Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Portsmouth and Playa del Carmen

For one person, living is cheaper in Playa del Carmen: $1,210 a month against $2,763 in Portsmouth, rent and utilities included – about $18,600 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

134

Cost of Living Index in Portsmouth
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Portsmouth Living Index
59

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

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Portsmouth

🇬🇧 United Kingdom

$2,763

/mo nomad

Playa del Carmen

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,210

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Real prices from locals and on-the-ground checks – rent, groceries, transit and the daily extras. Here's what a month in Portsmouth and in Playa del Carmen actually costs, broken down by who's living it.

A single person spends $2,763 per month in Portsmouth vs $1,210 in Playa del Carmen, rent included.

Portsmouth $2,763
Playa del Carmen $1,210

A couple spends around $3,798 per month in Portsmouth vs $2,113 in Playa del Carmen, rent included.

Portsmouth $3,798
Playa del Carmen $2,113

A family of three spends $4,834 per month in Portsmouth vs $3,016 in Playa del Carmen, rent included.

Portsmouth $4,834
Playa del Carmen $3,016

Portsmouth costs about 128% more than Playa del Carmen, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Portsmouth sits 105% above the global median, while Playa del Carmen is 10% below – they fall on opposite sides of the world average.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$19.81 £14.86

$10.76 MX$199

84.11%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$66.4 £49.78

$43.03 MX$795

54.19%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$10.34 £7.76

$11.79 MX$218

-12.30%

Cappuccino

$4.79 £3.59

$3.87 MX$71.4

23.77%

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

$2.66 £1.99

$1.37 MX$25.29

94.16%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.27 £1.71

$0.84 MX$15.44

170.24%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$6.18 £4.63

$3.10 MX$57.3

99.35%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$5.83 £4.38

$5.07 MX$93.6

14.99%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.41 £1.06

$1.44 MX$26.55

-2.08%

White Bread (500g)

$1.58 £1.18

$2.23 MX$41.23

-29.15%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$3.69 £2.77

$1.47 MX$27.17

151.02%

Eggs

$3.39 £2.55

$2.53 MX$46.71

33.99%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$13.26 £9.95

$7.30 MX$135

81.64%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$8.32 £6.24

$7.86 MX$145

5.85%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$13.02 £9.77

$12.79 MX$236

1.80%

Apples (1kg)

$3.86 £2.90

$2.90 MX$53.6

33.10%

Banana (1kg)

$1.91 £1.43

$1.44 MX$26.53

32.64%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.85 £2.14

$2.55 MX$47.07

11.76%

Tomato (1kg)

$3.34 £2.51

$2.06 MX$38.03

62.14%

Potato (1kg)

$1.65 £1.23

$2.00 MX$36.97

-17.50%

Onion (1kg)

$1.63 £1.23

$2.01 MX$37.07

-18.91%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.20 £0.90

$1.19 MX$22.02

0.84%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.52 £1.14

$1.26 MX$23.23

20.63%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$23.07 £17.31

$4.40 MX$81.4

424.32%

Wine (Bottle)

$11.29 £8.47

$9.59 MX$177

17.73%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.94 £2.21

$1.59 MX$29.41

84.91%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.14 £1.60

$2.81 MX$51.9

-23.84%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$4.08 £3.06

$0.57 MX$10.47

615.79%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$88.0 £66.0

$27.82 MX$514

216.43%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$5.16 £3.87

$4.98 MX$92.1

3.61%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.60 £1.20

$3.50 MX$64.6

-54.29%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$20.02 £15.02

$5.40 MX$99.8

270.74%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$2.08 £1.56

$1.47 MX$27.08

41.50%

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

$38.6K £29.0K

$21.0K MX$387.8K

84.07%

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

$40.1K £30.1K

$23.9K MX$441.8K

67.89%

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

$654 £491

$84.2 MX$1,556

677.13%

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

$14.83 £11.12

$23.99 MX$443

-38.18%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$42.05 £31.55

$29.02 MX$536

44.90%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$38.39 £28.80

$63.0 MX$1,164

-39.04%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$17.15 £12.86

$29.14 MX$539

-41.15%

Cinema Ticket

$10.65 £7.99

$4.94 MX$91.3

115.59%

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

$1,249 £937

$204 MX$3,763

513.49%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$20.0K £15.0K

$3,941 MX$72.8K

408.54%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$90.5 £67.9

$43.60 MX$806

107.55%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$39.83 £29.88

$43.12 MX$797

-7.63%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$98.6 £74.0

$75.8 MX$1,400

30.13%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$120 £89.8

$88.6 MX$1,637

35.17%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,457 £1,093

$1,008 MX$18.6K

44.48%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,098 £824

$374 MX$6,911

193.57%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,091 £1,569

$1,708 MX$31.6K

22.41%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,714 £1,286

$1,106 MX$20.4K

55.00%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$4,504 £3,378

$3,944 MX$72.9K

14.18%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$3,703 £2,778

$6,169 MX$114.0K

-39.97%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$3,350 £2,513

$754 MX$13.9K

344.23%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

5.16

11.45

-54.93%

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

Last update for Portsmouth: October 12, 2026

Last update for Playa del Carmen: October 10, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Portsmouth

$1.1K 39.8%

Playa del Carmen

$374 30.9% 65.9% $724

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Portsmouth

$711 25.7%

Playa del Carmen

$137 11.3% 80.7% $574

Groceries & Markets

Portsmouth

$310 11.2%

Playa del Carmen

$258 21.4% 16.7% $52

Eating Out

Portsmouth

$309 11.2%

Playa del Carmen

$202 16.7% 34.6% $107

Clothing & Footwear

Portsmouth

$157 5.7%

Playa del Carmen

$113 9.3% 28% $44

Getting Around

Portsmouth

$118 4.3%

Playa del Carmen

$53 4.3% 55.3% $65

Sport & Entertainment

Portsmouth

$60 2.2%

Playa del Carmen

$73 6% 22.1% $13

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $1,457 in Portsmouth versus $1,008 in Playa del Carmen. Rent is usually the largest line item in a monthly budget, so the gap here sets the tone for the overall comparison.

Salaries run about 344% higher in Portsmouth, which partly offsets the higher cost of living there. Purchasing power depends on which expenses matter most to you.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $66.0 in Portsmouth versus $43.00 in Playa del Carmen. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $310 vs $258 – making Playa del Carmen the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇬🇧 Portsmouth

🇲🇽 Playa del Carmen

🕒 Local time

22:47 10:47 PM

16:47 4:47 PM

6 h behind Portsmouth

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

198,974

149,923

💱 Currency

British Pound GBP £

Mexican Peso MXN $

📈 Exchange rate

1 GBP = 1.33 USD

1 GBP = 1.19 EUR

100 MXN = 5.41 USD

100 MXN = 4.81 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

MXN, USD, EUR to GBP – British Pound Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇬🇧 British Pound (£)

British Pound exchange rates as of October 17, 2026: 1 USD = 0.75 GBP (1 GBP = 1.33 USD). 1 EUR = 0.843 GBP (1 GBP = 1.19 EUR).

Mexican Peso exchange rates as of October 17, 2026: 1 USD = 18.48 MXN (100 MXN = 5.41 USD). 1 EUR = 20.77 MXN (100 MXN = 4.81 EUR).

USD to GBP in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Portsmouth Playa del Carmen 7,970 km ≈ 10 h nonstop flight

From you

Portsmouth
Playa del Carmen

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

Portsmouth vs Playa del Carmen: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Yes – Portsmouth is pricier by about 128%, and outside of rent the gap shows up most in eating out.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $4,144 per month in Portsmouth and $1,816 in Playa del Carmen. 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. Housing is actually the single biggest factor behind the overall cost gap between these two cities.

Monthly expenses with rent come to $2,763 in Portsmouth and $1,210 in Playa del Carmen. That's a gap of about 128%.

Public transport costs about 216% less in Playa del Carmen. For daily commuters, that gap adds up to noticeable savings over a year.

A $1,500 monthly budget goes further in Playa del Carmen, where all-in costs run around $1,210, than in Portsmouth at $2,763. In Playa del Carmen it covers expenses comfortably, while in Portsmouth it requires careful planning or may not stretch far enough.

Families tend to lean toward Playa del Carmen – lower housing and cheaper childcare make a real difference, especially on a single income or when paying for private education.

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