Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Brighton and Playa del Carmen

For one person, living is cheaper in Playa del Carmen: $1,204 a month against $2,950 in Brighton, rent and utilities included – about $21,000 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

143

Cost of Living Index in Brighton
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Brighton Living Index
59

Cost of Living Index in Playa del Carmen
Learn more

Playa del Carmen Living Index

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Brighton

🇬🇧 United Kingdom

$2,950

/mo nomad

Playa del Carmen

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,204

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,950 in Brighton versus $1,204 in Playa del Carmen.

Brighton $2,950
Playa del Carmen $1,204

Estimated couple costs with rent: $4,214 in Brighton versus $2,102 in Playa del Carmen.

Brighton $4,214
Playa del Carmen $2,102

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $5,479 in Brighton versus $3,000 in Playa del Carmen.

Brighton $5,479
Playa del Carmen $3,000

Living in Brighton is roughly 145% 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: Brighton is 118% above, Playa del Carmen is 11% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$25.54 £19.16

$10.86 MX$201

135.17%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$92.8 £69.6

$44.21 MX$817

109.88%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$9.77 £7.33

$11.76 MX$217

-16.92%

Cappuccino

$5.33 £4.00

$3.68 MX$68.0

44.84%

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

$3.93 £2.95

$1.34 MX$24.79

193.28%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.33 £2.50

$0.82 MX$15.24

306.10%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$8.96 £6.72

$3.06 MX$56.6

192.81%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$9.49 £7.12

$4.94 MX$91.2

92.11%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.95 £1.47

$1.47 MX$27.17

32.65%

White Bread (500g)

$2.06 £1.54

$2.22 MX$40.95

-7.21%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.12 £1.59

$1.48 MX$27.32

43.24%

Eggs

$4.53 £3.40

$2.49 MX$45.99

81.93%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$12.10 £9.08

$7.52 MX$139

60.90%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.40 £7.05

$7.96 MX$147

18.09%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$15.08 £11.31

$12.57 MX$232

19.97%

Apples (1kg)

$2.95 £2.22

$2.78 MX$51.3

6.12%

Banana (1kg)

$1.91 £1.43

$1.43 MX$26.37

33.57%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.90 £2.17

$2.62 MX$48.37

10.69%

Tomato (1kg)

$3.76 £2.82

$2.14 MX$39.49

75.70%

Potato (1kg)

$2.24 £1.68

$2.02 MX$37.38

10.89%

Onion (1kg)

$1.80 £1.35

$1.99 MX$36.74

-9.55%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.20 £0.90

$1.14 MX$21.01

5.26%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.65 £1.24

$1.20 MX$22.18

37.50%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$23.98 £17.99

$4.26 MX$78.7

462.91%

Wine (Bottle)

$11.11 £8.33

$10.02 MX$185

10.88%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$3.08 £2.31

$1.54 MX$28.41

100.00%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.24 £2.43

$2.66 MX$49.17

21.80%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$3.94 £2.96

$0.53 MX$9.73

643.40%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$128 £96.4

$27.51 MX$508

366.99%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$5.07 £3.81

$4.90 MX$90.6

3.47%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$2.62 £1.96

$3.43 MX$63.5

-23.62%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$39.62 £29.72

$5.38 MX$99.4

636.43%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$2.09 £1.57

$1.45 MX$26.76

44.14%

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

$38.4K £28.8K

$21.2K MX$391.0K

81.52%

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

$41.1K £30.9K

$23.0K MX$425.3K

78.72%

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

$291 £218

$85.4 MX$1,577

240.99%

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

$16.90 £12.68

$23.46 MX$434

-27.96%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$44.87 £33.66

$28.43 MX$525

57.83%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$51.2 £38.38

$62.2 MX$1,149

-17.75%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$26.89 £20.17

$28.68 MX$530

-6.24%

Cinema Ticket

$17.32 £12.99

$5.10 MX$94.3

239.61%

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

$2,062 £1,547

$201 MX$3,715

925.51%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$30.8K £23.1K

$3,947 MX$72.9K

679.21%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$89.9 £67.5

$44.39 MX$820

102.59%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$45.51 £34.14

$41.35 MX$764

10.06%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$102 £76.8

$72.7 MX$1,344

40.75%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$90.7 £68.1

$89.6 MX$1,656

1.25%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,887 £1,416

$979 MX$18.1K

92.69%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,480 £1,110

$373 MX$6,887

297.01%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,833 £2,125

$1,681 MX$31.1K

68.53%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$2,233 £1,675

$1,095 MX$20.2K

103.89%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$8,467 £6,352

$3,949 MX$73.0K

114.40%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$6,148 £4,612

$6,137 MX$113.4K

0.18%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$3,380 £2,536

$738 MX$13.6K

358.36%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

5.12

11.45

-55.28%

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

Last update for Brighton: 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

Brighton

$1.5K 50.2%

Playa del Carmen

$373 31% 74.8% $1.1K

Eating Out

Brighton

$390 13.2%

Playa del Carmen

$200 16.6% 48.7% $190

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Brighton

$353 12%

Playa del Carmen

$137 11.4% 61.1% $216

Groceries & Markets

Brighton

$331 11.2%

Playa del Carmen

$258 21.5% 21.9% $73

Getting Around

Brighton

$162 5.5%

Playa del Carmen

$52 4.3% 68.2% $111

Clothing & Footwear

Brighton

$148 5%

Playa del Carmen

$112 9.3% 24.5% $36

Sport & Entertainment

Brighton

$86 2.9%

Playa del Carmen

$72 6% 15.6% $13

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,887 in Brighton and $979 in Playa del Carmen. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Brighton pays 358% 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: $93.0 in Brighton vs $44.00 in Playa del Carmen for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $331 vs $258 per month, with Playa del Carmen cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇬🇧 Brighton

🇲🇽 Playa del Carmen

🕒 Local time

12:39 12:39 PM

06:39 6:39 AM

6 h behind Brighton

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

256,000

149,923

💱 Currency

British Pound GBP £

Mexican Peso MXN $

📈 Exchange rate

1 GBP = 1.33 USD

1 GBP = 1.19 EUR

100 MXN = 5.41 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 20, 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 20, 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

Brighton Playa del Carmen 8,030 km ≈ 11 h nonstop flight

From you

Brighton
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

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

Brighton and Playa del Carmen differ by about 145% in total monthly costs ($2,950 vs $1,204 including rent). Playa del Carmen is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

Average pay runs 358% higher in Brighton, 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: $1,887 in Brighton versus $979 in Playa del Carmen. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $2,062 in Brighton versus $201 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 28% higher in Brighton. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

At $1,204 in Playa del Carmen versus $2,950 in Brighton, a $1,500 budget is realistic in Playa del Carmen but tight or insufficient in Brighton. 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.

Safety-wise, Brighton and Playa del Carmen are on par. Petty crime is typical for cities this size, and most residents feel comfortable going about their daily routines in either place.

Expats usually find Playa del Carmen gentler on the wallet – expenses run 145% less than in Brighton. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.