Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Newport and Playa del Carmen

For one person, living is cheaper in Playa del Carmen: $1,204 a month against $2,276 in Newport, rent and utilities included – about $12,900 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

110

Cost of Living Index in Newport
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Newport Living Index
58

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

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Newport

🇬🇧 United Kingdom

$2,276

/mo nomad

Playa del Carmen

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,204

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,276 in Newport versus $1,204 in Playa del Carmen.

Newport $2,276
Playa del Carmen $1,204

Estimated couple costs with rent: $3,199 in Newport versus $2,082 in Playa del Carmen.

Newport $3,199
Playa del Carmen $2,082

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $4,122 in Newport versus $2,959 in Playa del Carmen.

Newport $4,122
Playa del Carmen $2,959

Living in Newport is roughly 89% 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: Newport is 67% above, Playa del Carmen is 12% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$19.86 £14.95

$10.92 MX$204

81.87%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$83.8 £63.0

$43.37 MX$808

93.11%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$10.63 £8.00

$11.78 MX$220

-9.76%

Cappuccino

$4.69 £3.53

$3.81 MX$71.0

23.10%

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

$2.24 £1.68

$1.28 MX$23.90

75.00%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.01 £1.51

$0.78 MX$14.59

157.69%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$5.28 £3.97

$3.17 MX$59.0

66.56%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$5.32 £4.00

$4.93 MX$92.0

7.91%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.75 £1.31

$1.41 MX$26.22

24.11%

White Bread (500g)

$1.64 £1.23

$2.22 MX$41.33

-26.13%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.18 £1.64

$1.42 MX$26.42

53.52%

Eggs

$4.37 £3.29

$2.52 MX$47.03

73.41%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$7.87 £5.92

$7.26 MX$135

8.40%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$8.59 £6.47

$7.70 MX$143

11.56%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$17.47 £13.15

$12.69 MX$237

37.67%

Apples (1kg)

$2.70 £2.03

$2.78 MX$51.9

-2.88%

Banana (1kg)

$1.41 £1.06

$1.37 MX$25.50

2.92%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.23 £1.68

$2.55 MX$47.55

-12.55%

Tomato (1kg)

$3.13 £2.36

$2.12 MX$39.58

47.64%

Potato (1kg)

$2.00 £1.51

$1.94 MX$36.13

3.09%

Onion (1kg)

$1.55 £1.17

$1.89 MX$35.16

-17.99%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.11 £0.84

$1.15 MX$21.37

-3.48%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.58 £1.19

$1.18 MX$21.98

33.90%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$23.52 £17.70

$4.30 MX$80.1

446.98%

Wine (Bottle)

$10.77 £8.11

$9.95 MX$185

8.24%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.28 £1.71

$1.58 MX$29.52

44.30%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.19 £2.40

$2.67 MX$49.79

19.48%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$3.42 £2.57

$0.55 MX$10.31

521.82%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$74.1 £55.8

$26.62 MX$496

178.25%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$4.72 £3.55

$4.97 MX$92.6

-5.03%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.33 £1.00

$3.33 MX$62.1

-60.06%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$16.06 £12.09

$5.36 MX$99.8

199.63%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$2.03 £1.53

$1.44 MX$26.92

40.97%

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

$37.7K £28.4K

$20.7K MX$385.2K

82.57%

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

$40.3K £30.3K

$23.5K MX$437.4K

71.71%

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

$347 £261

$84.8 MX$1,581

309.45%

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

$25.74 £19.37

$23.41 MX$436

9.95%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$40.66 £30.60

$28.66 MX$534

41.87%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$41.50 £31.23

$57.1 MX$1,063

-27.26%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$16.28 £12.25

$28.91 MX$539

-43.69%

Cinema Ticket

$10.69 £8.04

$5.14 MX$95.8

107.98%

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

$1,900 £1,430

$207 MX$3,851

819.65%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$32.2K £24.2K

$3,927 MX$73.2K

720.22%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$70.3 £52.9

$43.35 MX$808

62.05%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$35.70 £26.87

$41.44 MX$772

-13.85%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$118 £89.1

$74.2 MX$1,383

59.57%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$94.9 £71.4

$89.3 MX$1,664

6.30%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,475 £1,110

$980 MX$18.3K

50.58%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$959 £721

$381 MX$7,099

151.73%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,669 £1,256

$1,708 MX$31.8K

-2.28%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,296 £976

$1,075 MX$20.0K

20.56%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$4,040 £3,041

$3,943 MX$73.5K

2.47%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$3,590 £2,701

$6,158 MX$114.8K

-41.71%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$3,117 £2,346

$735 MX$13.7K

324.36%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

5.11

11.45

-55.37%

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

Last update for Newport: October 26, 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

Newport

$959 42.1%

Playa del Carmen

$381 31.6% 60.3% $578

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Newport

$414 18.2%

Playa del Carmen

$137 11.4% 66.9% $277

Eating Out

Newport

$301 13.2%

Playa del Carmen

$202 16.8% 32.8% $99

Groceries & Markets

Newport

$297 13.1%

Playa del Carmen

$255 21.2% 14.3% $43

Clothing & Footwear

Newport

$144 6.3%

Playa del Carmen

$112 9.3% 22.2% $32

Getting Around

Newport

$99 4.4%

Playa del Carmen

$50 4.2% 49.1% $49

Sport & Entertainment

Newport

$63 2.8%

Playa del Carmen

$67 5.6% 7.1% $4.4

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,475 in Newport and $980 in Playa del Carmen. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Newport pays about 4.2 times more on average. How far that income stretches comes down to housing choices and lifestyle.

Dining out: $84 in Newport vs $43 in Playa del Carmen for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $297 vs $255 per month, with Playa del Carmen cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇬🇧 Newport

🇲🇽 Playa del Carmen

🕒 Local time

21:22 9:22 PM

16:22 4:22 PM

5 h behind Newport

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

25,000

149,923

💱 Currency

British Pound GBP £

Mexican Peso MXN $

📈 Exchange rate

1 GBP = 1.33 USD

1 GBP = 1.19 EUR

100 MXN = 5.36 USD

100 MXN = 4.82 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 28, 2026: 1 USD = 0.753 GBP (1 GBP = 1.33 USD). 1 EUR = 0.838 GBP (1 GBP = 1.19 EUR).

Mexican Peso exchange rates as of October 28, 2026: 1 USD = 18.64 MXN (100 MXN = 5.36 USD). 1 EUR = 20.75 MXN (100 MXN = 4.82 EUR).

USD to GBP in detail →

On the map

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Highest

Between locations

Newport Playa del Carmen 7,820 km ≈ 10 h nonstop flight

From you

Newport
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

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

Playa del Carmen is about 47% cheaper overall, especially in eating out, transport, and groceries. That difference adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

Average pay in Newport is about 4.2 times higher, which matters when comparing affordability. Whether that higher income actually nets you more depends on your spending habits and housing choices.

Rent for a central apartment: $1,475 in Newport versus $980 in Playa del Carmen. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

All in, you’ll spend $2,276 per month in Newport versus $1,204 in Playa del Carmen – Playa del Carmen is about 47% cheaper, which adds up to real savings over time.

A monthly transit pass in Playa del Carmen runs roughly 64% less than in Newport. The price difference matters if you commute daily and watch your budget.

At $1,204 in Playa del Carmen versus $2,276 in Newport, a $1,500 budget is realistic in Playa del Carmen but tight or insufficient in Newport. The gap between the two cities makes Playa del Carmen the clear choice for anyone on this budget.

Both cities offer a good standard of living with different trade-offs. Neither is objectively better – the right pick depends on what matters most: affordability, career, cultural scene, or climate.

Expats usually find Playa del Carmen gentler on the wallet – expenses run 47% less than in Newport. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.