Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Southwark and Playa del Carmen

For one person, living is cheaper in Playa del Carmen: $1,204 a month against $1,486 in Southwark, rent and utilities included – about $3,400 less a year. The total is higher in Southwark despite lower rent and utilities.

72

Cost of Living Index in Southwark
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Southwark Living Index
59

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

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Southwark

🇬🇧 United Kingdom

$1,486

/mo nomad

Playa del Carmen

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,204

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Southwark 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 Southwark and in Playa del Carmen actually costs, broken down by who's living it.

A single person spends $1,486 per month in Southwark vs $1,204 in Playa del Carmen, rent included.

Southwark $1,486
Playa del Carmen $1,204

A couple spends around $4,262 per month in Southwark vs $2,102 in Playa del Carmen, rent included.

Southwark $4,262
Playa del Carmen $2,102

A family of three spends $7,038 per month in Southwark vs $3,000 in Playa del Carmen, rent included.

Southwark $7,038
Playa del Carmen $3,000

Southwark costs about 23% more than Playa del Carmen, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Southwark sits 10% above the global median, while Playa del Carmen is 11% below – they fall on opposite sides of the world average.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$25.00 £18.76

$10.86 MX$201

130.20%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$101 £75.6

$44.21 MX$817

127.96%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$10.67 £8.00

$11.76 MX$217

-9.27%

Cappuccino

$5.70 £4.28

$3.68 MX$68.0

54.89%

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

$3.05 £2.29

$1.34 MX$24.79

127.61%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.60 £1.95

$0.82 MX$15.24

217.07%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$9.29 £6.97

$3.06 MX$56.6

203.59%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$8.28 £6.21

$4.94 MX$91.2

67.61%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.92 £1.44

$1.47 MX$27.17

30.61%

White Bread (500g)

$2.05 £1.54

$2.22 MX$40.95

-7.66%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.20 £1.65

$1.48 MX$27.32

48.65%

Eggs

$4.38 £3.29

$2.49 MX$45.99

75.90%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$11.90 £8.93

$7.52 MX$139

58.24%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.07 £6.80

$7.96 MX$147

13.94%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$15.57 £11.68

$12.57 MX$232

23.87%

Apples (1kg)

$3.05 £2.29

$2.78 MX$51.3

9.71%

Banana (1kg)

$1.44 £1.08

$1.43 MX$26.37

0.70%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.98 £2.24

$2.62 MX$48.37

13.74%

Tomato (1kg)

$3.52 £2.64

$2.14 MX$39.49

64.49%

Potato (1kg)

$1.66 £1.25

$2.02 MX$37.38

-17.82%

Onion (1kg)

$1.79 £1.34

$1.99 MX$36.74

-10.05%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.36 £1.02

$1.14 MX$21.01

19.30%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.86 £1.39

$1.20 MX$22.18

55.00%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$23.44 £17.59

$4.26 MX$78.7

450.23%

Wine (Bottle)

$12.16 £9.12

$10.02 MX$185

21.36%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$3.05 £2.29

$1.54 MX$28.41

98.05%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.22 £2.42

$2.66 MX$49.17

21.05%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$3.89 £2.92

$0.53 MX$9.73

633.96%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$157 £118

$27.51 MX$508

470.30%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$4.97 £3.73

$4.90 MX$90.6

1.43%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$2.72 £2.04

$3.43 MX$63.5

-20.70%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$39.66 £29.75

$5.38 MX$99.4

637.17%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$2.15 £1.62

$1.45 MX$26.76

48.28%

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

$37.9K £28.4K

$21.2K MX$391.0K

78.90%

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

$39.9K £30.0K

$23.0K MX$425.3K

73.56%

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

$335 £251

$85.4 MX$1,577

292.09%

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

$18.37 £13.78

$23.46 MX$434

-21.70%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$40.35 £30.27

$28.43 MX$525

41.93%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$62.2 MX$1,149

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$28.68 MX$530

Cinema Ticket

$18.05 £13.54

$5.10 MX$94.3

253.92%

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

$2,557 £1,919

$201 MX$3,715

1171.84%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$30.4K £22.8K

$3,947 MX$72.9K

670.82%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$93.1 £69.9

$44.39 MX$820

109.73%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$46.53 £34.91

$41.35 MX$764

12.53%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$103 £77.5

$72.7 MX$1,344

42.00%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$90.0 £67.5

$89.6 MX$1,656

0.38%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,307 £1,731

$979 MX$18.1K

135.57%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$373 MX$6,887

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$5,586 £4,190

$1,681 MX$31.1K

232.30%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$3,792 £2,844

$1,095 MX$20.2K

246.20%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,949 MX$73.0K

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$6,137 MX$113.4K

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$4,185 £3,140

$738 MX$13.6K

467.45%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

5.12

11.45

-55.28%

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

Last update for Southwark: October 18, 2026

Last update for Playa del Carmen: October 17, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Southwark

$393 26.5%

Playa del Carmen

$137 11.4% 65.1% $256

Eating Out

Southwark

$386 26%

Playa del Carmen

$200 16.6% 48.1% $186

Groceries & Markets

Southwark

$329 22.2%

Playa del Carmen

$258 21.5% 21.6% $71

Getting Around

Southwark

$191 12.9%

Playa del Carmen

$52 4.3% 72.9% $139

Clothing & Footwear

Southwark

$150 10.1%

Playa del Carmen

$112 9.3% 25.5% $38

Sport & Entertainment

Southwark

$36 * 2.4%

Playa del Carmen

$72 6% 101% $36

Accommodation & Living

Southwark

- * 0%

Playa del Carmen

$373 31%

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

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $2,307 in Southwark versus $979 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 467% higher in Southwark, 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 $101 in Southwark versus $44.00 in Playa del Carmen. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $329 vs $258 – making Playa del Carmen the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇬🇧 Southwark

🇲🇽 Playa del Carmen

🕒 Local time

11:51 11:51 AM

05:51 5:51 AM

6 h behind Southwark

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

71,552

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 20, 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 20, 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

Southwark Playa del Carmen 8,030 km ≈ 11 h nonstop flight

From you

Southwark
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

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

Yes – Southwark is pricier by about 23%, and outside of rent the gap shows up most in eating out.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $2,229 per month in Southwark and $1,806 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 $1,486 in Southwark and $1,204 in Playa del Carmen. That's a gap of about 23%.

Public transport costs about 470% 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 $1,204, than in Southwark at $1,486. In Playa del Carmen it covers expenses comfortably, while in Southwark 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, Southwark makes more sense. Both are solid long-term options with distinct trade-offs.