Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Fort William and Playa del Carmen

For one person, living is cheaper in Playa del Carmen: $1,204 a month against $2,455 in Fort William, rent and utilities included – about $15,000 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

119

Cost of Living Index in Fort William
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Fort William Living Index
59

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

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Fort William

🇬🇧 United Kingdom

$2,455

/mo nomad

Playa del Carmen

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,204

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,455 in Fort William versus $1,204 in Playa del Carmen.

Fort William $2,455
Playa del Carmen $1,204

Estimated couple costs with rent: $3,592 in Fort William versus $2,102 in Playa del Carmen.

Fort William $3,592
Playa del Carmen $2,102

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $4,730 in Fort William versus $3,000 in Playa del Carmen.

Fort William $4,730
Playa del Carmen $3,000

Living in Fort William is roughly 104% 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: Fort William is 81% above, Playa del Carmen is 11% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$20.26 £15.20

$10.86 MX$201

86.56%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$98.3 £73.8

$44.21 MX$817

122.37%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$10.59 £7.95

$11.76 MX$217

-9.95%

Cappuccino

$4.63 £3.47

$3.68 MX$68.0

25.82%

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

$2.73 £2.05

$1.34 MX$24.79

103.73%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.96 £1.47

$0.82 MX$15.24

139.02%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$7.03 £5.28

$3.06 MX$56.6

129.74%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$7.81 £5.86

$4.94 MX$91.2

58.10%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.48 £1.11

$1.47 MX$27.17

0.68%

White Bread (500g)

$1.73 £1.30

$2.22 MX$40.95

-22.07%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.03 £1.52

$1.48 MX$27.32

37.16%

Eggs

$3.49 £2.61

$2.49 MX$45.99

40.16%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$9.00 £6.75

$7.52 MX$139

19.68%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$10.71 £8.03

$7.96 MX$147

34.55%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$15.56 £11.67

$12.57 MX$232

23.79%

Apples (1kg)

$2.86 £2.15

$2.78 MX$51.3

2.88%

Banana (1kg)

$1.30 £0.98

$1.43 MX$26.37

-9.09%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.06 £1.54

$2.62 MX$48.37

-21.37%

Tomato (1kg)

$3.80 £2.85

$2.14 MX$39.49

77.57%

Potato (1kg)

$1.16 £0.87

$2.02 MX$37.38

-42.57%

Onion (1kg)

$1.35 £1.01

$1.99 MX$36.74

-32.16%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.20 £0.90

$1.14 MX$21.01

5.26%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.60 £1.20

$1.20 MX$22.18

33.33%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$21.80 £16.36

$4.26 MX$78.7

411.74%

Wine (Bottle)

$10.96 £8.23

$10.02 MX$185

9.38%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.71 £2.03

$1.54 MX$28.41

75.97%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.10 £2.32

$2.66 MX$49.17

16.54%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$3.66 £2.75

$0.53 MX$9.73

590.57%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$108 £80.9

$27.51 MX$508

292.18%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$4.04 £3.03

$4.90 MX$90.6

-17.55%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$2.44 £1.83

$3.43 MX$63.5

-28.86%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$23.80 £17.86

$5.38 MX$99.4

342.38%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$2.15 £1.62

$1.45 MX$26.76

48.28%

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

$38.6K £28.9K

$21.2K MX$391.0K

82.33%

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

$39.8K £29.9K

$23.0K MX$425.3K

72.97%

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

$378 £284

$85.4 MX$1,577

343.33%

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

$27.94 £20.96

$23.46 MX$434

19.10%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$43.04 £32.29

$28.43 MX$525

51.39%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$46.86 £35.16

$62.2 MX$1,149

-24.65%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$6.75 £5.06

$28.68 MX$530

-76.46%

Cinema Ticket

$11.56 £8.67

$5.10 MX$94.3

126.67%

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

$1,792 £1,345

$201 MX$3,715

791.31%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$23.5K £17.6K

$3,947 MX$72.9K

494.16%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$96.2 £72.2

$44.39 MX$820

116.69%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$48.12 £36.10

$41.35 MX$764

16.37%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$104 £77.8

$72.7 MX$1,344

42.62%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$115 £86.4

$89.6 MX$1,656

28.55%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,213 £910

$979 MX$18.1K

23.87%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,012 £759

$373 MX$6,887

171.44%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,161 £1,621

$1,681 MX$31.1K

28.57%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,628 £1,221

$1,095 MX$20.2K

48.62%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$5,096 £3,823

$3,949 MX$73.0K

29.04%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$3,553 £2,666

$6,137 MX$113.4K

-42.09%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,973 £1,480

$738 MX$13.6K

167.56%

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 Fort William: October 19, 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

Fort William

$1K 41.2%

Playa del Carmen

$373 31% 63.2% $639

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Fort William

$449 18.3%

Playa del Carmen

$137 11.4% 69.5% $312

Eating Out

Fort William

$319 13%

Playa del Carmen

$200 16.6% 37.2% $119

Groceries & Markets

Fort William

$303 12.3%

Playa del Carmen

$258 21.5% 14.6% $44

Clothing & Footwear

Fort William

$163 6.7%

Playa del Carmen

$112 9.3% 31.7% $52

Getting Around

Fort William

$139 5.7%

Playa del Carmen

$52 4.3% 62.7% $87

Sport & Entertainment

Fort William

$70 2.9%

Playa del Carmen

$72 6% 3.5% $2.4

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,213 in Fort William and $979 in Playa del Carmen. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Fort William pays 168% 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: $98.0 in Fort William vs $44.00 in Playa del Carmen for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $303 vs $258 per month, with Playa del Carmen cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇬🇧 Fort William

🇲🇽 Playa del Carmen

🕒 Local time

18:14 6:14 PM

12:14 12:14 PM

6 h behind Fort William

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

10,000

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

Fort William Playa del Carmen 7,620 km ≈ 10 h nonstop flight

From you

Fort William
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

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

Playa del Carmen is cheaper overall, especially in eating out, groceries, and clothing. The 104% gap adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

Average pay runs 168% higher in Fort William, 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: $1,213 in Fort William versus $979 in Playa del Carmen. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Supermarket bills run roughly 17% higher in Fort William. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

Dining out is cheaper in Playa del Carmen – a meal for two runs $44.00 versus $98.0 in Fort William. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

At $1,204 in Playa del Carmen versus $2,455 in Fort William, a $1,500 budget is realistic in Playa del Carmen but tight or insufficient in Fort William. The gap between the two cities makes Playa del Carmen the clear choice for anyone on this budget.

For families, Playa del Carmen is more practical. Housing and childcare are both notably cheaper than in Fort William, and the savings on those two alone free up budget for education, activities, and family trips.

Expats usually find Playa del Carmen gentler on the wallet – expenses run 104% less than in Fort William. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.