Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Playa del Carmen and Basildon

For one person, living is cheaper in Playa del Carmen: $1,204 a month against $2,374 in Basildon, rent and utilities included – about $14,000 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
115

Cost of Living Index in Basildon
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Basildon Living Index

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Playa del Carmen

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,204

/mo nomad

Basildon

🇬🇧 United Kingdom

$2,374

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

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

A single person spends $1,204 per month in Playa del Carmen vs $2,374 in Basildon, rent included.

Playa del Carmen $1,204
Basildon $2,374

A couple spends around $2,082 per month in Playa del Carmen vs $3,407 in Basildon, rent included.

Playa del Carmen $2,082
Basildon $3,407

A family of three spends $2,959 per month in Playa del Carmen vs $4,441 in Basildon, rent included.

Playa del Carmen $2,959
Basildon $4,441

Playa del Carmen is about 49% cheaper than Basildon, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Playa del Carmen sits 12% below the global median, while Basildon is 74% above – they fall on opposite sides of the world average.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$10.92 MX$205

$20.45 £15.28

-46.60%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$43.37 MX$815

$59.5 £44.45

-27.11%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.78 MX$221

$9.14 £6.83

28.88%

Cappuccino

$3.81 MX$71.6

$4.76 £3.56

-19.96%

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

$1.28 MX$24.10

$3.21 £2.40

-60.12%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.78 MX$14.71

$1.57 £1.17

-50.32%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.17 MX$59.5

$6.78 £5.06

-53.24%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.93 MX$92.7

$3.92 £2.93

25.77%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.41 MX$26.43

$1.32 £0.98

6.82%

White Bread (500g)

$2.22 MX$41.66

$2.10 £1.57

5.71%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.42 MX$26.64

$1.52 £1.13

-6.58%

Eggs

$2.52 MX$47.41

$4.05 £3.02

-37.78%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$7.26 MX$137

$8.53 £6.37

-14.89%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$7.70 MX$145

$4.63 £3.46

66.31%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$12.69 MX$239

$11.84 £8.84

7.18%

Apples (1kg)

$2.78 MX$52.3

$3.14 £2.35

-11.46%

Banana (1kg)

$1.37 MX$25.71

$1.30 £0.97

5.38%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.55 MX$47.94

$1.99 £1.49

28.14%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.12 MX$39.90

$3.26 £2.43

-34.97%

Potato (1kg)

$1.94 MX$36.43

$1.56 £1.17

24.36%

Onion (1kg)

$1.89 MX$35.44

$1.85 £1.38

2.16%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.15 MX$21.55

$1.06 £0.79

8.49%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.18 MX$22.16

$1.18 £0.89

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.30 MX$80.7

$20.22 £15.11

-78.73%

Wine (Bottle)

$9.95 MX$187

$10.71 £8.00

-7.10%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.58 MX$29.76

$2.34 £1.75

-32.48%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.67 MX$50.2

$1.63 £1.21

63.80%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.55 MX$10.40

$2.68 £2.00

-79.48%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$26.62 MX$500

$67.6 £50.5

-60.64%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$4.97 MX$93.4

$5.30 £3.96

-6.23%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$3.33 MX$62.6

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$5.36 MX$101

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.44 MX$27.14

$1.93 £1.44

-25.39%

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

$20.7K MX$388.4K

$38.2K £28.5K

-45.90%

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

$23.5K MX$441.0K

$40.3K £30.1K

-41.80%

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

$84.8 MX$1,594

$284 £212

-70.13%

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

$23.41 MX$440

$13.36 £9.98

75.22%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$28.66 MX$539

$35.04 £26.18

-18.21%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$57.1 MX$1,072

$44.46 £33.21

28.32%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$28.91 MX$543

$27.04 £20.20

6.92%

Cinema Ticket

$5.14 MX$96.6

$14.08 £10.52

-63.49%

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

$207 MX$3,882

$2,229 £1,665

-90.73%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$3,927 MX$73.8K

$29.2K £21.8K

-86.56%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$43.35 MX$815

$75.6 £56.5

-42.68%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$41.44 MX$779

$52.4 £39.15

-20.93%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$74.2 MX$1,394

$54.3 £40.57

36.65%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$89.3 MX$1,677

$52.8 £39.44

69.07%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$980 MX$18.4K

$1,677 £1,253

-41.58%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$381 MX$7,157

$1,219 £911

-68.76%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,708 MX$32.1K

$2,358 £1,762

-27.56%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,075 MX$20.2K

$2,012 £1,503

-46.55%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,943 MX$74.1K

$5,273 £3,939

-25.22%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$6,158 MX$115.7K

$3,358 £2,509

83.38%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$735 MX$13.8K

$2,893 £2,162

-74.61%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

11.45

5.4

112.04%

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 Basildon: October 25, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Playa del Carmen

$381 31.6%

Basildon

$1.2K 51.4% 220% $838

Groceries & Markets

Playa del Carmen

$255 21.2%

Basildon

$252 10.6% 1.2% $3.1

Eating Out

Playa del Carmen

$202 16.8%

Basildon

$309 13% 52.7% $107

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Playa del Carmen

$137 11.4%

Basildon

$332 14% 143% $195

Clothing & Footwear

Playa del Carmen

$112 9.3%

Basildon

$106 4.5% 5.3% $5.9

Sport & Entertainment

Playa del Carmen

$67 5.6%

Basildon

$73 3.1% 7.9% $5.3

Getting Around

Playa del Carmen

$50 4.2%

Basildon

$84 * 3.5% 65.8% $33

Categories marked with * are only partly priced – their share counts the items that do have prices.

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $980 in Playa del Carmen versus $1,677 in Basildon. Rent is usually the largest line item in a monthly budget, so the gap here sets the tone for the overall comparison.

Salaries in Basildon are about 3.9 times higher. Purchasing power depends on which expenses matter most to you.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $43 in Playa del Carmen versus $59 in Basildon. Groceries tell a different story – $255 in Playa del Carmen vs $252 in Basildon – so Basildon wins on supermarket bills even if dining out costs more.

Good to know

🇲🇽 Playa del Carmen

🇬🇧 Basildon

🕒 Local time

02:02 2:02 AM

07:02 7:02 AM

5 h ahead of Playa del Carmen

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

149,923

184,479

💱 Currency

Mexican Peso MXN $

British Pound GBP £

📈 Exchange rate

100 MXN = 5.32 USD

100 MXN = 4.77 EUR

1 GBP = 1.34 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 November 2, 2026: 1 USD = 18.79 MXN (100 MXN = 5.32 USD). 1 EUR = 20.98 MXN (100 MXN = 4.77 EUR).

British Pound exchange rates as of November 2, 2026: 1 USD = 0.747 GBP (1 GBP = 1.34 USD). 1 EUR = 0.834 GBP (1 GBP = 1.2 EUR).

USD to MXN in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Playa del Carmen Basildon 8,060 km ≈ 11 h nonstop flight

From you

Playa del Carmen
Basildon

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 Basildon: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Basildon costs about 97% more than Playa del Carmen, and outside of rent the gap comes mainly from eating out. That’s enough to noticeably affect everyday spending and lifestyle for anyone choosing between the two.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $1,806 per month in Playa del Carmen and $3,561 in Basildon. 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 $1,677 in Basildon.

Monthly expenses with rent come to $1,204 in Playa del Carmen and $2,374 in Basildon. That makes Playa del Carmen about 49% cheaper.

Kindergarten costs $207 per month in Playa del Carmen and $2,229 in Basildon. 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 Basildon at $2,374. In Playa del Carmen it covers expenses comfortably, while in Basildon 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.

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