Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Blackburn and Playa del Carmen

For one person, living is cheaper in Playa del Carmen: $1,204 a month against $2,051 in Blackburn, rent and utilities included – about $10,200 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

98

Cost of Living Index in Blackburn
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Blackburn Living Index
58

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

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Blackburn

🇬🇧 United Kingdom

$2,051

/mo nomad

Playa del Carmen

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,204

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

A single person spends $2,051 per month in Blackburn vs $1,204 in Playa del Carmen, rent included.

Blackburn $2,051
Playa del Carmen $1,204

A couple spends around $3,022 per month in Blackburn vs $2,082 in Playa del Carmen, rent included.

Blackburn $3,022
Playa del Carmen $2,082

A family of three spends $3,994 per month in Blackburn vs $2,959 in Playa del Carmen, rent included.

Blackburn $3,994
Playa del Carmen $2,959

Blackburn costs about 70% more than Playa del Carmen, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in transport.

Blackburn sits 51% above the global median, while Playa del Carmen is 12% below – they fall on opposite sides of the world average.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$14.47 £10.89

$10.92 MX$204

32.51%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$55.6 £41.88

$43.37 MX$808

28.29%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$8.49 £6.39

$11.78 MX$220

-27.93%

Cappuccino

$4.07 £3.07

$3.81 MX$71.0

6.82%

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

$2.62 £1.97

$1.28 MX$23.90

104.69%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.46 £1.10

$0.78 MX$14.59

87.18%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$4.25 £3.20

$3.17 MX$59.0

34.07%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$5.21 £3.92

$4.93 MX$92.0

5.68%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.67 £1.26

$1.41 MX$26.22

18.44%

White Bread (500g)

$1.50 £1.13

$2.22 MX$41.33

-32.43%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.38 £1.79

$1.42 MX$26.42

67.61%

Eggs

$3.65 £2.75

$2.52 MX$47.03

44.84%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$10.77 £8.10

$7.26 MX$135

48.35%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$8.57 £6.45

$7.70 MX$143

11.30%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$15.73 £11.84

$12.69 MX$237

23.96%

Apples (1kg)

$1.65 £1.24

$2.78 MX$51.9

-40.65%

Banana (1kg)

$1.64 £1.23

$1.37 MX$25.50

19.71%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.33 £1.75

$2.55 MX$47.55

-8.63%

Tomato (1kg)

$3.03 £2.28

$2.12 MX$39.58

42.92%

Potato (1kg)

$1.48 £1.12

$1.94 MX$36.13

-23.71%

Onion (1kg)

$1.51 £1.14

$1.89 MX$35.16

-20.11%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.45 £0.34

$1.15 MX$21.37

-60.87%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.70 £0.53

$1.18 MX$21.98

-40.68%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$20.06 £15.10

$4.30 MX$80.1

366.51%

Wine (Bottle)

$9.40 £7.07

$9.95 MX$185

-5.53%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.26 £1.70

$1.58 MX$29.52

43.04%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.05 £1.54

$2.67 MX$49.79

-23.22%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$2.73 £2.06

$0.55 MX$10.31

396.36%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$74.4 £56.0

$26.62 MX$496

179.34%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$2.72 £2.05

$4.97 MX$92.6

-45.27%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$2.07 £1.56

$3.33 MX$62.1

-37.84%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$18.21 £13.71

$5.36 MX$99.8

239.74%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$2.02 £1.52

$1.44 MX$26.92

40.28%

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

$38.9K £29.3K

$20.7K MX$385.2K

88.17%

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

$40.6K £30.6K

$23.5K MX$437.4K

73.13%

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

$246 £185

$84.8 MX$1,581

189.73%

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

$16.94 £12.75

$23.41 MX$436

-27.64%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$29.45 £22.16

$28.66 MX$534

2.76%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$44.49 £33.48

$57.1 MX$1,063

-22.02%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$12.03 £9.06

$28.91 MX$539

-58.39%

Cinema Ticket

$9.57 £7.20

$5.14 MX$95.8

86.19%

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

$1,052 £792

$207 MX$3,851

409.22%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$21.7K £16.4K

$3,927 MX$73.2K

453.37%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$89.5 £67.4

$43.35 MX$808

106.53%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$46.85 £35.26

$41.44 MX$772

13.06%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$88.9 £66.9

$74.2 MX$1,383

19.84%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$69.1 £52.0

$89.3 MX$1,664

-22.62%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,213 £913

$980 MX$18.3K

23.87%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$954 £718

$381 MX$7,099

150.38%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,873 £1,410

$1,708 MX$31.8K

9.67%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,655 £1,245

$1,075 MX$20.0K

53.91%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$5,107 £3,844

$3,943 MX$73.5K

29.53%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$3,845 £2,894

$6,158 MX$114.8K

-37.56%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$2,155 £1,622

$735 MX$13.7K

193.45%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

4.99

11.45

-56.42%

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

Last update for Blackburn: October 27, 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

Blackburn

$954 46.5%

Playa del Carmen

$381 31.6% 60.1% $573

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Blackburn

$292 14.2%

Playa del Carmen

$137 11.4% 53.1% $155

Groceries & Markets

Blackburn

$273 13.3%

Playa del Carmen

$255 21.2% 6.6% $18

Eating Out

Blackburn

$238 11.6%

Playa del Carmen

$202 16.8% 15% $36

Clothing & Footwear

Blackburn

$132 6.5%

Playa del Carmen

$112 9.3% 15.7% $21

Getting Around

Blackburn

$98 4.8%

Playa del Carmen

$50 4.2% 48.7% $48

Sport & Entertainment

Blackburn

$64 3.1%

Playa del Carmen

$67 5.6% 5.8% $3.7

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $1,213 in Blackburn 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 Blackburn are about 2.9 times higher. Purchasing power depends on which expenses matter most to you.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $56 in Blackburn versus $43 in Playa del Carmen. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $273 vs $255 – making Playa del Carmen the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇬🇧 Blackburn

🇲🇽 Playa del Carmen

🕒 Local time

22:13 10:13 PM

17:13 5:13 PM

5 h behind Blackburn

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

105,000

149,923

💱 Currency

British Pound GBP £

Mexican Peso MXN $

📈 Exchange rate

1 GBP = 1.33 USD

1 GBP = 1.19 EUR

100 MXN = 5.36 USD

100 MXN = 4.82 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 28, 2026: 1 USD = 0.753 GBP (1 GBP = 1.33 USD). 1 EUR = 0.838 GBP (1 GBP = 1.19 EUR).

Mexican Peso exchange rates as of October 28, 2026: 1 USD = 18.64 MXN (100 MXN = 5.36 USD). 1 EUR = 20.75 MXN (100 MXN = 4.82 EUR).

USD to GBP in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Blackburn Playa del Carmen 7,820 km ≈ 10 h nonstop flight

From you

Blackburn
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

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

Monthly costs with rent: $2,051 in Blackburn, $1,204 in Playa del Carmen – Playa del Carmen comes out roughly 41% cheaper. Outside of rent, the biggest gap is in transport.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $3,076 per month in Blackburn 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 $1,213 in Blackburn.

Monthly expenses with rent come to $2,051 in Blackburn and $1,204 in Playa del Carmen. That makes Playa del Carmen about 41% cheaper.

Public transport costs about 64% less in Playa del Carmen. For daily commuters, that gap adds up to noticeable savings over a year.

A $1,500 monthly budget goes further in Playa del Carmen, where all-in costs run around $1,204, than in Blackburn at $2,051. In Playa del Carmen it covers expenses comfortably, while in Blackburn 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, Blackburn makes more sense. Both are solid long-term options with distinct trade-offs.