Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Hounslow and Playa del Carmen

For one person, living is cheaper in Playa del Carmen: $1,204 a month against $2,500 in Hounslow, rent and utilities included – about $15,600 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

121

Cost of Living Index in Hounslow
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Hounslow Living Index
58

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

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Hounslow

🇬🇧 United Kingdom

$2,500

/mo nomad

Playa del Carmen

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,204

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,500 in Hounslow versus $1,204 in Playa del Carmen.

Hounslow $2,500
Playa del Carmen $1,204

Estimated couple costs with rent: $3,721 in Hounslow versus $2,082 in Playa del Carmen.

Hounslow $3,721
Playa del Carmen $2,082

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $4,942 in Hounslow versus $2,959 in Playa del Carmen.

Hounslow $4,942
Playa del Carmen $2,959

Living in Hounslow is roughly 108% 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: Hounslow is 84% above, Playa del Carmen is 12% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$24.58 £18.37

$10.92 MX$205

125.09%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$107 £80.1

$43.37 MX$815

147.18%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$10.47 £7.82

$11.78 MX$221

-11.12%

Cappuccino

$5.36 £4.01

$3.81 MX$71.6

40.68%

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

$3.01 £2.25

$1.28 MX$24.10

135.16%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.19 £1.64

$0.78 MX$14.71

180.77%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$9.16 £6.84

$3.17 MX$59.5

188.96%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$8.28 £6.18

$4.93 MX$92.7

67.95%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.72 £1.28

$1.41 MX$26.43

21.99%

White Bread (500g)

$1.62 £1.21

$2.22 MX$41.66

-27.03%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.90 £1.42

$1.42 MX$26.64

33.80%

Eggs

$4.31 £3.22

$2.52 MX$47.41

71.03%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$9.09 £6.79

$7.26 MX$137

25.21%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$10.49 £7.84

$7.70 MX$145

36.23%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$14.92 £11.15

$12.69 MX$239

17.57%

Apples (1kg)

$3.37 £2.51

$2.78 MX$52.3

21.22%

Banana (1kg)

$1.39 £1.04

$1.37 MX$25.71

1.46%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.98 £2.23

$2.55 MX$47.94

16.86%

Tomato (1kg)

$3.39 £2.53

$2.12 MX$39.90

59.91%

Potato (1kg)

$1.61 £1.20

$1.94 MX$36.43

-17.01%

Onion (1kg)

$1.81 £1.35

$1.89 MX$35.44

-4.23%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.18 £0.88

$1.15 MX$21.55

2.61%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.81 £1.35

$1.18 MX$22.16

53.39%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$23.33 £17.43

$4.30 MX$80.7

442.56%

Wine (Bottle)

$12.16 £9.08

$9.95 MX$187

22.21%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$3.47 £2.59

$1.58 MX$29.76

119.62%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.45 £3.32

$2.67 MX$50.2

66.67%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$3.54 £2.64

$0.55 MX$10.40

543.64%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$95.6 £71.4

$26.62 MX$500

258.94%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$5.07 £3.79

$4.97 MX$93.4

2.01%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$3.20 £2.39

$3.33 MX$62.6

-3.90%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$25.92 £19.36

$5.36 MX$101

383.58%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$2.09 £1.56

$1.44 MX$27.14

45.14%

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

$38.2K £28.6K

$20.7K MX$388.4K

85.07%

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

$40.4K £30.2K

$23.5K MX$441.0K

72.06%

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

$362 £271

$84.8 MX$1,594

327.30%

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

$17.62 £13.16

$23.41 MX$440

-24.73%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$41.49 £31.00

$28.66 MX$539

44.77%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$46.60 £34.81

$57.1 MX$1,072

-18.32%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$28.91 MX$543

Cinema Ticket

$15.88 £11.87

$5.14 MX$96.6

208.95%

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

$2,324 £1,736

$207 MX$3,882

1024.98%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$15.3K £11.4K

$3,927 MX$73.8K

290.20%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$97.3 £72.7

$43.35 MX$815

124.50%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$46.83 £34.99

$41.44 MX$779

13.01%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$121 £90.5

$74.2 MX$1,394

63.22%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$103 £76.9

$89.3 MX$1,677

15.29%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,204 £900

$980 MX$18.4K

22.92%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,006 £751

$381 MX$7,157

164.13%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,092 £1,563

$1,708 MX$32.1K

22.46%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,676 £1,252

$1,075 MX$20.2K

55.91%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$5,031 £3,758

$3,943 MX$74.1K

27.59%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$3,941 £2,944

$6,158 MX$115.7K

-36.00%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$3,953 £2,953

$735 MX$13.8K

438.21%

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 Hounslow: October 25, 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

Hounslow

$1K 40.2%

Playa del Carmen

$381 31.6% 62.1% $625

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Hounslow

$421 16.9%

Playa del Carmen

$137 11.4% 67.5% $285

Eating Out

Hounslow

$376 15%

Playa del Carmen

$202 16.8% 46.1% $173

Groceries & Markets

Hounslow

$322 12.9%

Playa del Carmen

$255 21.2% 20.9% $67

Clothing & Footwear

Hounslow

$166 6.6%

Playa del Carmen

$112 9.3% 32.6% $54

Getting Around

Hounslow

$131 5.2%

Playa del Carmen

$50 4.2% 61.4% $80

Sport & Entertainment

Hounslow

$78 3.1%

Playa del Carmen

$67 5.6% 14.1% $11

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,204 in Hounslow and $980 in Playa del Carmen. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Hounslow pays about 5.4 times more on average. How far that income stretches comes down to housing choices and lifestyle.

Dining out: $107 in Hounslow vs $43 in Playa del Carmen for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $322 vs $255 per month, with Playa del Carmen cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇬🇧 Hounslow

🇲🇽 Playa del Carmen

🕒 Local time

14:32 2:32 PM

09:32 9:32 AM

5 h behind Hounslow

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

66,292

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

Hounslow Playa del Carmen 8,010 km ≈ 11 h nonstop flight

From you

Hounslow
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

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

Total monthly costs including rent come to $2,500 in Hounslow and $1,204 in Playa del Carmen, so Playa del Carmen is about 52% cheaper – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

Average pay in Hounslow is about 5.4 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: $1,204 in Hounslow 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 $2,500 per month in Hounslow versus $1,204 in Playa del Carmen – Playa del Carmen is about 52% cheaper, which adds up to real savings over time.

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

At $1,204 in Playa del Carmen versus $2,500 in Hounslow, a $1,500 budget is realistic in Playa del Carmen but tight or insufficient in Hounslow. 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 52% less than in Hounslow. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.