Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Playa del Carmen and Livingston

For one person, living is cheaper in Playa del Carmen: $1,204 a month against $2,109 in Livingston, rent and utilities included – about $10,900 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

58

Cost of Living Index in Playa del Carmen
Learn more

Playa del Carmen Living Index
101

Cost of Living Index in Livingston
Learn more

Livingston Living Index

Jump to prices

Playa del Carmen

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,204

/mo nomad

Livingston

🇬🇧 United Kingdom

$2,109

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,204 in Playa del Carmen versus $2,109 in Livingston.

Playa del Carmen $1,204
Livingston $2,109

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,082 in Playa del Carmen versus $3,288 in Livingston.

Playa del Carmen $2,082
Livingston $3,288

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $2,959 in Playa del Carmen versus $4,467 in Livingston.

Playa del Carmen $2,959
Livingston $4,467

Living in Playa del Carmen costs roughly 43% less than in Livingston, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Playa del Carmen is 12% below, Livingston is 55% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$10.92 MX$205

$19.94 £14.90

-45.24%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$43.37 MX$815

$100 £75.0

-56.78%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.78 MX$221

$10.45 £7.81

12.73%

Cappuccino

$3.81 MX$71.6

$5.24 £3.91

-27.29%

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

$1.28 MX$24.10

$2.72 £2.03

-52.94%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.78 MX$14.71

$2.26 £1.69

-65.49%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.17 MX$59.5

$6.77 £5.06

-53.18%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.93 MX$92.7

$6.70 £5.00

-26.42%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.41 MX$26.43

$1.43 £1.07

-1.40%

White Bread (500g)

$2.22 MX$41.66

$1.94 £1.45

14.43%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.42 MX$26.64

$2.22 £1.66

-36.04%

Eggs

$2.52 MX$47.41

$3.66 £2.74

-31.15%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$7.26 MX$137

$9.00 £6.72

-19.33%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$7.70 MX$145

$8.86 £6.62

-13.09%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$12.69 MX$239

$14.53 £10.86

-12.66%

Apples (1kg)

$2.78 MX$52.3

$2.91 £2.17

-4.47%

Banana (1kg)

$1.37 MX$25.71

$1.82 £1.36

-24.73%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.55 MX$47.94

$2.87 £2.14

-11.15%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.12 MX$39.90

$3.41 £2.55

-37.83%

Potato (1kg)

$1.94 MX$36.43

$1.71 £1.28

13.45%

Onion (1kg)

$1.89 MX$35.44

$1.38 £1.03

36.96%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.15 MX$21.55

$1.21 £0.91

-4.96%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.18 MX$22.16

$1.56 £1.17

-24.36%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.30 MX$80.7

$20.78 £15.52

-79.31%

Wine (Bottle)

$9.95 MX$187

$10.81 £8.08

-7.96%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.58 MX$29.76

$3.06 £2.29

-48.37%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.67 MX$50.2

$3.23 £2.42

-17.34%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.55 MX$10.40

$3.49 £2.61

-84.24%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$26.62 MX$500

$95.2 £71.1

-72.04%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$4.97 MX$93.4

$5.29 £3.95

-6.05%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$3.33 MX$62.6

$1.61 £1.21

106.83%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$5.36 MX$101

$27.76 £20.74

-80.69%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.44 MX$27.14

$2.07 £1.55

-30.43%

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

$20.7K MX$388.4K

$38.8K £29.0K

-46.71%

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

$23.5K MX$441.0K

$40.0K £29.9K

-41.28%

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

$84.8 MX$1,594

$321 £240

-73.60%

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

$23.41 MX$440

$16.94 £12.66

38.19%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$28.66 MX$539

$41.06 £30.68

-30.20%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$57.1 MX$1,072

$46.04 £34.40

23.91%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$28.91 MX$543

Cinema Ticket

$5.14 MX$96.6

$10.51 £7.85

-51.09%

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

$207 MX$3,882

$1,245 £930

-83.41%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$3,927 MX$73.8K

$17.5K £13.1K

-77.59%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$43.35 MX$815

$92.2 £68.9

-52.98%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$41.44 MX$779

$47.80 £35.71

-13.31%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$74.2 MX$1,394

$108 £81.0

-31.53%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$89.3 MX$1,677

$96.1 £71.8

-7.16%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$980 MX$18.4K

$852 £636

15.00%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$381 MX$7,157

$763 £570

-50.08%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,708 MX$32.1K

$1,930 £1,442

-11.52%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,075 MX$20.2K

$1,502 £1,122

-28.44%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,943 MX$74.1K

$4,998 £3,734

-21.11%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$6,158 MX$115.7K

$3,861 £2,884

59.50%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$735 MX$13.8K

$3,972 £2,967

-81.51%

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 25, 2026

Last update for Livingston: October 24, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Playa del Carmen

$381 31.6%

Livingston

$763 36.2% 100% $382

Groceries & Markets

Playa del Carmen

$255 21.2%

Livingston

$301 14.3% 18.2% $46

Eating Out

Playa del Carmen

$202 16.8%

Livingston

$321 15.2% 58.6% $119

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Playa del Carmen

$137 11.4%

Livingston

$379 18% 177% $242

Clothing & Footwear

Playa del Carmen

$112 9.3%

Livingston

$155 7.4% 38.8% $43

Sport & Entertainment

Playa del Carmen

$67 5.6%

Livingston

$67 3.2% 0.4% $0.3

Getting Around

Playa del Carmen

$50 4.2%

Livingston

$123 5.8% 143% $72

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $980 in Playa del Carmen and $852 in Livingston. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Livingston pays about 5.4 times more on average. How far that income stretches comes down to housing choices and lifestyle.

Dining out: $43 in Playa del Carmen vs $100 in Livingston for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $255 vs $301 per month, with Playa del Carmen cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇲🇽 Playa del Carmen

🇬🇧 Livingston

🕒 Local time

07:33 7:33 AM

12:33 12:33 PM

5 h ahead of Playa del Carmen

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

149,923

56,840

💱 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 = 20.97 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

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

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

From you

Playa del Carmen
Livingston

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 Livingston: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Playa del Carmen wins on cost – living expenses run 43% lower than in Livingston. 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 82% 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 $852 in Livingston. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $207 in Playa del Carmen versus $1,245 in Livingston. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Supermarket bills run roughly 18% higher in Livingston. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

At $1,204 in Playa del Carmen versus $2,109 in Livingston, a $1,500 budget is realistic in Playa del Carmen but tight or insufficient in Livingston. 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, Livingston on earning potential. Factor in climate, language, visa rules, and proximity to places that matter to you before deciding.