Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Playa del Carmen and Andover

For one person, living is cheaper in Playa del Carmen: $1,204 a month against $2,537 in Andover, rent and utilities included – about $16,000 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

59

Cost of Living Index in Playa del Carmen
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Playa del Carmen Living Index
121

Cost of Living Index in Andover
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Andover Living Index

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Playa del Carmen

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,204

/mo nomad

Andover

🇬🇧 United Kingdom

$2,537

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

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 Andover actually costs, broken down by who's living it.

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,204 in Playa del Carmen versus $2,537 in Andover.

Playa del Carmen $1,204
Andover $2,537

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,102 in Playa del Carmen versus $3,482 in Andover.

Playa del Carmen $2,102
Andover $3,482

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,000 in Playa del Carmen versus $4,427 in Andover.

Playa del Carmen $3,000
Andover $4,427

Living in Playa del Carmen costs roughly 53% less than in Andover, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

The two cities straddle the global median: Playa del Carmen is 11% below, Andover is 87% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$10.86 MX$201

$12.80 £9.60

-15.16%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$44.21 MX$817

$39.64 £29.74

11.53%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.76 MX$217

$10.54 £7.91

11.57%

Cappuccino

$3.68 MX$68.0

$4.68 £3.51

-21.37%

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

$1.34 MX$24.79

$1.99 £1.49

-32.66%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.82 MX$15.24

$1.47 £1.10

-44.22%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.06 MX$56.6

$4.35 £3.26

-29.66%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.94 MX$91.2

$5.72 £4.29

-13.64%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.47 MX$27.17

$1.72 £1.29

-14.53%

White Bread (500g)

$2.22 MX$40.95

$1.68 £1.26

32.14%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.48 MX$27.32

$1.97 £1.48

-24.87%

Eggs

$2.49 MX$45.99

$4.07 £3.05

-38.82%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$7.52 MX$139

$11.78 £8.84

-36.16%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$7.96 MX$147

$8.21 £6.16

-3.05%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$12.57 MX$232

$14.97 £11.23

-16.03%

Apples (1kg)

$2.78 MX$51.3

$3.45 £2.59

-19.42%

Banana (1kg)

$1.43 MX$26.37

$1.66 £1.24

-13.86%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.62 MX$48.37

$2.61 £1.96

0.38%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.14 MX$39.49

$2.97 £2.23

-27.95%

Potato (1kg)

$2.02 MX$37.38

$1.75 £1.31

15.43%

Onion (1kg)

$1.99 MX$36.74

$1.28 £0.96

55.47%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.14 MX$21.01

$1.23 £0.92

-7.32%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.20 MX$22.18

$1.70 £1.28

-29.41%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.26 MX$78.7

$22.55 £16.92

-81.11%

Wine (Bottle)

$10.02 MX$185

$11.14 £8.36

-10.05%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.54 MX$28.41

$2.59 £1.94

-40.54%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.66 MX$49.17

$1.95 £1.46

36.41%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.53 MX$9.73

$3.38 £2.54

-84.32%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$27.51 MX$508

$48.28 £36.22

-43.02%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$4.90 MX$90.6

$5.14 £3.86

-4.67%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$3.43 MX$63.5

$3.24 £2.43

5.86%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$5.38 MX$99.4

$41.61 £31.21

-87.07%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.45 MX$26.76

$2.12 £1.59

-31.60%

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

$21.2K MX$391.0K

$35.5K £26.6K

-40.34%

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

$23.0K MX$425.3K

$40.2K £30.1K

-42.70%

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

$85.4 MX$1,577

$350 £263

-75.64%

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

$23.46 MX$434

$17.74 £13.31

32.24%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$28.43 MX$525

$44.03 £33.03

-35.43%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$62.2 MX$1,149

$44.26 £33.21

40.51%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$28.68 MX$530

$9.49 £7.12

202.21%

Cinema Ticket

$5.10 MX$94.3

$14.81 £11.11

-65.56%

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

$201 MX$3,715

$2,294 £1,721

-91.23%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$3,947 MX$72.9K

$15.2K £11.4K

-74.02%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$44.39 MX$820

$87.6 £65.7

-49.31%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$41.35 MX$764

$46.60 £34.96

-11.27%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$72.7 MX$1,344

$92.7 £69.6

-21.56%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$89.6 MX$1,656

$63.6 £47.72

40.87%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$979 MX$18.1K

$1,416 £1,062

-30.84%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$373 MX$6,887

$1,295 £972

-71.22%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,681 MX$31.1K

$1,909 £1,432

-11.97%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,095 MX$20.2K

$2,003 £1,503

-45.33%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,949 MX$73.0K

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$6,137 MX$113.4K

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$738 MX$13.6K

$2,941 £2,207

-74.93%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

11.45

4.25

169.41%

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

Last update for Playa del Carmen: October 17, 2026

Last update for Andover: October 19, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Playa del Carmen

$373 31%

Andover

$1.3K 51.1% 248% $922

Groceries & Markets

Playa del Carmen

$258 21.5%

Andover

$304 12% 17.7% $46

Eating Out

Playa del Carmen

$200 16.6%

Andover

$237 9.4% 18.5% $37

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Playa del Carmen

$137 11.4%

Andover

$412 16.3% 200% $275

Clothing & Footwear

Playa del Carmen

$112 9.3%

Andover

$131 5.2% 17.1% $19

Sport & Entertainment

Playa del Carmen

$72 6%

Andover

$74 2.9% 2% $1.5

Getting Around

Playa del Carmen

$52 4.3%

Andover

$83 3.3% 60.8% $31

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $979 in Playa del Carmen and $1,416 in Andover. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Andover pays 299% more on average. The extra income cushions the higher costs, though housing choices and lifestyle decide how much of the gap is truly closed.

Dining out: $44.00 in Playa del Carmen vs $40.00 in Andover. Groceries flip the comparison at $258 vs $304, with Playa del Carmen cheaper for home cooking.

Good to know

🇲🇽 Playa del Carmen

🇬🇧 Andover

🕒 Local time

08:59 8:59 AM

14:59 2:59 PM

6 h ahead of Playa del Carmen

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

149,923

37,851

💱 Currency

Mexican Peso MXN $

British Pound GBP £

📈 Exchange rate

100 MXN = 5.41 USD

100 MXN = 4.81 EUR

1 GBP = 1.33 USD

1 GBP = 1.19 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 22, 2026: 1 USD = 18.48 MXN (100 MXN = 5.41 USD). 1 EUR = 20.77 MXN (100 MXN = 4.81 EUR).

British Pound exchange rates as of October 22, 2026: 1 USD = 0.75 GBP (1 GBP = 1.33 USD). 1 EUR = 0.843 GBP (1 GBP = 1.19 EUR).

USD to MXN in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Playa del Carmen Andover 7,930 km ≈ 10 h nonstop flight

From you

Playa del Carmen
Andover

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 Andover: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Playa del Carmen and Andover differ by about 111% in total monthly costs ($1,204 vs $2,537 including rent). Playa del Carmen is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

On paper, salaries run 299% lower in Andover. That's worth factoring in alongside costs, though remote workers earning in a stronger currency may not notice the difference at all.

Rent for a central apartment: $979 in Playa del Carmen versus $1,416 in Andover. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

All in, you'll spend $1,204 per month in Playa del Carmen versus $2,537 in Andover – a 111% gap that adds up to real savings over time for anyone picking the cheaper option.

A monthly transit pass in Playa del Carmen runs roughly 75% less than in Andover. Both cities have functional networks, but the price difference matters if you're watching your budget.

At $1,204 in Playa del Carmen versus $2,537 in Andover, a $1,500 budget is realistic in Playa del Carmen but tight or insufficient in Andover. 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.

Safety-wise, Playa del Carmen and Andover are on par. Petty crime is typical for cities this size, and most residents feel comfortable going about their daily routines in either place.

Expats usually find Playa del Carmen gentler on the wallet – expenses run 111% less than in Andover. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.