Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Basingstoke and Playa del Carmen

For one person, living is cheaper in Playa del Carmen: $1,210 a month against $2,488 in Basingstoke, rent and utilities included – about $15,300 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

122

Cost of Living Index in Basingstoke
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Basingstoke Living Index
59

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

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Basingstoke

🇬🇧 United Kingdom

$2,488

/mo nomad

Playa del Carmen

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,210

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

A single person spends $2,488 per month in Basingstoke vs $1,210 in Playa del Carmen, rent included.

Basingstoke $2,488
Playa del Carmen $1,210

A couple spends around $3,772 per month in Basingstoke vs $2,113 in Playa del Carmen, rent included.

Basingstoke $3,772
Playa del Carmen $2,113

A family of three spends $5,056 per month in Basingstoke vs $3,016 in Playa del Carmen, rent included.

Basingstoke $5,056
Playa del Carmen $3,016

Basingstoke costs about 106% more than Playa del Carmen, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in transport.

Basingstoke sits 84% above the global median, while Playa del Carmen is 10% below – they fall on opposite sides of the world average.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$19.56 £14.68

$10.76 MX$199

81.78%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$89.5 £67.2

$43.03 MX$795

108.02%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$10.26 £7.70

$11.79 MX$218

-12.98%

Cappuccino

$4.68 £3.51

$3.87 MX$71.4

20.93%

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

$2.93 £2.20

$1.37 MX$25.29

113.87%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.73 £1.29

$0.84 MX$15.44

105.95%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$6.16 £4.62

$3.10 MX$57.3

98.71%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$6.52 £4.89

$5.07 MX$93.6

28.60%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.50 £1.13

$1.44 MX$26.55

4.17%

White Bread (500g)

$1.65 £1.24

$2.23 MX$41.23

-26.01%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.79 £1.34

$1.47 MX$27.17

21.77%

Eggs

$3.70 £2.78

$2.53 MX$46.71

46.25%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$11.31 £8.49

$7.30 MX$135

54.93%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$8.24 £6.18

$7.86 MX$145

4.83%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$12.45 £9.34

$12.79 MX$236

-2.66%

Apples (1kg)

$2.97 £2.23

$2.90 MX$53.6

2.41%

Banana (1kg)

$1.64 £1.23

$1.44 MX$26.53

13.89%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.74 £2.05

$2.55 MX$47.07

7.45%

Tomato (1kg)

$3.18 £2.38

$2.06 MX$38.03

54.37%

Potato (1kg)

$2.10 £1.58

$2.00 MX$36.97

5.00%

Onion (1kg)

$1.70 £1.27

$2.01 MX$37.07

-15.42%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.97 £1.48

$1.19 MX$22.02

65.55%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.75 £1.31

$1.26 MX$23.23

38.89%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$23.17 £17.39

$4.40 MX$81.4

426.59%

Wine (Bottle)

$13.34 £10.00

$9.59 MX$177

39.10%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.89 £2.17

$1.59 MX$29.41

81.76%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.07 £2.30

$2.81 MX$51.9

9.25%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$4.04 £3.03

$0.57 MX$10.47

608.77%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$169 £126

$27.82 MX$514

505.75%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$6.50 £4.88

$4.98 MX$92.1

30.52%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$2.31 £1.73

$3.50 MX$64.6

-34.00%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$13.20 £9.90

$5.40 MX$99.8

144.44%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.92 £1.44

$1.47 MX$27.08

30.61%

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

$37.8K £28.4K

$21.0K MX$387.8K

80.08%

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

$40.1K £30.1K

$23.9K MX$441.8K

67.77%

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

$271 £203

$84.2 MX$1,556

221.92%

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

$15.83 £11.88

$23.99 MX$443

-34.01%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$44.24 £33.19

$29.02 MX$536

52.45%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$58.5 £43.86

$63.0 MX$1,164

-7.16%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$26.70 £20.03

$29.14 MX$539

-8.37%

Cinema Ticket

$13.23 £9.92

$4.94 MX$91.3

167.81%

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

$1,209 £907

$204 MX$3,763

493.76%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$5,427 £4,071

$3,941 MX$72.8K

37.70%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$89.5 £67.1

$43.60 MX$806

105.28%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$53.6 £40.17

$43.12 MX$797

24.19%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$105 £78.9

$75.8 MX$1,400

38.85%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$108 £80.9

$88.6 MX$1,637

21.65%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,267 £951

$1,008 MX$18.6K

25.71%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,100 £825

$374 MX$6,911

194.09%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,184 £1,638

$1,708 MX$31.6K

27.83%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,989 £1,492

$1,106 MX$20.4K

79.84%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$8,430 £6,324

$3,944 MX$72.9K

113.72%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$7,762 £5,823

$6,169 MX$114.0K

25.82%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$3,698 £2,774

$754 MX$13.9K

390.32%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

5.07

11.45

-55.72%

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

Last update for Basingstoke: October 13, 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

Basingstoke

$1.1K 44.2%

Playa del Carmen

$374 30.9% 66% $726

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Basingstoke

$331 13.3%

Playa del Carmen

$137 11.3% 58.6% $194

Eating Out

Basingstoke

$306 12.3%

Playa del Carmen

$202 16.7% 33.9% $104

Groceries & Markets

Basingstoke

$303 12.2%

Playa del Carmen

$258 21.4% 14.8% $45

Getting Around

Basingstoke

$203 8.2%

Playa del Carmen

$53 4.3% 74.1% $150

Clothing & Footwear

Basingstoke

$160 6.4%

Playa del Carmen

$113 9.3% 29.5% $47

Sport & Entertainment

Basingstoke

$85 3.4%

Playa del Carmen

$73 6% 14.2% $12

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $1,267 in Basingstoke versus $1,008 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 390% higher in Basingstoke, 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 $90.0 in Basingstoke versus $43.00 in Playa del Carmen. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $303 vs $258 – making Playa del Carmen the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇬🇧 Basingstoke

🇲🇽 Playa del Carmen

🕒 Local time

03:27 3:27 AM

21:27 9:27 PM

6 h behind Basingstoke

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

107,355

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 18, 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 18, 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

Basingstoke Playa del Carmen 7,960 km ≈ 10 h nonstop flight

From you

Basingstoke
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

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

Yes – Basingstoke is pricier by about 106%, and outside of rent the gap shows up most in transport.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $3,732 per month in Basingstoke and $1,816 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.

Kindergarten costs $1,209 per month in Basingstoke and $204 in Playa del Carmen. For families with young kids, this one expense can tip the scales when choosing between the two cities.

Groceries cost about 17% more in Basingstoke, 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 $1,210, than in Basingstoke at $2,488. In Playa del Carmen it covers expenses comfortably, while in Basingstoke 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.

Both have safer and rougher neighborhoods, but overall safety is comparable to other large cities. Neighborhood choice matters more than the city-level comparison – central, well-trafficked areas feel secure in both.

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