Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Playa del Carmen and Middlesbrough

For one person, living is cheaper in Playa del Carmen: $1,210 a month against $2,089 in Middlesbrough, rent and utilities included – about $10,500 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

59

Cost of Living Index in Playa del Carmen
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Playa del Carmen Living Index
102

Cost of Living Index in Middlesbrough
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Middlesbrough Living Index

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Playa del Carmen

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,210

/mo nomad

Middlesbrough

🇬🇧 United Kingdom

$2,089

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,210 in Playa del Carmen versus $2,089 in Middlesbrough.

Playa del Carmen $1,210
Middlesbrough $2,089

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,113 in Playa del Carmen versus $3,001 in Middlesbrough.

Playa del Carmen $2,113
Middlesbrough $3,001

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,016 in Playa del Carmen versus $3,913 in Middlesbrough.

Playa del Carmen $3,016
Middlesbrough $3,913

Living in Playa del Carmen costs roughly 42% less than in Middlesbrough, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Playa del Carmen is 10% below, Middlesbrough is 55% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$10.76 MX$199

$23.80 £17.85

-54.79%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$43.03 MX$795

$72.5 £54.4

-40.62%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.79 MX$218

$10.73 £8.05

9.88%

Cappuccino

$3.87 MX$71.4

$4.69 £3.52

-17.48%

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

$1.37 MX$25.29

$2.41 £1.81

-43.15%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.84 MX$15.44

$1.79 £1.35

-53.07%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.10 MX$57.3

$4.70 £3.53

-34.04%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$5.07 MX$93.6

$7.17 £5.38

-29.29%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.44 MX$26.55

$1.22 £0.92

18.03%

White Bread (500g)

$2.23 MX$41.23

$1.41 £1.06

58.16%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.47 MX$27.17

$2.45 £1.84

-40.00%

Eggs

$2.53 MX$46.71

$3.70 £2.77

-31.62%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$7.30 MX$135

$7.68 £5.76

-4.95%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$7.86 MX$145

$7.29 £5.47

7.82%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$12.79 MX$236

$14.41 £10.81

-11.24%

Apples (1kg)

$2.90 MX$53.6

$2.48 £1.86

16.94%

Banana (1kg)

$1.44 MX$26.53

$2.38 £1.79

-39.50%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.55 MX$47.07

$2.57 £1.93

-0.78%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.06 MX$38.03

$2.60 £1.95

-20.77%

Potato (1kg)

$2.00 MX$36.97

$1.78 £1.34

12.36%

Onion (1kg)

$2.01 MX$37.07

$1.54 £1.15

30.52%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.19 MX$22.02

$1.16 £0.87

2.59%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.26 MX$23.23

$3.03 £2.27

-58.42%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.40 MX$81.4

$22.39 £16.79

-80.35%

Wine (Bottle)

$9.59 MX$177

$9.42 £7.07

1.80%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.59 MX$29.41

$4.43 £3.32

-64.11%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.81 MX$51.9

$3.68 £2.76

-23.64%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.57 MX$10.47

$5.53 £4.15

-89.69%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$27.82 MX$514

$92.6 £69.5

-69.95%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$4.98 MX$92.1

$4.39 £3.29

13.44%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$3.50 MX$64.6

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$5.40 MX$99.8

$25.94 £19.46

-79.18%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.47 MX$27.08

$1.99 £1.49

-26.13%

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

$21.0K MX$387.8K

$37.6K £28.2K

-44.25%

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

$23.9K MX$441.8K

$39.8K £29.9K

-40.00%

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

$84.2 MX$1,556

$346 £260

-75.68%

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

$23.99 MX$443

$16.93 £12.70

41.70%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$29.02 MX$536

$41.87 £31.41

-30.69%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$63.0 MX$1,164

$49.69 £37.28

26.75%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$29.14 MX$539

$32.46 £24.35

-10.23%

Cinema Ticket

$4.94 MX$91.3

$14.43 £10.83

-65.77%

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

$204 MX$3,763

$795 £596

-74.38%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$3,941 MX$72.8K

$40.4K £30.3K

-90.25%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$43.60 MX$806

$106 £79.8

-59.01%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$43.12 MX$797

$53.8 £40.36

-19.85%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$75.8 MX$1,400

$110 £82.7

-31.26%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$88.6 MX$1,637

$104 £78.2

-15.01%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,008 MX$18.6K

$997 £748

1.16%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$374 MX$6,911

$683 £513

-45.25%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,708 MX$31.6K

$961 £721

77.86%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,106 MX$20.4K

$955 £716

15.85%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,944 MX$72.9K

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$6,169 MX$114.0K

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$754 MX$13.9K

$2,303 £1,728

-67.25%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

11.45

5.64

103.01%

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

Last update for Playa del Carmen: October 10, 2026

Last update for Middlesbrough: October 12, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Playa del Carmen

$374 30.9%

Middlesbrough

$683 32.7% 82.7% $309

Groceries & Markets

Playa del Carmen

$258 21.4%

Middlesbrough

$301 14.4% 16.6% $43

Eating Out

Playa del Carmen

$202 16.7%

Middlesbrough

$334 16% 64.9% $131

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Playa del Carmen

$137 11.3%

Middlesbrough

$405 19.4% 195% $268

Clothing & Footwear

Playa del Carmen

$113 9.3%

Middlesbrough

$169 8.1% 49.2% $56

Sport & Entertainment

Playa del Carmen

$73 6%

Middlesbrough

$79 3.8% 7.8% $5.7

Getting Around

Playa del Carmen

$53 4.3%

Middlesbrough

$119 * 5.7% 127% $67

Categories marked with * are only partly priced – their share counts the items that do have prices.

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,008 in Playa del Carmen and $997 in Middlesbrough. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Middlesbrough pays 205% more on average. The extra income cushions the higher costs, though housing choices and lifestyle decide how much of the gap is truly closed.

Dining out: $43.00 in Playa del Carmen vs $72.0 in Middlesbrough for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $258 vs $301 per month, with Playa del Carmen cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇲🇽 Playa del Carmen

🇬🇧 Middlesbrough

🕒 Local time

00:28 12:28 AM

06:28 6:28 AM

6 h ahead of Playa del Carmen

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

149,923

139,000

💱 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 20, 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 20, 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

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Between locations

Playa del Carmen Middlesbrough 7,890 km ≈ 10 h nonstop flight

From you

Playa del Carmen
Middlesbrough

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 Middlesbrough: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Playa del Carmen and Middlesbrough differ by about 73% in total monthly costs ($1,210 vs $2,089 including rent). Playa del Carmen is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

On paper, salaries run 205% lower in Middlesbrough. 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: $1,008 in Playa del Carmen versus $997 in Middlesbrough. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Supermarket bills run roughly 17% higher in Middlesbrough. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

Dining out is cheaper in Playa del Carmen – a meal for two runs $43.00 versus $72.0 in Middlesbrough. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

At $1,210 in Playa del Carmen versus $2,089 in Middlesbrough, a $1,500 budget is realistic in Playa del Carmen but tight or insufficient in Middlesbrough. 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 73% less than in Middlesbrough. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.