Last update: Nov 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Perth, United Kingdom and Playa del Carmen

For one person, living is cheaper in Playa del Carmen: $1,202 a month against $2,223 in Perth, rent and utilities included – about $12,300 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

106

Cost of Living Index in Perth
Learn more

Perth Living Index
57

Cost of Living Index in Playa del Carmen
Learn more

Playa del Carmen Living Index

Jump to prices

Perth

🇬🇧 United Kingdom

$2,223

/mo nomad

Playa del Carmen

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,202

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,223 in Perth versus $1,202 in Playa del Carmen.

Perth $2,223
Playa del Carmen $1,202

Estimated couple costs with rent: $3,244 in Perth versus $2,082 in Playa del Carmen.

Perth $3,244
Playa del Carmen $2,082

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $4,264 in Perth versus $2,962 in Playa del Carmen.

Perth $4,264
Playa del Carmen $2,962

Living in Perth 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: Perth is 64% above, Playa del Carmen is 11% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$24.32 £18.11

$10.67 MX$201

127.93%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$86.0 £64.0

$43.80 MX$824

96.39%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.71 £8.72

$11.79 MX$222

-0.68%

Cappuccino

$4.13 £3.07

$3.79 MX$71.2

8.97%

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

$2.52 £1.87

$1.30 MX$24.41

93.85%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.72 £1.28

$0.83 MX$15.69

107.23%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$6.47 £4.82

$3.15 MX$59.2

105.40%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$5.77 £4.29

$4.93 MX$92.9

17.04%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.40 £1.04

$1.41 MX$26.51

-0.71%

White Bread (500g)

$1.37 £1.02

$2.20 MX$41.32

-37.73%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.83 £1.36

$1.47 MX$27.71

24.49%

Eggs

$2.43 £1.81

$2.50 MX$46.99

-2.80%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$8.21 £6.11

$7.29 MX$137

12.62%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$8.50 £6.33

$7.95 MX$150

6.92%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$13.68 £10.18

$12.86 MX$242

6.38%

Apples (1kg)

$2.30 £1.71

$2.90 MX$54.5

-20.69%

Banana (1kg)

$1.60 £1.19

$1.38 MX$26.03

15.94%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.50 £1.86

$2.49 MX$46.88

0.40%

Tomato (1kg)

$3.30 £2.46

$2.03 MX$38.20

62.56%

Potato (1kg)

$1.50 £1.12

$2.02 MX$38.11

-25.74%

Onion (1kg)

$1.72 £1.28

$1.90 MX$35.82

-9.47%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.02 £0.76

$1.14 MX$21.54

-10.53%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.49 £1.11

$1.24 MX$23.32

20.16%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$21.25 £15.82

$4.27 MX$80.4

397.66%

Wine (Bottle)

$11.45 £8.53

$9.81 MX$185

16.72%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.99 £2.23

$1.59 MX$29.85

88.05%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.84 £2.11

$2.75 MX$51.7

3.27%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$4.11 £3.06

$0.51 MX$9.69

705.88%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$102 £76.0

$27.39 MX$515

272.65%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$5.42 £4.03

$4.76 MX$89.6

13.87%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$2.60 £1.93

$3.25 MX$61.1

-20.00%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$23.90 £17.79

$5.39 MX$101

343.41%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.87 £1.40

$1.53 MX$28.76

22.22%

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

$35.1K £26.1K

$21.2K MX$399.2K

65.57%

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

$41.1K £30.6K

$23.3K MX$437.8K

76.52%

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

$624 £465

$83.5 MX$1,571

647.69%

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

$13.52 £10.06

$23.19 MX$436

-41.70%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$35.95 £26.76

$27.61 MX$520

30.21%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$45.34 £33.75

$56.4 MX$1,062

-19.65%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$28.19 MX$531

Cinema Ticket

$14.68 £10.93

$5.00 MX$94.1

193.60%

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

$1,207 £898

$207 MX$3,897

482.70%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$26.8K £19.9K

$5,231 MX$98.4K

411.87%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$91.6 £68.2

$43.45 MX$818

110.77%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$44.80 £33.35

$42.54 MX$801

5.31%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$67.0 £49.86

$72.8 MX$1,369

-7.94%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$140 £105

$88.4 MX$1,663

58.96%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$715 £532

$995 MX$18.7K

-28.13%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$569 £423

$382 MX$7,197

48.73%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,228 £914

$1,674 MX$31.5K

-26.64%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,054 £784

$1,081 MX$20.3K

-2.51%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$5,145 £3,830

$3,909 MX$73.6K

31.63%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$3,954 £2,943

$6,138 MX$115.5K

-35.58%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$3,133 £2,332

$832 MX$15.7K

276.46%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

5.07

11.45

-55.72%

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

Last update for Perth: November 2, 2026

Last update for Playa del Carmen: November 2, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Perth

$674 30.3%

Playa del Carmen

$134 11.2% 80.1% $539

Accommodation & Living

Perth

$569 25.6%

Playa del Carmen

$382 31.8% 32.8% $186

Eating Out

Perth

$340 15.3%

Playa del Carmen

$200 16.7% 41.1% $140

Groceries & Markets

Perth

$274 12.3%

Playa del Carmen

$257 21.4% 6.1% $17

Clothing & Footwear

Perth

$155 7%

Playa del Carmen

$111 9.3% 28.1% $44

Getting Around

Perth

$137 6.2%

Playa del Carmen

$50 4.2% 63.2% $86

Sport & Entertainment

Perth

$75 3.4%

Playa del Carmen

$66 5.5% 11% $8.3

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $715 in Perth and $995 in Playa del Carmen. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Perth pays about 3.8 times more on average. How far that income stretches comes down to housing choices and lifestyle.

Dining out: $86 in Perth vs $44 in Playa del Carmen for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $274 vs $257 per month, with Playa del Carmen cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇬🇧 Perth

🇲🇽 Playa del Carmen

🕒 Local time

11:43 11:43 AM

06:43 6:43 AM

5 h behind Perth

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

46,660

149,923

💱 Currency

British Pound GBP £

Mexican Peso MXN $

📈 Exchange rate

1 GBP = 1.34 USD

1 GBP = 1.2 EUR

100 MXN = 5.31 USD

100 MXN = 4.74 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 = 0.744 GBP (1 GBP = 1.34 USD). 1 EUR = 0.835 GBP (1 GBP = 1.2 EUR).

Mexican Peso exchange rates as of November 4, 2026: 1 USD = 18.82 MXN (100 MXN = 5.31 USD). 1 EUR = 21.1 MXN (100 MXN = 4.74 EUR).

USD to GBP in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Perth Playa del Carmen 7,720 km ≈ 10 h nonstop flight

From you

Perth
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

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

Playa del Carmen wins on cost – living expenses run 46% lower than in Perth. Housing and daily spending are where you’ll feel the difference most, making Playa del Carmen the obvious pick if budget is a priority.

Average pay in Perth is about 3.8 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: $715 in Perth versus $995 in Playa del Carmen. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $1,207 in Perth versus $207 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 6% higher in Perth. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

At $1,202 in Playa del Carmen versus $2,223 in Perth, a $1,500 budget is realistic in Playa del Carmen but tight or insufficient in Perth. 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.

It comes down to priorities – Playa del Carmen wins on affordability, Perth on earning potential. Factor in climate, language, visa rules, and proximity to places that matter to you before deciding.