Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Wells and Playa del Carmen

For one person, living is cheaper in Playa del Carmen: $1,210 a month against $2,387 in Wells, rent and utilities included – about $14,100 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

116

Cost of Living Index in Wells
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Wells Living Index
59

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

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Wells

🇬🇧 United Kingdom

$2,387

/mo nomad

Playa del Carmen

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,210

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

A single person spends $2,387 per month in Wells vs $1,210 in Playa del Carmen, rent included.

Wells $2,387
Playa del Carmen $1,210

A couple spends around $3,377 per month in Wells vs $2,113 in Playa del Carmen, rent included.

Wells $3,377
Playa del Carmen $2,113

A family of three spends $4,367 per month in Wells vs $3,016 in Playa del Carmen, rent included.

Wells $4,367
Playa del Carmen $3,016

Wells costs about 97% more than Playa del Carmen, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Wells sits 77% above the global median, while Playa del Carmen is 10% below – they fall on opposite sides of the world average.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$19.62 £14.72

$10.76 MX$199

82.34%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$97.1 £72.8

$43.03 MX$795

125.56%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$9.52 £7.14

$11.79 MX$218

-19.25%

Cappuccino

$4.72 £3.54

$3.87 MX$71.4

21.96%

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

$2.19 £1.64

$1.37 MX$25.29

59.85%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.46 £1.85

$0.84 MX$15.44

192.86%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$6.77 £5.08

$3.10 MX$57.3

118.39%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$6.33 £4.75

$5.07 MX$93.6

24.85%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.45 £1.09

$1.44 MX$26.55

0.69%

White Bread (500g)

$1.29 £0.97

$2.23 MX$41.23

-42.15%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.69 £1.27

$1.47 MX$27.17

14.97%

Eggs

$3.92 £2.94

$2.53 MX$46.71

54.94%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$8.55 £6.41

$7.30 MX$135

17.12%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$4.62 £3.47

$7.86 MX$145

-41.22%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$12.05 £9.04

$12.79 MX$236

-5.79%

Apples (1kg)

$2.99 £2.24

$2.90 MX$53.6

3.10%

Banana (1kg)

$1.35 £1.01

$1.44 MX$26.53

-6.25%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.16 £1.62

$2.55 MX$47.07

-15.29%

Tomato (1kg)

$3.14 £2.35

$2.06 MX$38.03

52.43%

Potato (1kg)

$0.77 £0.58

$2.00 MX$36.97

-61.50%

Onion (1kg)

$1.33 £1.00

$2.01 MX$37.07

-33.83%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.52 £1.14

$1.19 MX$22.02

27.73%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.77 £1.33

$1.26 MX$23.23

40.48%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$23.49 £17.62

$4.40 MX$81.4

433.86%

Wine (Bottle)

$9.38 £7.04

$9.59 MX$177

-2.19%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$3.37 £2.53

$1.59 MX$29.41

111.95%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.59 £1.95

$2.81 MX$51.9

-7.83%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$3.45 £2.59

$0.57 MX$10.47

505.26%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$96.9 £72.7

$27.82 MX$514

248.17%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$5.67 £4.25

$4.98 MX$92.1

13.86%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.08 £0.81

$3.50 MX$64.6

-69.14%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$23.91 £17.94

$5.40 MX$99.8

342.78%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.99 £1.50

$1.47 MX$27.08

35.37%

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

$37.6K £28.2K

$21.0K MX$387.8K

79.26%

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

$40.5K £30.4K

$23.9K MX$441.8K

69.39%

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

$466 £349

$84.2 MX$1,556

453.21%

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

$13.39 £10.04

$23.99 MX$443

-44.19%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$40.29 £30.23

$29.02 MX$536

38.84%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$45.14 £33.87

$63.0 MX$1,164

-28.33%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$29.14 MX$539

Cinema Ticket

$12.78 £9.59

$4.94 MX$91.3

158.70%

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

$1,444 £1,083

$204 MX$3,763

609.02%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$17.1K £12.9K

$3,941 MX$72.8K

334.72%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$36.71 £27.54

$43.60 MX$806

-15.80%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$31.79 £23.85

$43.12 MX$797

-26.28%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$59.6 £44.67

$75.8 MX$1,400

-21.41%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$75.5 £56.6

$88.6 MX$1,637

-14.81%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,237 £928

$1,008 MX$18.6K

22.68%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,022 £766

$374 MX$6,911

173.13%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,077 £1,558

$1,708 MX$31.6K

21.56%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,555 £1,167

$1,106 MX$20.4K

40.58%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$4,978 £3,735

$3,944 MX$72.9K

26.21%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$3,881 £2,912

$6,169 MX$114.0K

-37.09%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$754 MX$13.9K

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 Wells: October 11, 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

Wells

$1K 42.8%

Playa del Carmen

$374 30.9% 63.4% $648

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Wells

$520 21.8%

Playa del Carmen

$137 11.3% 73.6% $382

Eating Out

Wells

$307 12.9%

Playa del Carmen

$202 16.7% 34.2% $105

Groceries & Markets

Wells

$255 10.7%

Playa del Carmen

$258 21.4% 1.3% $3.4

Getting Around

Wells

$122 5.1%

Playa del Carmen

$53 4.3% 56.8% $69

Clothing & Footwear

Wells

$92 3.8%

Playa del Carmen

$113 9.3% 23.4% $21

Sport & Entertainment

Wells

$71 3%

Playa del Carmen

$73 6% 3.1% $2.2

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $1,237 in Wells 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.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $97.0 in Wells versus $43.00 in Playa del Carmen. Groceries tell a different story – $255 in Wells vs $258 in Playa del Carmen – so Wells wins on supermarket bills even if dining out costs more.

Good to know

🇬🇧 Wells

🇲🇽 Playa del Carmen

🕒 Local time

16:18 4:18 PM

10:18 10:18 AM

6 h behind Wells

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

11,000

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 19, 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 19, 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

Wells Playa del Carmen 7,850 km ≈ 10 h nonstop flight

From you

Wells
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

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

Yes – Wells is pricier by about 97%, and outside of rent the gap shows up most in eating out.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $3,581 per month in Wells 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 $2,387 in Wells and $1,210 in Playa del Carmen. That's a gap of about 97%.

Public transport costs about 248% 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 Wells at $2,387. In Playa del Carmen it covers expenses comfortably, while in Wells 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, Wells makes more sense. Both are solid long-term options with distinct trade-offs.