Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Playa del Carmen and Alton

For one person, living is cheaper in Playa del Carmen: $1,204 a month against $2,607 in Alton, rent and utilities included – about $16,800 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

58

Cost of Living Index in Playa del Carmen
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Playa del Carmen Living Index
125

Cost of Living Index in Alton
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Alton Living Index

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Playa del Carmen

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,204

/mo nomad

Alton

🇬🇧 United Kingdom

$2,607

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Playa del Carmen and in Alton

Real prices from locals and on-the-ground checks – rent, groceries, transit and the daily extras. Here's what a month in Playa del Carmen and in Alton actually costs, broken down by who's living it.

A single person spends $1,204 per month in Playa del Carmen vs $2,607 in Alton, rent included.

Playa del Carmen $1,204
Alton $2,607

A couple spends around $2,082 per month in Playa del Carmen vs $3,875 in Alton, rent included.

Playa del Carmen $2,082
Alton $3,875

A family of three spends $2,959 per month in Playa del Carmen vs $5,143 in Alton, rent included.

Playa del Carmen $2,959
Alton $5,143

Playa del Carmen is about 54% cheaper than Alton, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Playa del Carmen sits 12% below the global median, while Alton is 92% above – they fall on opposite sides of the world average.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$10.92 MX$204

$27.13 £20.39

-59.75%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$43.37 MX$810

$105 £78.6

-58.52%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.78 MX$220

$10.75 £8.08

9.58%

Cappuccino

$3.81 MX$71.2

$5.69 £4.27

-33.04%

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

$1.28 MX$23.96

$3.03 £2.28

-57.76%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.78 MX$14.63

$2.20 £1.65

-64.55%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.17 MX$59.2

$9.07 £6.82

-65.05%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.93 MX$92.2

$7.96 £5.98

-38.07%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.41 MX$26.28

$1.81 £1.36

-22.10%

White Bread (500g)

$2.22 MX$41.43

$2.02 £1.52

9.90%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.42 MX$26.48

$2.51 £1.89

-43.43%

Eggs

$2.52 MX$47.14

$3.39 £2.55

-25.66%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$7.26 MX$136

$12.77 £9.60

-43.15%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$7.70 MX$144

$10.86 £8.16

-29.10%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$12.69 MX$237

$17.24 £12.96

-26.39%

Apples (1kg)

$2.78 MX$52.0

$3.14 £2.36

-11.46%

Banana (1kg)

$1.37 MX$25.56

$1.42 £1.07

-3.52%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.55 MX$47.66

$2.99 £2.24

-14.72%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.12 MX$39.67

$3.40 £2.56

-37.65%

Potato (1kg)

$1.94 MX$36.22

$1.68 £1.26

15.48%

Onion (1kg)

$1.89 MX$35.24

$1.81 £1.36

4.42%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.15 MX$21.42

$1.47 £1.11

-21.77%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.18 MX$22.03

$1.85 £1.39

-36.22%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.30 MX$80.3

$23.77 £17.87

-81.91%

Wine (Bottle)

$9.95 MX$186

$10.50 £7.89

-5.24%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.58 MX$29.59

$2.35 £1.77

-32.77%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.67 MX$49.91

$2.74 £2.06

-2.55%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.55 MX$10.34

$3.49 £2.62

-84.24%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$26.62 MX$497

$98.0 £73.7

-72.83%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$4.97 MX$92.9

$5.46 £4.11

-8.97%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$3.33 MX$62.2

$3.39 £2.55

-1.77%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$5.36 MX$100

$25.69 £19.31

-79.14%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.44 MX$26.98

$2.10 £1.58

-31.43%

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

$20.7K MX$386.2K

$38.2K £28.7K

-45.96%

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

$23.5K MX$438.5K

$40.2K £30.2K

-41.58%

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

$84.8 MX$1,584

$369 £278

-77.05%

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

$23.41 MX$437

$18.30 £13.75

27.92%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$28.66 MX$535

$40.58 £30.50

-29.37%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$57.1 MX$1,066

$46.16 £34.70

23.59%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$28.91 MX$540

Cinema Ticket

$5.14 MX$96.0

$17.88 £13.44

-71.25%

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

$207 MX$3,860

$2,877 £2,162

-92.82%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$3,927 MX$73.4K

$35.7K £26.8K

-89.00%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$43.35 MX$810

$117 £87.8

-62.89%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$41.44 MX$774

$54.5 £40.99

-24.02%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$74.2 MX$1,386

$128 £96.5

-42.18%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$89.3 MX$1,668

$165 £124

-45.90%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$980 MX$18.3K

$1,246 £937

-21.41%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$381 MX$7,116

$1,019 £766

-62.65%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,708 MX$31.9K

$2,098 £1,577

-18.59%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,075 MX$20.1K

$1,683 £1,265

-36.12%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,943 MX$73.7K

$5,091 £3,826

-22.55%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$6,158 MX$115.1K

$3,807 £2,861

61.77%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$735 MX$13.7K

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

11.45

4.74

141.56%

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

Last update for Playa del Carmen: October 25, 2026

Last update for Alton: October 24, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Playa del Carmen

$381 31.6%

Alton

$1K 39.1% 168% $639

Groceries & Markets

Playa del Carmen

$255 21.2%

Alton

$334 12.8% 31.3% $80

Eating Out

Playa del Carmen

$202 16.8%

Alton

$400 15.3% 97.5% $197

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Playa del Carmen

$137 11.4%

Alton

$428 16.4% 213% $291

Clothing & Footwear

Playa del Carmen

$112 9.3%

Alton

$209 8% 87.2% $97

Sport & Entertainment

Playa del Carmen

$67 5.6%

Alton

$82 3.1% 21.7% $15

Getting Around

Playa del Carmen

$50 4.2%

Alton

$134 5.2% 166% $84

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $980 in Playa del Carmen versus $1,246 in Alton. 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 $43 in Playa del Carmen versus $105 in Alton. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $255 vs $334 – making Playa del Carmen the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇲🇽 Playa del Carmen

🇬🇧 Alton

🕒 Local time

11:07 11:07 AM

16:07 4:07 PM

5 h ahead of Playa del Carmen

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

149,923

17,816

💱 Currency

Mexican Peso MXN $

British Pound GBP £

📈 Exchange rate

100 MXN = 5.35 USD

100 MXN = 4.81 EUR

1 GBP = 1.33 USD

1 GBP = 1.2 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

GBP, USD, EUR to MXN – Mexican Peso Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇲🇽 Mexican Peso ($)

Mexican Peso exchange rates as of October 28, 2026: 1 USD = 18.69 MXN (100 MXN = 5.35 USD). 1 EUR = 20.8 MXN (100 MXN = 4.81 EUR).

British Pound exchange rates as of October 28, 2026: 1 USD = 0.752 GBP (1 GBP = 1.33 USD). 1 EUR = 0.836 GBP (1 GBP = 1.2 EUR).

USD to MXN in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Playa del Carmen Alton 7,970 km ≈ 10 h nonstop flight

From you

Playa del Carmen
Alton

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

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

Monthly costs with rent: $1,204 in Playa del Carmen, $2,607 in Alton – roughly 117% apart. Outside of rent, the biggest gap is in eating out.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $1,806 per month in Playa del Carmen and $3,911 in Alton. 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 $1,246 in Alton.

Public transport costs about 73% less in Playa del Carmen. For daily commuters, that gap adds up to noticeable savings over a year.

Kindergarten costs $207 per month in Playa del Carmen and $2,877 in Alton. For families with young kids, this one expense can tip the scales when choosing 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 Alton at $2,607. In Playa del Carmen it covers expenses comfortably, while in Alton 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 the 117% gap matters a lot on a fixed budget or early-career salary.