Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Basildon and Playa del Carmen

For one person, living is cheaper in Playa del Carmen: $1,204 a month against $2,374 in Basildon, rent and utilities included – about $14,000 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

115

Cost of Living Index in Basildon
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Basildon Living Index
58

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

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Basildon

🇬🇧 United Kingdom

$2,374

/mo nomad

Playa del Carmen

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,204

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

A single person spends $2,374 per month in Basildon vs $1,204 in Playa del Carmen, rent included.

Basildon $2,374
Playa del Carmen $1,204

A couple spends around $3,407 per month in Basildon vs $2,082 in Playa del Carmen, rent included.

Basildon $3,407
Playa del Carmen $2,082

A family of three spends $4,441 per month in Basildon vs $2,959 in Playa del Carmen, rent included.

Basildon $4,441
Playa del Carmen $2,959

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

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

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$20.45 £15.28

$10.92 MX$205

87.27%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$59.5 £44.45

$43.37 MX$815

37.19%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$9.14 £6.83

$11.78 MX$221

-22.41%

Cappuccino

$4.76 £3.56

$3.81 MX$71.6

24.93%

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

$3.21 £2.40

$1.28 MX$24.10

150.78%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.57 £1.17

$0.78 MX$14.71

101.28%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$6.78 £5.06

$3.17 MX$59.5

113.88%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.92 £2.93

$4.93 MX$92.7

-20.49%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.32 £0.98

$1.41 MX$26.43

-6.38%

White Bread (500g)

$2.10 £1.57

$2.22 MX$41.66

-5.41%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.52 £1.13

$1.42 MX$26.64

7.04%

Eggs

$4.05 £3.02

$2.52 MX$47.41

60.71%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$8.53 £6.37

$7.26 MX$137

17.49%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$4.63 £3.46

$7.70 MX$145

-39.87%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$11.84 £8.84

$12.69 MX$239

-6.70%

Apples (1kg)

$3.14 £2.35

$2.78 MX$52.3

12.95%

Banana (1kg)

$1.30 £0.97

$1.37 MX$25.71

-5.11%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.99 £1.49

$2.55 MX$47.94

-21.96%

Tomato (1kg)

$3.26 £2.43

$2.12 MX$39.90

53.77%

Potato (1kg)

$1.56 £1.17

$1.94 MX$36.43

-19.59%

Onion (1kg)

$1.85 £1.38

$1.89 MX$35.44

-2.12%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.06 £0.79

$1.15 MX$21.55

-7.83%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.18 £0.89

$1.18 MX$22.16

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$20.22 £15.11

$4.30 MX$80.7

370.23%

Wine (Bottle)

$10.71 £8.00

$9.95 MX$187

7.64%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.34 £1.75

$1.58 MX$29.76

48.10%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.63 £1.21

$2.67 MX$50.2

-38.95%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$2.68 £2.00

$0.55 MX$10.40

387.27%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$67.6 £50.5

$26.62 MX$500

154.09%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$5.30 £3.96

$4.97 MX$93.4

6.64%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$3.33 MX$62.6

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$5.36 MX$101

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.93 £1.44

$1.44 MX$27.14

34.03%

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

$38.2K £28.5K

$20.7K MX$388.4K

84.84%

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

$40.3K £30.1K

$23.5K MX$441.0K

71.81%

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

$284 £212

$84.8 MX$1,594

234.78%

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

$13.36 £9.98

$23.41 MX$440

-42.93%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$35.04 £26.18

$28.66 MX$539

22.26%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$44.46 £33.21

$57.1 MX$1,072

-22.07%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$27.04 £20.20

$28.91 MX$543

-6.47%

Cinema Ticket

$14.08 £10.52

$5.14 MX$96.6

173.93%

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

$2,229 £1,665

$207 MX$3,882

979.12%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$29.2K £21.8K

$3,927 MX$73.8K

643.81%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$75.6 £56.5

$43.35 MX$815

74.46%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$52.4 £39.15

$41.44 MX$779

26.47%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$54.3 £40.57

$74.2 MX$1,394

-26.82%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$52.8 £39.44

$89.3 MX$1,677

-40.85%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,677 £1,253

$980 MX$18.4K

71.17%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,219 £911

$381 MX$7,157

220.14%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,358 £1,762

$1,708 MX$32.1K

38.05%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$2,012 £1,503

$1,075 MX$20.2K

87.10%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$5,273 £3,939

$3,943 MX$74.1K

33.73%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$3,358 £2,509

$6,158 MX$115.7K

-45.47%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$2,893 £2,162

$735 MX$13.8K

293.92%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

5.4

11.45

-52.84%

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

Last update for Basildon: October 25, 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

Basildon

$1.2K 51.4%

Playa del Carmen

$381 31.6% 68.8% $838

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Basildon

$332 14%

Playa del Carmen

$137 11.4% 58.8% $195

Eating Out

Basildon

$309 13%

Playa del Carmen

$202 16.8% 34.5% $107

Groceries & Markets

Basildon

$252 10.6%

Playa del Carmen

$255 21.2% 1.2% $3.1

Clothing & Footwear

Basildon

$106 4.5%

Playa del Carmen

$112 9.3% 5.6% $5.9

Getting Around

Basildon

$84 * 3.5%

Playa del Carmen

$50 4.2% 39.7% $33

Sport & Entertainment

Basildon

$73 3.1%

Playa del Carmen

$67 5.6% 7.3% $5.3

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

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $1,677 in Basildon 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.

Salaries in Basildon are about 3.9 times higher. Purchasing power depends on which expenses matter most to you.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $59 in Basildon versus $43 in Playa del Carmen. Groceries tell a different story – $252 in Basildon vs $255 in Playa del Carmen – so Basildon wins on supermarket bills even if dining out costs more.

Good to know

🇬🇧 Basildon

🇲🇽 Playa del Carmen

🕒 Local time

05:21 5:21 AM

00:21 12:21 AM

5 h behind Basildon

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

184,479

149,923

💱 Currency

British Pound GBP £

Mexican Peso MXN $

📈 Exchange rate

1 GBP = 1.34 USD

1 GBP = 1.2 EUR

100 MXN = 5.32 USD

100 MXN = 4.77 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 November 2, 2026: 1 USD = 0.747 GBP (1 GBP = 1.34 USD). 1 EUR = 0.834 GBP (1 GBP = 1.2 EUR).

Mexican Peso exchange rates as of November 2, 2026: 1 USD = 18.79 MXN (100 MXN = 5.32 USD). 1 EUR = 20.98 MXN (100 MXN = 4.77 EUR).

USD to GBP in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Basildon Playa del Carmen 8,060 km ≈ 11 h nonstop flight

From you

Basildon
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

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

Basildon costs about 97% more than Playa del Carmen, and outside of rent the gap comes mainly from eating out. That’s enough to noticeably affect everyday spending and lifestyle for anyone choosing between the two.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $3,561 per month in Basildon 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 $1,677 in Basildon.

Monthly expenses with rent come to $2,374 in Basildon and $1,204 in Playa del Carmen. That makes Playa del Carmen about 49% cheaper.

Kindergarten costs $2,229 per month in Basildon 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 Basildon at $2,374. In Playa del Carmen it covers expenses comfortably, while in Basildon 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 or specific career opportunities are the priority, Basildon makes more sense. Both are solid long-term options with distinct trade-offs.