Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Alton and Playa del Carmen

For one person, living is cheaper in Playa del Carmen: $1,204 a month against $2,607 in Alton, rent and utilities included – about $16,800 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

125

Cost of Living Index in Alton
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Alton Living Index
58

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

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Alton

🇬🇧 United Kingdom

$2,607

/mo nomad

Playa del Carmen

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,204

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

A single person spends $2,607 per month in Alton vs $1,204 in Playa del Carmen, rent included.

Alton $2,607
Playa del Carmen $1,204

A couple spends around $3,875 per month in Alton vs $2,082 in Playa del Carmen, rent included.

Alton $3,875
Playa del Carmen $2,082

A family of three spends $5,143 per month in Alton vs $2,959 in Playa del Carmen, rent included.

Alton $5,143
Playa del Carmen $2,959

Alton costs about 117% more than Playa del Carmen, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Alton sits 92% above the global median, while Playa del Carmen is 12% below – they fall on opposite sides of the world average.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$27.13 £20.39

$10.92 MX$204

148.44%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$105 £78.6

$43.37 MX$810

141.09%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$10.75 £8.08

$11.78 MX$220

-8.74%

Cappuccino

$5.69 £4.27

$3.81 MX$71.2

49.34%

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

$3.03 £2.28

$1.28 MX$23.96

136.72%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.20 £1.65

$0.78 MX$14.63

182.05%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$9.07 £6.82

$3.17 MX$59.2

186.12%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$7.96 £5.98

$4.93 MX$92.2

61.46%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.81 £1.36

$1.41 MX$26.28

28.37%

White Bread (500g)

$2.02 £1.52

$2.22 MX$41.43

-9.01%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.51 £1.89

$1.42 MX$26.48

76.76%

Eggs

$3.39 £2.55

$2.52 MX$47.14

34.52%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$12.77 £9.60

$7.26 MX$136

75.90%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$10.86 £8.16

$7.70 MX$144

41.04%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$17.24 £12.96

$12.69 MX$237

35.86%

Apples (1kg)

$3.14 £2.36

$2.78 MX$52.0

12.95%

Banana (1kg)

$1.42 £1.07

$1.37 MX$25.56

3.65%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.99 £2.24

$2.55 MX$47.66

17.25%

Tomato (1kg)

$3.40 £2.56

$2.12 MX$39.67

60.38%

Potato (1kg)

$1.68 £1.26

$1.94 MX$36.22

-13.40%

Onion (1kg)

$1.81 £1.36

$1.89 MX$35.24

-4.23%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.47 £1.11

$1.15 MX$21.42

27.83%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.85 £1.39

$1.18 MX$22.03

56.78%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$23.77 £17.87

$4.30 MX$80.3

452.79%

Wine (Bottle)

$10.50 £7.89

$9.95 MX$186

5.53%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.35 £1.77

$1.58 MX$29.59

48.73%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.74 £2.06

$2.67 MX$49.91

2.62%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$3.49 £2.62

$0.55 MX$10.34

534.55%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$98.0 £73.7

$26.62 MX$497

268.11%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$5.46 £4.11

$4.97 MX$92.9

9.86%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$3.39 £2.55

$3.33 MX$62.2

1.80%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$25.69 £19.31

$5.36 MX$100

379.29%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$2.10 £1.58

$1.44 MX$26.98

45.83%

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

$38.2K £28.7K

$20.7K MX$386.2K

85.06%

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

$40.2K £30.2K

$23.5K MX$438.5K

71.16%

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

$369 £278

$84.8 MX$1,584

335.72%

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

$18.30 £13.75

$23.41 MX$437

-21.83%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$40.58 £30.50

$28.66 MX$535

41.59%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$46.16 £34.70

$57.1 MX$1,066

-19.09%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$28.91 MX$540

Cinema Ticket

$17.88 £13.44

$5.14 MX$96.0

247.86%

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

$2,877 £2,162

$207 MX$3,860

1292.70%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$35.7K £26.8K

$3,927 MX$73.4K

809.41%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$117 £87.8

$43.35 MX$810

169.48%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$54.5 £40.99

$41.44 MX$774

31.61%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$128 £96.5

$74.2 MX$1,386

72.96%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$165 £124

$89.3 MX$1,668

84.85%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,246 £937

$980 MX$18.3K

27.24%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,019 £766

$381 MX$7,116

167.71%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,098 £1,577

$1,708 MX$31.9K

22.83%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,683 £1,265

$1,075 MX$20.1K

56.54%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$5,091 £3,826

$3,943 MX$73.7K

29.12%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$3,807 £2,861

$6,158 MX$115.1K

-38.18%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$735 MX$13.7K

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

4.74

11.45

-58.60%

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

Last update for Alton: October 24, 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

Alton

$1K 39.1%

Playa del Carmen

$381 31.6% 62.6% $639

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Alton

$428 16.4%

Playa del Carmen

$137 11.4% 68.1% $291

Eating Out

Alton

$400 15.3%

Playa del Carmen

$202 16.8% 49.4% $197

Groceries & Markets

Alton

$334 12.8%

Playa del Carmen

$255 21.2% 23.8% $80

Clothing & Footwear

Alton

$209 8%

Playa del Carmen

$112 9.3% 46.6% $97

Getting Around

Alton

$134 5.2%

Playa del Carmen

$50 4.2% 62.4% $84

Sport & Entertainment

Alton

$82 3.1%

Playa del Carmen

$67 5.6% 17.8% $15

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $1,246 in Alton 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.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $105 in Alton versus $43 in Playa del Carmen. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $334 vs $255 – making Playa del Carmen the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇬🇧 Alton

🇲🇽 Playa del Carmen

🕒 Local time

15:11 3:11 PM

10:11 10:11 AM

5 h behind Alton

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

17,816

149,923

💱 Currency

British Pound GBP £

Mexican Peso MXN $

📈 Exchange rate

1 GBP = 1.33 USD

1 GBP = 1.2 EUR

100 MXN = 5.35 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 28, 2026: 1 USD = 0.752 GBP (1 GBP = 1.33 USD). 1 EUR = 0.836 GBP (1 GBP = 1.2 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 GBP in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Alton Playa del Carmen 7,970 km ≈ 10 h nonstop flight

From you

Alton
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

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

Monthly costs with rent: $2,607 in Alton, $1,204 in Playa del Carmen – roughly 117% apart. Outside of rent, the biggest gap is in eating out.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $3,911 per month in Alton 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 $1,246 in Alton.

Public transport costs about 73% less in Playa del Carmen. For daily commuters, that gap adds up to noticeable savings over a year.

Kindergarten costs $2,877 per month in Alton and $207 in Playa del Carmen. For families with young kids, this one expense can tip the scales when choosing between the two cities.

A $1,500 monthly budget goes further in Playa del Carmen, where all-in costs run around $1,204, than in Alton at $2,607. In Playa del Carmen it covers expenses comfortably, while in Alton 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.

For expats, Playa del Carmen is the easier option financially – housing and daily costs are lower, and the 117% gap matters a lot on a fixed budget or early-career salary.