Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Oban and Playa del Carmen

For one person, living is cheaper in Playa del Carmen: $1,204 a month against $2,142 in Oban, rent and utilities included – about $11,300 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

103

Cost of Living Index in Oban
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Oban Living Index
59

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

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Oban

🇬🇧 United Kingdom

$2,142

/mo nomad

Playa del Carmen

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,204

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

A single person spends $2,142 per month in Oban vs $1,204 in Playa del Carmen, rent included.

Oban $2,142
Playa del Carmen $1,204

A couple spends around $3,149 per month in Oban vs $2,102 in Playa del Carmen, rent included.

Oban $3,149
Playa del Carmen $2,102

A family of three spends $4,156 per month in Oban vs $3,000 in Playa del Carmen, rent included.

Oban $4,156
Playa del Carmen $3,000

Oban costs about 78% more than Playa del Carmen, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in transport.

Oban sits 58% above the global median, while Playa del Carmen is 11% below – they fall on opposite sides of the world average.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$15.86 £11.90

$10.86 MX$201

46.04%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$85.5 £64.1

$44.21 MX$817

93.28%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$9.30 £6.98

$11.76 MX$217

-20.92%

Cappuccino

$4.85 £3.64

$3.68 MX$68.0

31.79%

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

$2.24 £1.68

$1.34 MX$24.79

67.16%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.14 £1.60

$0.82 MX$15.24

160.98%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$5.82 £4.37

$3.06 MX$56.6

90.20%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$5.06 £3.80

$4.94 MX$91.2

2.43%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.51 £1.13

$1.47 MX$27.17

2.72%

White Bread (500g)

$1.72 £1.29

$2.22 MX$40.95

-22.52%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.00 £1.50

$1.48 MX$27.32

35.14%

Eggs

$4.56 £3.42

$2.49 MX$45.99

83.13%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$8.85 £6.64

$7.52 MX$139

17.69%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$11.90 £8.93

$7.96 MX$147

49.50%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$16.69 £12.52

$12.57 MX$232

32.78%

Apples (1kg)

$2.93 £2.20

$2.78 MX$51.3

5.40%

Banana (1kg)

$1.33 £1.00

$1.43 MX$26.37

-6.99%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.75 £2.06

$2.62 MX$48.37

4.96%

Tomato (1kg)

$3.83 £2.87

$2.14 MX$39.49

78.97%

Potato (1kg)

$1.73 £1.30

$2.02 MX$37.38

-14.36%

Onion (1kg)

$1.45 £1.09

$1.99 MX$36.74

-27.14%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.21 £0.91

$1.14 MX$21.01

6.14%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.60 £1.20

$1.20 MX$22.18

33.33%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$21.80 £16.35

$4.26 MX$78.7

411.74%

Wine (Bottle)

$11.15 £8.36

$10.02 MX$185

11.28%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.80 £2.10

$1.54 MX$28.41

81.82%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.02 £2.27

$2.66 MX$49.17

13.53%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$3.57 £2.68

$0.53 MX$9.73

573.58%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$98.0 £73.6

$27.51 MX$508

256.38%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.88 £2.91

$4.90 MX$90.6

-20.82%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$2.38 £1.78

$3.43 MX$63.5

-30.61%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$23.74 £17.81

$5.38 MX$99.4

341.26%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$2.04 £1.53

$1.45 MX$26.76

40.69%

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

$38.4K £28.8K

$21.2K MX$391.0K

81.65%

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

$40.4K £30.3K

$23.0K MX$425.3K

75.50%

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

$339 £254

$85.4 MX$1,577

297.38%

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

$28.24 £21.19

$23.46 MX$434

20.38%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$42.43 £31.83

$28.43 MX$525

49.24%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$45.42 £34.08

$62.2 MX$1,149

-26.97%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$6.49 £4.87

$28.68 MX$530

-77.37%

Cinema Ticket

$11.44 £8.58

$5.10 MX$94.3

124.31%

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

$1,778 £1,334

$201 MX$3,715

784.45%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$22.7K £17.0K

$3,947 MX$72.9K

475.75%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$97.8 £73.4

$44.39 MX$820

120.30%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$48.68 £36.52

$41.35 MX$764

17.73%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$106 £79.3

$72.7 MX$1,344

45.23%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$116 £86.7

$89.6 MX$1,656

28.91%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,206 £905

$979 MX$18.1K

23.15%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$778 £584

$373 MX$6,887

108.82%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,071 £1,553

$1,681 MX$31.1K

23.18%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,231 £924

$1,095 MX$20.2K

12.41%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$5,074 £3,806

$3,949 MX$73.0K

28.48%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$3,866 £2,900

$6,137 MX$113.4K

-37.00%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$3,005 £2,254

$738 MX$13.6K

307.41%

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 Oban: October 19, 2026

Last update for Playa del Carmen: October 17, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Oban

$778 36.4%

Playa del Carmen

$373 31% 52.1% $406

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Oban

$410 19.1%

Playa del Carmen

$137 11.4% 66.5% $273

Groceries & Markets

Oban

$322 15%

Playa del Carmen

$258 21.5% 19.7% $64

Eating Out

Oban

$270 12.6%

Playa del Carmen

$200 16.6% 25.8% $70

Clothing & Footwear

Oban

$165 7.7%

Playa del Carmen

$112 9.3% 32.5% $54

Getting Around

Oban

$128 6%

Playa del Carmen

$52 4.3% 59.7% $76

Sport & Entertainment

Oban

$68 3.2%

Playa del Carmen

$72 6% 6% $4.1

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $1,206 in Oban versus $979 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 run about 307% higher in Oban, which partly offsets the higher cost of living there. Purchasing power depends on which expenses matter most to you.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $85.0 in Oban versus $44.00 in Playa del Carmen. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $322 vs $258 – making Playa del Carmen the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇬🇧 Oban

🇲🇽 Playa del Carmen

🕒 Local time

04:09 4:09 AM

22:09 10:09 PM

6 h behind Oban

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

8,500

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 23, 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 23, 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

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Oban Playa del Carmen 7,600 km ≈ 10 h nonstop flight

From you

Oban
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

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

Monthly costs with rent: $2,142 in Oban, $1,204 in Playa del Carmen – roughly 78% apart. Outside of rent, the biggest gap is in transport.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $3,212 per month in Oban 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. Housing is actually the single biggest factor behind the overall cost gap between these two cities.

Groceries cost about 25% more in Oban, though it depends on what you buy. Local produce may be comparable; imported and premium items show the biggest price gap.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $85.0 in Oban and $44.00 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 Oban at $2,142. In Playa del Carmen it covers expenses comfortably, while in Oban it requires careful planning or may not stretch far enough.

It depends on your priorities. Playa del Carmen has an edge in some lifestyle areas, with costs from $1,204 in Playa del Carmen to $2,142 in Oban. Climate, culture, job market, and personal taste all factor in.

Both have safer and rougher neighborhoods, but overall safety is comparable to other large cities. Neighborhood choice matters more than the city-level comparison – central, well-trafficked areas feel secure in both.

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