Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Aberystwyth and Playa del Carmen

For one person, living is cheaper in Playa del Carmen: $1,210 a month against $2,460 in Aberystwyth, rent and utilities included – about $15,000 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

Aberystwyth
🇬🇧 United Kingdom
$2,460
/mo nomad
Playa del Carmen
🇲🇽 Mexico
$1,210
/mo nomad
Monthly Cost of Living

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

A single person spends $2,460 per month in Aberystwyth vs $1,210 in Playa del Carmen, rent included.

  • Aberystwyth $2,460
  • Playa del Carmen $1,210

A couple spends around $3,322 per month in Aberystwyth vs $2,113 in Playa del Carmen, rent included.

  • Aberystwyth $3,322
  • Playa del Carmen $2,113

A family of three spends $4,185 per month in Aberystwyth vs $3,016 in Playa del Carmen, rent included.

  • Aberystwyth $4,185
  • Playa del Carmen $3,016

Aberystwyth costs about 103% more than Playa del Carmen, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in transport.

Aberystwyth sits 82% above the global median, while Playa del Carmen is 10% below – they fall on opposite sides of the world average.

Currency
🍽 Eating Out
Aberystwyth
Playa del Carmen
Difference
Meal at Budget Restaurant
$19.92 £14.95
$10.76 MX$199
85.13%
Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range
$73.2 £54.9
$43.03 MX$795
70.11%
Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)
$9.37 £7.03
$11.79 MX$218
-20.53%
Cappuccino
$3.74 £2.80
$3.87 MX$71.4
-3.36%
Coke/Pepsi/Fanta/Sprite (0.33 liter bottle)
$2.37 £1.78
$1.37 MX$25.29
72.99%
Water (0.33 liter bottle)
$1.42 £1.06
$0.84 MX$15.44
69.05%
Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)
$4.85 £3.64
$3.10 MX$57.3
56.45%
Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)
$4.38 £3.29
$5.07 MX$93.6
-13.61%
🛒 Groceries & Markets
Aberystwyth
Playa del Carmen
Difference
Milk (1 liter)
$1.73 £1.30
$1.44 MX$26.55
20.14%
White Bread (500g)
$1.28 £0.96
$2.23 MX$41.23
-42.60%
Rice (white) (1kg)
$1.72 £1.29
$1.47 MX$27.17
17.01%
Eggs
$4.22 £3.16
$2.53 MX$46.71
66.80%
Local Cheese (1kg)
$13.13 £9.85
$7.30 MX$135
79.86%
Chicken Fillets (1kg)
$10.82 £8.12
$7.86 MX$145
37.66%
Beef Round Steak (1kg)
$13.36 £10.02
$12.79 MX$236
4.46%
Apples (1kg)
$3.64 £2.73
$2.90 MX$53.6
25.52%
Banana (1kg)
$1.81 £1.36
$1.44 MX$26.53
25.69%
Oranges (1kg)
$2.35 £1.77
$2.55 MX$47.07
-7.84%
Tomato (1kg)
$3.17 £2.37
$2.06 MX$38.03
53.88%
Potato (1kg)
$1.52 £1.14
$2.00 MX$36.97
-24.00%
Onion (1kg)
$1.68 £1.26
$2.01 MX$37.07
-16.42%
Lettuce (1 head)
$1.06 £0.79
$1.19 MX$22.02
-10.92%
Water (1.5 liter bottle)
$1.19 £0.89
$1.26 MX$23.23
-5.56%
Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)
$23.30 £17.48
$4.40 MX$81.4
429.55%
Wine (Bottle)
$10.10 £7.58
$9.59 MX$177
5.32%
Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)
$2.77 £2.08
$1.59 MX$29.41
74.21%
Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)
$3.02 £2.26
$2.81 MX$51.9
7.47%
🚌 Getting Around
Aberystwyth
Playa del Carmen
Difference
One-way Ticket (Public Transport)
$5.40 £4.05
$0.57 MX$10.47
847.37%
Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)
$97.3 £73.0
$27.82 MX$514
249.75%
Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)
$4.05 £3.04
$4.98 MX$92.1
-18.67%
Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)
$2.51 £1.88
$3.50 MX$64.6
-28.29%
Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)
$25.71 £19.29
$5.40 MX$99.8
376.11%
Gasoline (1 liter)
$1.89 £1.42
$1.47 MX$27.08
28.57%
Midsize Hatchback 1.4l (Volkswagen Golf, Toyota Prius, Honda Civic, etc)
$38.5K £28.9K
$21.0K MX$387.8K
83.54%
Compact Sedan 1.6l (Toyota Corolla, Mazda3, Kia K4, Hyundai Elantra, etc)
$41.0K £30.8K
$23.9K MX$441.8K
71.64%
🧾 Monthly Utilities & Internet
Aberystwyth
Playa del Carmen
Difference
Utilities for 2 People in 2-bedroom Apartment (Heating, Electricity, Gas, Water, Garbage) (85m2)
$480 £360
$84.2 MX$1,556
469.62%
SIM Card Monthly Plan (Calls and 10GB+ Data)
$16.70 £12.53
$23.99 MX$443
-30.39%
Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)
$37.00 £27.76
$29.02 MX$536
27.50%
🎉 Sport & Entertainment
Aberystwyth
Playa del Carmen
Difference
Gym Membership (Monthly)
$40.30 £30.24
$63.0 MX$1,164
-36.01%
Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)
-
$29.14 MX$539
-
Cinema Ticket
$9.85 £7.39
$4.94 MX$91.3
99.39%
🧸 Childcare & Education
Aberystwyth
Playa del Carmen
Difference
Preschool or Kindergarten, Full Day, Private, 1 Child (Monthly)
$1,062 £796
$204 MX$3,763
421.34%
International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)
$22.2K £16.7K
$3,941 MX$72.8K
463.97%
👕👟 Clothing & Footwear
Aberystwyth
Playa del Carmen
Difference
Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)
$71.6 £53.7
$43.60 MX$806
64.27%
Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)
$39.63 £29.73
$43.12 MX$797
-8.09%
Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)
$106 £79.2
$75.8 MX$1,400
39.26%
Men's Leather Business Shoes
$99.6 £74.7
$88.6 MX$1,637
12.39%
🏠 Accommodation & Living
Aberystwyth
Playa del Carmen
Difference
1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)
$967 £725
$1,008 MX$18.6K
-4.10%
1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)
$1,000 £750
$374 MX$6,911
167.32%
3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)
$1,567 £1,176
$1,708 MX$31.6K
-8.26%
3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)
$1,261 £946
$1,106 MX$20.4K
13.99%
Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)
$5,108 £3,832
$3,944 MX$72.9K
29.50%
Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)
$3,907 £2,931
$6,169 MX$114.0K
-36.67%
💵 Salaries & Financials
Aberystwyth
Playa del Carmen
Difference
Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)
-
$754 MX$13.9K
-
20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)
5.54
11.45
-51.62%

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

Last update for Aberystwyth: October 11, 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
Aberystwyth
$1,000
Playa del Carmen
$374 62.6% $626
Monthly Utilities & Internet
Aberystwyth
$533
Playa del Carmen
$137 74.3% $396
Groceries & Markets
Aberystwyth
$308
Playa del Carmen
$258 16.2% $50
Eating Out
Aberystwyth
$281
Playa del Carmen
$202 27.9% $78
Clothing & Footwear
Aberystwyth
$142
Playa del Carmen
$113 20.6% $29
Getting Around
Aberystwyth
$136
Playa del Carmen
$53 61.2% $83
Sport & Entertainment
Aberystwyth
$60
Playa del Carmen
$73 21.5% $13

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $967 in Aberystwyth 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.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $73.0 in Aberystwyth versus $43.00 in Playa del Carmen. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $308 vs $258 – making Playa del Carmen the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know
🇬🇧 Aberystwyth
🇲🇽 Playa del Carmen
🕒 Local time
18:48 6:48 PM
12:48 12:48 PM
6 h behind Aberystwyth
🌤 Weather
👥 Population
13,040
149,923
💱 Currency
Exchange rates and currency converter

MXN, USD, EUR to GBP – British Pound Converter

British Pound exchange rates as of October 19, 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 19, 2026: 1 USD = 18.48 MXN (100 MXN = 5.41 USD). 1 EUR = 20.77 MXN (100 MXN = 4.81 EUR).

On the map
Between locations
  • Aberystwyth Playa del Carmen 7,740 km ≈ 10 h nonstop flight
From you
  • Aberystwyth
  • 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
Aberystwyth vs Playa del Carmen: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions
Is Playa del Carmen cheaper than Aberystwyth?
Yes – Aberystwyth is pricier by about 103%, and outside of rent the gap shows up most in transport.
What income do you need for each city?
For a comfortable life, plan on about $3,690 per month in Aberystwyth and $1,816 in Playa del Carmen. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.
Which city has lower housing costs?
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.
Which city has cheaper public transport?
Public transport costs about 250% less in Playa del Carmen. For daily commuters, that gap adds up to noticeable savings over a year.
Which city has cheaper kindergarten?
Kindergarten costs $1,062 per month in Aberystwyth and $204 in Playa del Carmen. For families with young kids, this one expense can tip the scales when choosing between the two cities.
Is $1,500 a realistic budget for living in Aberystwyth or in Playa del Carmen?
A $1,500 monthly budget goes further in Playa del Carmen, where all-in costs run around $1,210, than in Aberystwyth at $2,460. In Playa del Carmen it covers expenses comfortably, while in Aberystwyth it requires careful planning or may not stretch far enough.
Is Aberystwyth or Playa del Carmen more family-friendly?
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.
Which city is safer, Aberystwyth or Playa del Carmen?
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.
Which city is the better choice to relocate to?
If budget matters most, go with Playa del Carmen. If higher salaries, better infrastructure, or specific career opportunities are the priority, Aberystwyth makes more sense. Both are solid long-term options with distinct trade-offs.

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