Last update: Nov 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Ilford and Playa del Carmen

For one person, living is cheaper in Playa del Carmen: $1,202 a month against $2,464 in Ilford, rent and utilities included – about $15,100 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

118

Cost of Living Index in Ilford
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Ilford Living Index
57

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

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Ilford

🇬🇧 United Kingdom

$2,464

/mo nomad

Playa del Carmen

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,202

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

A single person spends $2,464 per month in Ilford vs $1,202 in Playa del Carmen, rent included.

Ilford $2,464
Playa del Carmen $1,202

A couple spends around $3,846 per month in Ilford vs $2,082 in Playa del Carmen, rent included.

Ilford $3,846
Playa del Carmen $2,082

A family of three spends $5,229 per month in Ilford vs $2,962 in Playa del Carmen, rent included.

Ilford $5,229
Playa del Carmen $2,962

Ilford costs about 105% more than Playa del Carmen, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Ilford sits 82% above the global median, while Playa del Carmen is 11% below – they fall on opposite sides of the world average.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$22.41 £16.63

$10.67 MX$199

110.03%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$93.8 £69.6

$43.80 MX$815

114.04%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$10.93 £8.11

$11.79 MX$219

-7.29%

Cappuccino

$4.66 £3.46

$3.79 MX$70.5

22.96%

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

$2.81 £2.08

$1.30 MX$24.14

116.15%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.86 £1.38

$0.83 MX$15.51

124.10%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$7.78 £5.77

$3.15 MX$58.6

146.98%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$6.68 £4.96

$4.93 MX$91.8

35.50%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.66 £1.23

$1.41 MX$26.22

17.73%

White Bread (500g)

$1.82 £1.35

$2.20 MX$40.86

-17.27%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.64 £1.96

$1.47 MX$27.40

79.59%

Eggs

$4.66 £3.45

$2.50 MX$46.46

86.40%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$9.96 £7.39

$7.29 MX$136

36.63%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.47 £7.03

$7.95 MX$148

19.12%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$16.14 £11.97

$12.86 MX$239

25.51%

Apples (1kg)

$3.06 £2.27

$2.90 MX$53.9

5.52%

Banana (1kg)

$1.45 £1.07

$1.38 MX$25.74

5.07%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.78 £2.06

$2.49 MX$46.35

11.65%

Tomato (1kg)

$3.49 £2.59

$2.03 MX$37.77

71.92%

Potato (1kg)

$1.67 £1.24

$2.02 MX$37.68

-17.33%

Onion (1kg)

$1.78 £1.32

$1.90 MX$35.42

-6.32%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.29 £0.96

$1.14 MX$21.30

13.16%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.83 £1.36

$1.24 MX$23.05

47.58%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$22.69 £16.84

$4.27 MX$79.5

431.38%

Wine (Bottle)

$10.95 £8.12

$9.81 MX$183

11.62%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$3.17 £2.35

$1.59 MX$29.51

99.37%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.00 £2.97

$2.75 MX$51.1

45.45%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$4.09 £3.03

$0.51 MX$9.58

701.96%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$92.0 £68.3

$27.39 MX$510

235.93%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$6.00 £4.45

$4.76 MX$88.6

26.05%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$2.73 £2.02

$3.25 MX$60.5

-16.00%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$25.07 £18.60

$5.39 MX$100

365.12%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$2.21 £1.64

$1.53 MX$28.44

44.44%

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

$39.1K £29.0K

$21.2K MX$394.8K

84.54%

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

$40.4K £30.0K

$23.3K MX$432.9K

73.64%

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

$339 £252

$83.5 MX$1,554

306.19%

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

$18.66 £13.85

$23.19 MX$431

-19.53%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$40.83 £30.30

$27.61 MX$514

47.88%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$39.43 £29.25

$56.4 MX$1,050

-30.13%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$28.19 MX$525

Cinema Ticket

$17.02 £12.63

$5.00 MX$93.1

240.40%

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

$2,512 £1,864

$207 MX$3,854

1113.20%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$34.2K £25.3K

$5,231 MX$97.3K

553.11%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$91.7 £68.0

$43.45 MX$809

111.00%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$47.84 £35.49

$42.54 MX$792

12.46%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$94.5 £70.1

$72.8 MX$1,354

29.84%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$129 £95.4

$88.4 MX$1,645

45.43%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,275 £946

$995 MX$18.5K

28.18%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,038 £770

$382 MX$7,116

171.50%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,967 £2,202

$1,674 MX$31.2K

77.22%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$2,140 £1,588

$1,081 MX$20.1K

98.00%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$5,093 £3,779

$3,909 MX$72.7K

30.30%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$3,621 £2,687

$6,138 MX$114.2K

-41.00%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$3,561 £2,642

$832 MX$15.5K

327.85%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

5.04

11.45

-55.98%

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

Last update for Ilford: November 3, 2026

Last update for Playa del Carmen: November 2, 2026

Monthly budget structure

Share of the monthly basket for one person, rent included.

Accommodation & Living

Ilford

$1K 42.1%

Playa del Carmen

$382 31.8% 63.2% $656

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Ilford

$399 16.2%

Playa del Carmen

$134 11.2% 66.3% $264

Eating Out

Ilford

$339 13.8%

Playa del Carmen

$200 16.7% 40.9% $139

Groceries & Markets

Ilford

$324 13.1%

Playa del Carmen

$257 21.4% 20.5% $66

Clothing & Footwear

Ilford

$163 6.6%

Playa del Carmen

$111 9.3% 31.8% $52

Getting Around

Ilford

$128 5.2%

Playa del Carmen

$50 4.2% 60.6% $78

Sport & Entertainment

Ilford

$73 3%

Playa del Carmen

$66 5.5% 9.6% $7

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $1,275 in Ilford versus $995 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 Ilford are about 4.3 times higher. Purchasing power depends on which expenses matter most to you.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $94 in Ilford versus $44 in Playa del Carmen. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $324 vs $257 – making Playa del Carmen the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇬🇧 Ilford

🇲🇽 Playa del Carmen

🕒 Local time

11:11 11:11 AM

06:11 6:11 AM

5 h behind Ilford

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

168,168

149,923

💱 Currency

British Pound GBP £

Mexican Peso MXN $

📈 Exchange rate

1 GBP = 1.35 USD

1 GBP = 1.2 EUR

100 MXN = 5.37 USD

100 MXN = 4.78 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 5, 2026: 1 USD = 0.742 GBP (1 GBP = 1.35 USD). 1 EUR = 0.834 GBP (1 GBP = 1.2 EUR).

Mexican Peso exchange rates as of November 5, 2026: 1 USD = 18.61 MXN (100 MXN = 5.37 USD). 1 EUR = 20.91 MXN (100 MXN = 4.78 EUR).

USD to GBP in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

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

From you

Ilford
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

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

Ilford costs about 105% more than Playa del Carmen, and outside of rent the gap comes mainly from eating out. That’s enough to noticeably affect everyday spending and lifestyle for anyone choosing between the two.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $3,696 per month in Ilford and $1,804 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 $995 there versus $1,275 in Ilford.

Groceries cost about 26% more in Ilford, though the gap depends on what you buy.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $94 in Ilford and $44 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 $1,202, than in Ilford at $2,464. In Playa del Carmen it covers expenses comfortably, while in Ilford 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 or specific career opportunities are the priority, Ilford makes more sense. Both are solid long-term options with distinct trade-offs.