Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Derby and Playa del Carmen

For one person, living is cheaper in Playa del Carmen: $1,204 a month against $2,255 in Derby, rent and utilities included – about $12,600 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

Derby, United Kingdom
Playa del Carmen, Mexico
Derby
🇬🇧 United Kingdom
$2,255
/mo nomad
Playa del Carmen
🇲🇽 Mexico
$1,204
/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.

A single person spends $2,255 per month in Derby vs $1,204 in Playa del Carmen, rent included.

  • Derby $2,255
  • Playa del Carmen $1,204

A couple spends around $3,377 per month in Derby vs $2,082 in Playa del Carmen, rent included.

  • Derby $3,377
  • Playa del Carmen $2,082

A family of three spends $4,499 per month in Derby vs $2,959 in Playa del Carmen, rent included.

  • Derby $4,499
  • Playa del Carmen $2,959

Derby costs about 87% more than Playa del Carmen, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Derby sits 66% above the global median, while Playa del Carmen is 12% below – they fall on opposite sides of the world average.

Currency
🍽 Eating Out
Derby
Playa del Carmen
Difference
Meal at Budget Restaurant
$26.57 £19.85
$10.92 MX$205
143.32%
Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range
$95.0 £71.0
$43.37 MX$815
119.05%
Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)
$10.72 £8.01
$11.78 MX$221
-9.00%
Cappuccino
$4.97 £3.71
$3.81 MX$71.6
30.45%
Coke/Pepsi/Fanta/Sprite (0.33 liter bottle)
$2.52 £1.88
$1.28 MX$24.10
96.88%
Water (0.33 liter bottle)
$1.96 £1.46
$0.78 MX$14.71
151.28%
Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)
$6.82 £5.09
$3.17 MX$59.5
115.14%
Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)
$7.10 £5.31
$4.93 MX$92.7
44.02%
🛒 Groceries & Markets
Derby
Playa del Carmen
Difference
Milk (1 liter)
$1.57 £1.17
$1.41 MX$26.43
11.35%
White Bread (500g)
$1.43 £1.07
$2.22 MX$41.66
-35.59%
Rice (white) (1kg)
$2.34 £1.75
$1.42 MX$26.64
64.79%
Eggs
$3.96 £2.96
$2.52 MX$47.41
57.14%
Local Cheese (1kg)
$8.42 £6.29
$7.26 MX$137
15.98%
Chicken Fillets (1kg)
$8.58 £6.41
$7.70 MX$145
11.43%
Beef Round Steak (1kg)
$23.38 £17.47
$12.69 MX$239
84.24%
Apples (1kg)
$5.42 £4.05
$2.78 MX$52.3
94.96%
Banana (1kg)
$2.80 £2.09
$1.37 MX$25.71
104.38%
Oranges (1kg)
$2.96 £2.21
$2.55 MX$47.94
16.08%
Tomato (1kg)
$3.74 £2.79
$2.12 MX$39.90
76.42%
Potato (1kg)
$1.55 £1.15
$1.94 MX$36.43
-20.10%
Onion (1kg)
$1.54 £1.15
$1.89 MX$35.44
-18.52%
Lettuce (1 head)
$1.05 £0.78
$1.15 MX$21.55
-8.70%
Water (1.5 liter bottle)
$1.37 £1.02
$1.18 MX$22.16
16.10%
Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)
$23.73 £17.73
$4.30 MX$80.7
451.86%
Wine (Bottle)
$10.62 £7.94
$9.95 MX$187
6.73%
Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)
$3.28 £2.45
$1.58 MX$29.76
107.59%
Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)
$3.61 £2.70
$2.67 MX$50.2
35.21%
🚌 Getting Around
Derby
Playa del Carmen
Difference
One-way Ticket (Public Transport)
$4.01 £3.00
$0.55 MX$10.40
629.09%
Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)
$115 £86.2
$26.62 MX$500
333.17%
Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)
$4.34 £3.24
$4.97 MX$93.4
-12.68%
Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)
$1.62 £1.21
$3.33 MX$62.6
-51.35%
Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)
$31.95 £23.87
$5.36 MX$101
496.08%
Gasoline (1 liter)
$1.98 £1.48
$1.44 MX$27.14
37.50%
Midsize Hatchback 1.4l (Volkswagen Golf, Toyota Prius, Honda Civic, etc)
$38.2K £28.6K
$20.7K MX$388.4K
85.08%
Compact Sedan 1.6l (Toyota Corolla, Mazda3, Kia K4, Hyundai Elantra, etc)
$39.9K £29.8K
$23.5K MX$441.0K
69.92%
🧾 Monthly Utilities & Internet
Derby
Playa del Carmen
Difference
Utilities for 2 People in 2-bedroom Apartment (Heating, Electricity, Gas, Water, Garbage) (85m2)
$366 £273
$84.8 MX$1,594
331.32%
SIM Card Monthly Plan (Calls and 10GB+ Data)
$19.97 £14.92
$23.41 MX$440
-14.69%
Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)
$39.71 £29.67
$28.66 MX$539
38.56%
🎉 Sport & Entertainment
Derby
Playa del Carmen
Difference
Gym Membership (Monthly)
$36.95 £27.61
$57.1 MX$1,072
-35.23%
Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)
$25.60 £19.13
$28.91 MX$543
-11.45%
Cinema Ticket
$15.22 £11.37
$5.14 MX$96.6
196.11%
🧸 Childcare & Education
Derby
Playa del Carmen
Difference
Preschool or Kindergarten, Full Day, Private, 1 Child (Monthly)
$1,912 £1,429
$207 MX$3,882
825.82%
International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)
$20.3K £15.2K
$3,927 MX$73.8K
417.11%
👕👟 Clothing & Footwear
Derby
Playa del Carmen
Difference
Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)
$114 £85.4
$43.35 MX$815
163.78%
Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)
$58.0 £43.30
$41.44 MX$779
39.89%
Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)
$87.2 £65.1
$74.2 MX$1,394
17.49%
Men's Leather Business Shoes
$98.1 £73.3
$89.3 MX$1,677
9.92%
🏠 Accommodation & Living
Derby
Playa del Carmen
Difference
1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)
$947 £708
$980 MX$18.4K
-3.30%
1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)
$746 £558
$381 MX$7,157
95.96%
3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)
$1,532 £1,145
$1,708 MX$32.1K
-10.29%
3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)
$1,206 £901
$1,075 MX$20.2K
12.18%
Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)
$4,201 £3,138
$3,943 MX$74.1K
6.55%
Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)
$3,055 £2,283
$6,158 MX$115.7K
-50.38%
💵 Salaries & Financials
Derby
Playa del Carmen
Difference
Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)
$3,541 £2,645
$735 MX$13.8K
382.10%
20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)
4.88
11.45
-57.38%

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

Last update for Derby: October 25, 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
Derby
$746
Playa del Carmen
$381 49% $365
Monthly Utilities & Internet
Derby
$425
Playa del Carmen
$137 67.8% $289
Eating Out
Derby
$371
Playa del Carmen
$202 45.4% $168
Groceries & Markets
Derby
$341
Playa del Carmen
$255 25.3% $86
Clothing & Footwear
Derby
$161
Playa del Carmen
$112 30.6% $49
Getting Around
Derby
$144
Playa del Carmen
$50 64.9% $93
Sport & Entertainment
Derby
$67
Playa del Carmen
$67 0.1% $0.1

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $947 in Derby versus $980 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 in Derby are about 4.8 times higher. Purchasing power depends on which expenses matter most to you.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $95 in Derby versus $43 in Playa del Carmen. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $341 vs $255 – making Playa del Carmen the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know
🇬🇧 Derby
🇲🇽 Playa del Carmen
🕒 Local time
16:46 4:46 PM
11:46 11:46 AM
5 h behind Derby
🌤 Weather
👥 Population
233,700
149,923
💱 Currency
Exchange rates and currency converter

MXN, USD, EUR to GBP – British Pound Converter

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 = 20.97 MXN (100 MXN = 4.77 EUR).

On the map
Between locations
  • Derby Playa del Carmen 7,900 km ≈ 10 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
Which city is more expensive, Derby or Playa del Carmen?
Derby costs about 87% more than Playa del Carmen, and outside of rent the gap comes mainly from eating out. That’s enough to noticeably affect everyday spending and lifestyle for anyone choosing between the two.
How much do you need to earn to live comfortably in Derby and in Playa del Carmen?
For a comfortable life, plan on about $3,383 per month in Derby and $1,806 in Playa del Carmen. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.
How much does a 1-bedroom apartment cost in Derby compared to Playa del Carmen?
A central 1-bedroom goes for about $947 in Derby and $980 in Playa del Carmen. The gap holds across neighborhoods – outer areas show a similar spread, just at lower price points.
How do childcare costs compare in Derby and in Playa del Carmen?
Kindergarten costs $1,912 per month in Derby and $207 in Playa del Carmen. For families with young kids, this one expense can tip the scales when choosing between the two cities.
Are groceries more expensive in Derby or in Playa del Carmen?
Groceries cost about 34% more in Derby, though the gap depends on what you buy.
Can you live on $1,500/month in Derby or in Playa del Carmen?
A $1,500 monthly budget goes further in Playa del Carmen, where all-in costs run around $1,204, than in Derby at $2,255. In Playa del Carmen it covers expenses comfortably, while in Derby it requires careful planning or may not stretch far enough.
Which city offers a better quality of life: Derby or Playa del Carmen?
It depends on your priorities. Playa del Carmen has an edge in some lifestyle areas, with costs from $1,204 in Playa del Carmen to $2,255 in Derby. Climate, culture, job market, and personal taste all factor in.
Should I move to Derby or to Playa del Carmen?
If budget matters most, go with Playa del Carmen. If higher salaries or specific career opportunities are the priority, Derby makes more sense. Both are solid long-term options with distinct trade-offs.

Derby vs other spots: cost of living compared

Similar cities

Show times on the 12-hour clock, temperatures in °F and distances in miles?