Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Stirling and Playa del Carmen

For one person, living is cheaper in Playa del Carmen: $1,204 a month against $2,133 in Stirling, rent and utilities included – about $11,100 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

102

Cost of Living Index in Stirling
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Stirling Living Index
58

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

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Stirling

🇬🇧 United Kingdom

$2,133

/mo nomad

Playa del Carmen

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,204

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

A single person spends $2,133 per month in Stirling vs $1,204 in Playa del Carmen, rent included.

Stirling $2,133
Playa del Carmen $1,204

A couple spends around $3,249 per month in Stirling vs $2,082 in Playa del Carmen, rent included.

Stirling $3,249
Playa del Carmen $2,082

A family of three spends $4,365 per month in Stirling vs $2,959 in Playa del Carmen, rent included.

Stirling $4,365
Playa del Carmen $2,959

Stirling costs about 77% more than Playa del Carmen, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Stirling sits 57% above the global median, while Playa del Carmen is 12% below – they fall on opposite sides of the world average.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$20.26 £15.13

$10.92 MX$205

85.53%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$93.5 £69.8

$43.37 MX$814

115.63%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$10.62 £7.93

$11.78 MX$221

-9.85%

Cappuccino

$4.68 £3.49

$3.81 MX$71.5

22.83%

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

$2.45 £1.83

$1.28 MX$24.07

91.41%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.83 £1.36

$0.78 MX$14.70

134.62%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$6.13 £4.58

$3.17 MX$59.5

93.38%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.56 £3.41

$4.93 MX$92.7

-7.51%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.37 £1.02

$1.41 MX$26.40

-2.84%

White Bread (500g)

$1.36 £1.02

$2.22 MX$41.62

-38.74%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.89 £1.41

$1.42 MX$26.61

33.10%

Eggs

$3.72 £2.78

$2.52 MX$47.36

47.62%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$8.72 £6.51

$7.26 MX$136

20.11%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$7.72 £5.77

$7.70 MX$144

0.26%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$6.58 £4.91

$12.69 MX$238

-48.15%

Apples (1kg)

$2.96 £2.21

$2.78 MX$52.3

6.47%

Banana (1kg)

$1.34 £1.00

$1.37 MX$25.68

-2.19%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.85 £2.13

$2.55 MX$47.89

11.76%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.66 £1.99

$2.12 MX$39.86

25.47%

Potato (1kg)

$1.65 £1.23

$1.94 MX$36.39

-14.95%

Onion (1kg)

$1.50 £1.12

$1.89 MX$35.41

-20.63%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.01 £0.75

$1.15 MX$21.53

-12.17%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.49 £1.11

$1.18 MX$22.13

26.27%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$22.67 £16.92

$4.30 MX$80.6

427.21%

Wine (Bottle)

$11.07 £8.27

$9.95 MX$187

11.26%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.72 £2.03

$1.58 MX$29.73

72.15%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.93 £2.19

$2.67 MX$50.1

9.74%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$6.25 £4.67

$0.55 MX$10.39

1036.36%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$75.9 £56.6

$26.62 MX$500

184.97%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.91 £2.92

$4.97 MX$93.3

-21.33%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$2.42 £1.81

$3.33 MX$62.5

-27.33%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$23.97 £17.90

$5.36 MX$101

347.20%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$2.07 £1.54

$1.44 MX$27.11

43.75%

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

$38.7K £28.9K

$20.7K MX$388.0K

87.28%

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

$40.0K £29.9K

$23.5K MX$440.5K

70.43%

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

$284 £212

$84.8 MX$1,592

235.25%

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

$15.62 £11.66

$23.41 MX$439

-33.28%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$40.24 £30.04

$28.66 MX$538

40.40%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$31.94 £23.85

$57.1 MX$1,071

-44.01%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$16.97 £12.67

$28.91 MX$543

-41.30%

Cinema Ticket

$9.29 £6.94

$5.14 MX$96.5

80.74%

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

$1,875 £1,400

$207 MX$3,878

807.57%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$23.3K £17.4K

$3,927 MX$73.7K

492.44%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$98.5 £73.5

$43.35 MX$814

127.13%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$36.77 £27.45

$41.44 MX$778

-11.27%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$92.6 £69.1

$74.2 MX$1,393

24.77%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$54.3 £40.56

$89.3 MX$1,676

-39.14%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,028 £767

$980 MX$18.4K

4.90%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$938 £700

$381 MX$7,150

146.35%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,350 £1,755

$1,708 MX$32.1K

37.61%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,700 £1,269

$1,075 MX$20.2K

58.13%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,943 MX$74.0K

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$6,158 MX$115.6K

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$3,505 £2,617

$735 MX$13.8K

377.13%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

5.11

11.45

-55.37%

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

Last update for Stirling: October 26, 2026

Last update for Playa del Carmen: October 25, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Stirling

$938 44%

Playa del Carmen

$381 31.6% 59.4% $557

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Stirling

$340 16%

Playa del Carmen

$137 11.4% 59.8% $203

Eating Out

Stirling

$307 14.4%

Playa del Carmen

$202 16.8% 34.1% $105

Groceries & Markets

Stirling

$253 11.9%

Playa del Carmen

$255 21.2% 0.6% $1.6

Clothing & Footwear

Stirling

$127 6%

Playa del Carmen

$112 9.3% 12% $15

Getting Around

Stirling

$117 5.5%

Playa del Carmen

$50 4.2% 56.8% $66

Sport & Entertainment

Stirling

$51 2.4%

Playa del Carmen

$67 5.6% 33.2% $17

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $1,028 in Stirling versus $980 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 in Stirling are about 4.8 times higher. Purchasing power depends on which expenses matter most to you.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $94 in Stirling versus $43 in Playa del Carmen. Groceries tell a different story – $253 in Stirling vs $255 in Playa del Carmen – so Stirling wins on supermarket bills even if dining out costs more.

Good to know

🇬🇧 Stirling

🇲🇽 Playa del Carmen

🕒 Local time

10:21 10:21 AM

05:21 5:21 AM

5 h behind Stirling

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

37,800

149,923

💱 Currency

British Pound GBP £

Mexican Peso MXN $

📈 Exchange rate

1 GBP = 1.34 USD

1 GBP = 1.2 EUR

100 MXN = 5.33 USD

100 MXN = 4.77 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 November 1, 2026: 1 USD = 0.747 GBP (1 GBP = 1.34 USD). 1 EUR = 0.834 GBP (1 GBP = 1.2 EUR).

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).

USD to GBP in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Stirling Playa del Carmen 7,700 km ≈ 10 h nonstop flight

From you

Stirling
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

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

Yes – Stirling is pricier by about 77%, and outside of rent the gap shows up most in eating out.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $3,199 per month in Stirling and $1,806 in Playa del Carmen. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

A central 1-bedroom goes for about $1,028 in Stirling and $980 in Playa del Carmen. The gap holds across neighborhoods – outer areas show a similar spread, just at lower price points.

Monthly expenses with rent come to $2,133 in Stirling and $1,204 in Playa del Carmen. That makes Playa del Carmen about 44% cheaper.

Kindergarten costs $1,875 per month in Stirling and $207 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 Stirling at $2,133. In Playa del Carmen it covers expenses comfortably, while in Stirling 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 or specific career opportunities are the priority, Stirling makes more sense. Both are solid long-term options with distinct trade-offs.