Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Canterbury and Playa del Carmen

For one person, living is cheaper in Playa del Carmen: $1,204 a month against $2,998 in Canterbury, rent and utilities included – about $21,500 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

143

Cost of Living Index in Canterbury
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Canterbury Living Index
58

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

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Canterbury

🇬🇧 United Kingdom

$2,998

/mo nomad

Playa del Carmen

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,204

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,998 in Canterbury versus $1,204 in Playa del Carmen.

Canterbury $2,998
Playa del Carmen $1,204

Estimated couple costs with rent: $4,289 in Canterbury versus $2,082 in Playa del Carmen.

Canterbury $4,289
Playa del Carmen $2,082

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $5,580 in Canterbury versus $2,959 in Playa del Carmen.

Canterbury $5,580
Playa del Carmen $2,959

Living in Canterbury is roughly 149% more expensive than in Playa del Carmen, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in transport.

The two cities straddle the global median: Canterbury is 120% above, Playa del Carmen is 12% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$22.46 £16.90

$10.92 MX$204

105.68%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$79.4 £59.8

$43.37 MX$808

83.12%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$10.61 £7.98

$11.78 MX$220

-9.93%

Cappuccino

$5.26 £3.96

$3.81 MX$71.0

38.06%

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

$3.02 £2.27

$1.28 MX$23.90

135.94%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.52 £1.90

$0.78 MX$14.59

223.08%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$7.87 £5.92

$3.17 MX$59.0

148.26%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$6.72 £5.06

$4.93 MX$92.0

36.31%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.63 £1.23

$1.41 MX$26.22

15.60%

White Bread (500g)

$2.33 £1.75

$2.22 MX$41.33

4.95%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.51 £1.89

$1.42 MX$26.42

76.76%

Eggs

$5.73 £4.31

$2.52 MX$47.03

127.38%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$11.75 £8.84

$7.26 MX$135

61.85%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.29 £6.99

$7.70 MX$143

20.65%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$24.31 £18.29

$12.69 MX$237

91.57%

Apples (1kg)

$3.73 £2.80

$2.78 MX$51.9

34.17%

Banana (1kg)

$2.50 £1.88

$1.37 MX$25.50

82.48%

Oranges (1kg)

$3.65 £2.75

$2.55 MX$47.55

43.14%

Tomato (1kg)

$4.80 £3.61

$2.12 MX$39.58

126.42%

Potato (1kg)

$3.60 £2.71

$1.94 MX$36.13

85.57%

Onion (1kg)

$2.72 £2.05

$1.89 MX$35.16

43.92%

Lettuce (1 head)

$2.56 £1.93

$1.15 MX$21.37

122.61%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$3.08 £2.32

$1.18 MX$21.98

161.02%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$24.15 £18.17

$4.30 MX$80.1

461.63%

Wine (Bottle)

$15.74 £11.85

$9.95 MX$185

58.19%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$3.94 £2.97

$1.58 MX$29.52

149.37%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.08 £3.07

$2.67 MX$49.79

52.81%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$4.11 £3.09

$0.55 MX$10.31

647.27%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$187 £140

$26.62 MX$496

600.83%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$6.55 £4.93

$4.97 MX$92.6

31.79%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$2.69 £2.02

$3.33 MX$62.1

-19.22%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$39.61 £29.81

$5.36 MX$99.8

638.99%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$2.00 £1.51

$1.44 MX$26.92

38.89%

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

$39.3K £29.6K

$20.7K MX$385.2K

90.35%

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

$41.1K £31.0K

$23.5K MX$437.4K

75.32%

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

$420 £316

$84.8 MX$1,581

395.16%

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

$38.40 £28.90

$23.41 MX$436

64.03%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$52.9 £39.78

$28.66 MX$534

84.40%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$47.92 £36.07

$57.1 MX$1,063

-16.00%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$37.93 £28.54

$28.91 MX$539

31.20%

Cinema Ticket

$19.91 £14.98

$5.14 MX$95.8

287.35%

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

$1,853 £1,394

$207 MX$3,851

796.98%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$26.2K £19.7K

$3,927 MX$73.2K

565.98%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$79.1 £59.5

$43.35 MX$808

82.38%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$50.9 £38.34

$41.44 MX$772

22.92%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$122 £91.9

$74.2 MX$1,383

64.60%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$135 £101

$89.3 MX$1,664

50.98%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,420 £1,069

$980 MX$18.3K

44.99%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,230 £926

$381 MX$7,099

222.93%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,225 £1,675

$1,708 MX$31.8K

30.29%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,906 £1,435

$1,075 MX$20.0K

77.32%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$5,440 £4,094

$3,943 MX$73.5K

37.97%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$4,366 £3,286

$6,158 MX$114.8K

-29.09%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$2,891 £2,175

$735 MX$13.7K

293.54%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

5.51

11.45

-51.88%

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

Last update for Canterbury: October 24, 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

Canterbury

$1.2K 41%

Playa del Carmen

$381 31.6% 69% $849

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Canterbury

$511 17.1%

Playa del Carmen

$137 11.4% 73.2% $374

Groceries & Markets

Canterbury

$422 14.1%

Playa del Carmen

$255 21.2% 39.7% $167

Eating Out

Canterbury

$350 11.7%

Playa del Carmen

$202 16.8% 42.1% $147

Getting Around

Canterbury

$223 7.4%

Playa del Carmen

$50 4.2% 77.4% $173

Clothing & Footwear

Canterbury

$174 5.8%

Playa del Carmen

$112 9.3% 35.8% $62

Sport & Entertainment

Canterbury

$88 2.9%

Playa del Carmen

$67 5.6% 23.3% $20

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,420 in Canterbury and $980 in Playa del Carmen. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Canterbury pays about 3.9 times more on average. How far that income stretches comes down to housing choices and lifestyle.

Dining out: $79 in Canterbury vs $43 in Playa del Carmen for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $422 vs $255 per month, with Playa del Carmen cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇬🇧 Canterbury

🇲🇽 Playa del Carmen

🕒 Local time

23:14 11:14 PM

18:14 6:14 PM

5 h behind Canterbury

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

43,400

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

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Between locations

Canterbury Playa del Carmen 8,110 km ≈ 11 h nonstop flight

From you

Canterbury
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

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

Playa del Carmen wins on cost – living expenses run 60% lower than in Canterbury. Housing and daily spending are where you’ll feel the difference most, making Playa del Carmen the obvious pick if budget is a priority.

Average pay in Canterbury is about 3.9 times higher, 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: $1,420 in Canterbury versus $980 in Playa del Carmen. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $1,853 in Canterbury versus $207 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 66% higher in Canterbury. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

At $1,204 in Playa del Carmen versus $2,998 in Canterbury, a $1,500 budget is realistic in Playa del Carmen but tight or insufficient in Canterbury. 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 60% less than in Canterbury. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.