Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Hastings, United Kingdom and Playa del Carmen

For one person, living is cheaper in Playa del Carmen: $1,204 a month against $2,693 in Hastings, rent and utilities included – about $17,900 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

129

Cost of Living Index in Hastings
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Hastings Living Index
58

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

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Hastings

🇬🇧 United Kingdom

$2,693

/mo nomad

Playa del Carmen

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,204

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,693 in Hastings versus $1,204 in Playa del Carmen.

Hastings $2,693
Playa del Carmen $1,204

Estimated couple costs with rent: $3,585 in Hastings versus $2,082 in Playa del Carmen.

Hastings $3,585
Playa del Carmen $2,082

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $4,477 in Hastings versus $2,959 in Playa del Carmen.

Hastings $4,477
Playa del Carmen $2,959

Living in Hastings is roughly 124% 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: Hastings is 98% above, Playa del Carmen is 12% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$24.48 £18.29

$10.92 MX$205

124.18%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$78.6 £58.8

$43.37 MX$815

81.32%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.50 £8.59

$11.78 MX$221

-2.38%

Cappuccino

$4.38 £3.27

$3.81 MX$71.6

14.96%

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

$3.10 £2.32

$1.28 MX$24.10

142.19%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.35 £1.01

$0.78 MX$14.71

73.08%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$6.76 £5.05

$3.17 MX$59.5

113.25%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$6.67 £4.98

$4.93 MX$92.7

35.29%

Milk (1 liter)

$0.67 £0.50

$1.41 MX$26.43

-52.48%

White Bread (500g)

$1.67 £1.25

$2.22 MX$41.66

-24.77%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.70 £2.02

$1.42 MX$26.64

90.14%

Eggs

$3.28 £2.45

$2.52 MX$47.41

30.16%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$9.86 £7.37

$7.26 MX$137

35.81%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.73 £7.27

$7.70 MX$145

26.36%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$13.45 £10.05

$12.69 MX$239

5.99%

Apples (1kg)

$2.99 £2.24

$2.78 MX$52.3

7.55%

Banana (1kg)

$1.69 £1.26

$1.37 MX$25.71

23.36%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.79 £2.09

$2.55 MX$47.94

9.41%

Tomato (1kg)

$3.40 £2.54

$2.12 MX$39.90

60.38%

Potato (1kg)

$1.83 £1.37

$1.94 MX$36.43

-5.67%

Onion (1kg)

$1.57 £1.17

$1.89 MX$35.44

-16.93%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.20 £0.90

$1.15 MX$21.55

4.35%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.81 £1.35

$1.18 MX$22.16

53.39%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$17.05 £12.73

$4.30 MX$80.7

296.51%

Wine (Bottle)

$6.61 £4.94

$9.95 MX$187

-33.57%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.96 £2.21

$1.58 MX$29.76

87.34%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.52 £2.63

$2.67 MX$50.2

31.84%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$3.68 £2.75

$0.55 MX$10.40

569.09%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$96.1 £71.8

$26.62 MX$500

260.97%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$4.24 £3.17

$4.97 MX$93.4

-14.69%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.07 £0.80

$3.33 MX$62.6

-67.87%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$31.92 £23.85

$5.36 MX$101

495.52%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$2.02 £1.51

$1.44 MX$27.14

40.28%

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

$37.9K £28.3K

$20.7K MX$388.4K

83.33%

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

$40.0K £29.9K

$23.5K MX$441.0K

70.30%

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

$332 £248

$84.8 MX$1,594

291.27%

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

$20.22 £15.11

$23.41 MX$440

-13.63%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$53.3 £39.81

$28.66 MX$539

85.94%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$46.59 £34.81

$57.1 MX$1,072

-18.33%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$28.91 MX$543

Cinema Ticket

$16.08 £12.01

$5.14 MX$96.6

212.84%

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

$1,618 £1,208

$207 MX$3,882

683.12%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$18.1K £13.5K

$3,927 MX$73.8K

360.98%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$102 £76.5

$43.35 MX$815

136.31%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$52.7 £39.33

$41.44 MX$779

27.05%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$101 £75.5

$74.2 MX$1,394

36.17%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$132 £98.3

$89.3 MX$1,677

47.35%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,450 £1,083

$980 MX$18.4K

48.01%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,277 £954

$381 MX$7,157

235.41%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,127 £1,589

$1,708 MX$32.1K

24.52%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,491 £1,114

$1,075 MX$20.2K

38.69%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$5,003 £3,738

$3,943 MX$74.1K

26.89%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$3,851 £2,877

$6,158 MX$115.7K

-37.46%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$3,316 £2,478

$735 MX$13.8K

351.52%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

4.96

11.45

-56.68%

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

Last update for Hastings: October 26, 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

Hastings

$1.3K 47.4%

Playa del Carmen

$381 31.6% 70.2% $896

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Hastings

$405 15.1%

Playa del Carmen

$137 11.4% 66.2% $268

Eating Out

Hastings

$348 12.9%

Playa del Carmen

$202 16.8% 41.8% $145

Groceries & Markets

Hastings

$289 10.7%

Playa del Carmen

$255 21.2% 11.9% $34

Clothing & Footwear

Hastings

$174 6.5%

Playa del Carmen

$112 9.3% 36% $63

Getting Around

Hastings

$120 4.5%

Playa del Carmen

$50 4.2% 58.1% $70

Sport & Entertainment

Hastings

$79 2.9%

Playa del Carmen

$67 5.6% 14.5% $11

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,450 in Hastings and $980 in Playa del Carmen. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Hastings pays about 4.5 times more on average. How far that income stretches comes down to housing choices and lifestyle.

Dining out: $79 in Hastings 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

🇬🇧 Hastings

🇲🇽 Playa del Carmen

🕒 Local time

14:37 2:37 PM

09:37 9:37 AM

5 h behind Hastings

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

92,855

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 = 20.97 MXN (100 MXN = 4.77 EUR).

USD to GBP in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Hastings Playa del Carmen 8,080 km ≈ 11 h nonstop flight

From you

Hastings
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

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

Total monthly costs including rent come to $2,693 in Hastings and $1,204 in Playa del Carmen, so Playa del Carmen is about 55% cheaper – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

Average pay in Hastings is about 4.5 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: $1,450 in Hastings versus $980 in Playa del Carmen. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

All in, you’ll spend $2,693 per month in Hastings versus $1,204 in Playa del Carmen – Playa del Carmen is about 55% cheaper, which adds up to real savings over time.

A monthly transit pass in Playa del Carmen runs roughly 72% less than in Hastings. The price difference matters if you commute daily and watch your budget.

At $1,204 in Playa del Carmen versus $2,693 in Hastings, a $1,500 budget is realistic in Playa del Carmen but tight or insufficient in Hastings. 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.

Expats usually find Playa del Carmen gentler on the wallet – expenses run 55% less than in Hastings. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.