Cost of Living Comparison Between Chiayi and Playa del Carmen Cost of Living Comparison Between Chiayi and Playa del Carmen

😐 Solo nomad: Chiayi is 23.7% more expensive than Playa del Carmen without rent, and 8.7% cheaper with rent.
🙂 Family of 3: Chiayi is 0.5% cheaper than Playa del Carmen without rent, and 10.8% cheaper with rent.
Currency
🍽 Eating Out
Chiayi
Playa del Carmen
Difference
Meal at Budget Restaurant
$6.91 NT$220
$11.85 MX$211
-41.69%
Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range
$40.01 NT$1,274
$42.16 MX$750
-5.10%
Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)
$5.82 NT$185
$10.75 MX$191
-45.86%
Cappuccino
$2.18 NT$69.4
$3.47 MX$61.8
-37.18%
Coke/Pepsi/Fanta/Sprite (0.33 liter bottle)
$1.13 NT$36.00
$1.45 MX$25.85
-22.07%
Water (0.33 liter bottle)
$0.75 NT$23.78
$0.90 MX$16.06
-16.67%
Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)
$1.83 NT$58.4
$3.05 MX$54.3
-40.00%
Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)
$3.13 NT$99.8
$4.42 MX$78.6
-29.19%
🛒 Groceries & Markets
Chiayi
Playa del Carmen
Difference
Milk (1 liter)
$3.09 NT$98.5
$1.37 MX$24.36
125.55%
White Bread (500g)
$1.92 NT$61.1
$1.87 MX$33.31
2.67%
Rice (white) (1kg)
$3.02 NT$96.2
$1.54 MX$27.46
96.10%
Eggs
$2.94 NT$93.8
$2.50 MX$44.53
17.60%
Local Cheese (1kg)
$19.78 NT$630
$8.61 MX$153
129.73%
Chicken Fillets (1kg)
$10.11 NT$322
$8.63 MX$154
17.15%
Beef Round Steak (1kg)
$20.59 NT$656
$11.02 MX$196
86.84%
Apples (1kg)
$5.10 NT$162
$2.75 MX$48.91
85.45%
Banana (1kg)
$2.84 NT$90.5
$1.43 MX$25.41
98.60%
Oranges (1kg)
$2.84 NT$90.6
$1.87 MX$33.32
51.87%
Tomato (1kg)
$4.13 NT$132
$2.17 MX$38.56
90.32%
Potato (1kg)
$2.90 NT$92.2
$1.88 MX$33.50
54.26%
Onion (1kg)
$2.27 NT$72.3
$2.25 MX$39.96
0.89%
Lettuce (1 head)
$1.89 NT$60.2
$1.07 MX$18.99
76.64%
Water (1.5 liter bottle)
$1.37 NT$43.52
$1.07 MX$19.10
28.04%
Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)
$4.00 NT$127
$4.15 MX$73.9
-3.61%
Wine (Bottle)
$4.63 NT$147
$10.34 MX$184
-55.22%
Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)
$1.74 NT$55.4
$1.68 MX$29.87
3.57%
Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)
$2.33 NT$74.1
$2.48 MX$44.19
-6.05%
🚌 Getting Around
Chiayi
Playa del Carmen
Difference
One-way Ticket (Public Transport)
$0.87 NT$27.66
$0.55 MX$9.87
58.18%
Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)
$38.82 NT$1,236
$26.53 MX$472
46.32%
Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)
$2.89 NT$92.1
$3.22 MX$57.2
-10.25%
Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)
$0.45 NT$14.24
$2.48 MX$44.15
-81.85%
Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)
$10.09 NT$322
$3.11 MX$55.3
224.44%
Gasoline (1 liter)
$1.03 NT$32.96
$1.26 MX$22.34
-18.25%
Midsize Hatchback 1.4l (Volkswagen Golf, Toyota Prius, Honda Civic, etc)
$38.2K NT$1.2M
$30.7K MX$545.4K
24.60%
Compact Sedan 1.6l (Toyota Corolla, Mazda3, Kia K4, Hyundai Elantra, etc)
$27.1K NT$862.5K
$24.0K MX$427.6K
12.65%
🧾 Monthly Utilities & Internet
Chiayi
Playa del Carmen
Difference
Utilities for 2 People in 2-bedroom Apartment (Heating, Electricity, Gas, Water, Garbage) (85m2)
$71.2 NT$2,266
$82.5 MX$1,467
-13.72%
SIM Card Monthly Plan (Calls and 10GB+ Data)
$19.10 NT$608
$22.29 MX$396
-14.31%
Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)
$25.46 NT$811
$30.02 MX$534
-15.19%
🎉 Sport & Entertainment
Chiayi
Playa del Carmen
Difference
Gym Membership (Monthly)
$37.59 NT$1,197
$51.4 MX$915
-26.92%
Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)
$15.41 NT$491
$18.29 MX$325
-15.75%
Cinema Ticket
$11.87 NT$378
$4.98 MX$88.7
138.35%
🧸 Childcare & Education
Chiayi
Playa del Carmen
Difference
Preschool or Kindergarten, Full Day, Private, 1 Child (Monthly)
$638 NT$20.3K
$200 MX$3,558
219.04%
International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)
$19.1K NT$607.3K
$5,304 MX$94.4K
259.50%
👕👟 Clothing & Footwear
Chiayi
Playa del Carmen
Difference
Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)
$59.6 NT$1,898
$35.71 MX$635
66.90%
Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)
$33.03 NT$1,052
$39.56 MX$704
-16.51%
Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)
$92.8 NT$2,956
$80.6 MX$1,433
15.22%
Men's Leather Business Shoes
$121 NT$3,845
$88.3 MX$1,571
36.70%
🏠 Accommodation & Living
Chiayi
Playa del Carmen
Difference
1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)
$428 NT$13.6K
$969 MX$17.2K
-55.81%
1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)
$284 NT$9,050
$482 MX$8,579
-41.08%
3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)
$1,056 NT$33.6K
$1,595 MX$28.4K
-33.82%
3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)
$715 NT$22.8K
$1,184 MX$21.1K
-39.61%
Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)
$7,074 NT$225.3K
$4,050 MX$72.1K
74.67%
Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)
$5,349 NT$170.4K
$6,522 MX$116.0K
-17.98%
💵 Salaries & Financials
Chiayi
Playa del Carmen
Difference
Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)
$2,103 NT$67.0K
$756 MX$13.5K
178.10%
20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)
2.19
11.42
-80.82%

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

Last update for Chiayi: March 2, 2026

Last update for Playa del Carmen: March 3, 2026

City Median Internet Speeds Comparison (Updated December 2025)

The chart highlights the Precision Threshold for mobile and fixed broadband internet speeds, updated quarterly.
Digital Nomad Cost of Living Index

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