Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Newham and Playa del Carmen

For one person, living is cheaper in Playa del Carmen: $1,204 a month against $3,121 in Newham, rent and utilities included – about $23,000 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

151

Cost of Living Index in Newham
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Newham Living Index
58

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

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Newham

🇬🇧 United Kingdom

$3,121

/mo nomad

Playa del Carmen

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,204

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

A single person spends $3,121 per month in Newham vs $1,204 in Playa del Carmen, rent included.

Newham $3,121
Playa del Carmen $1,204

A couple spends around $4,499 per month in Newham vs $2,082 in Playa del Carmen, rent included.

Newham $4,499
Playa del Carmen $2,082

A family of three spends $5,876 per month in Newham vs $2,959 in Playa del Carmen, rent included.

Newham $5,876
Playa del Carmen $2,959

Newham costs about 159% more than Playa del Carmen, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Newham sits 129% above the global median, while Playa del Carmen is 12% below – they fall on opposite sides of the world average.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$20.56 £15.35

$10.92 MX$205

88.28%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$88.2 £65.9

$43.37 MX$814

103.41%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$10.55 £7.88

$11.78 MX$221

-10.44%

Cappuccino

$4.93 £3.68

$3.81 MX$71.5

29.40%

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

$2.53 £1.89

$1.28 MX$24.07

97.66%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.79 £1.34

$0.78 MX$14.70

129.49%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$6.83 £5.10

$3.17 MX$59.5

115.46%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$6.17 £4.60

$4.93 MX$92.7

25.15%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.66 £1.24

$1.41 MX$26.40

17.73%

White Bread (500g)

$1.67 £1.25

$2.22 MX$41.62

-24.77%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.17 £1.62

$1.42 MX$26.61

52.82%

Eggs

$3.87 £2.89

$2.52 MX$47.36

53.57%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$9.15 £6.83

$7.26 MX$136

26.03%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$8.54 £6.38

$7.70 MX$144

10.91%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$14.73 £11.00

$12.69 MX$238

16.08%

Apples (1kg)

$2.96 £2.21

$2.78 MX$52.3

6.47%

Banana (1kg)

$1.57 £1.17

$1.37 MX$25.68

14.60%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.83 £2.11

$2.55 MX$47.89

10.98%

Tomato (1kg)

$3.39 £2.53

$2.12 MX$39.86

59.91%

Potato (1kg)

$1.63 £1.21

$1.94 MX$36.39

-15.98%

Onion (1kg)

$1.57 £1.17

$1.89 MX$35.41

-16.93%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.20 £0.90

$1.15 MX$21.53

4.35%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.55 £1.16

$1.18 MX$22.13

31.36%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$23.77 £17.75

$4.30 MX$80.6

452.79%

Wine (Bottle)

$10.62 £7.93

$9.95 MX$187

6.73%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.99 £2.23

$1.58 MX$29.73

89.24%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.26 £2.44

$2.67 MX$50.1

22.10%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$3.57 £2.67

$0.55 MX$10.39

549.09%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$97.3 £72.6

$26.62 MX$500

265.33%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$4.94 £3.69

$4.97 MX$93.3

-0.60%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$2.07 £1.55

$3.33 MX$62.5

-37.84%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$26.28 £19.62

$5.36 MX$101

390.30%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$2.00 £1.49

$1.44 MX$27.11

38.89%

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

$37.8K £28.2K

$20.7K MX$388.0K

82.99%

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

$39.8K £29.7K

$23.5K MX$440.5K

69.67%

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

$308 £230

$84.8 MX$1,592

263.42%

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

$17.28 £12.90

$23.41 MX$439

-26.19%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$41.95 £31.32

$28.66 MX$538

46.37%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$46.41 £34.65

$57.1 MX$1,071

-18.65%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$28.91 MX$543

Cinema Ticket

$13.89 £10.37

$5.14 MX$96.5

170.23%

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

$1,602 £1,196

$207 MX$3,878

675.64%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$22.1K £16.5K

$3,927 MX$73.7K

463.80%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$86.7 £64.8

$43.35 MX$814

100.07%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$45.16 £33.72

$41.44 MX$778

8.98%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$94.6 £70.6

$74.2 MX$1,393

27.43%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$97.7 £72.9

$89.3 MX$1,676

9.42%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,241 £927

$980 MX$18.4K

26.74%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,790 £1,336

$381 MX$7,150

369.91%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$3,390 £2,531

$1,708 MX$32.1K

98.46%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$2,986 £2,230

$1,075 MX$20.2K

177.76%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$5,101 £3,809

$3,943 MX$74.0K

29.37%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$3,883 £2,900

$6,158 MX$115.6K

-36.93%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$735 MX$13.8K

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

5.09

11.45

-55.55%

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

Last update for Newham: October 27, 2026

Last update for Playa del Carmen: October 25, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Newham

$1.8K 57.3%

Playa del Carmen

$381 31.6% 78.7% $1.4K

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Newham

$367 11.8%

Playa del Carmen

$137 11.4% 62.7% $231

Eating Out

Newham

$319 10.2%

Playa del Carmen

$202 16.8% 36.6% $117

Groceries & Markets

Newham

$298 9.6%

Playa del Carmen

$255 21.2% 14.6% $44

Clothing & Footwear

Newham

$146 4.7%

Playa del Carmen

$112 9.3% 23.4% $34

Getting Around

Newham

$127 4.1%

Playa del Carmen

$50 4.2% 60.2% $76

Sport & Entertainment

Newham

$74 2.4%

Playa del Carmen

$67 5.6% 9.3% $6.9

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $1,241 in Newham versus $980 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.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $88 in Newham versus $43 in Playa del Carmen. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $298 vs $255 – making Playa del Carmen the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇬🇧 Newham

🇲🇽 Playa del Carmen

🕒 Local time

21:15 9:15 PM

16:15 4:15 PM

5 h behind Newham

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

15,551

149,923

💱 Currency

British Pound GBP £

Mexican Peso MXN $

📈 Exchange rate

1 GBP = 1.34 USD

1 GBP = 1.2 EUR

100 MXN = 5.33 USD

100 MXN = 4.77 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 1, 2026: 1 USD = 0.747 GBP (1 GBP = 1.34 USD). 1 EUR = 0.834 GBP (1 GBP = 1.2 EUR).

Mexican Peso exchange rates as of November 1, 2026: 1 USD = 18.77 MXN (100 MXN = 5.33 USD). 1 EUR = 20.96 MXN (100 MXN = 4.77 EUR).

USD to GBP in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

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

From you

Newham
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

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

Newham costs about 159% 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 $4,682 per month in Newham 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: a one-bedroom in the center costs $980 there versus $1,241 in Newham.

Groceries cost about 17% more in Newham, though the gap depends on what you buy.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $88 in Newham and $43 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 $1,204, than in Newham at $3,121. In Playa del Carmen it covers expenses comfortably, while in Newham 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.

For expats, Playa del Carmen is the easier option financially – housing and daily costs are lower, and overall it costs about 61% less, which matters a lot on a fixed budget or early-career salary.