Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Lambeth and Playa del Carmen

For one person, living is cheaper in Playa del Carmen: $1,204 a month against $2,463 in Lambeth, rent and utilities included – about $15,100 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

Lambeth
🇬🇧 United Kingdom
$2,463
/mo nomad
Playa del Carmen
🇲🇽 Mexico
$1,204
/mo nomad
Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,463 in Lambeth versus $1,204 in Playa del Carmen.

  • Lambeth $2,463
  • Playa del Carmen $1,204

Estimated couple costs with rent: $3,680 in Lambeth versus $2,102 in Playa del Carmen.

  • Lambeth $3,680
  • Playa del Carmen $2,102

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $4,897 in Lambeth versus $3,000 in Playa del Carmen.

  • Lambeth $4,897
  • Playa del Carmen $3,000

Living in Lambeth is roughly 105% 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: Lambeth is 82% above, Playa del Carmen is 11% below.

Currency
🍽 Eating Out
Lambeth
Playa del Carmen
Difference
Meal at Budget Restaurant
$23.90 £17.93
$10.86 MX$201
120.07%
Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range
$80.4 £60.3
$44.21 MX$817
81.81%
Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)
$13.53 £10.15
$11.76 MX$217
15.05%
Cappuccino
$4.79 £3.59
$3.68 MX$68.0
30.16%
Coke/Pepsi/Fanta/Sprite (0.33 liter bottle)
$2.56 £1.92
$1.34 MX$24.79
91.04%
Water (0.33 liter bottle)
$2.39 £1.79
$0.82 MX$15.24
191.46%
Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)
$6.64 £4.98
$3.06 MX$56.6
116.99%
Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)
$6.04 £4.53
$4.94 MX$91.2
22.27%
🛒 Groceries & Markets
Lambeth
Playa del Carmen
Difference
Milk (1 liter)
$1.75 £1.32
$1.47 MX$27.17
19.05%
White Bread (500g)
$1.92 £1.44
$2.22 MX$40.95
-13.51%
Rice (white) (1kg)
$2.15 £1.61
$1.48 MX$27.32
45.27%
Eggs
$4.29 £3.22
$2.49 MX$45.99
72.29%
Local Cheese (1kg)
$8.98 £6.74
$7.52 MX$139
19.41%
Chicken Fillets (1kg)
$10.33 £7.75
$7.96 MX$147
29.77%
Beef Round Steak (1kg)
$20.21 £15.16
$12.57 MX$232
60.78%
Apples (1kg)
$4.44 £3.33
$2.78 MX$51.3
59.71%
Banana (1kg)
$1.49 £1.12
$1.43 MX$26.37
4.20%
Oranges (1kg)
$1.97 £1.48
$2.62 MX$48.37
-24.81%
Tomato (1kg)
$3.38 £2.54
$2.14 MX$39.49
57.94%
Potato (1kg)
$1.53 £1.15
$2.02 MX$37.38
-24.26%
Onion (1kg)
$1.93 £1.44
$1.99 MX$36.74
-3.02%
Lettuce (1 head)
$1.52 £1.14
$1.14 MX$21.01
33.33%
Water (1.5 liter bottle)
$1.48 £1.11
$1.20 MX$22.18
23.33%
Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)
$23.18 £17.39
$4.26 MX$78.7
444.13%
Wine (Bottle)
$11.11 £8.34
$10.02 MX$185
10.88%
Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)
$3.17 £2.38
$1.54 MX$28.41
105.84%
Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)
$3.00 £2.25
$2.66 MX$49.17
12.78%
🚌 Getting Around
Lambeth
Playa del Carmen
Difference
One-way Ticket (Public Transport)
$3.81 £2.86
$0.53 MX$9.73
618.87%
Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)
$106 £79.9
$27.51 MX$508
286.99%
Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)
$5.03 £3.78
$4.90 MX$90.6
2.65%
Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)
$2.08 £1.56
$3.43 MX$63.5
-39.36%
Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)
$23.77 £17.83
$5.38 MX$99.4
341.82%
Gasoline (1 liter)
$2.07 £1.55
$1.45 MX$26.76
42.76%
Midsize Hatchback 1.4l (Volkswagen Golf, Toyota Prius, Honda Civic, etc)
$38.7K £29.0K
$21.2K MX$391.0K
82.88%
Compact Sedan 1.6l (Toyota Corolla, Mazda3, Kia K4, Hyundai Elantra, etc)
$40.3K £30.2K
$23.0K MX$425.3K
74.95%
🧾 Monthly Utilities & Internet
Lambeth
Playa del Carmen
Difference
Utilities for 2 People in 2-bedroom Apartment (Heating, Electricity, Gas, Water, Garbage) (85m2)
$389 £292
$85.4 MX$1,577
355.45%
SIM Card Monthly Plan (Calls and 10GB+ Data)
$23.79 £17.85
$23.46 MX$434
1.41%
Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)
$49.63 £37.23
$28.43 MX$525
74.57%
🎉 Sport & Entertainment
Lambeth
Playa del Carmen
Difference
Gym Membership (Monthly)
$40.78 £30.60
$62.2 MX$1,149
-34.43%
Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)
-
$28.68 MX$530
-
Cinema Ticket
$18.01 £13.51
$5.10 MX$94.3
253.14%
🧸 Childcare & Education
Lambeth
Playa del Carmen
Difference
Preschool or Kindergarten, Full Day, Private, 1 Child (Monthly)
$1,356 £1,017
$201 MX$3,715
574.47%
International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)
$23.9K £17.9K
$3,947 MX$72.9K
506.12%
👕👟 Clothing & Footwear
Lambeth
Playa del Carmen
Difference
Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)
$66.3 £49.76
$44.39 MX$820
49.40%
Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)
$45.95 £34.47
$41.35 MX$764
11.12%
Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)
$74.0 £55.5
$72.7 MX$1,344
1.75%
Men's Leather Business Shoes
$79.2 £59.4
$89.6 MX$1,656
-11.58%
🏠 Accommodation & Living
Lambeth
Playa del Carmen
Difference
1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)
$1,186 £890
$979 MX$18.1K
21.08%
1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)
$979 £735
$373 MX$6,887
162.78%
3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)
$1,826 £1,370
$1,681 MX$31.1K
8.61%
3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)
$1,814 £1,361
$1,095 MX$20.2K
65.62%
Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)
$4,320 £3,241
$3,949 MX$73.0K
9.40%
Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)
$3,310 £2,483
$6,137 MX$113.4K
-46.06%
💵 Salaries & Financials
Lambeth
Playa del Carmen
Difference
Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)
-
$738 MX$13.6K
-
20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)
5.54
11.45
-51.62%

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

Last update for Lambeth: October 20, 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
Lambeth
$979
Playa del Carmen
$373 61.9% $607
Monthly Utilities & Internet
Lambeth
$462
Playa del Carmen
$137 70.3% $325
Eating Out
Lambeth
$354
Playa del Carmen
$200 43.5% $154
Groceries & Markets
Lambeth
$334
Playa del Carmen
$258 22.6% $76
Getting Around
Lambeth
$137
Playa del Carmen
$52 62.3% $85
Clothing & Footwear
Lambeth
$119
Playa del Carmen
$112 6.6% $7.8
Sport & Entertainment
Lambeth
$77
Playa del Carmen
$72 5.7% $4.4

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,186 in Lambeth and $979 in Playa del Carmen. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Dining out: $80.0 in Lambeth vs $44.00 in Playa del Carmen for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $334 vs $258 per month, with Playa del Carmen cheaper across the board.

Good to know
🇬🇧 Lambeth
🇲🇽 Playa del Carmen
🕒 Local time
20:30 8:30 PM
14:30 2:30 PM
6 h behind Lambeth
🌤 Weather
👥 Population
6,000
149,923
💱 Currency
Exchange rates and currency converter

MXN, USD, EUR to GBP – British Pound Converter

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).

On the map
Between locations
  • Lambeth Playa del Carmen 8,020 km ≈ 11 h nonstop flight
From you
  • Lambeth
  • 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
Lambeth vs Playa del Carmen: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions
Is Playa del Carmen cheaper than Lambeth?
Playa del Carmen is cheaper overall, especially in eating out, groceries, and transport. The 105% gap adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.
What income do you need for each city?
You'd need roughly $3,695 in Lambeth and $1,806 in Playa del Carmen to live well. The gap comes down to housing and overall price levels. Both cities are liveable on less, but these numbers represent actual comfort.
What is the rent difference between Lambeth and Playa del Carmen?
Rent for a central apartment: $1,186 in Lambeth versus $979 in Playa del Carmen. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.
What are total monthly expenses in Lambeth and in Playa del Carmen?
All in, you'll spend $2,463 per month in Lambeth versus $1,204 in Playa del Carmen – a 105% gap that adds up to real savings over time for anyone picking the cheaper option.
Which city has cheaper public transport?
A monthly transit pass in Playa del Carmen runs roughly 287% less than in Lambeth. Both cities have functional networks, but the price difference matters if you're watching your budget.
Is $1,500 a realistic budget for living in Lambeth or in Playa del Carmen?
At $1,204 in Playa del Carmen versus $2,463 in Lambeth, a $1,500 budget is realistic in Playa del Carmen but tight or insufficient in Lambeth. The gap between the two cities makes Playa del Carmen the clear choice for anyone on this budget.
Is Lambeth or Playa del Carmen more family-friendly?
For families, Playa del Carmen is more practical. Housing and childcare are both notably cheaper than in Lambeth, and the savings on those two alone free up budget for education, activities, and family trips.
Which city is safer, Lambeth or Playa del Carmen?
Safety-wise, Lambeth 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.
Which city is easier to live in as a foreigner?
Expats usually find Playa del Carmen gentler on the wallet – expenses run 105% less than in Lambeth. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.

Lambeth vs other spots: cost of living compared

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