Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Barnet and Playa del Carmen

For one person, living is cheaper in Playa del Carmen: $1,204 a month against $2,941 in Barnet, rent and utilities included – about $20,800 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

141

Cost of Living Index in Barnet
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Barnet Living Index
59

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

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Barnet

🇬🇧 United Kingdom

$2,941

/mo nomad

Playa del Carmen

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,204

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

A single person spends $2,941 per month in Barnet vs $1,204 in Playa del Carmen, rent included.

Barnet $2,941
Playa del Carmen $1,204

A couple spends around $4,337 per month in Barnet vs $2,102 in Playa del Carmen, rent included.

Barnet $4,337
Playa del Carmen $2,102

A family of three spends $5,732 per month in Barnet vs $3,000 in Playa del Carmen, rent included.

Barnet $5,732
Playa del Carmen $3,000

Barnet costs about 144% more than Playa del Carmen, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Barnet sits 117% above the global median, while Playa del Carmen is 11% below – they fall on opposite sides of the world average.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$23.54 £17.66

$10.86 MX$201

116.76%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$92.0 £69.0

$44.21 MX$817

108.10%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$10.76 £8.07

$11.76 MX$217

-8.50%

Cappuccino

$5.76 £4.32

$3.68 MX$68.0

56.52%

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

$2.89 £2.17

$1.34 MX$24.79

115.67%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.93 £1.45

$0.82 MX$15.24

135.37%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$7.99 £6.00

$3.06 MX$56.6

161.11%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$6.56 £4.92

$4.94 MX$91.2

32.79%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.64 £1.23

$1.47 MX$27.17

11.56%

White Bread (500g)

$1.79 £1.34

$2.22 MX$40.95

-19.37%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.52 £1.89

$1.48 MX$27.32

70.27%

Eggs

$4.82 £3.61

$2.49 MX$45.99

93.57%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$11.56 £8.67

$7.52 MX$139

53.72%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$10.61 £7.96

$7.96 MX$147

33.29%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$17.26 £12.95

$12.57 MX$232

37.31%

Apples (1kg)

$3.03 £2.27

$2.78 MX$51.3

8.99%

Banana (1kg)

$1.76 £1.32

$1.43 MX$26.37

23.08%

Oranges (1kg)

$3.05 £2.29

$2.62 MX$48.37

16.41%

Tomato (1kg)

$3.46 £2.60

$2.14 MX$39.49

61.68%

Potato (1kg)

$1.82 £1.36

$2.02 MX$37.38

-9.90%

Onion (1kg)

$1.83 £1.37

$1.99 MX$36.74

-8.04%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.24 £0.93

$1.14 MX$21.01

8.77%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.80 £1.35

$1.20 MX$22.18

50.00%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$24.04 £18.04

$4.26 MX$78.7

464.32%

Wine (Bottle)

$12.00 £9.00

$10.02 MX$185

19.76%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$3.21 £2.41

$1.54 MX$28.41

108.44%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.53 £3.40

$2.66 MX$49.17

70.30%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$2.29 £1.72

$0.53 MX$9.73

332.08%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$27.51 MX$508

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$5.57 £4.18

$4.90 MX$90.6

13.67%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$2.63 £1.97

$3.43 MX$63.5

-23.32%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$50.1 £37.56

$5.38 MX$99.4

830.48%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$2.07 £1.56

$1.45 MX$26.76

42.76%

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

$38.8K £29.1K

$21.2K MX$391.0K

83.46%

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

$41.1K £30.8K

$23.0K MX$425.3K

78.46%

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

$338 £253

$85.4 MX$1,577

295.50%

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

$18.82 £14.12

$23.46 MX$434

-19.78%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$40.52 £30.40

$28.43 MX$525

42.53%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$62.2 MX$1,149

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$28.68 MX$530

Cinema Ticket

$17.19 £12.90

$5.10 MX$94.3

237.06%

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

$2,564 £1,924

$201 MX$3,715

1175.16%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$35.2K £26.4K

$3,947 MX$72.9K

791.25%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$90.1 £67.6

$44.39 MX$820

103.06%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$46.56 £34.93

$41.35 MX$764

12.60%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$92.0 £69.0

$72.7 MX$1,344

26.46%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$129 £96.6

$89.6 MX$1,656

43.72%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,984 £1,488

$979 MX$18.1K

102.57%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,616 £1,213

$373 MX$6,887

333.65%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$3,261 £2,446

$1,681 MX$31.1K

93.98%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$2,847 £2,136

$1,095 MX$20.2K

159.92%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$14.2K £10.7K

$3,949 MX$73.0K

260.32%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$14.4K £10.8K

$6,137 MX$113.4K

135.22%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$2,685 £2,015

$738 MX$13.6K

264.10%

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 Barnet: October 20, 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

Barnet

$1.6K 55%

Playa del Carmen

$373 31% 76.9% $1.2K

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Barnet

$397 13.5%

Playa del Carmen

$137 11.4% 65.4% $260

Eating Out

Barnet

$362 12.3%

Playa del Carmen

$200 16.6% 44.7% $162

Groceries & Markets

Barnet

$343 11.7%

Playa del Carmen

$258 21.5% 24.7% $85

Clothing & Footwear

Barnet

$161 5.5%

Playa del Carmen

$112 9.3% 30.6% $49

Sport & Entertainment

Barnet

$34 * 1.2%

Playa del Carmen

$72 6% 111% $38

Getting Around

Barnet

$28 * 1%

Playa del Carmen

$52 4.3% 85.5% $24

Categories marked with * are only partly priced – their share counts the items that do have prices.

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $1,984 in Barnet versus $979 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 264% higher in Barnet, 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 $92.0 in Barnet versus $44.00 in Playa del Carmen. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $343 vs $258 – making Playa del Carmen the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇬🇧 Barnet

🇲🇽 Playa del Carmen

🕒 Local time

01:28 1:28 AM

19:28 7:28 PM

6 h behind Barnet

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

111,973

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 21, 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 21, 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

Barnet Playa del Carmen 8,010 km ≈ 11 h nonstop flight

From you

Barnet
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

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

Yes – Barnet is pricier by about 144%, and outside of rent the gap shows up most in eating out.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $4,412 per month in Barnet 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. Housing is actually the single biggest factor behind the overall cost gap between these two cities.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $92.0 in Barnet and $44.00 in Playa del Carmen. That's a good indicator of the overall restaurant and café pricing gap between the two cities.

Groceries cost about 33% more in Barnet, though it depends on what you buy. Local produce may be comparable; imported and premium items show the biggest price gap.

A $1,500 monthly budget goes further in Playa del Carmen, where all-in costs run around $1,204, than in Barnet at $2,941. In Playa del Carmen it covers expenses comfortably, while in Barnet 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.

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