Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between St. Andrews and Playa del Carmen

For one person, living is cheaper in Playa del Carmen: $1,204 a month against $2,285 in St. Andrews, rent and utilities included – about $13,000 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

110

Cost of Living Index in St. Andrews
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St. Andrews Living Index
59

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

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St. Andrews

🇬🇧 United Kingdom

$2,285

/mo nomad

Playa del Carmen

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,204

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

A single person spends $2,285 per month in St. Andrews vs $1,204 in Playa del Carmen, rent included.

St. Andrews $2,285
Playa del Carmen $1,204

A couple spends around $3,891 per month in St. Andrews vs $2,102 in Playa del Carmen, rent included.

St. Andrews $3,891
Playa del Carmen $2,102

A family of three spends $5,496 per month in St. Andrews vs $3,000 in Playa del Carmen, rent included.

St. Andrews $5,496
Playa del Carmen $3,000

St. Andrews costs about 90% more than Playa del Carmen, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

St. Andrews sits 69% above the global median, while Playa del Carmen is 11% below – they fall on opposite sides of the world average.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$21.15 £15.87

$10.86 MX$201

94.75%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$87.9 £65.9

$44.21 MX$817

98.76%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$10.51 £7.89

$11.76 MX$217

-10.63%

Cappuccino

$4.61 £3.46

$3.68 MX$68.0

25.27%

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

$2.84 £2.13

$1.34 MX$24.79

111.94%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.10 £1.57

$0.82 MX$15.24

156.10%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$6.76 £5.07

$3.06 MX$56.6

120.92%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$6.76 £5.07

$4.94 MX$91.2

36.84%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.51 £1.13

$1.47 MX$27.17

2.72%

White Bread (500g)

$1.71 £1.28

$2.22 MX$40.95

-22.97%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.03 £1.52

$1.48 MX$27.32

37.16%

Eggs

$4.49 £3.37

$2.49 MX$45.99

80.32%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$7.37 £5.53

$7.52 MX$139

-1.99%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.65 £7.24

$7.96 MX$147

21.23%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$15.41 £11.56

$12.57 MX$232

22.59%

Apples (1kg)

$2.50 £1.88

$2.78 MX$51.3

-10.07%

Banana (1kg)

$1.33 £1.00

$1.43 MX$26.37

-6.99%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.76 £2.07

$2.62 MX$48.37

5.34%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.86 £2.15

$2.14 MX$39.49

33.64%

Potato (1kg)

$1.69 £1.27

$2.02 MX$37.38

-16.34%

Onion (1kg)

$1.52 £1.14

$1.99 MX$36.74

-23.62%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.20 £0.90

$1.14 MX$21.01

5.26%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$2.46 £1.85

$1.20 MX$22.18

105.00%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$22.57 £16.93

$4.26 MX$78.7

429.81%

Wine (Bottle)

$10.86 £8.15

$10.02 MX$185

8.38%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.70 £2.03

$1.54 MX$28.41

75.32%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.98 £2.24

$2.66 MX$49.17

12.03%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$4.79 £3.59

$0.53 MX$9.73

803.77%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$27.51 MX$508

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$4.05 £3.04

$4.90 MX$90.6

-17.35%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$2.44 £1.83

$3.43 MX$63.5

-28.86%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$23.73 £17.80

$5.38 MX$99.4

341.08%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$2.10 £1.58

$1.45 MX$26.76

44.83%

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

$38.3K £28.7K

$21.2K MX$391.0K

81.08%

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

$41.2K £30.9K

$23.0K MX$425.3K

78.91%

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

$243 £182

$85.4 MX$1,577

184.28%

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

$13.40 £10.06

$23.46 MX$434

-42.88%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$41.64 £31.24

$28.43 MX$525

46.47%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$91.6 £68.7

$62.2 MX$1,149

47.21%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$28.68 MX$530

Cinema Ticket

$13.06 £9.80

$5.10 MX$94.3

156.08%

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

$1,806 £1,355

$201 MX$3,715

798.36%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$22.8K £17.1K

$3,947 MX$72.9K

477.46%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$95.6 £71.7

$44.39 MX$820

115.43%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$48.97 £36.74

$41.35 MX$764

18.43%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$104 £77.8

$72.7 MX$1,344

42.47%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$88.5 £66.4

$89.6 MX$1,656

-1.19%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,366 £1,025

$979 MX$18.1K

39.53%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,055 £792

$373 MX$6,887

183.15%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$3,104 £2,329

$1,681 MX$31.1K

84.66%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$2,743 £2,058

$1,095 MX$20.2K

150.48%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$6,137 £4,604

$3,949 MX$73.0K

55.40%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$2,718 £2,039

$6,137 MX$113.4K

-55.71%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$3,397 £2,548

$738 MX$13.6K

360.57%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

5.41

11.45

-52.75%

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

Last update for St. Andrews: 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.

Accommodation & Living

St. Andrews

$1.1K 46.2%

Playa del Carmen

$373 31% 64.7% $683

Eating Out

St. Andrews

$323 14.1%

Playa del Carmen

$200 16.6% 38% $123

Groceries & Markets

St. Andrews

$304 13.3%

Playa del Carmen

$258 21.5% 15.1% $46

Monthly Utilities & Internet

St. Andrews

$298 13%

Playa del Carmen

$137 11.4% 53.9% $160

Clothing & Footwear

St. Andrews

$152 6.6%

Playa del Carmen

$112 9.3% 26.3% $40

Sport & Entertainment

St. Andrews

$118 5.2%

Playa del Carmen

$72 6% 38.5% $45

Getting Around

St. Andrews

$35 * 1.6%

Playa del Carmen

$52 4.3% 45.9% $16

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

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $1,366 in St. Andrews 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 361% higher in St. Andrews, 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 $88.0 in St. Andrews versus $44.00 in Playa del Carmen. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $304 vs $258 – making Playa del Carmen the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇬🇧 St. Andrews

🇲🇽 Playa del Carmen

🕒 Local time

01:26 1:26 AM

19:26 7:26 PM

6 h behind St. Andrews

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

16,460

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 22, 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 22, 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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Highest

Between locations

St. Andrews Playa del Carmen 7,760 km ≈ 10 h nonstop flight

From you

St. Andrews
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

St. Andrews vs Playa del Carmen: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Yes – St. Andrews is pricier by about 90%, and outside of rent the gap shows up most in eating out.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $3,428 per month in St. Andrews 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 $2,285 in St. Andrews and $1,204 in Playa del Carmen. That's a gap of about 90%.

Kindergarten costs $1,806 per month in St. Andrews and $201 in Playa del Carmen. For families with young kids, this one expense can tip the scales when choosing between the two cities.

A $1,500 monthly budget goes further in Playa del Carmen, where all-in costs run around $1,204, than in St. Andrews at $2,285. In Playa del Carmen it covers expenses comfortably, while in St. Andrews 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.

Both have safer and rougher neighborhoods, but overall safety is comparable to other large cities. Neighborhood choice matters more than the city-level comparison – central, well-trafficked areas feel secure in both.

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