Last update: Nov 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Datong and Playa del Carmen

For one person, living is cheaper in Datong: $713 a month against $1,202 in Playa del Carmen, rent and utilities included – about $5,900 less a year. Rent and utilities account for about half of the difference.

34

Cost of Living Index in Datong
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Datong Living Index
57

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

Jump to prices

Datong

🇨🇳 China

$713

/mo nomad

Playa del Carmen

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,202

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $713 in Datong versus $1,202 in Playa del Carmen.

Datong $713
Playa del Carmen $1,202

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,133 in Datong versus $2,082 in Playa del Carmen.

Datong $1,133
Playa del Carmen $2,082

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $1,553 in Datong versus $2,962 in Playa del Carmen.

Datong $1,553
Playa del Carmen $2,962

Living in Datong costs roughly 41% less than in Playa del Carmen, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Both cities sit below the global median: Datong 47% lower, Playa del Carmen 11% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$2.75 ¥18.32

$10.67 MX$199

-74.23%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$21.93 ¥146

$43.80 MX$815

-49.93%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$4.79 ¥31.99

$11.79 MX$219

-59.37%

Cappuccino

$3.09 ¥20.60

$3.79 MX$70.5

-18.47%

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

$0.43 ¥2.90

$1.30 MX$24.14

-66.92%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.29 ¥1.96

$0.83 MX$15.51

-65.06%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$0.90 ¥5.98

$3.15 MX$58.6

-71.43%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.05 ¥13.66

$4.93 MX$91.8

-58.42%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.80 ¥12.04

$1.41 MX$26.22

27.66%

White Bread (500g)

$1.54 ¥10.27

$2.20 MX$40.86

-30.00%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$0.98 ¥6.51

$1.47 MX$27.40

-33.33%

Eggs

$1.56 ¥10.39

$2.50 MX$46.47

-37.60%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$12.86 ¥85.8

$7.29 MX$136

76.41%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$3.23 ¥21.53

$7.95 MX$148

-59.37%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$10.09 ¥67.3

$12.86 MX$239

-21.54%

Apples (1kg)

$1.89 ¥12.61

$2.90 MX$53.9

-34.83%

Banana (1kg)

$1.21 ¥8.10

$1.38 MX$25.74

-12.32%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.55 ¥10.31

$2.49 MX$46.36

-37.75%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.15 ¥7.64

$2.03 MX$37.78

-43.35%

Potato (1kg)

$0.75 ¥5.03

$2.02 MX$37.69

-62.87%

Onion (1kg)

$0.90 ¥6.00

$1.90 MX$35.42

-52.63%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.56 ¥3.77

$1.14 MX$21.30

-50.88%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.54 ¥3.62

$1.24 MX$23.06

-56.45%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$3.10 ¥20.65

$4.27 MX$79.5

-27.40%

Wine (Bottle)

$10.70 ¥71.4

$9.81 MX$183

9.07%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$0.78 ¥5.22

$1.59 MX$29.51

-50.94%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.58 ¥10.57

$2.75 MX$51.1

-42.55%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.29 ¥1.96

$0.51 MX$9.58

-43.14%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$17.04 ¥114

$27.39 MX$510

-37.79%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.37 ¥9.17

$4.76 MX$88.6

-71.22%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.36 ¥2.38

$3.25 MX$60.5

-88.92%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$6.78 ¥45.26

$5.39 MX$100

25.79%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.18 ¥7.90

$1.53 MX$28.44

-22.88%

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

$19.1K ¥127.2K

$21.2K MX$394.8K

-10.15%

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

$17.1K ¥114.2K

$23.3K MX$432.9K

-26.44%

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

$44.32 ¥296

$83.5 MX$1,554

-46.92%

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

$9.82 ¥65.5

$23.19 MX$431

-57.65%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$11.70 ¥78.1

$27.61 MX$514

-57.62%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$42.16 ¥281

$56.4 MX$1,050

-25.29%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$13.77 ¥91.8

$28.19 MX$525

-51.15%

Cinema Ticket

$5.99 ¥39.93

$5.00 MX$93.1

19.80%

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

$338 ¥2,255

$207 MX$3,854

63.20%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$16.9K ¥112.9K

$5,231 MX$97.4K

223.47%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$44.48 ¥297

$43.45 MX$809

2.37%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$30.37 ¥203

$42.54 MX$792

-28.61%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$71.4 ¥477

$72.8 MX$1,354

-1.83%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$71.3 ¥476

$88.4 MX$1,645

-19.33%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$276 ¥1,838

$995 MX$18.5K

-72.30%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$191 ¥1,272

$382 MX$7,116

-50.12%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$603 ¥4,022

$1,674 MX$31.2K

-63.99%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$360 ¥2,400

$1,081 MX$20.1K

-66.70%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,037 ¥20.3K

$3,909 MX$72.7K

-22.30%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$2,026 ¥13.5K

$6,138 MX$114.2K

-66.98%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$832 MX$15.5K

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

3.89

11.45

-66.03%

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

Last update for Datong: November 1, 2026

Last update for Playa del Carmen: November 2, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Groceries & Markets

Datong

$199 27.8%

Playa del Carmen

$257 21.4% 29.7% $59

Accommodation & Living

Datong

$191 26.7%

Playa del Carmen

$382 31.8% 101% $192

Clothing & Footwear

Datong

$98 13.7%

Playa del Carmen

$111 9.3% 13.6% $13

Eating Out

Datong

$85 11.9%

Playa del Carmen

$200 16.7% 136% $115

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Datong

$66 9.2%

Playa del Carmen

$134 11.2% 104% $68

Sport & Entertainment

Datong

$54 7.6%

Playa del Carmen

$66 5.5% 22.7% $12

Getting Around

Datong

$21 3%

Playa del Carmen

$50 4.2% 136% $29

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $276 in Datong and $995 in Playa del Carmen. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Dining out: $22 in Datong vs $44 in Playa del Carmen for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $199 vs $257 per month, with Datong cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇨🇳 Datong

🇲🇽 Playa del Carmen

🕒 Local time

13:12 1:12 PM

00:12 12:12 AM

13 h behind Datong

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

3,318,057

149,923

💱 Currency

Chinese Yuan CNY ¥

Mexican Peso MXN $

📈 Exchange rate

1 CNY = 0.15 USD

1 CNY = 0.133 EUR

100 MXN = 5.37 USD

100 MXN = 4.77 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

MXN, USD, EUR to CNY – Chinese Yuan Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇨🇳 Chinese Yuan (¥)

Chinese Yuan exchange rates as of November 5, 2026: 1 USD = 6.67 CNY (1 CNY = 0.15 USD). 1 EUR = 7.51 CNY (1 CNY = 0.133 EUR).

Mexican Peso exchange rates as of November 5, 2026: 1 USD = 18.61 MXN (100 MXN = 5.37 USD). 1 EUR = 20.95 MXN (100 MXN = 4.77 EUR).

USD to CNY in detail →

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Between locations

Datong Playa del Carmen 12,940 km ≈ 17 h nonstop flight

From you

Datong
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

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

Datong wins on cost – living expenses run 41% lower than in Playa del Carmen. Housing and daily spending are where you’ll feel the difference most, making Datong the obvious pick if budget is a priority.

You’d need roughly $1,070 in Datong and $1,804 in Playa del Carmen to live well. The gap comes down to housing and overall price levels. Both cities are liveable on less, but these numbers represent actual comfort.

Rent for a central apartment: $276 in Datong versus $995 in Playa del Carmen. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $338 in Datong versus $207 in Playa del Carmen. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Supermarket bills run roughly 30% higher in Playa del Carmen. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

At $713 in Datong versus $1,202 in Playa del Carmen, a $800 budget is realistic in Datong but tight or insufficient in Playa del Carmen. The gap between the two cities makes Datong the clear choice for anyone on this budget.

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.

Expats usually find Datong gentler on the wallet – expenses run 41% less than in Playa del Carmen. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.