Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Crawley and Playa del Carmen

For one person, living is cheaper in Playa del Carmen: $1,204 a month against $2,891 in Crawley, rent and utilities included – about $20,200 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

139

Cost of Living Index in Crawley
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Crawley Living Index
58

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

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Crawley

🇬🇧 United Kingdom

$2,891

/mo nomad

Playa del Carmen

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,204

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,891 in Crawley versus $1,204 in Playa del Carmen.

Crawley $2,891
Playa del Carmen $1,204

Estimated couple costs with rent: $4,276 in Crawley versus $2,082 in Playa del Carmen.

Crawley $4,276
Playa del Carmen $2,082

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $5,662 in Crawley versus $2,959 in Playa del Carmen.

Crawley $5,662
Playa del Carmen $2,959

Living in Crawley is roughly 140% 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: Crawley is 112% above, Playa del Carmen is 12% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$26.93 £20.11

$10.92 MX$205

146.61%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$88.5 £66.1

$43.37 MX$815

103.94%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$10.45 £7.80

$11.78 MX$221

-11.29%

Cappuccino

$4.89 £3.65

$3.81 MX$71.6

28.35%

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

$2.87 £2.15

$1.28 MX$24.10

124.22%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.99 £1.49

$0.78 MX$14.71

155.13%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$6.14 £4.59

$3.17 MX$59.5

93.69%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$6.08 £4.54

$4.93 MX$92.7

23.33%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.48 £1.11

$1.41 MX$26.43

4.96%

White Bread (500g)

$1.40 £1.05

$2.22 MX$41.66

-36.94%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.71 £2.03

$1.42 MX$26.64

90.85%

Eggs

$4.04 £3.02

$2.52 MX$47.41

60.32%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$11.19 £8.36

$7.26 MX$137

54.13%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$8.52 £6.37

$7.70 MX$145

10.65%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$13.29 £9.93

$12.69 MX$239

4.73%

Apples (1kg)

$2.96 £2.21

$2.78 MX$52.3

6.47%

Banana (1kg)

$1.52 £1.13

$1.37 MX$25.71

10.95%

Oranges (1kg)

$3.00 £2.24

$2.55 MX$47.94

17.65%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.10 £1.57

$2.12 MX$39.90

-0.94%

Potato (1kg)

$1.56 £1.17

$1.94 MX$36.43

-19.59%

Onion (1kg)

$1.35 £1.01

$1.89 MX$35.44

-28.57%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.31 £0.98

$1.15 MX$21.55

13.91%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.51 £1.13

$1.18 MX$22.16

27.97%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$23.77 £17.76

$4.30 MX$80.7

452.79%

Wine (Bottle)

$13.46 £10.06

$9.95 MX$187

35.28%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.23 £1.67

$1.58 MX$29.76

41.14%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.72 £2.03

$2.67 MX$50.2

1.87%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$3.95 £2.95

$0.55 MX$10.40

618.18%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$151 £113

$26.62 MX$500

466.64%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$6.52 £4.87

$4.97 MX$93.4

31.19%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$4.63 £3.46

$3.33 MX$62.6

39.04%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$13.57 £10.13

$5.36 MX$101

153.17%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.88 £1.40

$1.44 MX$27.14

30.56%

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

$38.2K £28.5K

$20.7K MX$388.4K

84.61%

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

$40.1K £30.0K

$23.5K MX$441.0K

71.07%

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

$306 £229

$84.8 MX$1,594

261.43%

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

$20.81 £15.55

$23.41 MX$440

-11.11%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$47.59 £35.55

$28.66 MX$539

66.05%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$58.7 £43.82

$57.1 MX$1,072

2.82%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$28.91 MX$543

Cinema Ticket

$13.47 £10.06

$5.14 MX$96.6

162.06%

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

$1,859 £1,389

$207 MX$3,882

800.14%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$8,006 £5,981

$3,927 MX$73.8K

103.86%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$76.2 £56.9

$43.35 MX$815

75.69%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$53.9 £40.28

$41.44 MX$779

30.12%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$115 £86.0

$74.2 MX$1,394

55.15%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$133 £99.3

$89.3 MX$1,677

48.91%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,708 £1,276

$980 MX$18.4K

74.41%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,403 £1,048

$381 MX$7,157

268.50%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,762 £2,063

$1,708 MX$32.1K

61.69%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$2,449 £1,830

$1,075 MX$20.2K

127.81%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$6,421 £4,797

$3,943 MX$74.1K

62.84%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$5,949 £4,445

$6,158 MX$115.7K

-3.38%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$3,220 £2,405

$735 MX$13.8K

338.36%

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 Crawley: 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

Crawley

$1.4K 48.6%

Playa del Carmen

$381 31.6% 72.9% $1K

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Crawley

$375 13%

Playa del Carmen

$137 11.4% 63.5% $238

Eating Out

Crawley

$368 12.7%

Playa del Carmen

$202 16.8% 45% $165

Groceries & Markets

Crawley

$293 10.1%

Playa del Carmen

$255 21.2% 12.9% $38

Getting Around

Crawley

$196 6.8%

Playa del Carmen

$50 4.2% 74.3% $146

Clothing & Footwear

Crawley

$170 5.9%

Playa del Carmen

$112 9.3% 34.3% $58

Sport & Entertainment

Crawley

$86 3%

Playa del Carmen

$67 5.6% 21.4% $18

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,708 in Crawley and $980 in Playa del Carmen. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Crawley pays about 4.4 times more on average. How far that income stretches comes down to housing choices and lifestyle.

Dining out: $88 in Crawley vs $43 in Playa del Carmen for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $293 vs $255 per month, with Playa del Carmen cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇬🇧 Crawley

🇲🇽 Playa del Carmen

🕒 Local time

02:04 2:04 AM

21:04 9:04 PM

5 h behind Crawley

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

112,448

149,923

💱 Currency

British Pound GBP £

Mexican Peso MXN $

📈 Exchange rate

1 GBP = 1.34 USD

1 GBP = 1.2 EUR

100 MXN = 5.32 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 = 18.79 MXN (100 MXN = 5.32 USD). 1 EUR = 20.98 MXN (100 MXN = 4.77 EUR).

USD to GBP in detail →

On the map

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Highest

Between locations

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

From you

Crawley
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

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

Playa del Carmen wins on cost – living expenses run 58% lower than in Crawley. 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 Crawley is about 4.4 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: $1,708 in Crawley 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 $88 in Crawley. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

All in, you’ll spend $2,891 per month in Crawley versus $1,204 in Playa del Carmen – Playa del Carmen is about 58% cheaper, which adds up to real savings over time.

At $1,204 in Playa del Carmen versus $2,891 in Crawley, a $1,500 budget is realistic in Playa del Carmen but tight or insufficient in Crawley. 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 58% less than in Crawley. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.