That's enough to noticeably affect everyday spending and lifestyle for anyone choosing between the two.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $3,396 per month in Aberdeen and $1,816 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. Housing is actually the single biggest factor behind the overall cost gap between these two cities.

Monthly expenses with rent come to $2,264 in Aberdeen and $1,210 in Playa del Carmen. That's a gap of about 87%.

Public transport costs about 332% 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 $1,210, than in Aberdeen at $2,264. In Playa del Carmen it covers expenses comfortably, while in Aberdeen it requires careful planning or may not stretch far enough.

For digital nomads, it depends on budget. Playa del Carmen costs $1,210 versus $2,264 in Aberdeen. Both have workable remote work infrastructure, but the cost gap matters when income varies month to month.

Both have safer and rougher neighborhoods, but overall safety is comparable to other large cities. Neighborhood choice matters more than the city-level comparison – central, well-trafficked areas feel secure in both.

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