Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Playa del Carmen and Chester

For one person, living is cheaper in Playa del Carmen: $1,210 a month against $2,365 in Chester, rent and utilities included – about $13,900 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
115

Cost of Living Index in Chester
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Chester Living Index

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Playa del Carmen

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,210

/mo nomad

Chester

🇬🇧 United Kingdom

$2,365

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

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

A single person spends $1,210 per month in Playa del Carmen vs $2,365 in Chester, rent included.

Playa del Carmen $1,210
Chester $2,365

A couple spends around $2,113 per month in Playa del Carmen vs $3,402 in Chester, rent included.

Playa del Carmen $2,113
Chester $3,402

A family of three spends $3,016 per month in Playa del Carmen vs $4,438 in Chester, rent included.

Playa del Carmen $3,016
Chester $4,438

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

Playa del Carmen sits 10% below the global median, while Chester is 75% above – they fall on opposite sides of the world average.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$10.76 MX$199

$19.64 £14.74

-45.21%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$43.03 MX$795

$87.2 £65.4

-50.66%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.79 MX$218

$10.43 £7.82

13.04%

Cappuccino

$3.87 MX$71.4

$4.92 £3.69

-21.34%

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

$1.37 MX$25.29

$2.49 £1.87

-44.98%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.84 MX$15.44

$1.83 £1.37

-54.10%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.10 MX$57.3

$6.48 £4.86

-52.16%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$5.07 MX$93.6

$6.55 £4.92

-22.60%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.44 MX$26.55

$1.69 £1.27

-14.79%

White Bread (500g)

$2.23 MX$41.23

$1.79 £1.34

24.58%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.47 MX$27.17

$2.38 £1.78

-38.24%

Eggs

$2.53 MX$46.71

$3.98 £2.99

-36.43%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$7.30 MX$135

$8.61 £6.46

-15.21%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$7.86 MX$145

$8.21 £6.16

-4.26%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$12.79 MX$236

$13.77 £10.33

-7.12%

Apples (1kg)

$2.90 MX$53.6

$3.01 £2.26

-3.65%

Banana (1kg)

$1.44 MX$26.53

$1.68 £1.26

-14.29%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.55 MX$47.07

$2.83 £2.12

-9.89%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.06 MX$38.03

$2.90 £2.18

-28.97%

Potato (1kg)

$2.00 MX$36.97

$1.94 £1.45

3.09%

Onion (1kg)

$2.01 MX$37.07

$1.45 £1.09

38.62%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.19 MX$22.02

$1.28 £0.96

-7.03%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.26 MX$23.23

$1.55 £1.16

-18.71%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.40 MX$81.4

$23.06 £17.30

-80.92%

Wine (Bottle)

$9.59 MX$177

$11.14 £8.36

-13.91%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.59 MX$29.41

$2.84 £2.13

-44.01%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.81 MX$51.9

$3.25 £2.44

-13.54%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.57 MX$10.47

$2.61 £1.96

-78.16%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$27.82 MX$514

$68.6 £51.5

-59.45%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$4.98 MX$92.1

$5.33 £4.00

-6.57%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$3.50 MX$64.6

$1.38 £1.04

153.62%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$5.40 MX$99.8

$22.23 £16.68

-75.71%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.47 MX$27.08

$2.06 £1.55

-28.64%

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

$21.0K MX$387.8K

$37.8K £28.4K

-44.51%

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

$23.9K MX$441.8K

$40.4K £30.3K

-40.84%

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

$84.2 MX$1,556

$339 £254

-75.13%

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

$23.99 MX$443

$20.84 £15.64

15.12%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$29.02 MX$536

$40.75 £30.58

-28.79%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$63.0 MX$1,164

$48.21 £36.17

30.64%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$29.14 MX$539

$15.02 £11.27

94.01%

Cinema Ticket

$4.94 MX$91.3

$13.28 £9.96

-62.80%

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

$204 MX$3,763

$1,591 £1,194

-87.20%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$3,941 MX$72.8K

$15.7K £11.8K

-74.91%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$43.60 MX$806

$87.8 £65.9

-50.35%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$43.12 MX$797

$41.24 £30.94

4.56%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$75.8 MX$1,400

$99.2 £74.4

-23.63%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$88.6 MX$1,637

$88.7 £66.5

-0.08%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,008 MX$18.6K

$1,337 £1,003

-24.61%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$374 MX$6,911

$1,051 £789

-64.42%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,708 MX$31.6K

$1,972 £1,479

-13.35%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,106 MX$20.4K

$1,610 £1,208

-31.28%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,944 MX$72.9K

$3,847 £2,886

2.53%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$6,169 MX$114.0K

$3,289 £2,467

87.59%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$754 MX$13.9K

$3,987 £2,991

-81.08%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

11.45

5.15

122.33%

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

Last update for Playa del Carmen: October 10, 2026

Last update for Chester: October 12, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Playa del Carmen

$374 30.9%

Chester

$1.1K 44.5% 181% $677

Groceries & Markets

Playa del Carmen

$258 21.4%

Chester

$295 12.5% 14% $36

Eating Out

Playa del Carmen

$202 16.7%

Chester

$310 13.1% 53.4% $108

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Playa del Carmen

$137 11.3%

Chester

$400 16.9% 192% $263

Clothing & Footwear

Playa del Carmen

$113 9.3%

Chester

$143 6% 26.2% $30

Sport & Entertainment

Playa del Carmen

$73 6%

Chester

$75 3.2% 2.6% $1.9

Getting Around

Playa del Carmen

$53 4.3%

Chester

$91 3.9% 73.7% $39

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $1,008 in Playa del Carmen versus $1,337 in Chester. Rent is usually the largest line item in a monthly budget, so the gap here sets the tone for the overall comparison.

Salaries run about 429% higher in Chester, which partly offsets the higher cost of living there. Purchasing power depends on which expenses matter most to you.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $43.00 in Playa del Carmen versus $87.0 in Chester. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $258 vs $295 – making Playa del Carmen the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇲🇽 Playa del Carmen

🇬🇧 Chester

🕒 Local time

21:07 9:07 PM

03:07 3:07 AM

6 h ahead of Playa del Carmen

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

149,923

119,000

💱 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 18, 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 18, 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

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Between locations

Playa del Carmen Chester 7,800 km ≈ 10 h nonstop flight

From you

Playa del Carmen
Chester

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 Chester: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Chester costs about 95% 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 $1,816 per month in Playa del Carmen and $3,548 in Chester. 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. Housing is actually the single biggest factor behind the overall cost gap between these two cities.

Kindergarten costs $204 per month in Playa del Carmen and $1,591 in Chester. For families with young kids, this one expense can tip the scales when choosing between the two cities.

Groceries cost about 14% more in Chester, though it depends on what you buy. Local produce may be comparable; imported and premium items show the biggest price gap.

A $1,500 monthly budget goes further in Playa del Carmen, where all-in costs run around $1,210, than in Chester at $2,365. In Playa del Carmen it covers expenses comfortably, while in Chester it requires careful planning or may not stretch far enough.

For digital nomads, it depends on budget. Playa del Carmen costs $1,210 versus $2,365 in Chester. Both have workable remote work infrastructure, but the cost gap matters when income varies month to month.

Both have safer and rougher neighborhoods, but overall safety is comparable to other large cities. Neighborhood choice matters more than the city-level comparison – central, well-trafficked areas feel secure in both.

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