Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Lewisham and Playa del Carmen

For one person, living is cheaper in Playa del Carmen: $1,202 a month against $3,105 in Lewisham, rent and utilities included – about $22,800 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

149

Cost of Living Index in Lewisham
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Lewisham Living Index
57

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

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Lewisham

🇬🇧 United Kingdom

$3,105

/mo nomad

Playa del Carmen

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,202

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

A single person spends $3,105 per month in Lewisham vs $1,202 in Playa del Carmen, rent included.

Lewisham $3,105
Playa del Carmen $1,202

A couple spends around $4,989 per month in Lewisham vs $2,082 in Playa del Carmen, rent included.

Lewisham $4,989
Playa del Carmen $2,082

A family of three spends $6,874 per month in Lewisham vs $2,962 in Playa del Carmen, rent included.

Lewisham $6,874
Playa del Carmen $2,962

Lewisham costs about 158% more than Playa del Carmen, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Lewisham sits 130% above the global median, while Playa del Carmen is 11% below – they fall on opposite sides of the world average.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$23.61 £17.52

$10.67 MX$199

121.27%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$79.2 £58.8

$43.80 MX$815

80.87%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$10.54 £7.82

$11.79 MX$219

-10.60%

Cappuccino

$4.89 £3.63

$3.79 MX$70.5

29.02%

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

$1.97 £1.46

$1.30 MX$24.14

51.54%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.77 £1.32

$0.83 MX$15.51

113.25%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$6.37 £4.73

$3.15 MX$58.6

102.22%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$6.09 £4.52

$4.93 MX$91.8

23.53%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.73 £1.28

$1.41 MX$26.22

22.70%

White Bread (500g)

$1.91 £1.42

$2.20 MX$40.86

-13.18%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.14 £1.59

$1.47 MX$27.40

45.58%

Eggs

$4.40 £3.27

$2.50 MX$46.46

76.00%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$6.55 £4.86

$7.29 MX$136

-10.15%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$6.51 £4.83

$7.95 MX$148

-18.11%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$12.15 £9.01

$12.86 MX$239

-5.52%

Apples (1kg)

$4.45 £3.30

$2.90 MX$53.9

53.45%

Banana (1kg)

$1.51 £1.12

$1.38 MX$25.74

9.42%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.92 £1.43

$2.49 MX$46.35

-22.89%

Tomato (1kg)

$3.41 £2.53

$2.03 MX$37.77

67.98%

Potato (1kg)

$1.32 £0.98

$2.02 MX$37.68

-34.65%

Onion (1kg)

$1.93 £1.43

$1.90 MX$35.42

1.58%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.80 £0.59

$1.14 MX$21.30

-29.82%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.48 £1.10

$1.24 MX$23.05

19.35%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$23.23 £17.24

$4.27 MX$79.5

444.03%

Wine (Bottle)

$11.23 £8.33

$9.81 MX$183

14.48%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.35 £1.75

$1.59 MX$29.51

47.80%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.90 £1.41

$2.75 MX$51.1

-30.91%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$3.08 £2.29

$0.51 MX$9.58

503.92%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$154 £114

$27.39 MX$510

460.57%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$6.82 £5.06

$4.76 MX$88.6

43.28%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$2.27 £1.69

$3.25 MX$60.5

-30.15%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$30.20 £22.41

$5.39 MX$100

460.30%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$2.08 £1.55

$1.53 MX$28.44

35.95%

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

$38.4K £28.5K

$21.2K MX$394.8K

81.05%

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

$40.1K £29.7K

$23.3K MX$432.9K

72.25%

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

$406 £301

$83.5 MX$1,554

385.84%

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

$23.56 £17.48

$23.19 MX$431

1.60%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$43.77 £32.48

$27.61 MX$514

58.53%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$46.10 £34.20

$56.4 MX$1,050

-18.31%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$28.19 MX$525

Cinema Ticket

$16.88 £12.52

$5.00 MX$93.1

237.60%

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

$808 £599

$207 MX$3,854

289.95%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$22.9K £17.0K

$5,231 MX$97.3K

337.53%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$156 £116

$43.45 MX$809

260.09%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$66.8 £49.58

$42.54 MX$792

57.08%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$136 £101

$72.8 MX$1,354

86.79%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$126 £93.2

$88.4 MX$1,645

42.08%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,248 £1,668

$995 MX$18.5K

125.97%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,538 £1,141

$382 MX$7,116

302.14%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,038 £1,512

$1,674 MX$31.2K

21.70%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$3,636 £2,698

$1,081 MX$20.1K

236.51%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$5,203 £3,861

$3,909 MX$72.7K

33.13%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$3,908 £2,899

$6,138 MX$114.2K

-36.33%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$3,206 £2,379

$832 MX$15.5K

285.19%

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 Lewisham: October 31, 2026

Last update for Playa del Carmen: November 2, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Lewisham

$1.5K 49.5%

Playa del Carmen

$382 31.8% 75.1% $1.2K

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Lewisham

$473 15.2%

Playa del Carmen

$134 11.2% 71.6% $339

Eating Out

Lewisham

$338 10.9%

Playa del Carmen

$200 16.7% 40.8% $138

Groceries & Markets

Lewisham

$274 8.8%

Playa del Carmen

$257 21.4% 6.1% $17

Clothing & Footwear

Lewisham

$218 7%

Playa del Carmen

$111 9.3% 49% $107

Getting Around

Lewisham

$184 5.9%

Playa del Carmen

$50 4.2% 72.6% $134

Sport & Entertainment

Lewisham

$80 2.6%

Playa del Carmen

$66 5.5% 16.8% $13

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $2,248 in Lewisham versus $995 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 in Lewisham are about 3.9 times higher. Purchasing power depends on which expenses matter most to you.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $79 in Lewisham versus $44 in Playa del Carmen. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $274 vs $257 – making Playa del Carmen the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇬🇧 Lewisham

🇲🇽 Playa del Carmen

🕒 Local time

20:59 8:59 PM

15:59 3:59 PM

5 h behind Lewisham

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

96,224

149,923

💱 Currency

British Pound GBP £

Mexican Peso MXN $

📈 Exchange rate

1 GBP = 1.35 USD

1 GBP = 1.2 EUR

100 MXN = 5.37 USD

100 MXN = 4.79 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 November 5, 2026: 1 USD = 0.742 GBP (1 GBP = 1.35 USD). 1 EUR = 0.833 GBP (1 GBP = 1.2 EUR).

Mexican Peso exchange rates as of November 5, 2026: 1 USD = 18.61 MXN (100 MXN = 5.37 USD). 1 EUR = 20.89 MXN (100 MXN = 4.79 EUR).

USD to GBP in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Lewisham Playa del Carmen 8,030 km ≈ 11 h nonstop flight

From you

Lewisham
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

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

Lewisham costs about 158% more than Playa del Carmen, and outside of rent the gap comes mainly from eating out. That’s enough to noticeably affect everyday spending and lifestyle for anyone choosing between the two.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $4,658 per month in Lewisham and $1,804 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: a one-bedroom in the center costs $995 there versus $2,248 in Lewisham.

Groceries cost about 6% more in Lewisham, though the gap depends on what you buy.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $79 in Lewisham and $44 in Playa del Carmen. That’s a good indicator of the overall restaurant and café pricing gap between the two cities.

A $1,500 monthly budget goes further in Playa del Carmen, where all-in costs run around $1,202, than in Lewisham at $3,105. In Playa del Carmen it covers expenses comfortably, while in Lewisham 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.

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