Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Newtown and Playa del Carmen

For one person, living is cheaper in Playa del Carmen: $1,202 a month against $2,196 in Newtown, rent and utilities included – about $11,900 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

107

Cost of Living Index in Newtown
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Newtown Living Index
57

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

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Newtown

🇬🇧 United Kingdom

$2,196

/mo nomad

Playa del Carmen

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,202

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

A single person spends $2,196 per month in Newtown vs $1,202 in Playa del Carmen, rent included.

Newtown $2,196
Playa del Carmen $1,202

A couple spends around $3,258 per month in Newtown vs $2,082 in Playa del Carmen, rent included.

Newtown $3,258
Playa del Carmen $2,082

A family of three spends $4,320 per month in Newtown vs $2,962 in Playa del Carmen, rent included.

Newtown $4,320
Playa del Carmen $2,962

Newtown costs about 83% more than Playa del Carmen, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Newtown sits 62% above the global median, while Playa del Carmen is 11% below – they fall on opposite sides of the world average.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$19.72 £14.63

$10.67 MX$199

84.82%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$80.0 £59.3

$43.80 MX$815

82.53%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$10.85 £8.05

$11.79 MX$219

-7.97%

Cappuccino

$4.89 £3.63

$3.79 MX$70.5

29.02%

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

$2.60 £1.93

$1.30 MX$24.14

100.00%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.76 £1.31

$0.83 MX$15.51

112.05%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$6.87 £5.09

$3.15 MX$58.6

118.10%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$6.80 £5.04

$4.93 MX$91.8

37.93%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.70 £1.26

$1.41 MX$26.22

20.57%

White Bread (500g)

$1.52 £1.13

$2.20 MX$40.86

-30.91%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.00 £1.48

$1.47 MX$27.40

36.05%

Eggs

$3.72 £2.76

$2.50 MX$46.47

48.80%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$8.81 £6.53

$7.29 MX$136

20.85%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$8.22 £6.10

$7.95 MX$148

3.40%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$9.98 £7.40

$12.86 MX$239

-22.40%

Apples (1kg)

$3.31 £2.45

$2.90 MX$53.9

14.14%

Banana (1kg)

$1.90 £1.41

$1.38 MX$25.74

37.68%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.48 £1.84

$2.49 MX$46.36

-0.40%

Tomato (1kg)

$4.60 £3.41

$2.03 MX$37.78

126.60%

Potato (1kg)

$3.02 £2.24

$2.02 MX$37.69

49.50%

Onion (1kg)

$1.63 £1.21

$1.90 MX$35.42

-14.21%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.49 £1.11

$1.14 MX$21.30

30.70%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.48 £1.10

$1.24 MX$23.06

19.35%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$23.91 £17.73

$4.27 MX$79.5

459.95%

Wine (Bottle)

$12.06 £8.95

$9.81 MX$183

22.94%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$4.04 £3.00

$1.59 MX$29.51

154.09%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.85 £3.59

$2.75 MX$51.1

76.36%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$4.00 £2.96

$0.51 MX$9.58

684.31%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$90.5 £67.1

$27.39 MX$510

230.23%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$4.61 £3.42

$4.76 MX$88.6

-3.15%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$2.32 £1.72

$3.25 MX$60.5

-28.62%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$24.98 £18.53

$5.39 MX$100

363.45%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$2.01 £1.49

$1.53 MX$28.44

31.37%

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

$24.1K £17.9K

$21.2K MX$394.8K

13.71%

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

$40.3K £29.9K

$23.3K MX$432.9K

73.40%

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

$202 £150

$83.5 MX$1,554

142.17%

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

$17.11 £12.69

$23.19 MX$431

-26.22%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$47.47 £35.20

$27.61 MX$514

71.93%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$46.59 £34.55

$56.4 MX$1,050

-17.44%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$28.19 MX$525

Cinema Ticket

$13.55 £10.05

$5.00 MX$93.1

171.00%

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

$1,932 £1,433

$207 MX$3,854

832.83%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$28.9K £21.5K

$5,231 MX$97.4K

453.00%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$60.9 £45.14

$43.45 MX$809

40.07%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$36.50 £27.07

$42.54 MX$792

-14.20%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$79.1 £58.6

$72.8 MX$1,354

8.66%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$79.7 £59.1

$88.4 MX$1,645

-9.87%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,264 £938

$995 MX$18.5K

27.10%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,000 £742

$382 MX$7,116

161.48%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,058 £1,527

$1,674 MX$31.2K

22.94%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,661 £1,232

$1,081 MX$20.1K

53.74%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$4,557 £3,380

$3,909 MX$72.7K

16.60%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$4,005 £2,970

$6,138 MX$114.2K

-34.74%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$832 MX$15.5K

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

5.61

11.45

-51.00%

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

Last update for Newtown: 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

Newtown

$1,000 45.5%

Playa del Carmen

$382 31.8% 61.8% $618

Eating Out

Newtown

$314 14.3%

Playa del Carmen

$200 16.7% 36.3% $114

Groceries & Markets

Newtown

$304 13.8%

Playa del Carmen

$257 21.4% 15.2% $46

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Newtown

$267 12.2%

Playa del Carmen

$134 11.2% 49.7% $132

Getting Around

Newtown

$123 5.6%

Playa del Carmen

$50 4.2% 58.9% $72

Clothing & Footwear

Newtown

$115 5.3%

Playa del Carmen

$111 9.3% 3.5% $4

Sport & Entertainment

Newtown

$74 3.4%

Playa del Carmen

$66 5.5% 9.9% $7.3

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $1,264 in Newtown 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.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $80 in Newtown versus $44 in Playa del Carmen. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $304 vs $257 – making Playa del Carmen the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇬🇧 Newtown

🇲🇽 Playa del Carmen

🕒 Local time

17:50 5:50 PM

12:50 12:50 PM

5 h behind Newtown

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

11,357

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 4, 2026: 1 USD = 0.742 GBP (1 GBP = 1.35 USD). 1 EUR = 0.831 GBP (1 GBP = 1.2 EUR).

Mexican Peso exchange rates as of November 4, 2026: 1 USD = 18.61 MXN (100 MXN = 5.37 USD). 1 EUR = 20.86 MXN (100 MXN = 4.79 EUR).

USD to GBP in detail →

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Between locations

Newtown Playa del Carmen 7,790 km ≈ 10 h nonstop flight

From you

Newtown
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

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

Yes – Newtown is pricier by about 83%, and outside of rent the gap shows up most in eating out.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $3,294 per month in Newtown 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 $1,264 in Newtown.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $80 in Newtown and $44 in Playa del Carmen. That’s a good indicator of the overall restaurant and café pricing gap between the two cities.

Monthly expenses with rent come to $2,196 in Newtown and $1,202 in Playa del Carmen. That makes Playa del Carmen about 45% cheaper.

A $1,500 monthly budget goes further in Playa del Carmen, where all-in costs run around $1,202, than in Newtown at $2,196. In Playa del Carmen it covers expenses comfortably, while in Newtown 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 45% less, which matters a lot on a fixed budget or early-career salary.