Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Chiayi and Playa del Carmen

For one person, living is cheaper in Chiayi: $1,041 a month against $1,204 in Playa del Carmen, rent and utilities included – about $2,000 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

50

Cost of Living Index in Chiayi
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Chiayi Living Index
58

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

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Chiayi

🇹🇼 Taiwan

$1,041

/mo nomad

Playa del Carmen

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,204

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,041 in Chiayi versus $1,204 in Playa del Carmen.

Chiayi $1,041
Playa del Carmen $1,204

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,471 in Chiayi versus $2,082 in Playa del Carmen.

Chiayi $1,471
Playa del Carmen $2,082

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $1,901 in Chiayi versus $2,959 in Playa del Carmen.

Chiayi $1,901
Playa del Carmen $2,959

Living in Chiayi costs roughly 14% less than in Playa del Carmen, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Both cities sit below the global median: Chiayi 24% lower, Playa del Carmen 12% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$4.59 NT$149

$10.92 MX$204

-57.97%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$46.34 NT$1,503

$43.37 MX$810

6.85%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$5.65 NT$183

$11.78 MX$220

-52.04%

Cappuccino

$3.29 NT$107

$3.81 MX$71.2

-13.65%

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

$0.85 NT$27.57

$1.28 MX$23.96

-33.59%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.67 NT$21.69

$0.78 MX$14.63

-14.10%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.98 NT$96.7

$3.17 MX$59.2

-5.99%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.58 NT$116

$4.93 MX$92.2

-27.38%

Milk (1 liter)

$2.95 NT$95.7

$1.41 MX$26.28

109.22%

White Bread (500g)

$1.95 NT$63.1

$2.22 MX$41.43

-12.16%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$3.05 NT$99.0

$1.42 MX$26.48

114.79%

Eggs

$2.63 NT$85.4

$2.52 MX$47.14

4.37%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$18.97 NT$615

$7.26 MX$136

161.29%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.89 NT$321

$7.70 MX$144

28.44%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$21.28 NT$690

$12.69 MX$237

67.69%

Apples (1kg)

$4.72 NT$153

$2.78 MX$52.0

69.78%

Banana (1kg)

$3.28 NT$106

$1.37 MX$25.56

139.42%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.87 NT$93.0

$2.55 MX$47.66

12.55%

Tomato (1kg)

$4.23 NT$137

$2.12 MX$39.67

99.53%

Potato (1kg)

$2.65 NT$85.8

$1.94 MX$36.22

36.60%

Onion (1kg)

$2.20 NT$71.2

$1.89 MX$35.24

16.40%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.72 NT$55.8

$1.15 MX$21.42

49.57%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.12 NT$36.28

$1.18 MX$22.03

-5.08%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$3.75 NT$122

$4.30 MX$80.3

-12.79%

Wine (Bottle)

$4.48 NT$145

$9.95 MX$186

-54.97%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.58 NT$51.1

$1.58 MX$29.59

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.13 NT$69.1

$2.67 MX$49.91

-20.22%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.55 MX$10.34

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$12.12 NT$393

$26.62 MX$497

-54.47%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$2.54 NT$82.3

$4.97 MX$92.9

-48.89%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.45 NT$14.62

$3.33 MX$62.2

-86.49%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$8.97 NT$291

$5.36 MX$100

67.35%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.00 NT$32.44

$1.44 MX$26.98

-30.56%

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

$34.1K NT$1.1M

$20.7K MX$386.2K

64.86%

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

$23.5K NT$761.7K

$23.5K MX$438.5K

0.10%

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

$64.7 NT$2,097

$84.8 MX$1,584

-23.74%

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

$17.55 NT$569

$23.41 MX$437

-25.03%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$26.76 NT$868

$28.66 MX$535

-6.63%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$30.55 NT$991

$57.1 MX$1,066

-46.45%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$28.91 MX$540

Cinema Ticket

$9.62 NT$312

$5.14 MX$96.0

87.16%

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

$712 NT$23.1K

$207 MX$3,860

244.88%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$16.1K NT$523.0K

$3,927 MX$73.4K

310.67%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$62.2 NT$2,016

$43.35 MX$810

43.44%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$39.01 NT$1,265

$41.44 MX$774

-5.86%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$82.8 NT$2,683

$74.2 MX$1,386

11.52%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$102 NT$3,298

$89.3 MX$1,668

13.98%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$374 NT$12.1K

$980 MX$18.3K

-61.78%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$244 NT$7,896

$381 MX$7,116

-36.05%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,708 MX$31.9K

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,075 MX$20.1K

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,070 NT$99.5K

$3,943 MX$73.7K

-22.15%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,843 NT$59.7K

$6,158 MX$115.1K

-70.08%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$2,038 NT$66.1K

$735 MX$13.7K

177.45%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

2.4

11.45

-79.04%

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

Last update for Chiayi: October 25, 2026

Last update for Playa del Carmen: October 25, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Groceries & Markets

Chiayi

$372 35.7%

Playa del Carmen

$255 21.2% 31.4% $117

Accommodation & Living

Chiayi

$244 23.4%

Playa del Carmen

$381 31.6% 56.4% $137

Clothing & Footwear

Chiayi

$129 12.4%

Playa del Carmen

$112 9.3% 13.1% $17

Eating Out

Chiayi

$121 11.7%

Playa del Carmen

$202 16.8% 66.8% $81

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Chiayi

$109 10.5%

Playa del Carmen

$137 11.4% 25.6% $28

Sport & Entertainment

Chiayi

$50 4.8%

Playa del Carmen

$67 5.6% 35.2% $18

Getting Around

Chiayi

$17 * 1.6%

Playa del Carmen

$50 4.2% 198% $34

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

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $374 in Chiayi and $980 in Playa del Carmen. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Chiayi pays about 2.8 times more on average while also being the cheaper of the two. The combined effect is a noticeably stronger local purchasing power.

Dining out: $46 in Chiayi vs $43 in Playa del Carmen for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $372 vs $255 per month, with Playa del Carmen cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇹🇼 Chiayi

🇲🇽 Playa del Carmen

🕒 Local time

23:10 11:10 PM

10:10 10:10 AM

13 h behind Chiayi

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

269,874

149,923

💱 Currency

New Taiwan Dollar TWD NT$

Mexican Peso MXN $

📈 Exchange rate

100 TWD = 3.08 USD

100 TWD = 2.77 EUR

100 MXN = 5.35 USD

100 MXN = 4.81 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

MXN, USD, EUR to TWD – New Taiwan Dollar Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇹🇼 New Taiwan Dollar (NT$)

New Taiwan Dollar exchange rates as of October 28, 2026: 1 USD = 32.43 TWD (100 TWD = 3.08 USD). 1 EUR = 36.09 TWD (100 TWD = 2.77 EUR).

Mexican Peso exchange rates as of October 28, 2026: 1 USD = 18.69 MXN (100 MXN = 5.35 USD). 1 EUR = 20.8 MXN (100 MXN = 4.81 EUR).

USD to TWD in detail →

On the map

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Highest

Between locations

Chiayi Playa del Carmen 14,270 km ≈ 18 h nonstop flight

From you

Chiayi
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

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

Chiayi wins on cost – living expenses run 14% lower than in Playa del Carmen. Housing and daily spending are where you’ll feel the difference most, making Chiayi the obvious pick if budget is a priority.

Average pay in Chiayi is about 2.8 times higher, which matters when comparing affordability. Whether that higher income actually nets you more depends on your spending habits and housing choices.

Rent for a central apartment: $374 in Chiayi versus $980 in Playa del Carmen. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

All in, you’ll spend $1,041 per month in Chiayi versus $1,204 in Playa del Carmen – a 16% gap that adds up to real savings over time for anyone picking the cheaper option.

A monthly transit pass in Chiayi runs roughly 54% less than in Playa del Carmen. Both cities have functional networks, but the price difference matters if you’re watching your budget.

Both cities are expensive relative to $1,000. Chiayi is the more realistic option, but even there you’ll need to be disciplined with housing, food, and fun money.

Both cities offer a good standard of living with different trade-offs. Neither is objectively better – the right pick depends on what matters most: affordability, career, cultural scene, or climate.