Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Launceston and Playa del Carmen

For one person, living is cheaper in Playa del Carmen: $1,204 a month against $2,544 in Launceston, rent and utilities included – about $16,100 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

117

Cost of Living Index in Launceston
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Launceston Living Index
59

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

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Launceston

🇬🇧 United Kingdom

$2,544

/mo nomad

Playa del Carmen

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,204

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

A single person spends $2,544 per month in Launceston vs $1,204 in Playa del Carmen, rent included.

Launceston $2,544
Playa del Carmen $1,204

A couple spends around $3,582 per month in Launceston vs $2,102 in Playa del Carmen, rent included.

Launceston $3,582
Playa del Carmen $2,102

A family of three spends $4,621 per month in Launceston vs $3,000 in Playa del Carmen, rent included.

Launceston $4,621
Playa del Carmen $3,000

Launceston costs about 111% more than Playa del Carmen, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Launceston sits 88% above the global median, while Playa del Carmen is 11% below – they fall on opposite sides of the world average.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$21.00 £15.75

$10.86 MX$201

93.37%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$102 £76.3

$44.21 MX$817

130.13%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$12.05 £9.04

$11.76 MX$217

2.47%

Cappuccino

$4.85 £3.64

$3.68 MX$68.0

31.79%

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

$3.10 £2.32

$1.34 MX$24.79

131.34%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.00 £1.50

$0.82 MX$15.24

143.90%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$5.33 £4.00

$3.06 MX$56.6

74.18%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$5.25 £3.94

$4.94 MX$91.2

6.28%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.64 £1.23

$1.47 MX$27.17

11.56%

White Bread (500g)

$1.49 £1.12

$2.22 MX$40.95

-32.88%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.27 £1.70

$1.48 MX$27.32

53.38%

Eggs

$4.21 £3.16

$2.49 MX$45.99

69.08%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$6.13 £4.60

$7.52 MX$139

-18.48%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$11.76 £8.82

$7.96 MX$147

47.74%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$12.43 £9.32

$12.57 MX$232

-1.11%

Apples (1kg)

$2.20 £1.65

$2.78 MX$51.3

-20.86%

Banana (1kg)

$1.72 £1.29

$1.43 MX$26.37

20.28%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.94 £1.46

$2.62 MX$48.37

-25.95%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.24 £1.68

$2.14 MX$39.49

4.67%

Potato (1kg)

$2.17 £1.63

$2.02 MX$37.38

7.43%

Onion (1kg)

$1.32 £0.99

$1.99 MX$36.74

-33.67%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.96 £1.47

$1.14 MX$21.01

71.93%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.94 £1.45

$1.20 MX$22.18

61.67%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$24.01 £18.01

$4.26 MX$78.7

463.62%

Wine (Bottle)

$9.89 £7.42

$10.02 MX$185

-1.30%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.83 £2.12

$1.54 MX$28.41

83.77%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.42 £1.82

$2.66 MX$49.17

-9.02%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$3.51 £2.63

$0.53 MX$9.73

562.26%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$95.1 £71.4

$27.51 MX$508

245.84%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.39 £2.54

$4.90 MX$90.6

-30.82%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$2.41 £1.81

$3.43 MX$63.5

-29.74%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$32.16 £24.13

$5.38 MX$99.4

497.77%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$2.08 £1.56

$1.45 MX$26.76

43.45%

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

$38.1K £28.6K

$21.2K MX$391.0K

80.08%

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

$40.3K £30.2K

$23.0K MX$425.3K

74.96%

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

$358 £269

$85.4 MX$1,577

319.66%

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

$13.19 £9.89

$23.46 MX$434

-43.78%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$33.92 £25.45

$28.43 MX$525

19.31%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$46.10 £34.58

$62.2 MX$1,149

-25.87%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$28.68 MX$530

Cinema Ticket

$15.89 £11.92

$5.10 MX$94.3

211.57%

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

$2,296 £1,723

$201 MX$3,715

1042.10%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$34.4K £25.8K

$3,947 MX$72.9K

772.36%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$87.3 £65.5

$44.39 MX$820

96.69%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$49.12 £36.85

$41.35 MX$764

18.79%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$135 £101

$72.7 MX$1,344

85.41%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$105 £78.9

$89.6 MX$1,656

17.36%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,208 £906

$979 MX$18.1K

23.32%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,156 £867

$373 MX$6,887

210.04%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,130 £1,598

$1,681 MX$31.1K

26.70%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,593 £1,195

$1,095 MX$20.2K

45.44%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$5,336 £4,003

$3,949 MX$73.0K

35.12%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$4,216 £3,163

$6,137 MX$113.4K

-31.29%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$2,007 £1,506

$738 MX$13.6K

172.19%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

4.96

11.45

-56.68%

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

Last update for Launceston: October 19, 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

Launceston

$1.2K 45.4%

Playa del Carmen

$373 31% 67.7% $783

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Launceston

$405 15.9%

Playa del Carmen

$137 11.4% 66.1% $268

Eating Out

Launceston

$320 12.6%

Playa del Carmen

$200 16.6% 37.4% $120

Groceries & Markets

Launceston

$291 11.4%

Playa del Carmen

$258 21.5% 11.2% $33

Clothing & Footwear

Launceston

$169 6.7%

Playa del Carmen

$112 9.3% 34.1% $58

Getting Around

Launceston

$125 4.9%

Playa del Carmen

$52 4.3% 58.5% $73

Sport & Entertainment

Launceston

$78 3.1%

Playa del Carmen

$72 6% 7% $5.5

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $1,208 in Launceston versus $979 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 run about 172% higher in Launceston, which partly offsets the higher cost of living there. Purchasing power depends on which expenses matter most to you.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $102 in Launceston versus $44.00 in Playa del Carmen. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $291 vs $258 – making Playa del Carmen the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇬🇧 Launceston

🇲🇽 Playa del Carmen

🕒 Local time

22:38 10:38 PM

16:38 4:38 PM

6 h behind Launceston

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

8,000

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 22, 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 22, 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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Highest

Between locations

Launceston Playa del Carmen 7,750 km ≈ 10 h nonstop flight

From you

Launceston
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

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

Monthly costs with rent: $2,544 in Launceston, $1,204 in Playa del Carmen – roughly 111% apart. Outside of rent, the biggest gap is in eating out.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $3,816 per month in Launceston and $1,806 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. Housing is actually the single biggest factor behind the overall cost gap between these two cities.

Monthly expenses with rent come to $2,544 in Launceston and $1,204 in Playa del Carmen. That's a gap of about 111%.

Public transport costs about 246% less in Playa del Carmen. For daily commuters, that gap adds up to noticeable savings over a year.

A $1,500 monthly budget goes further in Playa del Carmen, where all-in costs run around $1,204, than in Launceston at $2,544. In Playa del Carmen it covers expenses comfortably, while in Launceston it requires careful planning or may not stretch far enough.

It depends on your priorities. Playa del Carmen has an edge in some lifestyle areas, with costs from $1,204 in Playa del Carmen to $2,544 in Launceston. Climate, culture, job market, and personal taste all factor in.

Both have safer and rougher neighborhoods, but overall safety is comparable to other large cities. Neighborhood choice matters more than the city-level comparison – central, well-trafficked areas feel secure in both.

If budget matters most, go with Playa del Carmen. If higher salaries, better infrastructure, or specific career opportunities are the priority, Launceston makes more sense. Both are solid long-term options with distinct trade-offs.