Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Bridgend and Playa del Carmen

For one person, living is cheaper in Playa del Carmen: $1,210 a month against $2,403 in Bridgend, rent and utilities included – about $14,300 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

118

Cost of Living Index in Bridgend
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Bridgend Living Index
59

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

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Bridgend

🇬🇧 United Kingdom

$2,403

/mo nomad

Playa del Carmen

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,210

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,403 in Bridgend versus $1,210 in Playa del Carmen.

Bridgend $2,403
Playa del Carmen $1,210

Estimated couple costs with rent: $3,539 in Bridgend versus $2,113 in Playa del Carmen.

Bridgend $3,539
Playa del Carmen $2,113

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $4,675 in Bridgend versus $3,016 in Playa del Carmen.

Bridgend $4,675
Playa del Carmen $3,016

Living in Bridgend is roughly 99% 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: Bridgend is 78% above, Playa del Carmen is 10% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$20.59 £15.44

$10.76 MX$199

91.36%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$86.1 £64.6

$43.03 MX$795

100.07%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$10.60 £7.95

$11.79 MX$218

-10.09%

Cappuccino

$4.86 £3.64

$3.87 MX$71.4

25.58%

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

$2.52 £1.89

$1.37 MX$25.29

83.94%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.79 £1.34

$0.84 MX$15.44

113.10%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$6.75 £5.06

$3.10 MX$57.3

117.74%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$6.37 £4.78

$5.07 MX$93.6

25.64%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.63 £1.23

$1.44 MX$26.55

13.19%

White Bread (500g)

$1.83 £1.37

$2.23 MX$41.23

-17.94%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.73 £2.05

$1.47 MX$27.17

85.71%

Eggs

$6.25 £4.69

$2.53 MX$46.71

147.04%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$9.23 £6.93

$7.30 MX$135

26.44%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$11.63 £8.72

$7.86 MX$145

47.96%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$14.48 £10.87

$12.79 MX$236

13.21%

Apples (1kg)

$2.95 £2.21

$2.90 MX$53.6

1.72%

Banana (1kg)

$1.55 £1.17

$1.44 MX$26.53

7.64%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.74 £2.05

$2.55 MX$47.07

7.45%

Tomato (1kg)

$3.30 £2.48

$2.06 MX$38.03

60.19%

Potato (1kg)

$1.67 £1.25

$2.00 MX$36.97

-16.50%

Onion (1kg)

$1.52 £1.14

$2.01 MX$37.07

-24.38%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.21 £0.90

$1.19 MX$22.02

1.68%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.58 £1.19

$1.26 MX$23.23

25.40%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$23.75 £17.82

$4.40 MX$81.4

439.77%

Wine (Bottle)

$10.44 £7.83

$9.59 MX$177

8.86%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.97 £2.23

$1.59 MX$29.41

86.79%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.19 £2.40

$2.81 MX$51.9

13.52%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$3.40 £2.55

$0.57 MX$10.47

496.49%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$97.9 £73.4

$27.82 MX$514

251.73%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$4.84 £3.63

$4.98 MX$92.1

-2.81%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$2.03 £1.52

$3.50 MX$64.6

-42.00%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$25.85 £19.39

$5.40 MX$99.8

378.70%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$2.02 £1.52

$1.47 MX$27.08

37.41%

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

$37.7K £28.3K

$21.0K MX$387.8K

79.60%

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

$50.8K £38.1K

$23.9K MX$441.8K

112.56%

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

$360 £270

$84.2 MX$1,556

327.54%

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

$25.43 £19.08

$23.99 MX$443

6.00%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$35.20 £26.40

$29.02 MX$536

21.30%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$47.82 £35.88

$63.0 MX$1,164

-24.07%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$10.51 £7.89

$29.14 MX$539

-63.93%

Cinema Ticket

$13.12 £9.85

$4.94 MX$91.3

165.59%

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

$1,617 £1,213

$204 MX$3,763

694.22%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$21.9K £16.5K

$3,941 MX$72.8K

456.69%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$87.5 £65.6

$43.60 MX$806

100.57%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$45.20 £33.91

$43.12 MX$797

4.82%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$88.1 £66.1

$75.8 MX$1,400

16.27%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$91.1 £68.3

$88.6 MX$1,637

2.81%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,219 £914

$1,008 MX$18.6K

20.88%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$998 £749

$374 MX$6,911

166.77%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,141 £856

$1,708 MX$31.6K

-33.24%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,671 £1,253

$1,106 MX$20.4K

51.04%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$5,014 £3,761

$3,944 MX$72.9K

27.11%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$3,851 £2,889

$6,169 MX$114.0K

-37.57%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$2,290 £1,718

$754 MX$13.9K

203.63%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

5.09

11.45

-55.55%

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

Last update for Bridgend: October 10, 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

Bridgend

$998 41.5%

Playa del Carmen

$374 30.9% 62.5% $624

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Bridgend

$421 17.5%

Playa del Carmen

$137 11.3% 67.4% $283

Groceries & Markets

Bridgend

$325 13.5%

Playa del Carmen

$258 21.4% 20.5% $67

Eating Out

Bridgend

$318 13.3%

Playa del Carmen

$202 16.7% 36.5% $116

Clothing & Footwear

Bridgend

$140 5.8%

Playa del Carmen

$113 9.3% 19.5% $27

Getting Around

Bridgend

$126 5.3%

Playa del Carmen

$53 4.3% 58.4% $74

Sport & Entertainment

Bridgend

$74 3.1%

Playa del Carmen

$73 6% 1.6% $1.2

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,219 in Bridgend and $1,008 in Playa del Carmen. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Bridgend pays 204% 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: $86.0 in Bridgend vs $43.00 in Playa del Carmen for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $325 vs $258 per month, with Playa del Carmen cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇬🇧 Bridgend

🇲🇽 Playa del Carmen

🕒 Local time

19:18 7:18 PM

13:18 1:18 PM

6 h behind Bridgend

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

46,757

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 19, 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 19, 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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Between locations

Bridgend Playa del Carmen 7,790 km ≈ 10 h nonstop flight

From you

Bridgend
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

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

Bridgend and Playa del Carmen differ by about 99% in total monthly costs ($2,403 vs $1,210 including rent). Playa del Carmen is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

Average pay runs 204% higher in Bridgend, 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: $1,219 in Bridgend versus $1,008 in Playa del Carmen. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $1,617 in Bridgend versus $204 in Playa del Carmen. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Supermarket bills run roughly 26% higher in Bridgend. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

At $1,210 in Playa del Carmen versus $2,403 in Bridgend, a $1,500 budget is realistic in Playa del Carmen but tight or insufficient in Bridgend. The gap between the two cities makes Playa del Carmen the clear choice for anyone on this budget.

Both cities offer a good standard of living with different trade-offs. Neither is objectively better – the right pick depends on what matters most: affordability, career, cultural scene, or climate.

Expats usually find Playa del Carmen gentler on the wallet – expenses run 99% less than in Bridgend. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.