Last update: Nov 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Derby, Australia and Playa del Carmen

For one person, living is cheaper in Playa del Carmen: $1,202 a month against $2,558 in Derby, rent and utilities included – about $16,300 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

121

Cost of Living Index in Derby
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Derby Living Index
57

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

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Derby

🇦🇺 Australia

$2,558

/mo nomad

Playa del Carmen

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,202

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,558 in Derby versus $1,202 in Playa del Carmen.

Derby $2,558
Playa del Carmen $1,202

Estimated couple costs with rent: $3,658 in Derby versus $2,082 in Playa del Carmen.

Derby $3,658
Playa del Carmen $2,082

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $4,757 in Derby versus $2,962 in Playa del Carmen.

Derby $4,757
Playa del Carmen $2,962

Living in Derby is roughly 113% more expensive than in Playa del Carmen, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

The two cities straddle the global median: Derby is 89% above, Playa del Carmen is 11% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$17.51 A$25.13

$10.67 MX$201

64.10%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$84.1 A$121

$43.80 MX$824

91.92%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$10.55 A$15.14

$11.79 MX$222

-10.52%

Cappuccino

$4.03 A$5.79

$3.79 MX$71.2

6.33%

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

$2.83 A$4.06

$1.30 MX$24.41

117.69%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.24 A$3.22

$0.83 MX$15.69

169.88%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$7.73 A$11.09

$3.15 MX$59.2

145.40%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$7.37 A$10.57

$4.93 MX$92.9

49.49%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.50 A$2.15

$1.41 MX$26.51

6.38%

White Bread (500g)

$2.64 A$3.79

$2.20 MX$41.32

20.00%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.29 A$3.29

$1.47 MX$27.71

55.78%

Eggs

$4.99 A$7.15

$2.50 MX$46.99

99.60%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$9.35 A$13.41

$7.29 MX$137

28.26%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.10 A$13.05

$7.95 MX$150

14.47%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$14.87 A$21.34

$12.86 MX$242

15.63%

Apples (1kg)

$3.83 A$5.50

$2.90 MX$54.5

32.07%

Banana (1kg)

$2.98 A$4.28

$1.38 MX$26.03

115.94%

Oranges (1kg)

$3.29 A$4.71

$2.49 MX$46.88

32.13%

Tomato (1kg)

$4.76 A$6.82

$2.03 MX$38.20

134.48%

Potato (1kg)

$2.66 A$3.82

$2.02 MX$38.11

31.68%

Onion (1kg)

$2.47 A$3.54

$1.90 MX$35.82

30.00%

Lettuce (1 head)

$2.42 A$3.47

$1.14 MX$21.54

112.28%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.54 A$2.21

$1.24 MX$23.32

24.19%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$41.74 A$59.9

$4.27 MX$80.4

877.52%

Wine (Bottle)

$14.17 A$20.33

$9.81 MX$185

44.44%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$4.75 A$6.82

$1.59 MX$29.85

198.74%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$5.21 A$7.48

$2.75 MX$51.7

89.45%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$2.72 A$3.90

$0.51 MX$9.69

433.33%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$84.3 A$121

$27.39 MX$515

207.70%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.58 A$5.14

$4.76 MX$89.6

-24.79%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.60 A$2.29

$3.25 MX$61.1

-50.77%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$39.56 A$56.8

$5.39 MX$101

633.95%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.32 A$1.90

$1.53 MX$28.76

-13.73%

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

$29.4K A$42.1K

$21.2K MX$399.2K

38.42%

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

$26.1K A$37.5K

$23.3K MX$437.8K

12.24%

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

$204 A$293

$83.5 MX$1,571

144.39%

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

$28.30 A$40.60

$23.19 MX$436

22.04%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$57.0 A$81.7

$27.61 MX$520

106.30%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$55.3 A$79.4

$56.4 MX$1,062

-1.98%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$17.92 A$25.71

$28.19 MX$531

-36.43%

Cinema Ticket

$13.94 A$20.00

$5.00 MX$94.1

178.80%

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

$2,120 A$3,042

$207 MX$3,897

923.75%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$20.3K A$29.1K

$5,231 MX$98.4K

288.23%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$77.4 A$111

$43.45 MX$818

78.14%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$55.2 A$79.3

$42.54 MX$801

29.85%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$109 A$157

$72.8 MX$1,369

50.21%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$121 A$173

$88.4 MX$1,663

36.64%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,402 A$2,012

$995 MX$18.7K

40.96%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,255 A$1,801

$382 MX$7,197

228.28%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,271 A$3,259

$1,674 MX$31.5K

35.66%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,836 A$2,634

$1,081 MX$20.3K

69.91%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$5,908 A$8,476

$3,909 MX$73.6K

51.15%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$4,962 A$7,119

$6,138 MX$115.5K

-19.15%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$832 MX$15.7K

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

5.9

11.45

-48.47%

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

Last update for Derby: November 1, 2026

Last update for Playa del Carmen: November 2, 2026

Monthly budget structure

Share of the monthly basket for one person, rent included.

Accommodation & Living

Derby

$1.3K 49.1%

Playa del Carmen

$382 31.8% 69.5% $873

Groceries & Markets

Derby

$366 14.3%

Playa del Carmen

$257 21.4% 29.7% $109

Eating Out

Derby

$294 11.5%

Playa del Carmen

$200 16.7% 31.8% $94

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Derby

$289 11.3%

Playa del Carmen

$134 11.2% 53.6% $155

Clothing & Footwear

Derby

$163 6.4%

Playa del Carmen

$111 9.3% 31.9% $52

Getting Around

Derby

$107 4.2%

Playa del Carmen

$50 4.2% 52.7% $56

Sport & Entertainment

Derby

$83 3.3%

Playa del Carmen

$66 5.5% 20.1% $17

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,402 in Derby and $995 in Playa del Carmen. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Dining out: $84 in Derby vs $44 in Playa del Carmen for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $366 vs $257 per month, with Playa del Carmen cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇦🇺 Derby

🇲🇽 Playa del Carmen

🕒 Local time

08:42 8:42 AM

19:42 7:42 PM

13 h behind Derby

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

3,300

149,923

💱 Currency

Australian Dollar AUD $

Mexican Peso MXN $

📈 Exchange rate

1 AUD = 0.697 USD

1 AUD = 0.623 EUR

100 MXN = 5.31 USD

100 MXN = 4.75 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

MXN, USD, EUR to AUD – Australian Dollar Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇦🇺 Australian Dollar ($)

Australian Dollar exchange rates as of November 4, 2026: 1 USD = 1.43 AUD (1 AUD = 0.697 USD). 1 EUR = 1.6 AUD (1 AUD = 0.623 EUR).

Mexican Peso exchange rates as of November 4, 2026: 1 USD = 18.82 MXN (100 MXN = 5.31 USD). 1 EUR = 21.05 MXN (100 MXN = 4.75 EUR).

USD to AUD in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Derby Playa del Carmen 16,770 km ≈ 21 h nonstop flight

From you

Derby
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

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

Total monthly costs including rent come to $2,558 in Derby and $1,202 in Playa del Carmen, so Playa del Carmen is about 53% cheaper – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

You’d need roughly $3,837 in Derby and $1,804 in Playa del Carmen to live well. The gap comes down to housing and overall price levels. Both cities are liveable on less, but these numbers represent actual comfort.

Rent for a central apartment: $1,402 in Derby versus $995 in Playa del Carmen. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Supermarket bills run roughly 42% higher in Derby. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

Dining out is cheaper in Playa del Carmen – a meal for two runs $44 versus $84 in Derby. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

At $1,202 in Playa del Carmen versus $2,558 in Derby, a $1,500 budget is realistic in Playa del Carmen but tight or insufficient in Derby. 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 53% less than in Derby. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.