Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Farnham and Playa del Carmen

For one person, living is cheaper in Playa del Carmen: $1,204 a month against $3,296 in Farnham, rent and utilities included – about $25,100 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

157

Cost of Living Index in Farnham
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Farnham Living Index
58

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

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Farnham

🇬🇧 United Kingdom

$3,296

/mo nomad

Playa del Carmen

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,204

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $3,296 in Farnham versus $1,204 in Playa del Carmen.

Farnham $3,296
Playa del Carmen $1,204

Estimated couple costs with rent: $4,468 in Farnham versus $2,082 in Playa del Carmen.

Farnham $4,468
Playa del Carmen $2,082

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $5,639 in Farnham versus $2,959 in Playa del Carmen.

Farnham $5,639
Playa del Carmen $2,959

Living in Farnham is roughly 174% 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: Farnham is 142% above, Playa del Carmen is 12% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$26.58 £20.00

$10.92 MX$204

143.41%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$81.1 £61.0

$43.37 MX$808

86.97%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$18.03 £13.57

$11.78 MX$220

53.06%

Cappuccino

$6.69 £5.04

$3.81 MX$71.0

75.59%

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

$2.32 £1.75

$1.28 MX$23.90

81.25%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.67 £1.26

$0.78 MX$14.59

114.10%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$4.72 £3.55

$3.17 MX$59.0

48.90%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$6.51 £4.90

$4.93 MX$92.0

32.05%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.70 £1.28

$1.41 MX$26.22

20.57%

White Bread (500g)

$2.11 £1.59

$2.22 MX$41.33

-4.95%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.77 £1.33

$1.42 MX$26.42

24.65%

Eggs

$4.14 £3.12

$2.52 MX$47.03

64.29%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$9.13 £6.87

$7.26 MX$135

25.76%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$8.45 £6.36

$7.70 MX$143

9.74%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$9.40 £7.08

$12.69 MX$237

-25.93%

Apples (1kg)

$2.72 £2.05

$2.78 MX$51.9

-2.16%

Banana (1kg)

$2.65 £2.00

$1.37 MX$25.50

93.43%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.40 £1.81

$2.55 MX$47.55

-5.88%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.56 £1.93

$2.12 MX$39.58

20.75%

Potato (1kg)

$2.30 £1.73

$1.94 MX$36.13

18.56%

Onion (1kg)

$2.03 £1.53

$1.89 MX$35.16

7.41%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.21 £0.91

$1.15 MX$21.37

5.22%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$2.83 £2.13

$1.18 MX$21.98

139.83%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$21.32 £16.05

$4.30 MX$80.1

395.81%

Wine (Bottle)

$12.51 £9.42

$9.95 MX$185

25.73%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$5.36 £4.04

$1.58 MX$29.52

239.24%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.19 £2.40

$2.67 MX$49.79

19.48%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$5.36 £4.04

$0.55 MX$10.31

874.55%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$100 £75.6

$26.62 MX$496

277.31%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$5.21 £3.92

$4.97 MX$92.6

4.83%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$2.38 £1.79

$3.33 MX$62.1

-28.53%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$25.21 £18.97

$5.36 MX$99.8

370.34%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$2.36 £1.78

$1.44 MX$26.92

63.89%

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

$38.2K £28.8K

$20.7K MX$385.2K

85.07%

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

$35.3K £26.6K

$23.5K MX$437.4K

50.54%

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

$166 £125

$84.8 MX$1,581

96.11%

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

$40.31 £30.34

$23.41 MX$436

72.19%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$42.82 £32.23

$28.66 MX$534

49.41%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$45.14 £33.97

$57.1 MX$1,063

-20.88%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$40.64 £30.59

$28.91 MX$539

40.57%

Cinema Ticket

$13.13 £9.89

$5.14 MX$95.8

155.45%

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

$1,837 £1,382

$207 MX$3,851

789.10%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$22.5K £16.9K

$3,927 MX$73.2K

473.26%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$102 £76.7

$43.35 MX$808

135.18%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$60.8 £45.76

$41.44 MX$772

46.74%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$144 £108

$74.2 MX$1,383

94.00%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$101 £76.4

$89.3 MX$1,664

13.70%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,589 £1,196

$980 MX$18.3K

62.17%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,934 £1,455

$381 MX$7,099

407.76%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,317 £1,744

$1,708 MX$31.8K

35.64%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$2,539 £1,911

$1,075 MX$20.0K

136.17%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$5,108 £3,845

$3,943 MX$73.5K

29.56%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$4,449 £3,348

$6,158 MX$114.8K

-27.76%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,852 £1,394

$735 MX$13.7K

152.20%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

5.11

11.45

-55.37%

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

Last update for Farnham: October 27, 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

Farnham

$1.9K 58.7%

Playa del Carmen

$381 31.6% 80.3% $1.6K

Eating Out

Farnham

$400 12.1%

Playa del Carmen

$202 16.8% 49.4% $197

Groceries & Markets

Farnham

$319 9.7%

Playa del Carmen

$255 21.2% 20.2% $65

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Farnham

$249 7.6%

Playa del Carmen

$137 11.4% 45.1% $113

Clothing & Footwear

Farnham

$184 5.6%

Playa del Carmen

$112 9.3% 39.2% $72

Getting Around

Farnham

$139 4.2%

Playa del Carmen

$50 4.2% 63.7% $89

Sport & Entertainment

Farnham

$71 2.2%

Playa del Carmen

$67 5.6% 5.7% $4.1

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,589 in Farnham and $980 in Playa del Carmen. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Farnham pays about 2.5 times 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: $81 in Farnham vs $43 in Playa del Carmen for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $319 vs $255 per month, with Playa del Carmen cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇬🇧 Farnham

🇲🇽 Playa del Carmen

🕒 Local time

18:41 6:41 PM

13:41 1:41 PM

5 h behind Farnham

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

36,971

149,923

💱 Currency

British Pound GBP £

Mexican Peso MXN $

📈 Exchange rate

1 GBP = 1.33 USD

1 GBP = 1.19 EUR

100 MXN = 5.36 USD

100 MXN = 4.82 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 28, 2026: 1 USD = 0.753 GBP (1 GBP = 1.33 USD). 1 EUR = 0.838 GBP (1 GBP = 1.19 EUR).

Mexican Peso exchange rates as of October 28, 2026: 1 USD = 18.64 MXN (100 MXN = 5.36 USD). 1 EUR = 20.75 MXN (100 MXN = 4.82 EUR).

USD to GBP in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

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

From you

Farnham
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

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

Playa del Carmen wins on cost – living expenses run 63% lower than in Farnham. Housing and daily spending are where you’ll feel the difference most, making Playa del Carmen the obvious pick if budget is a priority.

Average pay in Farnham is about 2.5 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: $1,589 in Farnham versus $980 in Playa del Carmen. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $1,837 in Farnham versus $207 in Playa del Carmen. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Supermarket bills run roughly 25% higher in Farnham. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

At $1,204 in Playa del Carmen versus $3,296 in Farnham, a $1,500 budget is realistic in Playa del Carmen but tight or insufficient in Farnham. 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 63% less than in Farnham. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.