Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Bac Ninh and Playa del Carmen

For one person, living is cheaper in Bac Ninh: $459 a month against $1,210 in Playa del Carmen, rent and utilities included – about $9,000 less a year. Rent and utilities account for about half of the difference.

22

Cost of Living Index in Bac Ninh
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Bac Ninh Living Index
59

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

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Bac Ninh

🇻🇳 Vietnam

$459

/mo nomad

Playa del Carmen

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,210

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

A single person spends $459 per month in Bac Ninh vs $1,210 in Playa del Carmen, rent included.

Bac Ninh $459
Playa del Carmen $1,210

A couple spends around $745 per month in Bac Ninh vs $2,113 in Playa del Carmen, rent included.

Bac Ninh $745
Playa del Carmen $2,113

A family of three spends $1,031 per month in Bac Ninh vs $3,016 in Playa del Carmen, rent included.

Bac Ninh $1,031
Playa del Carmen $3,016

Bac Ninh is about 62% cheaper than Playa del Carmen, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Both Bac Ninh and Playa del Carmen are more affordable than the global median – Bac Ninh 66% lower, Playa del Carmen 10% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$1.19 ₫30.8K

$10.76 MX$199

-88.94%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$23.38 ₫605.3K

$43.03 MX$795

-45.67%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$2.55 ₫66.0K

$11.79 MX$218

-78.37%

Cappuccino

$1.14 ₫29.5K

$3.87 MX$71.4

-70.54%

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

$0.26 ₫6,728

$1.37 MX$25.29

-81.02%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.18 ₫4,682

$0.84 MX$15.44

-78.57%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$0.66 ₫17.0K

$3.10 MX$57.3

-78.71%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.97 ₫25.1K

$5.07 MX$93.6

-80.87%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.47 ₫38.0K

$1.44 MX$26.55

2.08%

White Bread (500g)

$1.12 ₫29.0K

$2.23 MX$41.23

-49.78%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$0.75 ₫19.4K

$1.47 MX$27.17

-48.98%

Eggs

$1.50 ₫38.9K

$2.53 MX$46.71

-40.71%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$10.28 ₫266.1K

$7.30 MX$135

40.82%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$3.69 ₫95.5K

$7.86 MX$145

-53.05%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$10.16 ₫263.2K

$12.79 MX$236

-20.56%

Apples (1kg)

$3.37 ₫87.3K

$2.90 MX$53.6

16.21%

Banana (1kg)

$1.04 ₫27.0K

$1.44 MX$26.53

-27.78%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.38 ₫35.7K

$2.55 MX$47.07

-45.88%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.10 ₫28.5K

$2.06 MX$38.03

-46.60%

Potato (1kg)

$0.99 ₫25.7K

$2.00 MX$36.97

-50.50%

Onion (1kg)

$1.13 ₫29.3K

$2.01 MX$37.07

-43.78%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.57 ₫14.8K

$1.19 MX$22.02

-52.10%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.56 ₫14.5K

$1.26 MX$23.23

-55.56%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$1.42 ₫36.8K

$4.40 MX$81.4

-67.73%

Wine (Bottle)

$12.35 ₫319.6K

$9.59 MX$177

28.78%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$0.90 ₫23.3K

$1.59 MX$29.41

-43.40%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.72 ₫44.5K

$2.81 MX$51.9

-38.79%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.37 ₫9,594

$0.57 MX$10.47

-35.09%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$27.82 MX$514

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$0.79 ₫20.4K

$4.98 MX$92.1

-84.14%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.57 ₫14.7K

$3.50 MX$64.6

-83.71%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$2.29 ₫59.4K

$5.40 MX$99.8

-57.59%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$0.95 ₫24.6K

$1.47 MX$27.08

-35.37%

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

$30.3K ₫783.3M

$21.0K MX$387.8K

44.17%

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

$29.6K ₫765.7M

$23.9K MX$441.8K

23.72%

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

$84.6 ₫2.2M

$84.2 MX$1,556

0.49%

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

$5.33 ₫138.0K

$23.99 MX$443

-77.78%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$6.99 ₫181.0K

$29.02 MX$536

-75.91%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$11.60 ₫300.2K

$63.0 MX$1,164

-81.58%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$7.57 ₫195.9K

$29.14 MX$539

-74.02%

Cinema Ticket

$3.10 ₫80.2K

$4.94 MX$91.3

-37.25%

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

$698 ₫18.1M

$204 MX$3,763

242.94%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$12.5K ₫324.9M

$3,941 MX$72.8K

218.45%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$48.29 ₫1.3M

$43.60 MX$806

10.76%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$26.16 ₫677.3K

$43.12 MX$797

-39.33%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$82.8 ₫2.1M

$75.8 MX$1,400

9.32%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$77.3 ₫2.0M

$88.6 MX$1,637

-12.77%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$701 ₫18.2M

$1,008 MX$18.6K

-30.45%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$374 MX$6,911

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,708 MX$31.6K

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,106 MX$20.4K

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$1,658 ₫42.9M

$3,944 MX$72.9K

-57.97%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$785 ₫20.3M

$6,169 MX$114.0K

-87.27%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$378 ₫9.8M

$754 MX$13.9K

-49.90%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

8.28

11.45

-27.69%

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

Last update for Bac Ninh: 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.

Groceries & Markets

Bac Ninh

$196 42.6%

Playa del Carmen

$258 21.4% 32.1% $63

Clothing & Footwear

Bac Ninh

$106 23%

Playa del Carmen

$113 9.3% 7% $7.4

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Bac Ninh

$97 21.1%

Playa del Carmen

$137 11.3% 41.5% $40

Eating Out

Bac Ninh

$38 8.2%

Playa del Carmen

$202 16.7% 435% $164

Sport & Entertainment

Bac Ninh

$18 3.9%

Playa del Carmen

$73 6% 310% $55

Getting Around

Bac Ninh

$5.1 * 1.1%

Playa del Carmen

$53 4.3% 929% $47

Accommodation & Living

Bac Ninh

- * 0%

Playa del Carmen

$374 30.9%

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

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $701 in Bac Ninh 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 100% higher in Playa del Carmen, 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 $23.00 in Bac Ninh versus $43.00 in Playa del Carmen. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $196 vs $258 – making Bac Ninh the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇻🇳 Bac Ninh

🇲🇽 Playa del Carmen

🕒 Local time

15:56 3:56 PM

03:56 3:56 AM

12 h behind Bac Ninh

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

288,766

149,923

💱 Currency

Vietnamese Dong VND ₫

Mexican Peso MXN $

📈 Exchange rate

100,000 VND = 3.86 USD

100,000 VND = 3.44 EUR

100 MXN = 5.41 USD

100 MXN = 4.81 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

MXN, USD, EUR to VND – Vietnamese Dong Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇻🇳 Vietnamese Dong (₫)

Vietnamese Dong exchange rates as of October 20, 2026: 1 USD = 25,889 VND (100,000 VND = 3.86 USD). 1 EUR = 29,105 VND (100,000 VND = 3.44 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 VND in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Bac Ninh Playa del Carmen 15,150 km ≈ 19 h nonstop flight

From you

Bac Ninh
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

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

Playa del Carmen costs about 164% more than Bac Ninh, and outside of rent the gap comes mainly from eating out. That's enough to noticeably affect everyday spending and lifestyle for anyone choosing between the two.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $688 per month in Bac Ninh 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 Bac Ninh, especially for central apartments. Housing is actually the single biggest factor behind the overall cost gap between these two cities.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $23.00 in Bac Ninh and $43.00 in Playa del Carmen. That's a good indicator of the overall restaurant and café pricing gap between the two cities.

Groceries cost about 32% more in Playa del Carmen, though it depends on what you buy. Local produce may be comparable; imported and premium items show the biggest price gap.

A $1,000 monthly budget goes further in Bac Ninh, where all-in costs run around $459, than in Playa del Carmen at $1,210. In Bac Ninh it covers expenses comfortably, while in Playa del Carmen it requires careful planning or may not stretch far enough.

For digital nomads, it depends on budget. Bac Ninh costs $459 versus $1,210 in Playa del Carmen. Both have workable remote work infrastructure, but the cost gap matters when income varies month to month.

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