Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Cambridge and Playa del Carmen

For one person, living is cheaper in Playa del Carmen: $1,204 a month against $3,191 in Cambridge, rent and utilities included – about $23,800 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

155

Cost of Living Index in Cambridge
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Cambridge Living Index
59

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

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Cambridge

🇬🇧 United Kingdom

$3,191

/mo nomad

Playa del Carmen

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,204

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

A single person spends $3,191 per month in Cambridge vs $1,204 in Playa del Carmen, rent included.

Cambridge $3,191
Playa del Carmen $1,204

A couple spends around $4,509 per month in Cambridge vs $2,102 in Playa del Carmen, rent included.

Cambridge $4,509
Playa del Carmen $2,102

A family of three spends $5,827 per month in Cambridge vs $3,000 in Playa del Carmen, rent included.

Cambridge $5,827
Playa del Carmen $3,000

Cambridge costs about 165% more than Playa del Carmen, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Cambridge sits 136% above the global median, while Playa del Carmen is 11% below – they fall on opposite sides of the world average.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$21.56 £16.17

$10.86 MX$201

98.53%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$88.5 £66.4

$44.21 MX$817

100.14%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$10.83 £8.12

$11.76 MX$217

-7.91%

Cappuccino

$4.49 £3.37

$3.68 MX$68.0

22.01%

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

$2.79 £2.09

$1.34 MX$24.79

108.21%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.88 £1.41

$0.82 MX$15.24

129.27%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$7.90 £5.93

$3.06 MX$56.6

158.17%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$6.54 £4.91

$4.94 MX$91.2

32.39%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.64 £1.23

$1.47 MX$27.17

11.56%

White Bread (500g)

$1.79 £1.34

$2.22 MX$40.95

-19.37%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.49 £1.87

$1.48 MX$27.32

68.24%

Eggs

$4.53 £3.40

$2.49 MX$45.99

81.93%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$9.93 £7.45

$7.52 MX$139

32.05%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.43 £7.07

$7.96 MX$147

18.47%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$15.44 £11.59

$12.57 MX$232

22.83%

Apples (1kg)

$2.95 £2.22

$2.78 MX$51.3

6.12%

Banana (1kg)

$1.73 £1.30

$1.43 MX$26.37

20.98%

Oranges (1kg)

$3.70 £2.77

$2.62 MX$48.37

41.22%

Tomato (1kg)

$3.39 £2.54

$2.14 MX$39.49

58.41%

Potato (1kg)

$1.84 £1.38

$2.02 MX$37.38

-8.91%

Onion (1kg)

$1.89 £1.42

$1.99 MX$36.74

-5.03%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.24 £0.93

$1.14 MX$21.01

8.77%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.95 £1.47

$1.20 MX$22.18

62.50%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$22.36 £16.77

$4.26 MX$78.7

424.88%

Wine (Bottle)

$10.97 £8.23

$10.02 MX$185

9.48%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$3.27 £2.45

$1.54 MX$28.41

112.34%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.15 £3.11

$2.66 MX$49.17

56.02%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$4.07 £3.05

$0.53 MX$9.73

667.92%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$95.1 £71.3

$27.51 MX$508

245.62%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$7.76 £5.82

$4.90 MX$90.6

58.37%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$2.70 £2.02

$3.43 MX$63.5

-21.28%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$50.9 £38.18

$5.38 MX$99.4

845.91%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$2.07 £1.55

$1.45 MX$26.76

42.76%

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

$37.9K £28.4K

$21.2K MX$391.0K

78.90%

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

$41.1K £30.8K

$23.0K MX$425.3K

78.45%

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

$345 £258

$85.4 MX$1,577

303.58%

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

$18.37 £13.78

$23.46 MX$434

-21.70%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$42.78 £32.10

$28.43 MX$525

50.47%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$65.4 £49.09

$62.2 MX$1,149

5.21%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$20.63 £15.48

$28.68 MX$530

-28.07%

Cinema Ticket

$17.15 £12.86

$5.10 MX$94.3

236.27%

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

$2,590 £1,943

$201 MX$3,715

1188.27%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$35.8K £26.9K

$3,947 MX$72.9K

807.58%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$90.4 £67.8

$44.39 MX$820

103.65%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$47.74 £35.82

$41.35 MX$764

15.45%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$91.4 £68.6

$72.7 MX$1,344

25.64%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$127 £95.5

$89.6 MX$1,656

42.02%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,115 £1,587

$979 MX$18.1K

116.00%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,736 £1,302

$373 MX$6,887

365.73%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$3,193 £2,396

$1,681 MX$31.1K

89.98%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$2,694 £2,021

$1,095 MX$20.2K

145.99%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$9,107 £6,832

$3,949 MX$73.0K

130.62%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$5,803 £4,353

$6,137 MX$113.4K

-5.44%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$4,405 £3,305

$738 MX$13.6K

497.27%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

5.04

11.45

-55.98%

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

Last update for Cambridge: 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

Cambridge

$1.7K 54.4%

Playa del Carmen

$373 31% 78.5% $1.4K

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Cambridge

$406 12.7%

Playa del Carmen

$137 11.4% 66.2% $268

Eating Out

Cambridge

$330 10.3%

Playa del Carmen

$200 16.6% 39.4% $130

Groceries & Markets

Cambridge

$327 10.2%

Playa del Carmen

$258 21.5% 20.9% $68

Clothing & Footwear

Cambridge

$161 5%

Playa del Carmen

$112 9.3% 30.5% $49

Getting Around

Cambridge

$133 4.2%

Playa del Carmen

$52 4.3% 61% $81

Sport & Entertainment

Cambridge

$100 3.1%

Playa del Carmen

$72 6% 27.4% $27

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $2,115 in Cambridge versus $979 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 run about 497% higher in Cambridge, which partly offsets the higher cost of living there. Purchasing power depends on which expenses matter most to you.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $88.0 in Cambridge versus $44.00 in Playa del Carmen. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $327 vs $258 – making Playa del Carmen the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇬🇧 Cambridge

🇲🇽 Playa del Carmen

🕒 Local time

11:51 11:51 AM

05:51 5:51 AM

6 h behind Cambridge

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

145,818

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

Cambridge Playa del Carmen 8,020 km ≈ 11 h nonstop flight

From you

Cambridge
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

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

Yes – Cambridge is pricier by about 165%, and outside of rent the gap shows up most in eating out.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $4,787 per month in Cambridge 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. Housing is actually the single biggest factor behind the overall cost gap between these two cities.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $88.0 in Cambridge and $44.00 in Playa del Carmen. That's a good indicator of the overall restaurant and café pricing gap between the two cities.

Monthly expenses with rent come to $3,191 in Cambridge and $1,204 in Playa del Carmen. That's a gap of about 165%.

A $1,500 monthly budget goes further in Playa del Carmen, where all-in costs run around $1,204, than in Cambridge at $3,191. In Playa del Carmen it covers expenses comfortably, while in Cambridge 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.

Both have safer and rougher neighborhoods, but overall safety is comparable to other large cities. Neighborhood choice matters more than the city-level comparison – central, well-trafficked areas feel secure in both.

If budget matters most, go with Playa del Carmen. If higher salaries, better infrastructure, or specific career opportunities are the priority, Cambridge makes more sense. Both are solid long-term options with distinct trade-offs.