Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Playa del Carmen and London, Canada

Name: London
Address: London, CA

For one person, living is cheaper in Playa del Carmen: $1,204 a month against $2,342 in London, rent and utilities included – about $13,700 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
112

Cost of Living Index in London
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London Living Index

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Playa del Carmen

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,204

/mo nomad

London

🇨🇦 Canada

$2,342

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,204 in Playa del Carmen versus $2,342 in London.

Playa del Carmen $1,204
London $2,342

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,082 in Playa del Carmen versus $3,356 in London.

Playa del Carmen $2,082
London $3,356

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $2,959 in Playa del Carmen versus $4,370 in London.

Playa del Carmen $2,959
London $4,370

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

The two cities straddle the global median: Playa del Carmen is 12% below, London is 72% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$10.92 MX$205

$21.44 CA$29.96

-49.07%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$43.37 MX$814

$64.9 CA$90.6

-33.14%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.78 MX$221

$12.45 CA$17.40

-5.38%

Cappuccino

$3.81 MX$71.5

$3.75 CA$5.24

1.60%

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

$1.28 MX$24.07

$2.21 CA$3.09

-42.08%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.78 MX$14.70

$2.13 CA$2.98

-63.38%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.17 MX$59.5

$6.26 CA$8.74

-49.36%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.93 MX$92.7

$6.40 CA$8.94

-22.97%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.41 MX$26.40

$1.89 CA$2.64

-25.40%

White Bread (500g)

$2.22 MX$41.62

$2.67 CA$3.73

-16.85%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.42 MX$26.61

$4.07 CA$5.68

-65.11%

Eggs

$2.52 MX$47.36

$3.69 CA$5.15

-31.71%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$7.26 MX$136

$10.02 CA$14.00

-27.54%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$7.70 MX$144

$11.75 CA$16.41

-34.47%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$12.69 MX$238

$14.92 CA$20.85

-14.95%

Apples (1kg)

$2.78 MX$52.3

$4.38 CA$6.11

-36.53%

Banana (1kg)

$1.37 MX$25.68

$1.21 CA$1.68

13.22%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.55 MX$47.89

$3.79 CA$5.29

-32.72%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.12 MX$39.86

$4.21 CA$5.88

-49.64%

Potato (1kg)

$1.94 MX$36.39

$3.20 CA$4.47

-39.38%

Onion (1kg)

$1.89 MX$35.41

$3.07 CA$4.30

-38.44%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.15 MX$21.53

$2.52 CA$3.53

-54.37%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.18 MX$22.13

$1.54 CA$2.16

-23.38%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.30 MX$80.6

$12.01 CA$16.78

-64.20%

Wine (Bottle)

$9.95 MX$187

$12.68 CA$17.72

-21.53%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.58 MX$29.73

$2.55 CA$3.57

-38.04%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.67 MX$50.1

$2.91 CA$4.07

-8.25%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.55 MX$10.39

$2.55 CA$3.56

-78.43%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$26.62 MX$500

$80.3 CA$112

-66.84%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$4.97 MX$93.3

$2.45 CA$3.42

102.86%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$3.33 MX$62.5

$1.64 CA$2.29

103.05%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$5.36 MX$101

$22.15 CA$30.95

-75.80%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.44 MX$27.11

$1.25 CA$1.74

15.20%

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

$20.7K MX$388.0K

$26.8K CA$37.5K

-22.91%

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

$23.5K MX$440.5K

$23.2K CA$32.4K

1.30%

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

$84.8 MX$1,592

$139 CA$194

-38.96%

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

$23.41 MX$439

$39.22 CA$54.8

-40.31%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$28.66 MX$538

$56.6 CA$79.1

-49.36%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$57.1 MX$1,071

$35.95 CA$50.2

58.69%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$28.91 MX$543

$28.81 CA$40.25

0.35%

Cinema Ticket

$5.14 MX$96.5

$10.83 CA$15.14

-52.54%

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

$207 MX$3,878

$419 CA$586

-50.75%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$3,927 MX$73.7K

$20.8K CA$29.1K

-81.13%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$43.35 MX$814

$54.2 CA$75.7

-19.94%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$41.44 MX$778

$38.94 CA$54.4

6.42%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$74.2 MX$1,393

$81.1 CA$113

-8.45%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$89.3 MX$1,676

$91.4 CA$128

-2.33%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$980 MX$18.4K

$1,323 CA$1,849

-25.95%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$381 MX$7,150

$1,149 CA$1,606

-66.87%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,708 MX$32.1K

$2,099 CA$2,932

-18.62%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,075 MX$20.2K

$1,681 CA$2,349

-36.04%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,943 MX$74.0K

$4,124 CA$5,762

-4.39%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$6,158 MX$115.6K

$3,452 CA$4,823

78.41%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$735 MX$13.8K

$3,052 CA$4,265

-75.94%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

11.45

4.72

142.58%

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 London: October 26, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Playa del Carmen

$381 31.6%

London

$1.1K 49.1% 202% $769

Groceries & Markets

Playa del Carmen

$255 21.2%

London

$364 15.5% 42.8% $109

Eating Out

Playa del Carmen

$202 16.8%

London

$315 13.5% 55.8% $113

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Playa del Carmen

$137 11.4%

London

$235 10% 71.5% $98

Clothing & Footwear

Playa del Carmen

$112 9.3%

London

$119 5.1% 7% $7.8

Sport & Entertainment

Playa del Carmen

$67 5.6%

London

$58 2.5% 14.4% $9.7

Getting Around

Playa del Carmen

$50 4.2%

London

$101 4.3% 100% $51

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $980 in Playa del Carmen and $1,323 in London. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

London pays about 4.2 times more on average. How far that income stretches comes down to housing choices and lifestyle.

Dining out: $43 in Playa del Carmen vs $65 in London for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $255 vs $364 per month, with Playa del Carmen cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇲🇽 Playa del Carmen

🇨🇦 London

🕒 Local time

15:29 3:29 PM

Same time as Playa del Carmen

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

149,923

383,822

💱 Currency

Mexican Peso MXN $

Canadian Dollar CAD $

📈 Exchange rate

100 MXN = 5.33 USD

100 MXN = 4.77 EUR

1 CAD = 0.716 USD

1 CAD = 0.641 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

CAD, USD, EUR to MXN – Mexican Peso Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇲🇽 Mexican Peso ($)

Mexican Peso exchange rates as of November 1, 2026: 1 USD = 18.77 MXN (100 MXN = 5.33 USD). 1 EUR = 20.96 MXN (100 MXN = 4.77 EUR).

Canadian Dollar exchange rates as of November 1, 2026: 1 USD = 1.4 CAD (1 CAD = 0.716 USD). 1 EUR = 1.56 CAD (1 CAD = 0.641 EUR).

USD to MXN in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Playa del Carmen London 2,540 km ≈ 3 h 45 min nonstop flight

From you

Playa del Carmen
London

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 London: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Playa del Carmen is about 49% cheaper overall, especially in eating out, groceries, and transport. That difference adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

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 $1,323 in London. 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 $2,342 in London – Playa del Carmen is about 49% cheaper, which adds up to real savings over time.

A monthly transit pass in Playa del Carmen runs roughly 67% less than in London. The price difference matters if you commute daily and watch your budget.

At $1,204 in Playa del Carmen versus $2,342 in London, a $1,500 budget is realistic in Playa del Carmen but tight or insufficient in London. 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 London, and the savings on those two alone free up budget for education, activities, and family trips.

Expats usually find Playa del Carmen gentler on the wallet – expenses run 49% less than in London. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.