Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Falmouth and Playa del Carmen

For one person, living is cheaper in Playa del Carmen: $1,210 a month against $1,964 in Falmouth, rent and utilities included – about $9,000 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

96

Cost of Living Index in Falmouth
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Falmouth Living Index
59

Cost of Living Index in Playa del Carmen
Learn more

Playa del Carmen Living Index

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Falmouth

🇬🇧 United Kingdom

$1,964

/mo nomad

Playa del Carmen

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,210

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

A single person spends $1,964 per month in Falmouth vs $1,210 in Playa del Carmen, rent included.

Falmouth $1,964
Playa del Carmen $1,210

A couple spends around $2,980 per month in Falmouth vs $2,113 in Playa del Carmen, rent included.

Falmouth $2,980
Playa del Carmen $2,113

A family of three spends $3,997 per month in Falmouth vs $3,016 in Playa del Carmen, rent included.

Falmouth $3,997
Playa del Carmen $3,016

Falmouth costs about 62% more than Playa del Carmen, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Falmouth sits 45% above the global median, while Playa del Carmen is 10% below – they fall on opposite sides of the world average.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$23.28 £17.47

$10.76 MX$199

116.36%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$93.3 £70.0

$43.03 MX$795

116.76%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$10.07 £7.55

$11.79 MX$218

-14.59%

Cappuccino

$5.03 £3.78

$3.87 MX$71.4

29.97%

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

$2.82 £2.12

$1.37 MX$25.29

105.84%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.79 £1.34

$0.84 MX$15.44

113.10%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$6.70 £5.03

$3.10 MX$57.3

116.13%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$6.52 £4.89

$5.07 MX$93.6

28.60%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.67 £1.26

$1.44 MX$26.55

15.97%

White Bread (500g)

$1.96 £1.47

$2.23 MX$41.23

-12.11%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.75 £1.31

$1.47 MX$27.17

19.05%

Eggs

$4.95 £3.71

$2.53 MX$46.71

95.65%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$3.86 £2.90

$7.30 MX$135

-47.12%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$7.75 £5.82

$7.86 MX$145

-1.40%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$16.64 £12.49

$12.79 MX$236

30.10%

Apples (1kg)

$3.38 £2.53

$2.90 MX$53.6

16.55%

Banana (1kg)

$1.75 £1.32

$1.44 MX$26.53

21.53%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.43 £1.82

$2.55 MX$47.07

-4.71%

Tomato (1kg)

$3.22 £2.41

$2.06 MX$38.03

56.31%

Potato (1kg)

$2.02 £1.52

$2.00 MX$36.97

1.00%

Onion (1kg)

$1.75 £1.31

$2.01 MX$37.07

-12.94%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.80 £1.35

$1.19 MX$22.02

51.26%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.96 £1.47

$1.26 MX$23.23

55.56%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$23.68 £17.77

$4.40 MX$81.4

438.18%

Wine (Bottle)

$10.78 £8.08

$9.59 MX$177

12.41%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.47 £1.85

$1.59 MX$29.41

55.35%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.57 £1.18

$2.81 MX$51.9

-44.13%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$5.84 £4.38

$0.57 MX$10.47

924.56%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$27.82 MX$514

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$5.30 £3.97

$4.98 MX$92.1

6.43%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$4.01 £3.01

$3.50 MX$64.6

14.57%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$26.59 £19.95

$5.40 MX$99.8

392.41%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.99 £1.49

$1.47 MX$27.08

35.37%

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

$38.6K £29.0K

$21.0K MX$387.8K

84.02%

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

$41.2K £30.9K

$23.9K MX$441.8K

72.54%

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

$259 £194

$84.2 MX$1,556

207.67%

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

$19.77 £14.83

$23.99 MX$443

-17.59%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$42.76 £32.08

$29.02 MX$536

47.35%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$58.5 £43.85

$63.0 MX$1,164

-7.19%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$29.14 MX$539

Cinema Ticket

$11.74 £8.81

$4.94 MX$91.3

137.65%

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

$1,579 £1,185

$204 MX$3,763

675.65%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$3,941 MX$72.8K

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$53.9 £40.45

$43.60 MX$806

23.67%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$30.75 £23.07

$43.12 MX$797

-28.69%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$99.5 £74.6

$75.8 MX$1,400

31.28%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$60.5 £45.37

$88.6 MX$1,637

-31.73%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$782 £587

$1,008 MX$18.6K

-22.43%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$766 £575

$374 MX$6,911

104.78%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,145 £1,609

$1,708 MX$31.6K

25.52%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,294 £971

$1,106 MX$20.4K

16.97%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,944 MX$72.9K

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$6,169 MX$114.0K

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$754 MX$13.9K

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

3.5

11.45

-69.43%

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

Last update for Falmouth: October 12, 2026

Last update for Playa del Carmen: October 10, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Falmouth

$766 39%

Playa del Carmen

$374 30.9% 51.2% $392

Eating Out

Falmouth

$342 17.4%

Playa del Carmen

$202 16.7% 40.8% $140

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Falmouth

$322 16.4%

Playa del Carmen

$137 11.3% 57.3% $184

Groceries & Markets

Falmouth

$294 15%

Playa del Carmen

$258 21.4% 12% $35

Clothing & Footwear

Falmouth

$110 5.6%

Playa del Carmen

$113 9.3% 2.6% $2.9

Sport & Entertainment

Falmouth

$82 4.2%

Playa del Carmen

$73 6% 11.1% $9.1

Getting Around

Falmouth

$49 * 2.5%

Playa del Carmen

$53 4.3% 7.9% $3.8

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

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $782 in Falmouth versus $1,008 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.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $93.0 in Falmouth versus $43.00 in Playa del Carmen. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $294 vs $258 – making Playa del Carmen the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇬🇧 Falmouth

🇲🇽 Playa del Carmen

🕒 Local time

00:37 12:37 AM

18:37 6:37 PM

6 h behind Falmouth

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

25,223

149,923

💱 Currency

British Pound GBP £

Mexican Peso MXN $

📈 Exchange rate

1 GBP = 1.33 USD

1 GBP = 1.19 EUR

100 MXN = 5.41 USD

100 MXN = 4.81 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 October 18, 2026: 1 USD = 0.75 GBP (1 GBP = 1.33 USD). 1 EUR = 0.843 GBP (1 GBP = 1.19 EUR).

Mexican Peso exchange rates as of October 18, 2026: 1 USD = 18.48 MXN (100 MXN = 5.41 USD). 1 EUR = 20.77 MXN (100 MXN = 4.81 EUR).

USD to GBP in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Falmouth Playa del Carmen 7,700 km ≈ 10 h nonstop flight

From you

Falmouth
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

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

Yes – Falmouth is pricier by about 62%, and outside of rent the gap shows up most in eating out.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $2,946 per month in Falmouth and $1,816 in Playa del Carmen. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

Rent is clearly cheaper in Playa del Carmen, especially for central apartments. Housing is actually the single biggest factor behind the overall cost gap between these two cities.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $93.0 in Falmouth and $43.00 in Playa del Carmen. That's a good indicator of the overall restaurant and café pricing gap between the two cities.

Groceries cost about 14% more in Falmouth, though it depends on what you buy. Local produce may be comparable; imported and premium items show the biggest price gap.

A $1,500 monthly budget goes further in Playa del Carmen, where all-in costs run around $1,210, than in Falmouth at $1,964. In Playa del Carmen it covers expenses comfortably, while in Falmouth it requires careful planning or may not stretch far enough.

Families tend to lean toward Playa del Carmen – lower housing and cheaper childcare make a real difference, especially on a single income or when paying for private education.

Both have safer and rougher neighborhoods, but overall safety is comparable to other large cities. Neighborhood choice matters more than the city-level comparison – central, well-trafficked areas feel secure in both.

If budget matters most, go with Playa del Carmen. If higher salaries, better infrastructure, or specific career opportunities are the priority, Falmouth makes more sense. Both are solid long-term options with distinct trade-offs.