Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Ipswich and Playa del Carmen

For one person, living is cheaper in Playa del Carmen: $1,204 a month against $2,348 in Ipswich, rent and utilities included – about $13,700 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

113

Cost of Living Index in Ipswich
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Ipswich Living Index
59

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

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Ipswich

🇬🇧 United Kingdom

$2,348

/mo nomad

Playa del Carmen

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,204

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,348 in Ipswich versus $1,204 in Playa del Carmen.

Ipswich $2,348
Playa del Carmen $1,204

Estimated couple costs with rent: $3,450 in Ipswich versus $2,102 in Playa del Carmen.

Ipswich $3,450
Playa del Carmen $2,102

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $4,551 in Ipswich versus $3,000 in Playa del Carmen.

Ipswich $4,551
Playa del Carmen $3,000

Living in Ipswich is roughly 95% 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: Ipswich is 73% above, Playa del Carmen is 11% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$20.87 £15.66

$10.86 MX$201

92.17%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$106 £79.2

$44.21 MX$817

138.63%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$10.54 £7.91

$11.76 MX$217

-10.37%

Cappuccino

$5.50 £4.12

$3.68 MX$68.0

49.46%

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

$1.68 £1.26

$1.34 MX$24.79

25.37%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.84 £1.38

$0.82 MX$15.24

124.39%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$6.83 £5.12

$3.06 MX$56.6

123.20%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$6.95 £5.22

$4.94 MX$91.2

40.69%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.76 £1.32

$1.47 MX$27.17

19.73%

White Bread (500g)

$1.69 £1.27

$2.22 MX$40.95

-23.87%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.65 £1.24

$1.48 MX$27.32

11.49%

Eggs

$4.31 £3.24

$2.49 MX$45.99

73.09%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$12.57 £9.43

$7.52 MX$139

67.15%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$8.81 £6.61

$7.96 MX$147

10.68%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$15.47 £11.61

$12.57 MX$232

23.07%

Apples (1kg)

$3.08 £2.31

$2.78 MX$51.3

10.79%

Banana (1kg)

$1.47 £1.10

$1.43 MX$26.37

2.80%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.78 £2.09

$2.62 MX$48.37

6.11%

Tomato (1kg)

$3.23 £2.42

$2.14 MX$39.49

50.93%

Potato (1kg)

$1.69 £1.27

$2.02 MX$37.38

-16.34%

Onion (1kg)

$1.43 £1.07

$1.99 MX$36.74

-28.14%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.46 £1.10

$1.14 MX$21.01

28.07%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.46 £1.10

$1.20 MX$22.18

21.67%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$23.41 £17.56

$4.26 MX$78.7

449.53%

Wine (Bottle)

$10.87 £8.15

$10.02 MX$185

8.48%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.68 £2.01

$1.54 MX$28.41

74.03%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.68 £2.76

$2.66 MX$49.17

38.35%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$2.81 £2.11

$0.53 MX$9.73

430.19%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$87.7 £65.8

$27.51 MX$508

218.87%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$5.61 £4.21

$4.90 MX$90.6

14.49%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.96 £1.47

$3.43 MX$63.5

-42.86%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$33.41 £25.06

$5.38 MX$99.4

521.00%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.96 £1.47

$1.45 MX$26.76

35.17%

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

$39.3K £29.5K

$21.2K MX$391.0K

85.62%

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

$41.3K £31.0K

$23.0K MX$425.3K

79.42%

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

$375 £281

$85.4 MX$1,577

339.46%

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

$15.89 £11.92

$23.46 MX$434

-32.27%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$40.34 £30.26

$28.43 MX$525

41.89%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$33.29 £24.97

$62.2 MX$1,149

-46.47%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$7.97 £5.98

$28.68 MX$530

-72.21%

Cinema Ticket

$17.76 £13.32

$5.10 MX$94.3

248.24%

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

$1,076 £807

$201 MX$3,715

435.26%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$20.2K £15.1K

$3,947 MX$72.9K

410.53%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$68.5 £51.4

$44.39 MX$820

54.27%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$55.2 £41.39

$41.35 MX$764

33.42%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$80.1 £60.1

$72.7 MX$1,344

10.13%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$69.2 £51.9

$89.6 MX$1,656

-22.75%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,096 £822

$979 MX$18.1K

11.87%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$972 £729

$373 MX$6,887

160.86%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,410 £1,058

$1,681 MX$31.1K

-16.12%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,540 £1,155

$1,095 MX$20.2K

40.59%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$5,009 £3,758

$3,949 MX$73.0K

26.85%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$4,015 £3,012

$6,137 MX$113.4K

-34.57%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$2,990 £2,243

$738 MX$13.6K

305.39%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

4.74

11.45

-58.60%

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

Last update for Ipswich: October 17, 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

Ipswich

$972 41.4%

Playa del Carmen

$373 31% 61.7% $600

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Ipswich

$431 18.4%

Playa del Carmen

$137 11.4% 68.2% $294

Eating Out

Ipswich

$327 13.9%

Playa del Carmen

$200 16.6% 38.7% $126

Groceries & Markets

Ipswich

$312 13.3%

Playa del Carmen

$258 21.5% 17.1% $53

Clothing & Footwear

Ipswich

$123 5.2%

Playa del Carmen

$112 9.3% 9.1% $11

Getting Around

Ipswich

$114 4.9%

Playa del Carmen

$52 4.3% 54.8% $63

Sport & Entertainment

Ipswich

$69 2.9%

Playa del Carmen

$72 6% 5.2% $3.6

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,096 in Ipswich and $979 in Playa del Carmen. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Ipswich pays 305% 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: $106 in Ipswich vs $44.00 in Playa del Carmen for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $312 vs $258 per month, with Playa del Carmen cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇬🇧 Ipswich

🇲🇽 Playa del Carmen

🕒 Local time

06:07 6:07 AM

00:07 12:07 AM

6 h behind Ipswich

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

120,000

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 23, 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 23, 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

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Ipswich Playa del Carmen 8,100 km ≈ 11 h nonstop flight

From you

Ipswich
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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

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

Ipswich and Playa del Carmen differ by about 95% in total monthly costs ($2,348 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 305% higher in Ipswich, 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: $1,096 in Ipswich versus $979 in Playa del Carmen. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

A monthly transit pass in Playa del Carmen runs roughly 219% less than in Ipswich. Both cities have functional networks, but the price difference matters if you're watching your budget.

Childcare runs $1,076 in Ipswich versus $201 in Playa del Carmen. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

At $1,204 in Playa del Carmen versus $2,348 in Ipswich, a $1,500 budget is realistic in Playa del Carmen but tight or insufficient in Ipswich. 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, Ipswich 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 95% less than in Ipswich. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.