Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Guildford and Playa del Carmen

For one person, living is cheaper in Playa del Carmen: $1,204 a month against $3,168 in Guildford, rent and utilities included – about $23,600 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

152

Cost of Living Index in Guildford
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Guildford Living Index
58

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

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Guildford

🇬🇧 United Kingdom

$3,168

/mo nomad

Playa del Carmen

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,204

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

A single person spends $3,168 per month in Guildford vs $1,204 in Playa del Carmen, rent included.

Guildford $3,168
Playa del Carmen $1,204

A couple spends around $4,474 per month in Guildford vs $2,082 in Playa del Carmen, rent included.

Guildford $4,474
Playa del Carmen $2,082

A family of three spends $5,779 per month in Guildford vs $2,959 in Playa del Carmen, rent included.

Guildford $5,779
Playa del Carmen $2,959

Guildford costs about 163% more than Playa del Carmen, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Guildford sits 133% above the global median, while Playa del Carmen is 12% below – they fall on opposite sides of the world average.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$29.72 £22.37

$10.92 MX$204

172.16%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$93.3 £70.2

$43.37 MX$808

115.13%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.23 £8.45

$11.78 MX$220

-4.67%

Cappuccino

$5.04 £3.79

$3.81 MX$71.0

32.28%

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

$2.71 £2.04

$1.28 MX$23.90

111.72%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.56 £1.17

$0.78 MX$14.59

100.00%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$8.56 £6.44

$3.17 MX$59.0

170.03%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$6.84 £5.14

$4.93 MX$92.0

38.74%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.55 £1.16

$1.41 MX$26.22

9.93%

White Bread (500g)

$1.33 £1.00

$2.22 MX$41.33

-40.09%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.97 £1.48

$1.42 MX$26.42

38.73%

Eggs

$4.36 £3.28

$2.52 MX$47.03

73.02%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$13.56 £10.20

$7.26 MX$135

86.78%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$10.24 £7.71

$7.70 MX$143

32.99%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$16.16 £12.16

$12.69 MX$237

27.34%

Apples (1kg)

$3.54 £2.66

$2.78 MX$51.9

27.34%

Banana (1kg)

$2.12 £1.60

$1.37 MX$25.50

54.74%

Oranges (1kg)

$3.73 £2.81

$2.55 MX$47.55

46.27%

Tomato (1kg)

$5.43 £4.08

$2.12 MX$39.58

156.13%

Potato (1kg)

$1.93 £1.45

$1.94 MX$36.13

-0.52%

Onion (1kg)

$1.44 £1.08

$1.89 MX$35.16

-23.81%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.15 £0.86

$1.15 MX$21.37

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.48 £1.12

$1.18 MX$21.98

25.42%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$24.07 £18.12

$4.30 MX$80.1

459.77%

Wine (Bottle)

$11.95 £9.00

$9.95 MX$185

20.10%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.50 £1.88

$1.58 MX$29.52

58.23%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.06 £2.30

$2.67 MX$49.79

14.61%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$3.13 £2.36

$0.55 MX$10.31

469.09%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$94.2 £70.9

$26.62 MX$496

253.76%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$4.60 £3.47

$4.97 MX$92.6

-7.44%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$2.02 £1.52

$3.33 MX$62.1

-39.34%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$40.80 £30.70

$5.36 MX$99.8

661.19%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$2.04 £1.53

$1.44 MX$26.92

41.67%

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

$39.2K £29.5K

$20.7K MX$385.2K

89.52%

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

$41.1K £30.9K

$23.5K MX$437.4K

75.20%

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

$398 £299

$84.8 MX$1,581

369.08%

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

$20.59 £15.50

$23.41 MX$436

-12.05%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$46.34 £34.88

$28.66 MX$534

61.69%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$51.7 £38.91

$57.1 MX$1,063

-9.38%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$23.05 £17.35

$28.91 MX$539

-20.27%

Cinema Ticket

$10.51 £7.91

$5.14 MX$95.8

104.47%

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

$2,390 £1,799

$207 MX$3,851

1057.21%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$24.5K £18.4K

$3,927 MX$73.2K

523.18%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$111 £83.4

$43.35 MX$808

155.66%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$66.8 £50.3

$41.44 MX$772

61.17%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$118 £88.8

$74.2 MX$1,383

58.99%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$127 £95.7

$89.3 MX$1,664

42.50%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,946 £1,465

$980 MX$18.3K

98.65%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,573 £1,184

$381 MX$7,099

313.13%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,908 £2,189

$1,708 MX$31.8K

70.28%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$2,363 £1,778

$1,075 MX$20.0K

119.78%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$7,969 £5,998

$3,943 MX$73.5K

102.11%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$6,803 £5,120

$6,158 MX$114.8K

10.49%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$3,678 £2,768

$735 MX$13.7K

400.78%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

5.13

11.45

-55.20%

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

Last update for Guildford: 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

Guildford

$1.6K 49.7%

Playa del Carmen

$381 31.6% 75.8% $1.2K

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Guildford

$465 14.7%

Playa del Carmen

$137 11.4% 70.5% $328

Eating Out

Guildford

$405 12.8%

Playa del Carmen

$202 16.8% 50.1% $203

Groceries & Markets

Guildford

$340 10.7%

Playa del Carmen

$255 21.2% 25.2% $86

Clothing & Footwear

Guildford

$190 6%

Playa del Carmen

$112 9.3% 41.3% $79

Getting Around

Guildford

$121 3.8%

Playa del Carmen

$50 4.2% 58.4% $71

Sport & Entertainment

Guildford

$73 2.3%

Playa del Carmen

$67 5.6% 7.4% $5.4

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $1,946 in Guildford 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 Guildford are about 5 times higher. Purchasing power depends on which expenses matter most to you.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $93 in Guildford versus $43 in Playa del Carmen. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $340 vs $255 – making Playa del Carmen the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇬🇧 Guildford

🇲🇽 Playa del Carmen

🕒 Local time

16:41 4:41 PM

11:41 11:41 AM

5 h behind Guildford

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

66,773

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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Guildford Playa del Carmen 8,000 km ≈ 10 h nonstop flight

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Guildford
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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

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

Yes – Guildford is pricier by about 163%, and outside of rent the gap shows up most in eating out.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $4,752 per month in Guildford 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 $1,946 in Guildford.

Groceries cost about 34% more in Guildford, though it depends on what you buy. Local produce may be comparable; imported and premium items show the biggest price gap.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $93 in Guildford and $43 in Playa del Carmen. That’s a good indicator of the overall restaurant and café pricing gap between the two cities.

A $1,500 monthly budget goes further in Playa del Carmen, where all-in costs run around $1,204, than in Guildford at $3,168. In Playa del Carmen it covers expenses comfortably, while in Guildford it requires careful planning or may not stretch far enough.

Families tend to lean toward Playa del Carmen – lower housing and cheaper childcare make a real difference, especially on a single income or when paying for private education.

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