Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Lewes and Playa del Carmen

For one person, living is cheaper in Playa del Carmen: $1,204 a month against $2,380 in Lewes, rent and utilities included – about $14,100 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

114

Cost of Living Index in Lewes
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Lewes Living Index
59

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

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Lewes

🇬🇧 United Kingdom

$2,380

/mo nomad

Playa del Carmen

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,204

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

A single person spends $2,380 per month in Lewes vs $1,204 in Playa del Carmen, rent included.

Lewes $2,380
Playa del Carmen $1,204

A couple spends around $3,503 per month in Lewes vs $2,102 in Playa del Carmen, rent included.

Lewes $3,503
Playa del Carmen $2,102

A family of three spends $4,625 per month in Lewes vs $3,000 in Playa del Carmen, rent included.

Lewes $4,625
Playa del Carmen $3,000

Lewes costs about 98% more than Playa del Carmen, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Lewes sits 76% above the global median, while Playa del Carmen is 11% below – they fall on opposite sides of the world average.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$25.36 £19.03

$10.86 MX$201

133.52%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$92.9 £69.7

$44.21 MX$817

110.02%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$9.92 £7.44

$11.76 MX$217

-15.65%

Cappuccino

$4.85 £3.64

$3.68 MX$68.0

31.79%

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

$2.93 £2.20

$1.34 MX$24.79

118.66%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.66 £2.00

$0.82 MX$15.24

224.39%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$8.77 £6.58

$3.06 MX$56.6

186.60%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$6.67 £5.00

$4.94 MX$91.2

35.02%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.41 £1.06

$1.47 MX$27.17

-4.08%

White Bread (500g)

$1.68 £1.26

$2.22 MX$40.95

-24.32%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.18 £1.64

$1.48 MX$27.32

47.30%

Eggs

$3.75 £2.81

$2.49 MX$45.99

50.60%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$11.14 £8.36

$7.52 MX$139

48.14%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$8.37 £6.28

$7.96 MX$147

5.15%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$12.44 £9.33

$12.57 MX$232

-1.03%

Apples (1kg)

$2.97 £2.23

$2.78 MX$51.3

6.83%

Banana (1kg)

$1.46 £1.10

$1.43 MX$26.37

2.10%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.83 £2.13

$2.62 MX$48.37

8.02%

Tomato (1kg)

$3.22 £2.41

$2.14 MX$39.49

50.47%

Potato (1kg)

$1.61 £1.21

$2.02 MX$37.38

-20.30%

Onion (1kg)

$1.39 £1.04

$1.99 MX$36.74

-30.15%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.90 £0.68

$1.14 MX$21.01

-21.05%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.52 £1.14

$1.20 MX$22.18

26.67%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$23.69 £17.77

$4.26 MX$78.7

456.10%

Wine (Bottle)

$11.18 £8.39

$10.02 MX$185

11.58%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.28 £1.71

$1.54 MX$28.41

48.05%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.09 £2.32

$2.66 MX$49.17

16.17%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$3.27 £2.45

$0.53 MX$9.73

516.98%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$96.7 £72.6

$27.51 MX$508

251.58%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$5.10 £3.82

$4.90 MX$90.6

4.08%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$2.69 £2.01

$3.43 MX$63.5

-21.57%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$23.06 £17.30

$5.38 MX$99.4

328.62%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$2.00 £1.50

$1.45 MX$26.76

37.93%

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

$39.1K £29.4K

$21.2K MX$391.0K

85.03%

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

$40.9K £30.7K

$23.0K MX$425.3K

77.52%

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

$281 £211

$85.4 MX$1,577

228.78%

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

$16.80 £12.60

$23.46 MX$434

-28.39%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$44.72 £33.55

$28.43 MX$525

57.30%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$46.00 £34.51

$62.2 MX$1,149

-26.03%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$13.08 £9.81

$28.68 MX$530

-54.39%

Cinema Ticket

$13.40 £10.05

$5.10 MX$94.3

162.75%

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

$1,801 £1,351

$201 MX$3,715

795.88%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$29.8K £22.4K

$3,947 MX$72.9K

655.56%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$76.2 £57.1

$44.39 MX$820

71.55%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$45.00 £33.76

$41.35 MX$764

8.83%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$102 £76.4

$72.7 MX$1,344

39.96%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$88.3 £66.3

$89.6 MX$1,656

-1.45%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,236 £927

$979 MX$18.1K

26.22%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,039 £779

$373 MX$6,887

178.75%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,102 £1,577

$1,681 MX$31.1K

25.06%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,656 £1,242

$1,095 MX$20.2K

51.18%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$5,149 £3,863

$3,949 MX$73.0K

30.40%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$3,947 £2,961

$6,137 MX$113.4K

-35.68%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$4,441 £3,332

$738 MX$13.6K

502.13%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

11.45

-56.33%

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

Last update for Lewes: October 18, 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

Lewes

$1K 43.7%

Playa del Carmen

$373 31% 64.1% $666

Eating Out

Lewes

$370 15.6%

Playa del Carmen

$200 16.6% 46% $170

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Lewes

$342 14.4%

Playa del Carmen

$137 11.4% 59.9% $205

Groceries & Markets

Lewes

$288 12.1%

Playa del Carmen

$258 21.5% 10.2% $29

Clothing & Footwear

Lewes

$140 5.9%

Playa del Carmen

$112 9.3% 20.3% $28

Getting Around

Lewes

$128 5.4%

Playa del Carmen

$52 4.3% 59.7% $77

Sport & Entertainment

Lewes

$73 3.1%

Playa del Carmen

$72 6% 0.5% $0.4

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $1,236 in Lewes 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 502% higher in Lewes, 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 $93.0 in Lewes versus $44.00 in Playa del Carmen. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $288 vs $258 – making Playa del Carmen the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇬🇧 Lewes

🇲🇽 Playa del Carmen

🕒 Local time

20:31 8:31 PM

14:31 2:31 PM

6 h behind Lewes

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

17,297

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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Lewes Playa del Carmen 8,040 km ≈ 11 h nonstop flight

From you

Lewes
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

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

Yes – Lewes is pricier by about 98%, and outside of rent the gap shows up most in eating out.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $3,571 per month in Lewes 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.

Kindergarten costs $1,801 per month in Lewes and $201 in Playa del Carmen. For families with young kids, this one expense can tip the scales when choosing between the two cities.

Groceries cost about 11% more in Lewes, though it depends on what you buy. Local produce may be comparable; imported and premium items show the biggest price gap.

A $1,500 monthly budget goes further in Playa del Carmen, where all-in costs run around $1,204, than in Lewes at $2,380. In Playa del Carmen it covers expenses comfortably, while in Lewes 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.

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, Lewes makes more sense. Both are solid long-term options with distinct trade-offs.