Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Farnborough and Playa del Carmen

For one person, living is cheaper in Playa del Carmen: $1,210 a month against $2,337 in Farnborough, rent and utilities included – about $13,500 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

114

Cost of Living Index in Farnborough
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Farnborough Living Index
59

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

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Farnborough

🇬🇧 United Kingdom

$2,337

/mo nomad

Playa del Carmen

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,210

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,337 in Farnborough versus $1,210 in Playa del Carmen.

Farnborough $2,337
Playa del Carmen $1,210

Estimated couple costs with rent: $3,581 in Farnborough versus $2,113 in Playa del Carmen.

Farnborough $3,581
Playa del Carmen $2,113

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $4,826 in Farnborough versus $3,016 in Playa del Carmen.

Farnborough $4,826
Playa del Carmen $3,016

Living in Farnborough is roughly 93% 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: Farnborough is 73% above, Playa del Carmen is 10% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$19.86 £14.90

$10.76 MX$199

84.57%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$86.1 £64.6

$43.03 MX$795

100.16%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$9.21 £6.91

$11.79 MX$218

-21.88%

Cappuccino

$4.58 £3.44

$3.87 MX$71.4

18.35%

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

$2.63 £1.98

$1.37 MX$25.29

91.97%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.02 £1.52

$0.84 MX$15.44

140.48%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$7.15 £5.36

$3.10 MX$57.3

130.65%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$6.48 £4.86

$5.07 MX$93.6

27.81%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.43 £1.07

$1.44 MX$26.55

-0.69%

White Bread (500g)

$1.58 £1.18

$2.23 MX$41.23

-29.15%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$3.71 £2.78

$1.47 MX$27.17

152.38%

Eggs

$3.32 £2.49

$2.53 MX$46.71

31.23%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$8.65 £6.49

$7.30 MX$135

18.49%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$8.21 £6.16

$7.86 MX$145

4.45%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$13.43 £10.07

$12.79 MX$236

5.00%

Apples (1kg)

$1.69 £1.27

$2.90 MX$53.6

-41.72%

Banana (1kg)

$1.82 £1.37

$1.44 MX$26.53

26.39%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.96 £2.22

$2.55 MX$47.07

16.08%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.93 £2.20

$2.06 MX$38.03

42.23%

Potato (1kg)

$1.59 £1.20

$2.00 MX$36.97

-20.50%

Onion (1kg)

$1.58 £1.19

$2.01 MX$37.07

-21.39%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.01 £0.76

$1.19 MX$22.02

-15.13%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.59 £0.44

$1.26 MX$23.23

-53.17%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$22.40 £16.81

$4.40 MX$81.4

409.09%

Wine (Bottle)

$11.11 £8.33

$9.59 MX$177

15.85%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.63 £1.97

$1.59 MX$29.41

65.41%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.13 £1.60

$2.81 MX$51.9

-24.20%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$2.57 £1.92

$0.57 MX$10.47

350.88%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$27.82 MX$514

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.06 £2.29

$4.98 MX$92.1

-38.55%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.53 £1.15

$3.50 MX$64.6

-56.29%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$11.87 £8.90

$5.40 MX$99.8

119.81%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.87 £1.40

$1.47 MX$27.08

27.21%

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

$36.9K £27.7K

$21.0K MX$387.8K

75.83%

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

$40.6K £30.4K

$23.9K MX$441.8K

69.77%

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

$163 £122

$84.2 MX$1,556

92.99%

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

$15.11 £11.34

$23.99 MX$443

-37.02%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$41.99 £31.50

$29.02 MX$536

44.69%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$56.7 £42.55

$63.0 MX$1,164

-9.94%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$24.20 £18.15

$29.14 MX$539

-16.95%

Cinema Ticket

$9.31 £6.98

$4.94 MX$91.3

88.46%

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

$1,250 £938

$204 MX$3,763

513.90%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$19.7K £14.8K

$3,941 MX$72.8K

398.91%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$90.5 £67.9

$43.60 MX$806

107.55%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$40.41 £30.31

$43.12 MX$797

-6.28%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$101 £75.6

$75.8 MX$1,400

32.92%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$121 £90.9

$88.6 MX$1,637

36.76%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,623 £1,218

$1,008 MX$18.6K

60.97%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,283 £963

$374 MX$6,911

243.11%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,483 £1,863

$1,708 MX$31.6K

45.31%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$2,343 £1,758

$1,106 MX$20.4K

111.81%

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)

$4,033 £3,026

$754 MX$13.9K

434.74%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

5.16

11.45

-54.93%

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

Last update for Farnborough: October 10, 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

Farnborough

$1.3K 54.9%

Playa del Carmen

$374 30.9% 70.9% $909

Eating Out

Farnborough

$309 13.2%

Playa del Carmen

$202 16.7% 34.5% $107

Groceries & Markets

Farnborough

$270 11.6%

Playa del Carmen

$258 21.4% 4.3% $11

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Farnborough

$220 9.4%

Playa del Carmen

$137 11.3% 37.5% $82

Clothing & Footwear

Farnborough

$159 6.8%

Playa del Carmen

$113 9.3% 28.8% $46

Sport & Entertainment

Farnborough

$75 3.2%

Playa del Carmen

$73 6% 3.3% $2.5

Getting Around

Farnborough

$21 * 0.9%

Playa del Carmen

$53 4.3% 151% $32

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

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,623 in Farnborough and $1,008 in Playa del Carmen. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Farnborough pays 435% more on average. The extra income cushions the higher costs, though housing choices and lifestyle decide how much of the gap is truly closed.

Dining out: $86.0 in Farnborough vs $43.00 in Playa del Carmen for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $270 vs $258 per month, with Playa del Carmen cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇬🇧 Farnborough

🇲🇽 Playa del Carmen

🕒 Local time

00:46 12:46 AM

18:46 6:46 PM

6 h behind Farnborough

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

60,652

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 19, 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 19, 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

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Between locations

Farnborough Playa del Carmen 7,980 km ≈ 10 h nonstop flight

From you

Farnborough
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

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

Farnborough and Playa del Carmen differ by about 93% in total monthly costs ($2,337 vs $1,210 including rent). Playa del Carmen is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

Average pay runs 435% higher in Farnborough, 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: $1,623 in Farnborough versus $1,008 in Playa del Carmen. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $1,250 in Farnborough versus $204 in Playa del Carmen. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Dining out is cheaper in Playa del Carmen – a meal for two runs $43.00 versus $86.0 in Farnborough. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

At $1,210 in Playa del Carmen versus $2,337 in Farnborough, a $1,500 budget is realistic in Playa del Carmen but tight or insufficient in Farnborough. 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 93% less than in Farnborough. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.