Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Ashford and Playa del Carmen

For one person, living is cheaper in Playa del Carmen: $1,210 a month against $2,427 in Ashford, rent and utilities included – about $14,600 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

117

Cost of Living Index in Ashford
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Ashford Living Index
59

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

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Ashford

🇬🇧 United Kingdom

$2,427

/mo nomad

Playa del Carmen

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,210

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,427 in Ashford versus $1,210 in Playa del Carmen.

Ashford $2,427
Playa del Carmen $1,210

Estimated couple costs with rent: $3,351 in Ashford versus $2,113 in Playa del Carmen.

Ashford $3,351
Playa del Carmen $2,113

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $4,276 in Ashford versus $3,016 in Playa del Carmen.

Ashford $4,276
Playa del Carmen $3,016

Living in Ashford is roughly 100% more expensive than in Playa del Carmen, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in transport.

The two cities straddle the global median: Ashford is 80% above, Playa del Carmen is 10% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$20.96 £15.73

$10.76 MX$199

94.80%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$79.9 £60.0

$43.03 MX$795

85.78%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$10.49 £7.87

$11.79 MX$218

-11.03%

Cappuccino

$5.74 £4.30

$3.87 MX$71.4

48.32%

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

$2.74 £2.05

$1.37 MX$25.29

100.00%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.82 £1.37

$0.84 MX$15.44

116.67%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.89 £2.92

$3.10 MX$57.3

25.48%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$7.09 £5.32

$5.07 MX$93.6

39.84%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.48 £1.11

$1.44 MX$26.55

2.78%

White Bread (500g)

$1.32 £0.99

$2.23 MX$41.23

-40.81%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.69 £1.26

$1.47 MX$27.17

14.97%

Eggs

$3.00 £2.25

$2.53 MX$46.71

18.58%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$5.22 £3.92

$7.30 MX$135

-28.49%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$6.91 £5.18

$7.86 MX$145

-12.09%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$14.39 £10.79

$12.79 MX$236

12.51%

Apples (1kg)

$3.28 £2.46

$2.90 MX$53.6

13.10%

Banana (1kg)

$1.44 £1.08

$1.44 MX$26.53

Oranges (1kg)

$2.67 £2.01

$2.55 MX$47.07

4.71%

Tomato (1kg)

$3.17 £2.38

$2.06 MX$38.03

53.88%

Potato (1kg)

$1.67 £1.25

$2.00 MX$36.97

-16.50%

Onion (1kg)

$1.46 £1.09

$2.01 MX$37.07

-27.36%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.44 £1.08

$1.19 MX$22.02

21.01%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.42 £1.07

$1.26 MX$23.23

12.70%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$18.83 £14.13

$4.40 MX$81.4

327.95%

Wine (Bottle)

$9.24 £6.93

$9.59 MX$177

-3.65%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.67 £2.00

$1.59 MX$29.41

67.92%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.63 £2.73

$2.81 MX$51.9

29.18%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$3.89 £2.92

$0.57 MX$10.47

582.46%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$146 £110

$27.82 MX$514

426.02%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$6.11 £4.58

$4.98 MX$92.1

22.69%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.68 £1.26

$3.50 MX$64.6

-52.00%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$21.44 £16.08

$5.40 MX$99.8

297.04%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$2.07 £1.55

$1.47 MX$27.08

40.82%

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

$35.0K £26.2K

$21.0K MX$387.8K

66.61%

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

$41.1K £30.9K

$23.9K MX$441.8K

72.03%

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

$244 £183

$84.2 MX$1,556

189.45%

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

$24.30 £18.23

$23.99 MX$443

1.29%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$38.52 £28.90

$29.02 MX$536

32.74%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$61.3 £45.99

$63.0 MX$1,164

-2.65%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$18.74 £14.06

$29.14 MX$539

-35.69%

Cinema Ticket

$21.45 £16.10

$4.94 MX$91.3

334.21%

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

$1,076 £808

$204 MX$3,763

428.66%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$19.8K £14.9K

$3,941 MX$72.8K

402.89%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$69.5 £52.1

$43.60 MX$806

59.33%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$31.50 £23.63

$43.12 MX$797

-26.95%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$76.7 £57.6

$75.8 MX$1,400

1.27%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$100 £75.1

$88.6 MX$1,637

13.03%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,115 £836

$1,008 MX$18.6K

10.55%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,133 £850

$374 MX$6,911

202.91%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,708 £1,282

$1,708 MX$31.6K

-0.01%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,425 £1,069

$1,106 MX$20.4K

28.83%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$6,328 £4,748

$3,944 MX$72.9K

60.44%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$4,671 £3,504

$6,169 MX$114.0K

-24.28%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$2,452 £1,840

$754 MX$13.9K

225.17%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

4.91

11.45

-57.12%

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

Last update for Ashford: October 10, 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

Ashford

$1.1K 46.7%

Playa del Carmen

$374 30.9% 67% $759

Eating Out

Ashford

$320 13.2%

Playa del Carmen

$202 16.7% 36.8% $118

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Ashford

$307 12.6%

Playa del Carmen

$137 11.3% 55.2% $169

Groceries & Markets

Ashford

$262 10.8%

Playa del Carmen

$258 21.4% 1.2% $3.1

Getting Around

Ashford

$176 7.3%

Playa del Carmen

$53 4.3% 70.2% $124

Clothing & Footwear

Ashford

$125 5.2%

Playa del Carmen

$113 9.3% 9.6% $12

Sport & Entertainment

Ashford

$104 4.3%

Playa del Carmen

$73 6% 30.1% $31

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,115 in Ashford and $1,008 in Playa del Carmen. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Ashford pays 225% 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: $80.0 in Ashford vs $43.00 in Playa del Carmen for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $262 vs $258 per month, with Playa del Carmen cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇬🇧 Ashford

🇲🇽 Playa del Carmen

🕒 Local time

04:44 4:44 AM

22:44 10:44 PM

6 h behind Ashford

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

58,936

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 20, 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 20, 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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Highest

Between locations

Ashford Playa del Carmen 8,100 km ≈ 11 h nonstop flight

From you

Ashford
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

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

Playa del Carmen is cheaper overall, especially in eating out, groceries, and transport. The 100% gap adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

Average pay runs 225% higher in Ashford, 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: $1,115 in Ashford versus $1,008 in Playa del Carmen. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Dining out is cheaper in Playa del Carmen – a meal for two runs $43.00 versus $80.0 in Ashford. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

All in, you'll spend $2,427 per month in Ashford versus $1,210 in Playa del Carmen – a 100% gap that adds up to real savings over time for anyone picking the cheaper option.

At $1,210 in Playa del Carmen versus $2,427 in Ashford, a $1,500 budget is realistic in Playa del Carmen but tight or insufficient in Ashford. The gap between the two cities makes Playa del Carmen the clear choice for anyone on this budget.

For families, Playa del Carmen is more practical. Housing and childcare are both notably cheaper than in Ashford, and the savings on those two alone free up budget for education, activities, and family trips.

Safety-wise, Ashford 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 100% less than in Ashford. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.