Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Playa del Carmen and Dunfermline

For one person, living is cheaper in Playa del Carmen: $1,204 a month against $2,047 in Dunfermline, rent and utilities included – about $10,100 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
98

Cost of Living Index in Dunfermline
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Dunfermline Living Index

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Playa del Carmen

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,204

/mo nomad

Dunfermline

🇬🇧 United Kingdom

$2,047

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,204 in Playa del Carmen versus $2,047 in Dunfermline.

Playa del Carmen $1,204
Dunfermline $2,047

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,082 in Playa del Carmen versus $3,016 in Dunfermline.

Playa del Carmen $2,082
Dunfermline $3,016

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $2,959 in Playa del Carmen versus $3,986 in Dunfermline.

Playa del Carmen $2,959
Dunfermline $3,986

Living in Playa del Carmen costs roughly 41% less than in Dunfermline, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Playa del Carmen is 12% below, Dunfermline is 50% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$10.92 MX$204

$20.15 £15.17

-45.81%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$43.37 MX$808

$79.1 £59.5

-45.16%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.78 MX$220

$9.59 £7.21

22.84%

Cappuccino

$3.81 MX$71.0

$4.37 £3.29

-12.81%

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

$1.28 MX$23.90

$2.49 £1.87

-48.59%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.78 MX$14.59

$1.32 £0.99

-40.91%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.17 MX$59.0

$5.69 £4.28

-44.29%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.93 MX$92.0

$5.98 £4.50

-17.56%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.41 MX$26.22

$1.92 £1.44

-26.56%

White Bread (500g)

$2.22 MX$41.33

$1.24 £0.93

79.03%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.42 MX$26.42

$2.39 £1.80

-40.59%

Eggs

$2.52 MX$47.03

$4.12 £3.10

-38.83%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$7.26 MX$135

$7.51 £5.65

-3.33%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$7.70 MX$143

$8.54 £6.43

-9.84%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$12.69 MX$237

$10.07 £7.58

26.02%

Apples (1kg)

$2.78 MX$51.9

$2.37 £1.78

17.30%

Banana (1kg)

$1.37 MX$25.50

$1.28 £0.96

7.03%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.55 MX$47.55

$2.88 £2.17

-11.46%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.12 MX$39.58

$2.73 £2.05

-22.34%

Potato (1kg)

$1.94 MX$36.13

$1.13 £0.85

71.68%

Onion (1kg)

$1.89 MX$35.16

$1.34 £1.01

41.04%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.15 MX$21.37

$1.25 £0.94

-8.00%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.18 MX$21.98

$1.63 £1.22

-27.61%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.30 MX$80.1

$23.46 £17.66

-81.67%

Wine (Bottle)

$9.95 MX$185

$11.06 £8.33

-10.04%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.58 MX$29.52

$2.19 £1.65

-27.85%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.67 MX$49.79

$2.48 £1.86

7.66%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.55 MX$10.31

$3.17 £2.39

-82.65%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$26.62 MX$496

$77.4 £58.3

-65.61%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$4.97 MX$92.6

$4.60 £3.46

8.04%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$3.33 MX$62.1

$3.82 £2.87

-12.83%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$5.36 MX$99.8

$20.40 £15.35

-73.73%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.44 MX$26.92

$1.96 £1.47

-26.53%

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

$20.7K MX$385.2K

$37.6K £28.3K

-45.03%

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

$23.5K MX$437.4K

$39.3K £29.6K

-40.32%

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

$84.8 MX$1,581

$238 £179

-64.37%

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

$23.41 MX$436

$13.31 £10.02

75.88%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$28.66 MX$534

$42.35 £31.87

-32.33%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$57.1 MX$1,063

$48.25 £36.32

18.24%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$28.91 MX$539

$12.05 £9.07

139.92%

Cinema Ticket

$5.14 MX$95.8

$13.47 £10.13

-61.84%

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

$207 MX$3,851

$1,407 £1,059

-85.31%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$3,927 MX$73.2K

$19.1K £14.4K

-79.45%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$43.35 MX$808

$52.8 £39.75

-17.93%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$41.44 MX$772

$53.7 £40.40

-22.80%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$74.2 MX$1,383

$100 £75.5

-26.06%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$89.3 MX$1,664

$88.9 £66.9

0.39%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$980 MX$18.3K

$1,009 £760

-2.95%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$381 MX$7,099

$867 £652

-56.05%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,708 MX$31.8K

$1,277 £961

33.77%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,075 MX$20.0K

$1,376 £1,035

-21.85%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,943 MX$73.5K

$2,029 £1,527

94.36%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$6,158 MX$114.8K

$2,726 £2,051

125.90%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$735 MX$13.7K

$3,006 £2,263

-75.57%

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 Dunfermline: October 26, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Playa del Carmen

$381 31.6%

Dunfermline

$867 42.4% 128% $486

Groceries & Markets

Playa del Carmen

$255 21.2%

Dunfermline

$266 13% 4.5% $12

Eating Out

Playa del Carmen

$202 16.8%

Dunfermline

$298 14.6% 47.3% $96

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Playa del Carmen

$137 11.4%

Dunfermline

$294 14.4% 115% $157

Clothing & Footwear

Playa del Carmen

$112 9.3%

Dunfermline

$133 6.5% 19.1% $21

Sport & Entertainment

Playa del Carmen

$67 5.6%

Dunfermline

$75 3.7% 11.7% $7.9

Getting Around

Playa del Carmen

$50 4.2%

Dunfermline

$114 5.6% 126% $63

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $980 in Playa del Carmen and $1,009 in Dunfermline. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Dunfermline pays about 4.1 times more on average. How far that income stretches comes down to housing choices and lifestyle.

Dining out: $43 in Playa del Carmen vs $79 in Dunfermline for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $255 vs $266 per month, with Playa del Carmen cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇲🇽 Playa del Carmen

🇬🇧 Dunfermline

🕒 Local time

16:35 4:35 PM

21:35 9:35 PM

5 h ahead of Playa del Carmen

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

149,923

55,000

💱 Currency

Mexican Peso MXN $

British Pound GBP £

📈 Exchange rate

100 MXN = 5.36 USD

100 MXN = 4.82 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 28, 2026: 1 USD = 18.64 MXN (100 MXN = 5.36 USD). 1 EUR = 20.75 MXN (100 MXN = 4.82 EUR).

British Pound exchange rates as of October 28, 2026: 1 USD = 0.753 GBP (1 GBP = 1.33 USD). 1 EUR = 0.838 GBP (1 GBP = 1.19 EUR).

USD to MXN in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Playa del Carmen Dunfermline 7,730 km ≈ 10 h nonstop flight

From you

Playa del Carmen
Dunfermline

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 Dunfermline: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Playa del Carmen wins on cost – living expenses run 41% lower than in Dunfermline. 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 76% 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 $1,009 in Dunfermline. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

A monthly transit pass in Playa del Carmen runs roughly 66% less than in Dunfermline. The price difference matters if you commute daily and watch your budget.

Childcare runs $207 in Playa del Carmen versus $1,407 in Dunfermline. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

At $1,204 in Playa del Carmen versus $2,047 in Dunfermline, a $1,500 budget is realistic in Playa del Carmen but tight or insufficient in Dunfermline. 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.

Expats usually find Playa del Carmen gentler on the wallet – expenses run 41% less than in Dunfermline. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.