Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Dumfries and Playa del Carmen

For one person, living is cheaper in Playa del Carmen: $1,204 a month against $1,754 in Dumfries, rent and utilities included – about $6,600 less a year. Rent and utilities account for about half of the difference.

85

Cost of Living Index in Dumfries
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Dumfries Living Index
58

Cost of Living Index in Playa del Carmen
Learn more

Playa del Carmen Living Index

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Dumfries

🇬🇧 United Kingdom

$1,754

/mo nomad

Playa del Carmen

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,204

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,754 in Dumfries versus $1,204 in Playa del Carmen.

Dumfries $1,754
Playa del Carmen $1,204

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,716 in Dumfries versus $2,082 in Playa del Carmen.

Dumfries $2,716
Playa del Carmen $2,082

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,678 in Dumfries versus $2,959 in Playa del Carmen.

Dumfries $3,678
Playa del Carmen $2,959

Living in Dumfries is roughly 46% more expensive than in Playa del Carmen, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in transport.

The two cities straddle the global median: Dumfries is 29% above, Playa del Carmen is 12% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$14.71 £10.99

$10.92 MX$205

34.71%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$79.6 £59.4

$43.37 MX$814

83.49%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$8.15 £6.08

$11.78 MX$221

-30.81%

Cappuccino

$4.51 £3.37

$3.81 MX$71.5

18.37%

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

$2.52 £1.88

$1.28 MX$24.07

96.88%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.33 £0.99

$0.78 MX$14.70

70.51%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$5.56 £4.15

$3.17 MX$59.5

75.39%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$6.03 £4.50

$4.93 MX$92.7

22.31%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.51 £1.13

$1.41 MX$26.40

7.09%

White Bread (500g)

$1.70 £1.27

$2.22 MX$41.62

-23.42%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.77 £2.07

$1.42 MX$26.61

95.07%

Eggs

$4.36 £3.25

$2.52 MX$47.36

73.02%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$7.39 £5.52

$7.26 MX$136

1.79%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.26 £6.91

$7.70 MX$144

20.26%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$15.46 £11.55

$12.69 MX$238

21.83%

Apples (1kg)

$2.45 £1.83

$2.78 MX$52.3

-11.87%

Banana (1kg)

$2.28 £1.70

$1.37 MX$25.68

66.42%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.31 £1.72

$2.55 MX$47.89

-9.41%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.86 £2.14

$2.12 MX$39.86

34.91%

Potato (1kg)

$3.10 £2.31

$1.94 MX$36.39

59.79%

Onion (1kg)

$2.09 £1.56

$1.89 MX$35.41

10.58%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.71 £1.28

$1.15 MX$21.53

48.70%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.94 £1.45

$1.18 MX$22.13

64.41%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$24.02 £17.94

$4.30 MX$80.6

458.60%

Wine (Bottle)

$12.10 £9.04

$9.95 MX$187

21.61%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$3.34 £2.49

$1.58 MX$29.73

111.39%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.23 £2.41

$2.67 MX$50.1

20.97%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$4.16 £3.10

$0.55 MX$10.39

656.36%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$97.6 £72.8

$26.62 MX$500

266.49%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$4.71 £3.52

$4.97 MX$93.3

-5.23%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.95 £0.71

$3.33 MX$62.5

-71.47%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$11.77 £8.79

$5.36 MX$101

119.59%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.85 £1.38

$1.44 MX$27.11

28.47%

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

$37.7K £28.2K

$20.7K MX$388.0K

82.44%

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

$41.0K £30.6K

$23.5K MX$440.5K

74.52%

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

$238 £178

$84.8 MX$1,592

181.17%

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

$22.51 £16.81

$23.41 MX$439

-3.84%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$43.02 £32.12

$28.66 MX$538

50.10%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$51.4 £38.36

$57.1 MX$1,071

-9.96%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$26.75 £19.97

$28.91 MX$543

-7.47%

Cinema Ticket

$13.52 £10.09

$5.14 MX$96.5

163.04%

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

$1,948 £1,454

$207 MX$3,878

842.85%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$22.5K £16.8K

$3,927 MX$73.7K

473.59%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$83.3 £62.2

$43.35 MX$814

92.23%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$52.3 £39.05

$41.44 MX$778

26.18%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$121 £90.3

$74.2 MX$1,393

62.92%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$89.6 £66.9

$89.3 MX$1,676

0.39%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$631 £471

$980 MX$18.4K

-35.58%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$525 £392

$381 MX$7,150

37.82%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,017 £759

$1,708 MX$32.1K

-40.46%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$944 £705

$1,075 MX$20.2K

-12.21%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$4,954 £3,699

$3,943 MX$74.0K

25.64%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$3,808 £2,844

$6,158 MX$115.6K

-38.15%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$3,436 £2,566

$735 MX$13.8K

367.83%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

5.41

11.45

-52.75%

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

Last update for Dumfries: 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

Dumfries

$525 29.9%

Playa del Carmen

$381 31.6% 27.4% $144

Groceries & Markets

Dumfries

$316 18%

Playa del Carmen

$255 21.2% 19.4% $61

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Dumfries

$304 17.3%

Playa del Carmen

$137 11.4% 55% $167

Eating Out

Dumfries

$251 14.3%

Playa del Carmen

$202 16.8% 19.5% $49

Clothing & Footwear

Dumfries

$156 8.9%

Playa del Carmen

$112 9.3% 28.3% $44

Getting Around

Dumfries

$124 7.1%

Playa del Carmen

$50 4.2% 59.2% $73

Sport & Entertainment

Dumfries

$78 4.5%

Playa del Carmen

$67 5.6% 14.1% $11

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $631 in Dumfries and $980 in Playa del Carmen. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Dumfries pays about 4.7 times more on average. How far that income stretches comes down to housing choices and lifestyle.

Dining out: $80 in Dumfries vs $43 in Playa del Carmen for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $316 vs $255 per month, with Playa del Carmen cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇬🇧 Dumfries

🇲🇽 Playa del Carmen

🕒 Local time

23:14 11:14 PM

18:14 6:14 PM

5 h behind Dumfries

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

39,080

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 1, 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 1, 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

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Between locations

Dumfries Playa del Carmen 7,730 km ≈ 10 h nonstop flight

From you

Dumfries
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

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

Playa del Carmen is about 31% cheaper overall, especially in transport, groceries, and eating out. That difference adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

Average pay in Dumfries is about 4.7 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: $631 in Dumfries 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 $80 in Dumfries. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

All in, you’ll spend $1,754 per month in Dumfries versus $1,204 in Playa del Carmen – Playa del Carmen is about 31% cheaper, which adds up to real savings over time.

At $1,204 in Playa del Carmen versus $1,754 in Dumfries, a $1,500 budget is realistic in Playa del Carmen but tight or insufficient in Dumfries. 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, Dumfries on earning potential. Factor in climate, language, visa rules, and proximity to places that matter to you before deciding.