Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Folkestone and Playa del Carmen

For one person, living is cheaper in Playa del Carmen: $1,204 a month against $1,977 in Folkestone, rent and utilities included – about $9,300 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

95

Cost of Living Index in Folkestone
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Folkestone Living Index
59

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

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Folkestone

🇬🇧 United Kingdom

$1,977

/mo nomad

Playa del Carmen

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,204

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

A single person spends $1,977 per month in Folkestone vs $1,204 in Playa del Carmen, rent included.

Folkestone $1,977
Playa del Carmen $1,204

A couple spends around $3,052 per month in Folkestone vs $2,102 in Playa del Carmen, rent included.

Folkestone $3,052
Playa del Carmen $2,102

A family of three spends $4,128 per month in Folkestone vs $3,000 in Playa del Carmen, rent included.

Folkestone $4,128
Playa del Carmen $3,000

Folkestone costs about 64% more than Playa del Carmen, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Folkestone sits 46% above the global median, while Playa del Carmen is 11% below – they fall on opposite sides of the world average.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$17.37 £13.03

$10.86 MX$201

59.94%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$66.7 £50.1

$44.21 MX$817

50.94%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$10.54 £7.90

$11.76 MX$217

-10.37%

Cappuccino

$4.74 £3.56

$3.68 MX$68.0

28.80%

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

$2.72 £2.04

$1.34 MX$24.79

102.99%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.84 £1.38

$0.82 MX$15.24

124.39%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$6.75 £5.06

$3.06 MX$56.6

120.59%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$6.45 £4.84

$4.94 MX$91.2

30.57%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.50 £1.13

$1.47 MX$27.17

2.04%

White Bread (500g)

$1.33 £1.00

$2.22 MX$40.95

-40.09%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.30 £0.98

$1.48 MX$27.32

-12.16%

Eggs

$2.98 £2.23

$2.49 MX$45.99

19.68%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$9.60 £7.20

$7.52 MX$139

27.66%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$7.80 £5.85

$7.96 MX$147

-2.01%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$14.76 £11.07

$12.57 MX$232

17.42%

Apples (1kg)

$3.25 £2.44

$2.78 MX$51.3

16.91%

Banana (1kg)

$1.45 £1.09

$1.43 MX$26.37

1.40%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.79 £2.09

$2.62 MX$48.37

6.49%

Tomato (1kg)

$3.26 £2.44

$2.14 MX$39.49

52.34%

Potato (1kg)

$1.59 £1.20

$2.02 MX$37.38

-21.29%

Onion (1kg)

$1.41 £1.06

$1.99 MX$36.74

-29.15%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.69 £1.27

$1.14 MX$21.01

48.25%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.48 £1.11

$1.20 MX$22.18

23.33%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$23.97 £17.98

$4.26 MX$78.7

462.68%

Wine (Bottle)

$10.79 £8.09

$10.02 MX$185

7.68%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.78 £2.09

$1.54 MX$28.41

80.52%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.67 £2.75

$2.66 MX$49.17

37.97%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$2.71 £2.03

$0.53 MX$9.73

411.32%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$32.78 £24.59

$27.51 MX$508

19.16%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.32 £0.99

$4.90 MX$90.6

-73.06%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.68 £1.26

$3.43 MX$63.5

-51.02%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$21.69 £16.28

$5.38 MX$99.4

303.16%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.98 £1.48

$1.45 MX$26.76

36.55%

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

$38.4K £28.8K

$21.2K MX$391.0K

81.39%

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

$40.6K £30.5K

$23.0K MX$425.3K

76.35%

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

$253 £190

$85.4 MX$1,577

196.03%

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

$24.53 £18.40

$23.46 MX$434

4.56%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$40.77 £30.58

$28.43 MX$525

43.40%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$73.1 £54.8

$62.2 MX$1,149

17.53%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$9.46 £7.10

$28.68 MX$530

-67.02%

Cinema Ticket

$21.11 £15.84

$5.10 MX$94.3

313.92%

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

$1,046 £785

$201 MX$3,715

420.45%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$20.3K £15.2K

$3,947 MX$72.9K

413.46%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$69.4 £52.1

$44.39 MX$820

56.32%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$31.93 £23.95

$41.35 MX$764

-22.78%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$77.6 £58.2

$72.7 MX$1,344

6.63%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$51.1 £38.30

$89.6 MX$1,656

-43.03%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,130 £848

$979 MX$18.1K

15.44%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$810 £607

$373 MX$6,887

117.26%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,479 £1,109

$1,681 MX$31.1K

-12.03%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,631 £1,224

$1,095 MX$20.2K

48.91%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,465 £2,600

$3,949 MX$73.0K

-12.25%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$3,474 £2,606

$6,137 MX$113.4K

-43.39%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$738 MX$13.6K

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

4.91

11.45

-57.12%

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

Last update for Folkestone: October 20, 2026

Last update for Playa del Carmen: October 17, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Folkestone

$810 41%

Playa del Carmen

$373 31% 54% $437

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Folkestone

$318 16.1%

Playa del Carmen

$137 11.4% 56.8% $181

Eating Out

Folkestone

$292 14.8%

Playa del Carmen

$200 16.6% 31.5% $92

Groceries & Markets

Folkestone

$285 14.4%

Playa del Carmen

$258 21.5% 9.3% $27

Sport & Entertainment

Folkestone

$115 5.8%

Playa del Carmen

$72 6% 37.2% $43

Clothing & Footwear

Folkestone

$103 5.2%

Playa del Carmen

$112 9.3% 7.9% $8.2

Getting Around

Folkestone

$53 2.7%

Playa del Carmen

$52 4.3% 3.1% $1.6

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $1,130 in Folkestone versus $979 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 $67.0 in Folkestone versus $44.00 in Playa del Carmen. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $285 vs $258 – making Playa del Carmen the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇬🇧 Folkestone

🇲🇽 Playa del Carmen

🕒 Local time

18:14 6:14 PM

12:14 12:14 PM

6 h behind Folkestone

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

45,273

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 22, 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 22, 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

Folkestone Playa del Carmen 8,120 km ≈ 11 h nonstop flight

From you

Folkestone
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

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

Monthly costs with rent: $1,977 in Folkestone, $1,204 in Playa del Carmen – roughly 64% apart. Outside of rent, the biggest gap is in eating out.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $2,966 per month in Folkestone and $1,806 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 $67.0 in Folkestone and $44.00 in Playa del Carmen. That's a good indicator of the overall restaurant and café pricing gap between the two cities.

Monthly expenses with rent come to $1,977 in Folkestone and $1,204 in Playa del Carmen. That's a gap of about 64%.

A $1,500 monthly budget goes further in Playa del Carmen, where all-in costs run around $1,204, than in Folkestone at $1,977. In Playa del Carmen it covers expenses comfortably, while in Folkestone it requires careful planning or may not stretch far enough.

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 $1,977 in Folkestone. Climate, culture, job market, and personal taste all factor in.

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, Folkestone makes more sense. Both are solid long-term options with distinct trade-offs.