Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Bath and Playa del Carmen

For one person, living is cheaper in Playa del Carmen: $1,204 a month against $2,794 in Bath, rent and utilities included – about $19,100 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

134

Cost of Living Index in Bath
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Bath Living Index
59

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

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Bath

🇬🇧 United Kingdom

$2,794

/mo nomad

Playa del Carmen

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,204

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,794 in Bath versus $1,204 in Playa del Carmen.

Bath $2,794
Playa del Carmen $1,204

Estimated couple costs with rent: $4,002 in Bath versus $2,102 in Playa del Carmen.

Bath $4,002
Playa del Carmen $2,102

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $5,210 in Bath versus $3,000 in Playa del Carmen.

Bath $5,210
Playa del Carmen $3,000

Living in Bath is roughly 132% more expensive than in Playa del Carmen, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Bath is 106% above, Playa del Carmen is 11% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$23.73 £17.80

$10.86 MX$201

118.51%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$101 £75.8

$44.21 MX$817

128.68%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$10.78 £8.09

$11.76 MX$217

-8.33%

Cappuccino

$5.14 £3.86

$3.68 MX$68.0

39.67%

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

$2.59 £1.95

$1.34 MX$24.79

93.28%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.85 £1.39

$0.82 MX$15.24

125.61%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$7.81 £5.86

$3.06 MX$56.6

155.23%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$6.46 £4.85

$4.94 MX$91.2

30.77%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.57 £1.18

$1.47 MX$27.17

6.80%

White Bread (500g)

$1.70 £1.28

$2.22 MX$40.95

-23.42%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.02 £1.52

$1.48 MX$27.32

36.49%

Eggs

$4.24 £3.18

$2.49 MX$45.99

70.28%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$8.48 £6.36

$7.52 MX$139

12.77%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.69 £7.27

$7.96 MX$147

21.73%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$13.05 £9.79

$12.57 MX$232

3.82%

Apples (1kg)

$4.22 £3.16

$2.78 MX$51.3

51.80%

Banana (1kg)

$1.81 £1.36

$1.43 MX$26.37

26.57%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.71 £2.03

$2.62 MX$48.37

3.44%

Tomato (1kg)

$4.00 £3.00

$2.14 MX$39.49

86.92%

Potato (1kg)

$2.08 £1.56

$2.02 MX$37.38

2.97%

Onion (1kg)

$1.71 £1.28

$1.99 MX$36.74

-14.07%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.22 £0.91

$1.14 MX$21.01

7.02%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.96 £1.47

$1.20 MX$22.18

63.33%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$23.05 £17.29

$4.26 MX$78.7

441.08%

Wine (Bottle)

$10.68 £8.01

$10.02 MX$185

6.59%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.85 £2.14

$1.54 MX$28.41

85.06%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.20 £2.40

$2.66 MX$49.17

20.30%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$3.56 £2.67

$0.53 MX$9.73

571.70%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$127 £95.6

$27.51 MX$508

363.40%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.36 £2.52

$4.90 MX$90.6

-31.43%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.71 £1.28

$3.43 MX$63.5

-50.15%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$26.26 £19.70

$5.38 MX$99.4

388.10%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$2.08 £1.56

$1.45 MX$26.76

43.45%

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

$37.8K £28.4K

$21.2K MX$391.0K

78.78%

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

$40.3K £30.3K

$23.0K MX$425.3K

75.29%

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

$300 £225

$85.4 MX$1,577

251.79%

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

$19.61 £14.71

$23.46 MX$434

-16.41%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$38.83 £29.13

$28.43 MX$525

36.58%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$45.16 £33.88

$62.2 MX$1,149

-27.38%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$19.59 £14.70

$28.68 MX$530

-31.69%

Cinema Ticket

$15.03 £11.28

$5.10 MX$94.3

194.71%

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

$1,631 £1,224

$201 MX$3,715

711.11%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$25.1K £18.9K

$3,947 MX$72.9K

536.85%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$83.6 £62.7

$44.39 MX$820

88.24%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$30.68 £23.02

$41.35 MX$764

-25.80%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$99.0 £74.3

$72.7 MX$1,344

36.14%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$82.9 £62.2

$89.6 MX$1,656

-7.53%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,804 £1,353

$979 MX$18.1K

84.19%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,406 £1,055

$373 MX$6,887

277.14%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$3,506 £2,630

$1,681 MX$31.1K

108.60%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$2,105 £1,579

$1,095 MX$20.2K

92.20%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$9,965 £7,476

$3,949 MX$73.0K

152.34%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$6,723 £5,043

$6,137 MX$113.4K

9.55%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$3,687 £2,766

$738 MX$13.6K

399.90%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

5.11

11.45

-55.37%

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

Last update for Bath: October 18, 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

Bath

$1.4K 50.3%

Playa del Carmen

$373 31% 73.5% $1K

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Bath

$359 12.8%

Playa del Carmen

$137 11.4% 61.7% $221

Eating Out

Bath

$354 12.7%

Playa del Carmen

$200 16.6% 43.4% $153

Groceries & Markets

Bath

$314 11.2%

Playa del Carmen

$258 21.5% 17.6% $55

Getting Around

Bath

$154 5.5%

Playa del Carmen

$52 4.3% 66.4% $102

Clothing & Footwear

Bath

$133 4.8%

Playa del Carmen

$112 9.3% 16.2% $22

Sport & Entertainment

Bath

$75 2.7%

Playa del Carmen

$72 6% 3.8% $2.8

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,804 in Bath and $979 in Playa del Carmen. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Bath pays 400% 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: $101 in Bath vs $44.00 in Playa del Carmen for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $314 vs $258 per month, with Playa del Carmen cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇬🇧 Bath

🇲🇽 Playa del Carmen

🕒 Local time

12:42 12:42 PM

06:42 6:42 AM

6 h behind Bath

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

88,859

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 22, 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 22, 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

Bath Playa del Carmen 7,870 km ≈ 10 h nonstop flight

From you

Bath
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

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

Playa del Carmen is cheaper overall, especially in eating out, groceries, and transport. The 132% gap adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

Average pay runs 400% higher in Bath, 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: $1,804 in Bath versus $979 in Playa del Carmen. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

All in, you'll spend $2,794 per month in Bath versus $1,204 in Playa del Carmen – a 132% gap that adds up to real savings over time for anyone picking the cheaper option.

A monthly transit pass in Playa del Carmen runs roughly 363% less than in Bath. Both cities have functional networks, but the price difference matters if you're watching your budget.

At $1,204 in Playa del Carmen versus $2,794 in Bath, a $1,500 budget is realistic in Playa del Carmen but tight or insufficient in Bath. 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 Bath, and the savings on those two alone free up budget for education, activities, and family trips.

Expats usually find Playa del Carmen gentler on the wallet – expenses run 132% less than in Bath. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.