Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Barry and Playa del Carmen

For one person, living is cheaper in Playa del Carmen: $1,204 a month against $2,367 in Barry, rent and utilities included – about $14,000 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

Barry, United Kingdom
Playa del Carmen, Mexico
Barry
🇬🇧 United Kingdom
$2,367
/mo nomad
Playa del Carmen
🇲🇽 Mexico
$1,204
/mo nomad
Monthly Cost of Living

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

A single person spends $2,367 per month in Barry vs $1,204 in Playa del Carmen, rent included.

  • Barry $2,367
  • Playa del Carmen $1,204

A couple spends around $3,494 per month in Barry vs $2,082 in Playa del Carmen, rent included.

  • Barry $3,494
  • Playa del Carmen $2,082

A family of three spends $4,621 per month in Barry vs $2,959 in Playa del Carmen, rent included.

  • Barry $4,621
  • Playa del Carmen $2,959

Barry costs about 97% more than Playa del Carmen, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Barry sits 74% above the global median, while Playa del Carmen is 12% below – they fall on opposite sides of the world average.

Currency
🍽 Eating Out
Barry
Playa del Carmen
Difference
Meal at Budget Restaurant
$24.07 £18.09
$10.92 MX$204
120.42%
Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range
$84.0 £63.2
$43.37 MX$810
93.75%
Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)
$10.72 £8.05
$11.78 MX$220
-9.00%
Cappuccino
$4.54 £3.41
$3.81 MX$71.2
19.16%
Coke/Pepsi/Fanta/Sprite (0.33 liter bottle)
$2.69 £2.02
$1.28 MX$23.96
110.16%
Water (0.33 liter bottle)
$2.03 £1.53
$0.78 MX$14.63
160.26%
Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)
$7.77 £5.84
$3.17 MX$59.2
145.11%
Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)
$6.63 £4.98
$4.93 MX$92.2
34.48%
🛒 Groceries & Markets
Barry
Playa del Carmen
Difference
Milk (1 liter)
$1.67 £1.26
$1.41 MX$26.28
18.44%
White Bread (500g)
$1.72 £1.29
$2.22 MX$41.43
-22.52%
Rice (white) (1kg)
$2.23 £1.67
$1.42 MX$26.48
57.04%
Eggs
$4.47 £3.36
$2.52 MX$47.14
77.38%
Local Cheese (1kg)
$8.10 £6.08
$7.26 MX$136
11.57%
Chicken Fillets (1kg)
$9.74 £7.32
$7.70 MX$144
26.49%
Beef Round Steak (1kg)
$13.10 £9.85
$12.69 MX$237
3.23%
Apples (1kg)
$2.69 £2.02
$2.78 MX$52.0
-3.24%
Banana (1kg)
$1.54 £1.16
$1.37 MX$25.56
12.41%
Oranges (1kg)
$3.02 £2.27
$2.55 MX$47.66
18.43%
Tomato (1kg)
$3.58 £2.69
$2.12 MX$39.67
68.87%
Potato (1kg)
$1.94 £1.46
$1.94 MX$36.22
-
Onion (1kg)
$1.51 £1.14
$1.89 MX$35.24
-20.11%
Lettuce (1 head)
$1.06 £0.80
$1.15 MX$21.42
-7.83%
Water (1.5 liter bottle)
$1.63 £1.23
$1.18 MX$22.03
38.14%
Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)
$23.68 £17.80
$4.30 MX$80.3
450.70%
Wine (Bottle)
$10.52 £7.91
$9.95 MX$186
5.73%
Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)
$3.06 £2.30
$1.58 MX$29.59
93.67%
Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)
$3.52 £2.65
$2.67 MX$49.91
31.84%
🚌 Getting Around
Barry
Playa del Carmen
Difference
One-way Ticket (Public Transport)
$3.68 £2.77
$0.55 MX$10.34
569.09%
Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)
$96.0 £72.1
$26.62 MX$497
260.56%
Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)
$4.52 £3.40
$4.97 MX$92.9
-9.05%
Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)
$1.69 £1.27
$3.33 MX$62.2
-49.25%
Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)
$27.05 £20.33
$5.36 MX$100
404.66%
Gasoline (1 liter)
$2.13 £1.60
$1.44 MX$26.98
47.92%
Midsize Hatchback 1.4l (Volkswagen Golf, Toyota Prius, Honda Civic, etc)
$39.0K £29.3K
$20.7K MX$386.2K
88.73%
Compact Sedan 1.6l (Toyota Corolla, Mazda3, Kia K4, Hyundai Elantra, etc)
$40.7K £30.6K
$23.5K MX$438.5K
73.34%
🧾 Monthly Utilities & Internet
Barry
Playa del Carmen
Difference
Utilities for 2 People in 2-bedroom Apartment (Heating, Electricity, Gas, Water, Garbage) (85m2)
$324 £244
$84.8 MX$1,584
282.45%
SIM Card Monthly Plan (Calls and 10GB+ Data)
$23.15 £17.40
$23.41 MX$437
-1.11%
Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)
$38.79 £29.16
$28.66 MX$535
35.35%
🎉 Sport & Entertainment
Barry
Playa del Carmen
Difference
Gym Membership (Monthly)
$45.41 £34.13
$57.1 MX$1,066
-20.40%
Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)
$5.94 £4.47
$28.91 MX$540
-79.45%
Cinema Ticket
$10.75 £8.08
$5.14 MX$96.0
109.14%
🧸 Childcare & Education
Barry
Playa del Carmen
Difference
Preschool or Kindergarten, Full Day, Private, 1 Child (Monthly)
$1,998 £1,502
$207 MX$3,860
867.24%
International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)
$25.4K £19.1K
$3,927 MX$73.4K
546.14%
👕👟 Clothing & Footwear
Barry
Playa del Carmen
Difference
Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)
$101 £76.1
$43.35 MX$810
133.43%
Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)
$48.63 £36.55
$41.44 MX$774
17.35%
Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)
$109 £81.9
$74.2 MX$1,386
46.81%
Men's Leather Business Shoes
$97.9 £73.6
$89.3 MX$1,668
9.70%
🏠 Accommodation & Living
Barry
Playa del Carmen
Difference
1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)
$1,188 £893
$980 MX$18.3K
21.23%
1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)
$977 £735
$381 MX$7,116
156.66%
3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)
$2,111 £1,586
$1,708 MX$31.9K
23.58%
3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)
$1,636 £1,229
$1,075 MX$20.1K
52.16%
Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)
$5,049 £3,794
$3,943 MX$73.7K
28.04%
Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)
$3,915 £2,942
$6,158 MX$115.1K
-36.43%
💵 Salaries & Financials
Barry
Playa del Carmen
Difference
Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)
-
$735 MX$13.7K
-
20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)
4.87
11.45
-57.47%

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

Last update for Barry: 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
Barry
$977
Playa del Carmen
$381 61% $597
Monthly Utilities & Internet
Barry
$386
Playa del Carmen
$137 64.6% $249
Eating Out
Barry
$350
Playa del Carmen
$202 42.2% $148
Groceries & Markets
Barry
$302
Playa del Carmen
$255 15.6% $47
Clothing & Footwear
Barry
$161
Playa del Carmen
$112 30.4% $49
Getting Around
Barry
$124
Playa del Carmen
$50 59.2% $73
Sport & Entertainment
Barry
$67
Playa del Carmen
$67 0.6% $0.4

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $1,188 in Barry 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 $84 in Barry versus $43 in Playa del Carmen. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $302 vs $255 – making Playa del Carmen the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know
🇬🇧 Barry
🇲🇽 Playa del Carmen
🕒 Local time
11:20 11:20 AM
06:20 6:20 AM
5 h behind Barry
🌤 Weather
👥 Population
54,673
149,923
💱 Currency
Exchange rates and currency converter

MXN, USD, EUR to GBP – British Pound Converter

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).

On the map
Between locations
  • Barry Playa del Carmen 7,810 km ≈ 10 h nonstop flight
From you
  • Barry
  • 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
Barry vs Playa del Carmen: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions
Is Playa del Carmen cheaper than Barry?
Yes – Barry is pricier by about 97%, and outside of rent the gap shows up most in eating out.
What income do you need for each city?
For a comfortable life, plan on about $3,550 per month in Barry and $1,806 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: a one-bedroom in the center costs $980 there versus $1,188 in Barry.
Which city has cheaper kindergarten?
Kindergarten costs $1,998 per month in Barry and $207 in Playa del Carmen. For families with young kids, this one expense can tip the scales when choosing between the two cities.
How do food prices compare in Barry and in Playa del Carmen?
Groceries cost about 18% more in Barry, though it depends on what you buy. Local produce may be comparable; imported and premium items show the biggest price gap.
Is $1,500 a realistic budget for living in Barry or in Playa del Carmen?
A $1,500 monthly budget goes further in Playa del Carmen, where all-in costs run around $1,204, than in Barry at $2,367. In Playa del Carmen it covers expenses comfortably, while in Barry it requires careful planning or may not stretch far enough.
Is Barry 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 easier to live in as a foreigner?
For expats, Playa del Carmen is the easier option financially – housing and daily costs are lower, and the 97% gap matters a lot on a fixed budget or early-career salary.

Barry vs other spots: cost of living compared

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