Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Buckingham and Playa del Carmen

For one person, living is cheaper in Playa del Carmen: $1,210 a month against $2,219 in Buckingham, rent and utilities included – about $12,100 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

107

Cost of Living Index in Buckingham
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Buckingham Living Index
59

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

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Buckingham

🇬🇧 United Kingdom

$2,219

/mo nomad

Playa del Carmen

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,210

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,219 in Buckingham versus $1,210 in Playa del Carmen.

Buckingham $2,219
Playa del Carmen $1,210

Estimated couple costs with rent: $3,265 in Buckingham versus $2,113 in Playa del Carmen.

Buckingham $3,265
Playa del Carmen $2,113

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $4,311 in Buckingham versus $3,016 in Playa del Carmen.

Buckingham $4,311
Playa del Carmen $3,016

Living in Buckingham is roughly 83% 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: Buckingham is 64% above, Playa del Carmen is 10% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$20.03 £15.03

$10.76 MX$199

86.15%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$78.9 £59.2

$43.03 MX$795

83.41%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$10.44 £7.83

$11.79 MX$218

-11.45%

Cappuccino

$4.60 £3.45

$3.87 MX$71.4

18.86%

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

$2.05 £1.54

$1.37 MX$25.29

49.64%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.50 £1.12

$0.84 MX$15.44

78.57%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$5.45 £4.09

$3.10 MX$57.3

75.81%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.52 £3.39

$5.07 MX$93.6

-10.85%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.51 £1.13

$1.44 MX$26.55

4.86%

White Bread (500g)

$1.77 £1.33

$2.23 MX$41.23

-20.63%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.82 £2.11

$1.47 MX$27.17

91.84%

Eggs

$4.04 £3.03

$2.53 MX$46.71

59.68%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$9.09 £6.82

$7.30 MX$135

24.52%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$7.72 £5.79

$7.86 MX$145

-1.78%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$16.42 £12.32

$12.79 MX$236

28.38%

Apples (1kg)

$3.29 £2.47

$2.90 MX$53.6

13.45%

Banana (1kg)

$1.54 £1.16

$1.44 MX$26.53

6.94%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.80 £2.10

$2.55 MX$47.07

9.80%

Tomato (1kg)

$3.20 £2.40

$2.06 MX$38.03

55.34%

Potato (1kg)

$1.16 £0.87

$2.00 MX$36.97

-42.00%

Onion (1kg)

$1.73 £1.30

$2.01 MX$37.07

-13.93%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.29 £0.97

$1.19 MX$22.02

8.40%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.35 £1.01

$1.26 MX$23.23

7.14%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$23.66 £17.75

$4.40 MX$81.4

437.73%

Wine (Bottle)

$10.10 £7.57

$9.59 MX$177

5.32%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$3.14 £2.36

$1.59 MX$29.41

97.48%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.28 £1.71

$2.81 MX$51.9

-18.86%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$3.38 £2.53

$0.57 MX$10.47

492.98%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$94.7 £71.1

$27.82 MX$514

240.51%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$4.18 £3.14

$4.98 MX$92.1

-16.06%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$2.69 £2.02

$3.50 MX$64.6

-23.14%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$32.36 £24.28

$5.40 MX$99.8

499.26%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$2.04 £1.53

$1.47 MX$27.08

38.78%

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

$38.4K £28.8K

$21.0K MX$387.8K

82.87%

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

$41.3K £31.0K

$23.9K MX$441.8K

72.69%

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

$200 £150

$84.2 MX$1,556

137.47%

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

$17.46 £13.10

$23.99 MX$443

-27.22%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$43.68 £32.77

$29.02 MX$536

50.52%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$45.77 £34.34

$63.0 MX$1,164

-27.33%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$29.14 MX$539

Cinema Ticket

$13.38 £10.04

$4.94 MX$91.3

170.85%

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

$1,464 £1,099

$204 MX$3,763

619.17%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$22.0K £16.5K

$3,941 MX$72.8K

458.71%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$84.3 £63.2

$43.60 MX$806

93.33%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$31.33 £23.50

$43.12 MX$797

-27.34%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$73.7 £55.3

$75.8 MX$1,400

-2.75%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$97.2 £72.9

$88.6 MX$1,637

9.69%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,462 £1,097

$1,008 MX$18.6K

45.04%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,036 £777

$374 MX$6,911

176.98%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,105 £1,579

$1,708 MX$31.6K

23.21%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,659 £1,244

$1,106 MX$20.4K

49.95%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$5,081 £3,812

$3,944 MX$72.9K

28.83%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$3,819 £2,865

$6,169 MX$114.0K

-38.10%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$4,447 £3,336

$754 MX$13.9K

489.59%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

5.06

11.45

-55.81%

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

Last update for Buckingham: 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

Buckingham

$1K 46.7%

Playa del Carmen

$374 30.9% 63.9% $662

Eating Out

Buckingham

$297 13.4%

Playa del Carmen

$202 16.7% 32% $95

Groceries & Markets

Buckingham

$297 13.4%

Playa del Carmen

$258 21.4% 13% $39

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Buckingham

$261 11.8%

Playa del Carmen

$137 11.3% 47.4% $124

Clothing & Footwear

Buckingham

$129 5.8%

Playa del Carmen

$113 9.3% 12.3% $16

Getting Around

Buckingham

$126 5.7%

Playa del Carmen

$53 4.3% 58.2% $73

Sport & Entertainment

Buckingham

$73 3.3%

Playa del Carmen

$73 6% 0.5% $0.3

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,462 in Buckingham and $1,008 in Playa del Carmen. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Buckingham pays 490% 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: $79.0 in Buckingham vs $43.00 in Playa del Carmen for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $297 vs $258 per month, with Playa del Carmen cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇬🇧 Buckingham

🇲🇽 Playa del Carmen

🕒 Local time

09:39 9:39 AM

03:39 3:39 AM

6 h behind Buckingham

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

12,890

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

Buckingham Playa del Carmen 7,950 km ≈ 10 h nonstop flight

From you

Buckingham
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

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

Buckingham and Playa del Carmen differ by about 83% in total monthly costs ($2,219 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 490% higher in Buckingham, 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: $1,462 in Buckingham versus $1,008 in Playa del Carmen. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

All in, you'll spend $2,219 per month in Buckingham versus $1,210 in Playa del Carmen – a 83% 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 241% less than in Buckingham. Both cities have functional networks, but the price difference matters if you're watching your budget.

At $1,210 in Playa del Carmen versus $2,219 in Buckingham, a $1,500 budget is realistic in Playa del Carmen but tight or insufficient in Buckingham. 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 83% less than in Buckingham. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.