Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Harlow and Playa del Carmen

For one person, living is cheaper in Playa del Carmen: $1,204 a month against $2,330 in Harlow, rent and utilities included – about $13,500 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

113

Cost of Living Index in Harlow
Learn more

Harlow Living Index
59

Cost of Living Index in Playa del Carmen
Learn more

Playa del Carmen Living Index

Jump to prices

Harlow

🇬🇧 United Kingdom

$2,330

/mo nomad

Playa del Carmen

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,204

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,330 in Harlow versus $1,204 in Playa del Carmen.

Harlow $2,330
Playa del Carmen $1,204

Estimated couple costs with rent: $3,407 in Harlow versus $2,102 in Playa del Carmen.

Harlow $3,407
Playa del Carmen $2,102

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $4,483 in Harlow versus $3,000 in Playa del Carmen.

Harlow $4,483
Playa del Carmen $3,000

Living in Harlow is roughly 93% 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: Harlow is 72% above, Playa del Carmen is 11% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$21.01 £15.76

$10.86 MX$201

93.46%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$91.7 £68.8

$44.21 MX$817

107.44%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$10.47 £7.86

$11.76 MX$217

-10.97%

Cappuccino

$5.47 £4.11

$3.68 MX$68.0

48.64%

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

$2.63 £1.97

$1.34 MX$24.79

96.27%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.85 £1.39

$0.82 MX$15.24

125.61%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$6.81 £5.11

$3.06 MX$56.6

122.55%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$6.87 £5.15

$4.94 MX$91.2

39.07%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.30 £0.98

$1.47 MX$27.17

-11.56%

White Bread (500g)

$1.41 £1.06

$2.22 MX$40.95

-36.49%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.11 £0.84

$1.48 MX$27.32

-25.00%

Eggs

$2.38 £1.79

$2.49 MX$45.99

-4.42%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$6.83 £5.12

$7.52 MX$139

-9.18%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$6.05 £4.54

$7.96 MX$147

-23.99%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$6.45 £4.84

$12.57 MX$232

-48.69%

Apples (1kg)

$2.05 £1.54

$2.78 MX$51.3

-26.26%

Banana (1kg)

$1.23 £0.92

$1.43 MX$26.37

-13.99%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.15 £0.87

$2.62 MX$48.37

-56.11%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.02 £1.52

$2.14 MX$39.49

-5.61%

Potato (1kg)

$1.63 £1.22

$2.02 MX$37.38

-19.31%

Onion (1kg)

$1.34 £1.01

$1.99 MX$36.74

-32.66%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.34 £1.01

$1.14 MX$21.01

17.54%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.43 £1.07

$1.20 MX$22.18

19.17%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$21.29 £15.97

$4.26 MX$78.7

399.77%

Wine (Bottle)

$9.33 £7.00

$10.02 MX$185

-6.89%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.70 £2.02

$1.54 MX$28.41

75.32%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.04 £1.53

$2.66 MX$49.17

-23.31%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$2.73 £2.04

$0.53 MX$9.73

415.09%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$27.51 MX$508

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$5.84 £4.38

$4.90 MX$90.6

19.18%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.68 £1.26

$3.43 MX$63.5

-51.02%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$21.15 £15.87

$5.38 MX$99.4

293.12%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.92 £1.44

$1.45 MX$26.76

32.41%

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

$39.0K £29.2K

$21.2K MX$391.0K

84.24%

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

$40.1K £30.1K

$23.0K MX$425.3K

74.39%

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

$226 £169

$85.4 MX$1,577

164.66%

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

$11.95 £8.97

$23.46 MX$434

-49.06%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$28.54 £21.41

$28.43 MX$525

0.39%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$47.10 £35.34

$62.2 MX$1,149

-24.26%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$8.06 £6.05

$28.68 MX$530

-71.90%

Cinema Ticket

$12.56 £9.42

$5.10 MX$94.3

146.27%

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

$1,061 £796

$201 MX$3,715

427.47%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$19.7K £14.8K

$3,947 MX$72.9K

399.88%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$68.8 £51.6

$44.39 MX$820

55.06%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$32.19 £24.15

$41.35 MX$764

-22.15%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$77.0 £57.8

$72.7 MX$1,344

5.83%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$39.33 £29.51

$89.6 MX$1,656

-56.11%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,403 £1,053

$979 MX$18.1K

43.28%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,328 £996

$373 MX$6,887

256.20%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,276 £1,708

$1,681 MX$31.1K

35.41%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$2,182 £1,637

$1,095 MX$20.2K

99.23%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,949 MX$73.0K

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$6,137 MX$113.4K

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$3,013 £2,260

$738 MX$13.6K

308.50%

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 Harlow: October 18, 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

Harlow

$1.3K 57%

Playa del Carmen

$373 31% 71.9% $955

Eating Out

Harlow

$331 14.2%

Playa del Carmen

$200 16.6% 39.5% $131

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Harlow

$266 11.4%

Playa del Carmen

$137 11.4% 48.5% $129

Groceries & Markets

Harlow

$210 9%

Playa del Carmen

$258 21.5% 23.1% $49

Clothing & Footwear

Harlow

$98 4.2%

Playa del Carmen

$112 9.3% 14.2% $14

Sport & Entertainment

Harlow

$72 3.1%

Playa del Carmen

$72 6% 0.3% $0.2

Getting Around

Harlow

$25 * 1.1%

Playa del Carmen

$52 4.3% 105% $27

Categories marked with * are only partly priced – their share counts the items that do have prices.

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,403 in Harlow and $979 in Playa del Carmen. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Harlow pays 309% 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: $92.0 in Harlow vs $44.00 in Playa del Carmen. Groceries flip the comparison at $210 vs $258, with Harlow cheaper for home cooking.

Good to know

🇬🇧 Harlow

🇲🇽 Playa del Carmen

🕒 Local time

07:36 7:36 AM

01:36 1:36 AM

6 h behind Harlow

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

86,191

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 24, 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 24, 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

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Harlow Playa del Carmen 8,030 km ≈ 11 h nonstop flight

From you

Harlow
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

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

Harlow and Playa del Carmen differ by about 93% in total monthly costs ($2,330 vs $1,204 including rent). Playa del Carmen is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

Average pay runs 309% higher in Harlow, 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: $1,403 in Harlow versus $979 in Playa del Carmen. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Shoppers in Harlow pay roughly 23% less for everyday groceries. It's an unusual reversal that partly offsets higher costs elsewhere.

All in, you'll spend $2,330 per month in Harlow versus $1,204 in Playa del Carmen – a 93% gap that adds up to real savings over time for anyone picking the cheaper option.

At $1,204 in Playa del Carmen versus $2,330 in Harlow, a $1,500 budget is realistic in Playa del Carmen but tight or insufficient in Harlow. 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.

Safety-wise, Harlow and Playa del Carmen are on par. Petty crime is typical for cities this size, and most residents feel comfortable going about their daily routines in either place.

Expats usually find Playa del Carmen gentler on the wallet – expenses run 93% less than in Harlow. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.