Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Playa del Carmen and Glasgow

For one person, living is cheaper in Playa del Carmen: $1,204 a month against $2,425 in Glasgow, rent and utilities included – about $14,700 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
117

Cost of Living Index in Glasgow
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Glasgow Living Index

Jump to prices

Playa del Carmen

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,204

/mo nomad

Glasgow

🇬🇧 United Kingdom

$2,425

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

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

A single person spends $1,204 per month in Playa del Carmen vs $2,425 in Glasgow, rent included.

Playa del Carmen $1,204
Glasgow $2,425

A couple spends around $2,082 per month in Playa del Carmen vs $3,706 in Glasgow, rent included.

Playa del Carmen $2,082
Glasgow $3,706

A family of three spends $2,959 per month in Playa del Carmen vs $4,987 in Glasgow, rent included.

Playa del Carmen $2,959
Glasgow $4,987

Playa del Carmen is about 50% cheaper than Glasgow, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Playa del Carmen sits 12% below the global median, while Glasgow is 78% above – they fall on opposite sides of the world average.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$10.92 MX$203

$21.28 £15.97

-48.68%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$43.37 MX$808

$67.2 £50.4

-35.48%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.78 MX$219

$10.58 £7.94

11.34%

Cappuccino

$3.81 MX$71.0

$4.81 £3.61

-20.79%

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

$1.28 MX$23.89

$2.26 £1.69

-43.36%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.78 MX$14.58

$1.83 £1.37

-57.38%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.17 MX$59.0

$5.48 £4.11

-42.15%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.93 MX$91.9

$6.63 £4.98

-25.64%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.41 MX$26.20

$1.67 £1.25

-15.57%

White Bread (500g)

$2.22 MX$41.30

$1.64 £1.23

35.37%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.42 MX$26.40

$2.00 £1.50

-29.00%

Eggs

$2.52 MX$47.00

$4.00 £3.00

-37.00%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$7.26 MX$135

$9.28 £6.96

-21.77%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$7.70 MX$143

$9.08 £6.82

-15.20%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$12.69 MX$236

$16.75 £12.57

-24.24%

Apples (1kg)

$2.78 MX$51.9

$3.02 £2.27

-7.95%

Banana (1kg)

$1.37 MX$25.49

$1.51 £1.13

-9.27%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.55 MX$47.52

$2.91 £2.19

-12.37%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.12 MX$39.55

$3.19 £2.39

-33.54%

Potato (1kg)

$1.94 MX$36.11

$1.93 £1.45

0.52%

Onion (1kg)

$1.89 MX$35.13

$1.55 £1.16

21.94%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.15 MX$21.36

$1.13 £0.85

1.77%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.18 MX$21.96

$1.58 £1.19

-25.32%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.30 MX$80.0

$23.96 £17.98

-82.05%

Wine (Bottle)

$9.95 MX$185

$11.32 £8.49

-12.10%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.58 MX$29.50

$3.37 £2.53

-53.12%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.67 MX$49.76

$3.33 £2.50

-19.82%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.55 MX$10.31

$3.98 £2.99

-86.18%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$26.62 MX$496

$108 £81.1

-75.36%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$4.97 MX$92.6

$5.75 £4.32

-13.57%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$3.33 MX$62.1

$1.14 £0.86

192.11%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$5.36 MX$99.8

$60.6 £45.48

-91.16%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.44 MX$26.90

$2.09 £1.57

-31.10%

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

$20.7K MX$385.0K

$39.3K £29.5K

-47.38%

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

$23.5K MX$437.2K

$40.6K £30.5K

-42.25%

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

$84.8 MX$1,580

$312 £234

-72.86%

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

$23.41 MX$436

$20.29 £15.22

15.38%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$28.66 MX$534

$42.05 £31.55

-31.84%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$57.1 MX$1,063

$37.31 £28.00

52.91%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$28.91 MX$539

$20.73 £15.56

39.46%

Cinema Ticket

$5.14 MX$95.7

$16.26 £12.20

-68.39%

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

$207 MX$3,848

$1,124 £843

-81.62%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$3,927 MX$73.2K

$21.6K £16.2K

-81.82%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$43.35 MX$808

$132 £99.0

-67.15%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$41.44 MX$772

$45.81 £34.37

-9.54%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$74.2 MX$1,382

$107 £80.0

-30.41%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$89.3 MX$1,663

$93.4 £70.1

-4.45%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$980 MX$18.2K

$1,368 £1,027

-28.41%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$381 MX$7,095

$1,047 £786

-63.64%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,708 MX$31.8K

$2,770 £2,078

-38.33%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,075 MX$20.0K

$2,080 £1,561

-48.30%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,943 MX$73.5K

$4,035 £3,027

-2.28%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$6,158 MX$114.7K

$2,923 £2,193

110.70%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$735 MX$13.7K

$3,339 £2,505

-78.00%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

11.45

4.79

139.04%

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 Glasgow: October 27, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Playa del Carmen

$381 31.6%

Glasgow

$1K 43.2% 175% $666

Groceries & Markets

Playa del Carmen

$255 21.2%

Glasgow

$311 12.8% 22% $56

Eating Out

Playa del Carmen

$202 16.8%

Glasgow

$317 13.1% 56.5% $114

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Playa del Carmen

$137 11.4%

Glasgow

$375 15.5% 174% $238

Clothing & Footwear

Playa del Carmen

$112 9.3%

Glasgow

$170 7% 52.2% $58

Sport & Entertainment

Playa del Carmen

$67 5.6%

Glasgow

$70 2.9% 3.7% $2.5

Getting Around

Playa del Carmen

$50 4.2%

Glasgow

$135 5.6% 168% $85

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $980 in Playa del Carmen versus $1,368 in Glasgow. Rent is usually the largest line item in a monthly budget, so the gap here sets the tone for the overall comparison.

Salaries in Glasgow are about 4.5 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 $67 in Glasgow. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $255 vs $311 – making Playa del Carmen the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇲🇽 Playa del Carmen

🇬🇧 Glasgow

🕒 Local time

00:06 12:06 AM

05:06 5:06 AM

5 h ahead of Playa del Carmen

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

149,923

606,340

💱 Currency

Mexican Peso MXN $

British Pound GBP £

📈 Exchange rate

100 MXN = 5.37 USD

100 MXN = 4.82 EUR

1 GBP = 1.33 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 October 29, 2026: 1 USD = 18.63 MXN (100 MXN = 5.37 USD). 1 EUR = 20.74 MXN (100 MXN = 4.82 EUR).

British Pound exchange rates as of October 29, 2026: 1 USD = 0.75 GBP (1 GBP = 1.33 USD). 1 EUR = 0.835 GBP (1 GBP = 1.2 EUR).

USD to MXN in detail →

On the map

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Playa del Carmen Glasgow 7,680 km ≈ 10 h nonstop flight

From you

Playa del Carmen
Glasgow

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 Glasgow: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Monthly costs with rent: $1,204 in Playa del Carmen, $2,425 in Glasgow – Playa del Carmen comes out roughly 50% cheaper. Outside of rent, the biggest gap is in eating out.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $1,806 per month in Playa del Carmen and $3,637 in Glasgow. 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 $1,368 in Glasgow.

Kindergarten costs $207 per month in Playa del Carmen and $1,124 in Glasgow. For families with young kids, this one expense can tip the scales when choosing between the two cities.

Groceries cost about 22% more in Glasgow, though the gap depends on what you buy.

A $1,500 monthly budget goes further in Playa del Carmen, where all-in costs run around $1,204, than in Glasgow at $2,425. In Playa del Carmen it covers expenses comfortably, while in Glasgow it requires careful planning or may not stretch far enough.

It depends on your priorities. Playa del Carmen has an edge in some lifestyle areas, with costs from $1,204 in Playa del Carmen to $2,425 in Glasgow. Climate, culture, job market, and personal taste all factor in.

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