Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Lisburn and Playa del Carmen

For one person, living is cheaper in Playa del Carmen: $1,210 a month against $2,242 in Lisburn, rent and utilities included – about $12,400 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

112

Cost of Living Index in Lisburn
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Lisburn Living Index
59

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

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Lisburn

🇬🇧 United Kingdom

$2,242

/mo nomad

Playa del Carmen

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,210

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,242 in Lisburn versus $1,210 in Playa del Carmen.

Lisburn $2,242
Playa del Carmen $1,210

Estimated couple costs with rent: $3,431 in Lisburn versus $2,113 in Playa del Carmen.

Lisburn $3,431
Playa del Carmen $2,113

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $4,621 in Lisburn versus $3,016 in Playa del Carmen.

Lisburn $4,621
Playa del Carmen $3,016

Living in Lisburn is roughly 85% 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: Lisburn is 66% above, Playa del Carmen is 10% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$29.10 £21.83

$10.76 MX$199

170.45%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$73.6 £55.2

$43.03 MX$795

71.09%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$13.69 £10.27

$11.79 MX$218

16.12%

Cappuccino

$4.97 £3.72

$3.87 MX$71.4

28.42%

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

$1.97 £1.48

$1.37 MX$25.29

43.80%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.85 £1.39

$0.84 MX$15.44

120.24%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$7.48 £5.61

$3.10 MX$57.3

141.29%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$6.06 £4.55

$5.07 MX$93.6

19.53%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.88 £1.41

$1.44 MX$26.55

30.56%

White Bread (500g)

$2.47 £1.85

$2.23 MX$41.23

10.76%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.20 £1.65

$1.47 MX$27.17

49.66%

Eggs

$4.07 £3.05

$2.53 MX$46.71

60.87%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$9.17 £6.88

$7.30 MX$135

25.62%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$8.43 £6.32

$7.86 MX$145

7.25%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$14.38 £10.79

$12.79 MX$236

12.43%

Apples (1kg)

$2.63 £1.97

$2.90 MX$53.6

-9.31%

Banana (1kg)

$1.34 £1.00

$1.44 MX$26.53

-6.94%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.45 £1.84

$2.55 MX$47.07

-3.92%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.94 £2.21

$2.06 MX$38.03

42.72%

Potato (1kg)

$1.76 £1.32

$2.00 MX$36.97

-12.00%

Onion (1kg)

$1.79 £1.34

$2.01 MX$37.07

-10.95%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.37 £1.03

$1.19 MX$22.02

15.13%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.58 £1.19

$1.26 MX$23.23

25.40%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$23.57 £17.68

$4.40 MX$81.4

435.68%

Wine (Bottle)

$9.59 £7.20

$9.59 MX$177

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.91 £2.18

$1.59 MX$29.41

83.02%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.74 £2.06

$2.81 MX$51.9

-2.49%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$3.45 £2.59

$0.57 MX$10.47

505.26%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$96.2 £72.1

$27.82 MX$514

245.61%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$4.75 £3.56

$4.98 MX$92.1

-4.62%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$2.11 £1.58

$3.50 MX$64.6

-39.71%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$22.36 £16.77

$5.40 MX$99.8

314.07%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$2.08 £1.56

$1.47 MX$27.08

41.50%

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

$37.5K £28.1K

$21.0K MX$387.8K

78.72%

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

$40.0K £30.0K

$23.9K MX$441.8K

67.42%

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

$282 £212

$84.2 MX$1,556

234.82%

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

$18.84 £14.14

$23.99 MX$443

-21.47%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$44.87 £33.66

$29.02 MX$536

54.62%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$46.68 £35.02

$63.0 MX$1,164

-25.88%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$10.50 £7.88

$29.14 MX$539

-63.97%

Cinema Ticket

$14.04 £10.54

$4.94 MX$91.3

184.21%

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

$1,519 £1,140

$204 MX$3,763

646.08%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$21.8K £16.4K

$3,941 MX$72.8K

453.20%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$88.0 £66.0

$43.60 MX$806

101.88%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$41.43 £31.08

$43.12 MX$797

-3.92%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$83.0 £62.3

$75.8 MX$1,400

9.52%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$94.1 £70.6

$88.6 MX$1,637

6.19%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,224 £918

$1,008 MX$18.6K

21.39%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$860 £646

$374 MX$6,911

130.07%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,071 £1,554

$1,708 MX$31.6K

21.22%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,659 £1,244

$1,106 MX$20.4K

49.97%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$5,297 £3,974

$3,944 MX$72.9K

34.30%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$3,633 £2,725

$6,169 MX$114.0K

-41.12%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$754 MX$13.9K

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

5.08

11.45

-55.63%

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

Last update for Lisburn: October 12, 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

Lisburn

$860 38.4%

Playa del Carmen

$374 30.9% 56.5% $486

Eating Out

Lisburn

$398 17.8%

Playa del Carmen

$202 16.7% 49.2% $196

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Lisburn

$346 15.4%

Playa del Carmen

$137 11.3% 60.3% $208

Groceries & Markets

Lisburn

$300 13.4%

Playa del Carmen

$258 21.4% 13.7% $41

Clothing & Footwear

Lisburn

$138 6.2%

Playa del Carmen

$113 9.3% 18.1% $25

Getting Around

Lisburn

$125 5.6%

Playa del Carmen

$53 4.3% 58% $73

Sport & Entertainment

Lisburn

$75 3.3%

Playa del Carmen

$73 6% 2.5% $1.9

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,224 in Lisburn and $1,008 in Playa del Carmen. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Dining out: $74.0 in Lisburn vs $43.00 in Playa del Carmen for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $300 vs $258 per month, with Playa del Carmen cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇬🇧 Lisburn

🇲🇽 Playa del Carmen

🕒 Local time

22:26 10:26 PM

16:26 4:26 PM

6 h behind Lisburn

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

71,403

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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Between locations

Lisburn Playa del Carmen 7,580 km ≈ 10 h nonstop flight

From you

Lisburn
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

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

Playa del Carmen wins on cost – living expenses run 85% lower than in Lisburn. Housing and daily spending are where you'll feel the difference most, making Playa del Carmen the obvious pick if budget is a priority.

You'd need roughly $3,363 in Lisburn and $1,816 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.

Rent for a central apartment: $1,224 in Lisburn versus $1,008 in Playa del Carmen. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $1,519 in Lisburn versus $204 in Playa del Carmen. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Supermarket bills run roughly 16% higher in Lisburn. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

At $1,210 in Playa del Carmen versus $2,242 in Lisburn, a $1,500 budget is realistic in Playa del Carmen but tight or insufficient in Lisburn. The gap between the two cities makes Playa del Carmen the clear choice for anyone on this budget.

Both work as nomad bases, but Playa del Carmen delivers better value – similar infrastructure at $1,210 monthly. If stretching your runway or maximizing savings is the goal, the price difference makes Playa del Carmen hard to pass up.

Safety-wise, Lisburn 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 85% less than in Lisburn. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.