Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Playa del Carmen and Carlisle

For one person, living is cheaper in Playa del Carmen: $1,204 a month against $1,964 in Carlisle, rent and utilities included – about $9,100 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
94

Cost of Living Index in Carlisle
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Carlisle Living Index

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Playa del Carmen

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,204

/mo nomad

Carlisle

🇬🇧 United Kingdom

$1,964

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,204 in Playa del Carmen versus $1,964 in Carlisle.

Playa del Carmen $1,204
Carlisle $1,964

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,082 in Playa del Carmen versus $2,880 in Carlisle.

Playa del Carmen $2,082
Carlisle $2,880

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $2,959 in Playa del Carmen versus $3,796 in Carlisle.

Playa del Carmen $2,959
Carlisle $3,796

Living in Playa del Carmen costs roughly 39% less than in Carlisle, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Playa del Carmen is 12% below, Carlisle is 44% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$10.92 MX$205

$19.03 £14.22

-42.62%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$43.37 MX$815

$68.7 £51.3

-36.89%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.78 MX$221

$10.13 £7.57

16.29%

Cappuccino

$3.81 MX$71.6

$3.43 £2.56

11.08%

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

$1.28 MX$24.10

$2.41 £1.80

-46.89%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.78 MX$14.71

$2.03 £1.52

-61.58%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.17 MX$59.5

$4.78 £3.57

-33.68%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.93 MX$92.7

$4.36 £3.26

13.07%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.41 MX$26.43

$1.30 £0.97

8.46%

White Bread (500g)

$2.22 MX$41.66

$1.41 £1.06

57.45%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.42 MX$26.64

$3.35 £2.50

-57.61%

Eggs

$2.52 MX$47.41

$3.72 £2.78

-32.26%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$7.26 MX$137

$7.94 £5.93

-8.56%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$7.70 MX$145

$7.25 £5.42

6.21%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$12.69 MX$239

$16.21 £12.11

-21.71%

Apples (1kg)

$2.78 MX$52.3

$3.21 £2.40

-13.40%

Banana (1kg)

$1.37 MX$25.71

$2.93 £2.19

-53.24%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.55 MX$47.94

$2.58 £1.93

-1.16%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.12 MX$39.90

$2.76 £2.06

-23.19%

Potato (1kg)

$1.94 MX$36.43

$1.76 £1.32

10.23%

Onion (1kg)

$1.89 MX$35.44

$1.82 £1.36

3.85%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.15 MX$21.55

$1.15 £0.86

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.18 MX$22.16

$1.36 £1.01

-13.24%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.30 MX$80.7

$22.55 £16.85

-80.93%

Wine (Bottle)

$9.95 MX$187

$8.08 £6.03

23.14%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.58 MX$29.76

$2.81 £2.10

-43.77%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.67 MX$50.2

$3.62 £2.71

-26.24%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.55 MX$10.40

$3.30 £2.46

-83.33%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$26.62 MX$500

$75.6 £56.5

-64.80%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$4.97 MX$93.4

$4.39 £3.28

13.21%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$3.33 MX$62.6

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$5.36 MX$101

$33.57 £25.08

-84.03%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.44 MX$27.14

$1.99 £1.49

-27.64%

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

$20.7K MX$388.4K

$38.4K £28.7K

-46.22%

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

$23.5K MX$441.0K

$40.7K £30.4K

-42.29%

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

$84.8 MX$1,594

$357 £267

-76.28%

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

$23.41 MX$440

$17.29 £12.92

35.40%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$28.66 MX$539

$35.44 £26.47

-19.13%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$57.1 MX$1,072

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$28.91 MX$543

$16.07 £12.01

79.90%

Cinema Ticket

$5.14 MX$96.6

$10.67 £7.97

-51.83%

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

$207 MX$3,882

$1,629 £1,217

-87.32%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$3,927 MX$73.8K

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$43.35 MX$815

$107 £80.2

-59.60%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$41.44 MX$779

$56.3 £42.08

-26.43%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$74.2 MX$1,394

$114 £85.3

-35.00%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$89.3 MX$1,677

$114 £85.5

-22.00%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$980 MX$18.4K

$774 £578

26.61%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$381 MX$7,157

$699 £522

-45.52%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,708 MX$32.1K

$1,188 £887

43.78%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,075 MX$20.2K

$1,153 £861

-6.72%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,943 MX$74.1K

$2,562 £1,914

53.91%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$6,158 MX$115.7K

$2,920 £2,182

110.87%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$735 MX$13.8K

$2,877 £2,149

-74.47%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

11.45

5.64

103.01%

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 Carlisle: October 26, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Playa del Carmen

$381 31.6%

Carlisle

$699 35.6% 83.5% $318

Groceries & Markets

Playa del Carmen

$255 21.2%

Carlisle

$289 14.7% 13.5% $34

Eating Out

Playa del Carmen

$202 16.8%

Carlisle

$274 14% 35.5% $72

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Playa del Carmen

$137 11.4%

Carlisle

$410 20.9% 200% $273

Clothing & Footwear

Playa del Carmen

$112 9.3%

Carlisle

$176 9% 58% $65

Sport & Entertainment

Playa del Carmen

$67 5.6%

Carlisle

$21 * 1.1% 68.3% $46

Getting Around

Playa del Carmen

$50 4.2%

Carlisle

$93 * 4.8% 84.7% $43

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

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $980 in Playa del Carmen and $774 in Carlisle. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Carlisle pays about 3.9 times more on average. How far that income stretches comes down to housing choices and lifestyle.

Dining out: $43 in Playa del Carmen vs $69 in Carlisle for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $255 vs $289 per month, with Playa del Carmen cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇲🇽 Playa del Carmen

🇬🇧 Carlisle

🕒 Local time

21:05 9:05 PM

02:05 2:05 AM

5 h ahead of Playa del Carmen

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

149,923

72,000

💱 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

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Between locations

Playa del Carmen Carlisle 7,780 km ≈ 10 h nonstop flight

From you

Playa del Carmen
Carlisle

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 Carlisle: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Playa del Carmen wins on cost – living expenses run 39% lower than in Carlisle. Housing and daily spending are where you’ll feel the difference most, making Playa del Carmen the obvious pick if budget is a priority.

On paper, salaries run 74% lower in Playa del Carmen. 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: $980 in Playa del Carmen versus $774 in Carlisle. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Dining out is cheaper in Playa del Carmen – a meal for two runs $43 versus $69 in Carlisle. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

All in, you’ll spend $1,204 per month in Playa del Carmen versus $1,964 in Carlisle – Playa del Carmen is about 39% cheaper, which adds up to real savings over time.

At $1,204 in Playa del Carmen versus $1,964 in Carlisle, a $1,500 budget is realistic in Playa del Carmen but tight or insufficient in Carlisle. 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, Carlisle on earning potential. Factor in climate, language, visa rules, and proximity to places that matter to you before deciding.