Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Carlisle and Playa del Carmen

For one person, living is cheaper in Playa del Carmen: $1,204 a month against $1,964 in Carlisle, rent and utilities included – about $9,100 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

94

Cost of Living Index in Carlisle
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Carlisle Living Index
58

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

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Carlisle

🇬🇧 United Kingdom

$1,964

/mo nomad

Playa del Carmen

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,204

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,964 in Carlisle versus $1,204 in Playa del Carmen.

Carlisle $1,964
Playa del Carmen $1,204

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,880 in Carlisle versus $2,082 in Playa del Carmen.

Carlisle $2,880
Playa del Carmen $2,082

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,796 in Carlisle versus $2,959 in Playa del Carmen.

Carlisle $3,796
Playa del Carmen $2,959

Living in Carlisle is roughly 63% 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: Carlisle is 44% above, Playa del Carmen is 12% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$19.03 £14.21

$10.92 MX$205

74.27%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$68.7 £51.3

$43.37 MX$814

58.45%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$10.13 £7.57

$11.78 MX$221

-14.01%

Cappuccino

$3.43 £2.56

$3.81 MX$71.5

-9.97%

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

$2.41 £1.80

$1.28 MX$24.07

88.28%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.03 £1.51

$0.78 MX$14.70

160.26%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$4.78 £3.57

$3.17 MX$59.5

50.79%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.36 £3.25

$4.93 MX$92.7

-11.56%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.30 £0.97

$1.41 MX$26.40

-7.80%

White Bread (500g)

$1.41 £1.06

$2.22 MX$41.62

-36.49%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$3.35 £2.50

$1.42 MX$26.61

135.92%

Eggs

$3.72 £2.78

$2.52 MX$47.36

47.62%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$7.94 £5.93

$7.26 MX$136

9.37%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$7.25 £5.41

$7.70 MX$144

-5.84%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$16.21 £12.11

$12.69 MX$238

27.74%

Apples (1kg)

$3.21 £2.40

$2.78 MX$52.3

15.47%

Banana (1kg)

$2.93 £2.19

$1.37 MX$25.68

113.87%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.58 £1.92

$2.55 MX$47.89

1.18%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.76 £2.06

$2.12 MX$39.86

30.19%

Potato (1kg)

$1.76 £1.31

$1.94 MX$36.39

-9.28%

Onion (1kg)

$1.82 £1.36

$1.89 MX$35.41

-3.70%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.15 £0.86

$1.15 MX$21.53

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.36 £1.01

$1.18 MX$22.13

15.25%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$22.55 £16.84

$4.30 MX$80.6

424.42%

Wine (Bottle)

$8.08 £6.03

$9.95 MX$187

-18.79%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.81 £2.10

$1.58 MX$29.73

77.85%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.62 £2.71

$2.67 MX$50.1

35.58%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$3.30 £2.46

$0.55 MX$10.39

500.00%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$75.6 £56.5

$26.62 MX$500

184.07%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$4.39 £3.28

$4.97 MX$93.3

-11.67%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$3.33 MX$62.5

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$33.57 £25.07

$5.36 MX$101

526.31%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.99 £1.48

$1.44 MX$27.11

38.19%

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

$38.4K £28.7K

$20.7K MX$388.0K

85.94%

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

$40.7K £30.4K

$23.5K MX$440.5K

73.27%

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

$357 £267

$84.8 MX$1,592

321.61%

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

$17.29 £12.91

$23.41 MX$439

-26.14%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$35.44 £26.46

$28.66 MX$538

23.66%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$57.1 MX$1,071

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$16.07 £12.00

$28.91 MX$543

-44.41%

Cinema Ticket

$10.67 £7.97

$5.14 MX$96.5

107.59%

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

$1,629 £1,216

$207 MX$3,878

688.65%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$3,927 MX$73.7K

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$107 £80.1

$43.35 MX$814

147.52%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$56.3 £42.06

$41.44 MX$778

35.93%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$114 £85.2

$74.2 MX$1,393

53.84%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$114 £85.4

$89.3 MX$1,676

28.20%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$774 £578

$980 MX$18.4K

-21.02%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$699 £522

$381 MX$7,150

83.54%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,188 £887

$1,708 MX$32.1K

-30.45%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,153 £861

$1,075 MX$20.2K

7.21%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,562 £1,913

$3,943 MX$74.0K

-35.03%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$2,920 £2,180

$6,158 MX$115.6K

-52.58%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$2,877 £2,148

$735 MX$13.8K

291.70%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

5.64

11.45

-50.74%

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

Last update for Carlisle: October 26, 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

Carlisle

$699 35.6%

Playa del Carmen

$381 31.6% 45.5% $318

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Carlisle

$410 20.9%

Playa del Carmen

$137 11.4% 66.6% $273

Groceries & Markets

Carlisle

$289 14.7%

Playa del Carmen

$255 21.2% 11.9% $34

Eating Out

Carlisle

$274 14%

Playa del Carmen

$202 16.8% 26.2% $72

Clothing & Footwear

Carlisle

$176 9%

Playa del Carmen

$112 9.3% 36.7% $65

Getting Around

Carlisle

$93 * 4.8%

Playa del Carmen

$50 4.2% 45.9% $43

Sport & Entertainment

Carlisle

$21 * 1.1%

Playa del Carmen

$67 5.6% 215% $46

Categories marked with * are only partly priced – their share counts the items that do have prices.

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $774 in Carlisle and $980 in Playa del Carmen. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

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

Dining out: $69 in Carlisle vs $43 in Playa del Carmen for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $289 vs $255 per month, with Playa del Carmen cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇬🇧 Carlisle

🇲🇽 Playa del Carmen

🕒 Local time

01:07 1:07 AM

20:07 8:07 PM

5 h behind Carlisle

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

72,000

149,923

💱 Currency

British Pound GBP £

Mexican Peso MXN $

📈 Exchange rate

1 GBP = 1.34 USD

1 GBP = 1.2 EUR

100 MXN = 5.33 USD

100 MXN = 4.77 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 November 2, 2026: 1 USD = 0.747 GBP (1 GBP = 1.34 USD). 1 EUR = 0.834 GBP (1 GBP = 1.2 EUR).

Mexican Peso exchange rates as of November 2, 2026: 1 USD = 18.77 MXN (100 MXN = 5.33 USD). 1 EUR = 20.96 MXN (100 MXN = 4.77 EUR).

USD to GBP in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Carlisle Playa del Carmen 7,780 km ≈ 10 h nonstop flight

From you

Carlisle
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

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

Playa del Carmen wins on cost – living expenses run 39% lower than in Carlisle. 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 Carlisle 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: $774 in Carlisle versus $980 in Playa del Carmen. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Dining out is cheaper in Playa del Carmen – a meal for two runs $43 versus $69 in Carlisle. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

All in, you’ll spend $1,964 per month in Carlisle versus $1,204 in Playa del Carmen – Playa del Carmen is about 39% cheaper, which adds up to real savings over time.

At $1,204 in Playa del Carmen versus $1,964 in Carlisle, a $1,500 budget is realistic in Playa del Carmen but tight or insufficient in Carlisle. 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.

It comes down to priorities – Playa del Carmen wins on affordability, Carlisle on earning potential. Factor in climate, language, visa rules, and proximity to places that matter to you before deciding.