Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Playa del Carmen and Lerwick

For one person, living is cheaper in Playa del Carmen: $1,204 a month against $2,368 in Lerwick, rent and utilities included – about $14,000 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

59

Cost of Living Index in Playa del Carmen
Learn more

Playa del Carmen Living Index
114

Cost of Living Index in Lerwick
Learn more

Lerwick Living Index

Jump to prices

Playa del Carmen

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,204

/mo nomad

Lerwick

🇬🇧 United Kingdom

$2,368

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,204 in Playa del Carmen versus $2,368 in Lerwick.

Playa del Carmen $1,204
Lerwick $2,368

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,102 in Playa del Carmen versus $3,415 in Lerwick.

Playa del Carmen $2,102
Lerwick $3,415

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,000 in Playa del Carmen versus $4,462 in Lerwick.

Playa del Carmen $3,000
Lerwick $4,462

Living in Playa del Carmen costs roughly 49% less than in Lerwick, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Playa del Carmen is 11% below, Lerwick is 75% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$10.86 MX$201

$20.15 £15.11

-46.10%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$44.21 MX$817

$98.5 £73.9

-55.13%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.76 MX$217

$10.35 £7.76

13.62%

Cappuccino

$3.68 MX$68.0

$5.40 £4.05

-31.85%

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

$1.34 MX$24.79

$2.25 £1.69

-40.44%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.82 MX$15.24

$1.64 £1.23

-50.00%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.06 MX$56.6

$6.45 £4.84

-52.56%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.94 MX$91.2

$5.86 £4.40

-15.70%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.47 MX$27.17

$1.55 £1.16

-5.16%

White Bread (500g)

$2.22 MX$40.95

$1.69 £1.27

31.36%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.48 MX$27.32

$2.21 £1.66

-33.03%

Eggs

$2.49 MX$45.99

$4.02 £3.02

-38.06%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$7.52 MX$139

$9.37 £7.03

-19.74%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$7.96 MX$147

$8.57 £6.43

-7.12%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$12.57 MX$232

$14.44 £10.84

-12.95%

Apples (1kg)

$2.78 MX$51.3

$3.03 £2.27

-8.25%

Banana (1kg)

$1.43 MX$26.37

$1.51 £1.13

-5.30%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.62 MX$48.37

$2.76 £2.07

-5.07%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.14 MX$39.49

$3.28 £2.46

-34.76%

Potato (1kg)

$2.02 MX$37.38

$1.83 £1.37

10.38%

Onion (1kg)

$1.99 MX$36.74

$1.71 £1.28

16.37%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.14 MX$21.01

$1.26 £0.95

-9.52%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.20 MX$22.18

$1.55 £1.16

-22.58%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.26 MX$78.7

$24.02 £18.02

-82.26%

Wine (Bottle)

$10.02 MX$185

$10.48 £7.86

-4.39%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.54 MX$28.41

$3.00 £2.25

-48.67%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.66 MX$49.17

$3.27 £2.46

-18.65%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.53 MX$9.73

$3.07 £2.30

-82.74%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$27.51 MX$508

$83.1 £62.3

-66.89%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$4.90 MX$90.6

$4.23 £3.18

15.84%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$3.43 MX$63.5

$2.35 £1.76

45.96%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$5.38 MX$99.4

$24.03 £18.03

-77.61%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.45 MX$26.76

$2.34 £1.75

-38.03%

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

$21.2K MX$391.0K

$38.9K £29.2K

-45.58%

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

$23.0K MX$425.3K

$34.5K £25.9K

-33.22%

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

$85.4 MX$1,577

$309 £232

-72.42%

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

$23.46 MX$434

$19.33 £14.50

21.37%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$28.43 MX$525

$45.26 £33.95

-37.19%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$62.2 MX$1,149

$52.8 £39.61

17.81%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$28.68 MX$530

Cinema Ticket

$5.10 MX$94.3

$13.32 £9.99

-61.71%

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

$201 MX$3,715

$1,392 £1,045

-85.56%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$3,947 MX$72.9K

$24.5K £18.4K

-83.87%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$44.39 MX$820

$88.7 £66.5

-49.94%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$41.35 MX$764

$50.6 £37.93

-18.22%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$72.7 MX$1,344

$89.1 £66.8

-18.34%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$89.6 MX$1,656

$110 £82.8

-18.80%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$979 MX$18.1K

$1,112 £834

-11.95%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$373 MX$6,887

$1,036 £777

-64.02%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,681 MX$31.1K

$2,395 £1,797

-29.81%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,095 MX$20.2K

$1,523 £1,143

-28.10%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,949 MX$73.0K

$4,646 £3,486

-15.00%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$6,137 MX$113.4K

$3,438 £2,579

78.48%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$738 MX$13.6K

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

11.45

5.09

124.95%

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

Last update for Playa del Carmen: October 17, 2026

Last update for Lerwick: October 18, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Playa del Carmen

$373 31%

Lerwick

$1K 43.7% 178% $663

Groceries & Markets

Playa del Carmen

$258 21.5%

Lerwick

$298 12.6% 15.5% $40

Eating Out

Playa del Carmen

$200 16.6%

Lerwick

$317 13.4% 58.1% $116

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Playa del Carmen

$137 11.4%

Lerwick

$374 15.8% 173% $237

Clothing & Footwear

Playa del Carmen

$112 9.3%

Lerwick

$152 6.4% 36.5% $41

Sport & Entertainment

Playa del Carmen

$72 6%

Lerwick

$79 3.4% 9.7% $7

Getting Around

Playa del Carmen

$52 4.3%

Lerwick

$111 4.7% 115% $60

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $979 in Playa del Carmen and $1,112 in Lerwick. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Dining out: $44.00 in Playa del Carmen vs $99.0 in Lerwick for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $258 vs $298 per month, with Playa del Carmen cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇲🇽 Playa del Carmen

🇬🇧 Lerwick

🕒 Local time

12:10 12:10 PM

18:10 6:10 PM

6 h ahead of Playa del Carmen

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

149,923

7,000

💱 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 22, 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 22, 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

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Playa del Carmen Lerwick 7,810 km ≈ 10 h nonstop flight

From you

Playa del Carmen
Lerwick

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 Lerwick: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Playa del Carmen is cheaper overall, especially in groceries, eating out, and clothing. The 97% gap adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

You'd need roughly $1,806 in Playa del Carmen and $3,552 in Lerwick to live well. The gap comes down to housing and overall price levels. Both cities are liveable on less, but these numbers represent actual comfort.

Rent for a central apartment: $979 in Playa del Carmen versus $1,112 in Lerwick. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

All in, you'll spend $1,204 per month in Playa del Carmen versus $2,368 in Lerwick – a 97% gap that adds up to real savings over time for anyone picking the cheaper option.

A monthly transit pass in Playa del Carmen runs roughly 202% less than in Lerwick. Both cities have functional networks, but the price difference matters if you're watching your budget.

At $1,204 in Playa del Carmen versus $2,368 in Lerwick, a $1,500 budget is realistic in Playa del Carmen but tight or insufficient in Lerwick. The gap between the two cities makes Playa del Carmen the clear choice for anyone on this budget.

For families, Playa del Carmen is more practical. Housing and childcare are both notably cheaper than in Lerwick, and the savings on those two alone free up budget for education, activities, and family trips.

Safety-wise, Playa del Carmen and Lerwick are on par. Petty crime is typical for cities this size, and most residents feel comfortable going about their daily routines in either place.

Expats usually find Playa del Carmen gentler on the wallet – expenses run 97% less than in Lerwick. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.