Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Kingston upon Thames and Playa del Carmen

For one person, living is cheaper in Playa del Carmen: $1,210 a month against $3,276 in Kingston upon Thames, rent and utilities included – about $24,800 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

161

Cost of Living Index in Kingston upon Thames
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Kingston upon Thames Living Index
59

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

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Kingston upon Thames

🇬🇧 United Kingdom

$3,276

/mo nomad

Playa del Carmen

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,210

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $3,276 in Kingston upon Thames versus $1,210 in Playa del Carmen.

Kingston upon Thames $3,276
Playa del Carmen $1,210

Estimated couple costs with rent: $4,746 in Kingston upon Thames versus $2,113 in Playa del Carmen.

Kingston upon Thames $4,746
Playa del Carmen $2,113

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $6,216 in Kingston upon Thames versus $3,016 in Playa del Carmen.

Kingston upon Thames $6,216
Playa del Carmen $3,016

Living in Kingston upon Thames is roughly 171% 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: Kingston upon Thames is 143% above, Playa del Carmen is 10% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$22.10 £16.58

$10.76 MX$199

105.39%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$86.6 £65.0

$43.03 MX$795

101.23%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$10.42 £7.82

$11.79 MX$218

-11.62%

Cappuccino

$5.46 £4.09

$3.87 MX$71.4

41.09%

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

$3.00 £2.25

$1.37 MX$25.29

118.98%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.80 £1.35

$0.84 MX$15.44

114.29%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$9.20 £6.91

$3.10 MX$57.3

196.77%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$7.91 £5.93

$5.07 MX$93.6

56.02%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.68 £1.26

$1.44 MX$26.55

16.67%

White Bread (500g)

$1.73 £1.30

$2.23 MX$41.23

-22.42%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.45 £1.84

$1.47 MX$27.17

66.67%

Eggs

$4.91 £3.68

$2.53 MX$46.71

94.07%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$8.46 £6.35

$7.30 MX$135

15.89%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$8.72 £6.54

$7.86 MX$145

10.94%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$12.99 £9.74

$12.79 MX$236

1.56%

Apples (1kg)

$3.13 £2.35

$2.90 MX$53.6

7.93%

Banana (1kg)

$1.35 £1.01

$1.44 MX$26.53

-6.25%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.61 £1.96

$2.55 MX$47.07

2.35%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.90 £2.18

$2.06 MX$38.03

40.78%

Potato (1kg)

$1.67 £1.25

$2.00 MX$36.97

-16.50%

Onion (1kg)

$1.71 £1.28

$2.01 MX$37.07

-14.93%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.24 £0.93

$1.19 MX$22.02

4.20%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.80 £1.35

$1.26 MX$23.23

42.86%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$23.28 £17.46

$4.40 MX$81.4

429.09%

Wine (Bottle)

$9.31 £6.99

$9.59 MX$177

-2.92%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$3.09 £2.32

$1.59 MX$29.41

94.34%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.45 £3.34

$2.81 MX$51.9

58.36%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$2.37 £1.78

$0.57 MX$10.47

315.79%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$42.49 £31.88

$27.82 MX$514

52.73%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$4.91 £3.69

$4.98 MX$92.1

-1.41%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.43 £1.07

$3.50 MX$64.6

-59.14%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$23.70 £17.78

$5.40 MX$99.8

338.89%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.98 £1.49

$1.47 MX$27.08

34.69%

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

$37.7K £28.3K

$21.0K MX$387.8K

79.59%

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

$39.8K £29.9K

$23.9K MX$441.8K

66.55%

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

$371 £278

$84.2 MX$1,556

340.04%

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

$15.63 £11.73

$23.99 MX$443

-34.85%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$40.78 £30.60

$29.02 MX$536

40.52%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$102 £76.8

$63.0 MX$1,164

62.62%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$10.49 £7.87

$29.14 MX$539

-64.00%

Cinema Ticket

$19.46 £14.60

$4.94 MX$91.3

293.93%

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

$2,594 £1,946

$204 MX$3,763

1174.09%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$22.2K £16.6K

$3,941 MX$72.8K

462.11%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$114 £85.7

$43.60 MX$806

162.11%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$53.6 £40.19

$43.12 MX$797

24.23%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$78.1 £58.6

$75.8 MX$1,400

3.09%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$106 £79.7

$88.6 MX$1,637

19.91%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,035 £1,527

$1,008 MX$18.6K

101.84%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,832 £1,374

$374 MX$6,911

389.81%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$3,567 £2,676

$1,708 MX$31.6K

108.79%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$3,164 £2,374

$1,106 MX$20.4K

186.07%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,944 MX$72.9K

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$6,169 MX$114.0K

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$5,303 £3,978

$754 MX$13.9K

603.11%

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 Kingston upon Thames: October 13, 2026

Last update for Playa del Carmen: October 10, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Kingston upon Thames

$1.8K 55.9%

Playa del Carmen

$374 30.9% 79.6% $1.5K

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Kingston upon Thames

$427 13%

Playa del Carmen

$137 11.3% 67.9% $290

Eating Out

Kingston upon Thames

$355 10.8%

Playa del Carmen

$202 16.7% 43% $152

Groceries & Markets

Kingston upon Thames

$298 9.1%

Playa del Carmen

$258 21.4% 13.3% $40

Clothing & Footwear

Kingston upon Thames

$158 4.8%

Playa del Carmen

$113 9.3% 28.7% $46

Sport & Entertainment

Kingston upon Thames

$141 4.3%

Playa del Carmen

$73 6% 48.4% $68

Getting Around

Kingston upon Thames

$64 2%

Playa del Carmen

$53 4.3% 17.9% $11

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $2,035 in Kingston upon Thames and $1,008 in Playa del Carmen. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Kingston upon Thames pays 603% 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: $87.0 in Kingston upon Thames vs $43.00 in Playa del Carmen for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $298 vs $258 per month, with Playa del Carmen cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇬🇧 Kingston upon Thames

🇲🇽 Playa del Carmen

🕒 Local time

18:55 6:55 PM

12:55 12:55 PM

6 h behind Kingston upon Thames

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

43,013

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 19, 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 19, 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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Kingston upon Thames Playa del Carmen 8,010 km ≈ 11 h nonstop flight

From you

Kingston upon Thames
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

Kingston upon Thames vs Playa del Carmen: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Kingston upon Thames and Playa del Carmen differ by about 171% in total monthly costs ($3,276 vs $1,210 including rent). Playa del Carmen is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

Average pay runs 603% higher in Kingston upon Thames, 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: $2,035 in Kingston upon Thames versus $1,008 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 53% less than in Kingston upon Thames. Both cities have functional networks, but the price difference matters if you're watching your budget.

Childcare runs $2,594 in Kingston upon Thames versus $204 in Playa del Carmen. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

At $1,210 in Playa del Carmen versus $3,276 in Kingston upon Thames, a $1,500 budget is realistic in Playa del Carmen but tight or insufficient in Kingston upon Thames. 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, Kingston upon Thames 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 171% less than in Kingston upon Thames. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.