Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Andover and Playa del Carmen

For one person, living is cheaper in Playa del Carmen: $1,204 a month against $2,537 in Andover, rent and utilities included – about $16,000 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

121

Cost of Living Index in Andover
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Andover Living Index
59

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

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Andover

🇬🇧 United Kingdom

$2,537

/mo nomad

Playa del Carmen

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,204

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,537 in Andover versus $1,204 in Playa del Carmen.

Andover $2,537
Playa del Carmen $1,204

Estimated couple costs with rent: $3,482 in Andover versus $2,102 in Playa del Carmen.

Andover $3,482
Playa del Carmen $2,102

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $4,427 in Andover versus $3,000 in Playa del Carmen.

Andover $4,427
Playa del Carmen $3,000

Living in Andover is roughly 111% more expensive than in Playa del Carmen, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

The two cities straddle the global median: Andover is 87% above, Playa del Carmen is 11% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$12.80 £9.60

$10.86 MX$201

17.86%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$39.64 £29.74

$44.21 MX$817

-10.34%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$10.54 £7.91

$11.76 MX$217

-10.37%

Cappuccino

$4.68 £3.51

$3.68 MX$68.0

27.17%

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

$1.99 £1.49

$1.34 MX$24.79

48.51%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.47 £1.10

$0.82 MX$15.24

79.27%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$4.35 £3.26

$3.06 MX$56.6

42.16%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$5.72 £4.29

$4.94 MX$91.2

15.79%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.72 £1.29

$1.47 MX$27.17

17.01%

White Bread (500g)

$1.68 £1.26

$2.22 MX$40.95

-24.32%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.97 £1.48

$1.48 MX$27.32

33.11%

Eggs

$4.07 £3.05

$2.49 MX$45.99

63.45%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$11.78 £8.84

$7.52 MX$139

56.65%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$8.21 £6.16

$7.96 MX$147

3.14%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$14.97 £11.23

$12.57 MX$232

19.09%

Apples (1kg)

$3.45 £2.59

$2.78 MX$51.3

24.10%

Banana (1kg)

$1.66 £1.24

$1.43 MX$26.37

16.08%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.61 £1.96

$2.62 MX$48.37

-0.38%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.97 £2.23

$2.14 MX$39.49

38.79%

Potato (1kg)

$1.75 £1.31

$2.02 MX$37.38

-13.37%

Onion (1kg)

$1.28 £0.96

$1.99 MX$36.74

-35.68%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.23 £0.92

$1.14 MX$21.01

7.89%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.70 £1.28

$1.20 MX$22.18

41.67%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$22.55 £16.92

$4.26 MX$78.7

429.34%

Wine (Bottle)

$11.14 £8.36

$10.02 MX$185

11.18%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.59 £1.94

$1.54 MX$28.41

68.18%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.95 £1.46

$2.66 MX$49.17

-26.69%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$3.38 £2.54

$0.53 MX$9.73

537.74%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$48.28 £36.22

$27.51 MX$508

75.50%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$5.14 £3.86

$4.90 MX$90.6

4.90%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$3.24 £2.43

$3.43 MX$63.5

-5.54%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$41.61 £31.21

$5.38 MX$99.4

673.42%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$2.12 £1.59

$1.45 MX$26.76

46.21%

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

$35.5K £26.6K

$21.2K MX$391.0K

67.61%

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

$40.2K £30.1K

$23.0K MX$425.3K

74.52%

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

$350 £263

$85.4 MX$1,577

310.59%

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

$17.74 £13.31

$23.46 MX$434

-24.38%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$44.03 £33.03

$28.43 MX$525

54.87%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$44.26 £33.21

$62.2 MX$1,149

-28.83%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$9.49 £7.12

$28.68 MX$530

-66.91%

Cinema Ticket

$14.81 £11.11

$5.10 MX$94.3

190.39%

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

$2,294 £1,721

$201 MX$3,715

1040.89%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$15.2K £11.4K

$3,947 MX$72.9K

284.98%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$87.6 £65.7

$44.39 MX$820

97.27%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$46.60 £34.96

$41.35 MX$764

12.70%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$92.7 £69.6

$72.7 MX$1,344

27.48%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$63.6 £47.72

$89.6 MX$1,656

-29.01%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,416 £1,062

$979 MX$18.1K

44.59%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,295 £972

$373 MX$6,887

247.51%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,909 £1,432

$1,681 MX$31.1K

13.60%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$2,003 £1,503

$1,095 MX$20.2K

82.92%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,949 MX$73.0K

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$6,137 MX$113.4K

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$2,941 £2,207

$738 MX$13.6K

298.84%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

4.25

11.45

-62.88%

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

Last update for Andover: October 19, 2026

Last update for Playa del Carmen: October 17, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Andover

$1.3K 51.1%

Playa del Carmen

$373 31% 71.2% $922

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Andover

$412 16.3%

Playa del Carmen

$137 11.4% 66.7% $275

Groceries & Markets

Andover

$304 12%

Playa del Carmen

$258 21.5% 15.1% $46

Eating Out

Andover

$237 9.4%

Playa del Carmen

$200 16.6% 15.6% $37

Clothing & Footwear

Andover

$131 5.2%

Playa del Carmen

$112 9.3% 14.6% $19

Getting Around

Andover

$83 3.3%

Playa del Carmen

$52 4.3% 37.8% $31

Sport & Entertainment

Andover

$74 2.9%

Playa del Carmen

$72 6% 2% $1.5

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,416 in Andover and $979 in Playa del Carmen. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Andover pays 299% more on average. The extra income cushions the higher costs, though housing choices and lifestyle decide how much of the gap is truly closed.

Dining out: $40.00 in Andover vs $44.00 in Playa del Carmen. Groceries flip the comparison at $304 vs $258, with Playa del Carmen cheaper for home cooking.

Good to know

🇬🇧 Andover

🇲🇽 Playa del Carmen

🕒 Local time

14:16 2:16 PM

08:16 8:16 AM

6 h behind Andover

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

37,851

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 22, 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 22, 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 →

On the map

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Between locations

Andover Playa del Carmen 7,930 km ≈ 10 h nonstop flight

From you

Andover
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

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

Andover and Playa del Carmen differ by about 111% in total monthly costs ($2,537 vs $1,204 including rent). Playa del Carmen is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

Average pay runs 299% higher in Andover, which matters when comparing affordability. Whether that higher income actually nets you more depends on your spending habits and housing choices.

Rent for a central apartment: $1,416 in Andover versus $979 in Playa del Carmen. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

All in, you'll spend $2,537 per month in Andover versus $1,204 in Playa del Carmen – a 111% gap that adds up to real savings over time for anyone picking the cheaper option.

A monthly transit pass in Playa del Carmen runs roughly 75% less than in Andover. Both cities have functional networks, but the price difference matters if you're watching your budget.

At $1,204 in Playa del Carmen versus $2,537 in Andover, a $1,500 budget is realistic in Playa del Carmen but tight or insufficient in Andover. The gap between the two cities makes Playa del Carmen the clear choice for anyone on this budget.

Both cities offer a good standard of living with different trade-offs. Neither is objectively better – the right pick depends on what matters most: affordability, career, cultural scene, or climate.

Safety-wise, Andover and Playa del Carmen are on par. Petty crime is typical for cities this size, and most residents feel comfortable going about their daily routines in either place.

Expats usually find Playa del Carmen gentler on the wallet – expenses run 111% less than in Andover. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.