Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Glasgow and Playa del Carmen

For one person, living is cheaper in Playa del Carmen: $1,204 a month against $2,425 in Glasgow, rent and utilities included – about $14,700 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

117

Cost of Living Index in Glasgow
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Glasgow Living Index
58

Cost of Living Index in Playa del Carmen
Learn more

Playa del Carmen Living Index

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Glasgow

🇬🇧 United Kingdom

$2,425

/mo nomad

Playa del Carmen

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,204

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

A single person spends $2,425 per month in Glasgow vs $1,204 in Playa del Carmen, rent included.

Glasgow $2,425
Playa del Carmen $1,204

A couple spends around $3,706 per month in Glasgow vs $2,082 in Playa del Carmen, rent included.

Glasgow $3,706
Playa del Carmen $2,082

A family of three spends $4,987 per month in Glasgow vs $2,959 in Playa del Carmen, rent included.

Glasgow $4,987
Playa del Carmen $2,959

Glasgow costs about 101% more than Playa del Carmen, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Glasgow sits 78% above the global median, while Playa del Carmen is 12% below – they fall on opposite sides of the world average.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$21.28 £16.02

$10.92 MX$204

94.87%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$67.2 £50.6

$43.37 MX$808

54.99%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$10.58 £7.96

$11.78 MX$220

-10.19%

Cappuccino

$4.81 £3.62

$3.81 MX$71.0

26.25%

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

$2.26 £1.70

$1.28 MX$23.90

76.56%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.83 £1.38

$0.78 MX$14.59

134.62%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$5.48 £4.12

$3.17 MX$59.0

72.87%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$6.63 £4.99

$4.93 MX$92.0

34.48%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.67 £1.25

$1.41 MX$26.22

18.44%

White Bread (500g)

$1.64 £1.23

$2.22 MX$41.33

-26.13%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.00 £1.51

$1.42 MX$26.42

40.85%

Eggs

$4.00 £3.01

$2.52 MX$47.03

58.73%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$9.28 £6.99

$7.26 MX$135

27.82%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.08 £6.84

$7.70 MX$143

17.92%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$16.75 £12.61

$12.69 MX$237

31.99%

Apples (1kg)

$3.02 £2.27

$2.78 MX$51.9

8.63%

Banana (1kg)

$1.51 £1.14

$1.37 MX$25.50

10.22%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.91 £2.19

$2.55 MX$47.55

14.12%

Tomato (1kg)

$3.19 £2.40

$2.12 MX$39.58

50.47%

Potato (1kg)

$1.93 £1.45

$1.94 MX$36.13

-0.52%

Onion (1kg)

$1.55 £1.17

$1.89 MX$35.16

-17.99%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.13 £0.85

$1.15 MX$21.37

-1.74%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.58 £1.19

$1.18 MX$21.98

33.90%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$23.96 £18.03

$4.30 MX$80.1

457.21%

Wine (Bottle)

$11.32 £8.52

$9.95 MX$185

13.77%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$3.37 £2.53

$1.58 MX$29.52

113.29%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.33 £2.51

$2.67 MX$49.79

24.72%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$3.98 £3.00

$0.55 MX$10.31

623.64%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$108 £81.3

$26.62 MX$496

305.82%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$5.75 £4.33

$4.97 MX$92.6

15.69%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.14 £0.86

$3.33 MX$62.1

-65.77%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$60.6 £45.62

$5.36 MX$99.8

1030.78%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$2.09 £1.57

$1.44 MX$26.92

45.14%

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

$39.3K £29.6K

$20.7K MX$385.2K

90.05%

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

$40.6K £30.6K

$23.5K MX$437.4K

73.15%

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

$312 £235

$84.8 MX$1,581

268.50%

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

$20.29 £15.27

$23.41 MX$436

-13.33%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$42.05 £31.65

$28.66 MX$534

46.72%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$37.31 £28.08

$57.1 MX$1,063

-34.60%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$20.73 £15.60

$28.91 MX$539

-28.29%

Cinema Ticket

$16.26 £12.24

$5.14 MX$95.8

216.34%

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

$1,124 £846

$207 MX$3,851

444.19%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$21.6K £16.3K

$3,927 MX$73.2K

450.03%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$132 £99.3

$43.35 MX$808

204.43%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$45.81 £34.48

$41.44 MX$772

10.55%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$107 £80.2

$74.2 MX$1,383

43.69%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$93.4 £70.3

$89.3 MX$1,664

4.66%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,368 £1,030

$980 MX$18.3K

39.68%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,047 £788

$381 MX$7,099

175.01%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,770 £2,084

$1,708 MX$31.8K

62.16%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$2,080 £1,565

$1,075 MX$20.0K

93.44%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$4,035 £3,037

$3,943 MX$73.5K

2.33%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$2,923 £2,200

$6,158 MX$114.8K

-52.54%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$3,339 £2,513

$735 MX$13.7K

354.57%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

4.79

11.45

-58.17%

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

Last update for Glasgow: 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

Glasgow

$1K 43.2%

Playa del Carmen

$381 31.6% 63.6% $666

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Glasgow

$375 15.5%

Playa del Carmen

$137 11.4% 63.5% $238

Eating Out

Glasgow

$317 13.1%

Playa del Carmen

$202 16.8% 36.1% $114

Groceries & Markets

Glasgow

$311 12.8%

Playa del Carmen

$255 21.2% 18% $56

Clothing & Footwear

Glasgow

$170 7%

Playa del Carmen

$112 9.3% 34.3% $58

Getting Around

Glasgow

$135 5.6%

Playa del Carmen

$50 4.2% 62.7% $85

Sport & Entertainment

Glasgow

$70 2.9%

Playa del Carmen

$67 5.6% 3.6% $2.5

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $1,368 in Glasgow versus $980 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.

Salaries in Glasgow are about 4.5 times higher. Purchasing power depends on which expenses matter most to you.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $67 in Glasgow versus $43 in Playa del Carmen. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $311 vs $255 – making Playa del Carmen the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇬🇧 Glasgow

🇲🇽 Playa del Carmen

🕒 Local time

22:28 10:28 PM

17:28 5:28 PM

5 h behind Glasgow

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

606,340

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 →

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Between locations

Glasgow Playa del Carmen 7,680 km ≈ 10 h nonstop flight

From you

Glasgow
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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

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

Monthly costs with rent: $2,425 in Glasgow, $1,204 in Playa del Carmen – Playa del Carmen comes out roughly 50% cheaper. Outside of rent, the biggest gap is in eating out.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $3,637 per month in Glasgow 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: a one-bedroom in the center costs $980 there versus $1,368 in Glasgow.

Kindergarten costs $1,124 per month in Glasgow and $207 in Playa del Carmen. For families with young kids, this one expense can tip the scales when choosing between the two cities.

Groceries cost about 22% more in Glasgow, though the gap depends on what you buy.

A $1,500 monthly budget goes further in Playa del Carmen, where all-in costs run around $1,204, than in Glasgow at $2,425. In Playa del Carmen it covers expenses comfortably, while in Glasgow 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 $2,425 in Glasgow. Climate, culture, job market, and personal taste all factor in.

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