Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Harrow and Playa del Carmen

For one person, living is cheaper in Playa del Carmen: $1,204 a month against $3,031 in Harrow, rent and utilities included – about $21,900 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

146

Cost of Living Index in Harrow
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Harrow Living Index
58

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

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Harrow

🇬🇧 United Kingdom

$3,031

/mo nomad

Playa del Carmen

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,204

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $3,031 in Harrow versus $1,204 in Playa del Carmen.

Harrow $3,031
Playa del Carmen $1,204

Estimated couple costs with rent: $4,459 in Harrow versus $2,082 in Playa del Carmen.

Harrow $4,459
Playa del Carmen $2,082

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $5,886 in Harrow versus $2,959 in Playa del Carmen.

Harrow $5,886
Playa del Carmen $2,959

Living in Harrow is roughly 152% 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: Harrow is 123% above, Playa del Carmen is 12% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$19.77 £14.77

$10.92 MX$205

81.04%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$95.2 £71.1

$43.37 MX$815

119.48%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$9.16 £6.84

$11.78 MX$221

-22.24%

Cappuccino

$4.81 £3.59

$3.81 MX$71.6

26.25%

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

$2.90 £2.17

$1.28 MX$24.10

126.56%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.97 £1.48

$0.78 MX$14.71

152.56%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$7.32 £5.47

$3.17 MX$59.5

130.91%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$7.09 £5.29

$4.93 MX$92.7

43.81%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.62 £1.21

$1.41 MX$26.43

14.89%

White Bread (500g)

$1.84 £1.37

$2.22 MX$41.66

-17.12%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.64 £1.23

$1.42 MX$26.64

15.49%

Eggs

$5.83 £4.35

$2.52 MX$47.41

131.35%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$11.22 £8.38

$7.26 MX$137

54.55%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$8.24 £6.15

$7.70 MX$145

7.01%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$12.71 £9.50

$12.69 MX$239

0.16%

Apples (1kg)

$2.01 £1.50

$2.78 MX$52.3

-27.70%

Banana (1kg)

$1.32 £0.99

$1.37 MX$25.71

-3.65%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.77 £1.33

$2.55 MX$47.94

-30.59%

Tomato (1kg)

$5.24 £3.92

$2.12 MX$39.90

147.17%

Potato (1kg)

$1.36 £1.02

$1.94 MX$36.43

-29.90%

Onion (1kg)

$1.55 £1.16

$1.89 MX$35.44

-17.99%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.36 £1.02

$1.15 MX$21.55

18.26%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.37 £1.02

$1.18 MX$22.16

16.10%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$22.23 £16.61

$4.30 MX$80.7

416.98%

Wine (Bottle)

$9.55 £7.13

$9.95 MX$187

-4.02%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.96 £1.46

$1.58 MX$29.76

24.05%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.35 £1.01

$2.67 MX$50.2

-49.44%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$4.89 £3.66

$0.55 MX$10.40

789.09%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$26.62 MX$500

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$13.35 £9.98

$4.97 MX$93.4

168.61%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$3.92 £2.93

$3.33 MX$62.6

17.72%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$5.36 MX$101

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.91 £1.43

$1.44 MX$27.14

32.64%

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

$40.3K £30.1K

$20.7K MX$388.4K

95.04%

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

$44.8K £33.5K

$23.5K MX$441.0K

91.06%

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

$201 £150

$84.8 MX$1,594

137.53%

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

$15.01 £11.21

$23.41 MX$440

-35.88%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$39.90 £29.81

$28.66 MX$539

39.22%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$78.7 £58.8

$57.1 MX$1,072

37.98%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$28.91 MX$543

Cinema Ticket

$14.18 £10.59

$5.14 MX$96.6

175.88%

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

$1,929 £1,441

$207 MX$3,882

833.99%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$24.1K £18.0K

$3,927 MX$73.8K

513.39%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$78.7 £58.8

$43.35 MX$815

81.43%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$59.9 £44.74

$41.44 MX$779

44.50%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$106 £79.4

$74.2 MX$1,394

43.21%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$161 £120

$89.3 MX$1,677

80.07%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,297 £1,716

$980 MX$18.4K

134.50%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,830 £1,367

$381 MX$7,157

380.42%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$4,227 £3,158

$1,708 MX$32.1K

147.51%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$3,096 £2,313

$1,075 MX$20.2K

187.98%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$7,262 £5,425

$3,943 MX$74.1K

84.18%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$7,235 £5,405

$6,158 MX$115.7K

17.49%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$5,045 £3,769

$735 MX$13.8K

586.87%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

5.3

11.45

-53.71%

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

Last update for Harrow: 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

Harrow

$1.8K 60.4%

Playa del Carmen

$381 31.6% 79.2% $1.4K

Eating Out

Harrow

$314 10.4%

Playa del Carmen

$202 16.8% 35.5% $111

Groceries & Markets

Harrow

$289 9.6%

Playa del Carmen

$255 21.2% 12% $35

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Harrow

$256 8.5%

Playa del Carmen

$137 11.4% 46.6% $119

Clothing & Footwear

Harrow

$182 6%

Playa del Carmen

$112 9.3% 38.8% $71

Sport & Entertainment

Harrow

$107 3.5%

Playa del Carmen

$67 5.6% 37.1% $40

Getting Around

Harrow

$53 * 1.7%

Playa del Carmen

$50 4.2% 3.9% $2.1

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 $2,297 in Harrow and $980 in Playa del Carmen. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Harrow pays about 6.9 times more on average. How far that income stretches comes down to housing choices and lifestyle.

Dining out: $95 in Harrow vs $43 in Playa del Carmen for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $289 vs $255 per month, with Playa del Carmen cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇬🇧 Harrow

🇲🇽 Playa del Carmen

🕒 Local time

04:08 4:08 AM

23:08 11:08 PM

5 h behind Harrow

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

149,246

149,923

💱 Currency

British Pound GBP £

Mexican Peso MXN $

📈 Exchange rate

1 GBP = 1.34 USD

1 GBP = 1.2 EUR

100 MXN = 5.32 USD

100 MXN = 4.77 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 November 2, 2026: 1 USD = 0.747 GBP (1 GBP = 1.34 USD). 1 EUR = 0.834 GBP (1 GBP = 1.2 EUR).

Mexican Peso exchange rates as of November 2, 2026: 1 USD = 18.79 MXN (100 MXN = 5.32 USD). 1 EUR = 20.98 MXN (100 MXN = 4.77 EUR).

USD to GBP in detail →

On the map

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Highest

Between locations

Harrow Playa del Carmen 8,000 km ≈ 11 h nonstop flight

From you

Harrow
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

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

Total monthly costs including rent come to $3,031 in Harrow and $1,204 in Playa del Carmen, so Playa del Carmen is about 60% cheaper – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

Average pay in Harrow is about 6.9 times higher, 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: $2,297 in Harrow versus $980 in Playa del Carmen. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $1,929 in Harrow versus $207 in Playa del Carmen. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Dining out is cheaper in Playa del Carmen – a meal for two runs $43 versus $95 in Harrow. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

At $1,204 in Playa del Carmen versus $3,031 in Harrow, a $1,500 budget is realistic in Playa del Carmen but tight or insufficient in Harrow. 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.

It comes down to priorities – Playa del Carmen wins on affordability, Harrow on earning potential. Factor in climate, language, visa rules, and proximity to places that matter to you before deciding.