Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Dongguan and Playa del Carmen

For one person, living is cheaper in Dongguan: $813 a month against $1,210 in Playa del Carmen, rent and utilities included – about $4,800 less a year. Other living expenses account for most of the difference.

40

Cost of Living Index in Dongguan
Learn more

Dongguan Living Index
59

Cost of Living Index in Playa del Carmen
Learn more

Playa del Carmen Living Index

Jump to prices

Dongguan

🇨🇳 China

$813

/mo nomad

Playa del Carmen

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,210

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $813 in Dongguan versus $1,210 in Playa del Carmen.

Dongguan $813
Playa del Carmen $1,210

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,291 in Dongguan versus $2,113 in Playa del Carmen.

Dongguan $1,291
Playa del Carmen $2,113

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $1,768 in Dongguan versus $3,016 in Playa del Carmen.

Dongguan $1,768
Playa del Carmen $3,016

Living in Dongguan costs roughly 33% less than in Playa del Carmen, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Both cities sit below the global median: Dongguan 40% lower, Playa del Carmen 10% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$2.57 ¥17.18

$10.76 MX$199

-76.12%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$22.04 ¥147

$43.03 MX$795

-48.78%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$5.26 ¥35.15

$11.79 MX$218

-55.39%

Cappuccino

$2.56 ¥17.13

$3.87 MX$71.4

-33.85%

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

$0.47 ¥3.15

$1.37 MX$25.29

-65.69%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.29 ¥1.93

$0.84 MX$15.44

-65.48%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$0.92 ¥6.18

$3.10 MX$57.3

-70.32%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.21 ¥14.79

$5.07 MX$93.6

-56.41%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.60 ¥10.69

$1.44 MX$26.55

11.11%

White Bread (500g)

$1.56 ¥10.42

$2.23 MX$41.23

-30.04%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.03 ¥6.90

$1.47 MX$27.17

-29.93%

Eggs

$1.66 ¥11.12

$2.53 MX$46.71

-34.39%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$20.79 ¥139

$7.30 MX$135

184.79%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$3.44 ¥22.99

$7.86 MX$145

-56.23%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$14.23 ¥95.2

$12.79 MX$236

11.26%

Apples (1kg)

$2.27 ¥15.17

$2.90 MX$53.6

-21.72%

Banana (1kg)

$1.57 ¥10.51

$1.44 MX$26.53

9.03%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.94 ¥12.95

$2.55 MX$47.07

-23.92%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.42 ¥9.47

$2.06 MX$38.03

-31.07%

Potato (1kg)

$1.08 ¥7.19

$2.00 MX$36.97

-46.00%

Onion (1kg)

$1.24 ¥8.32

$2.01 MX$37.07

-38.31%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.56 ¥3.72

$1.19 MX$22.02

-52.94%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.55 ¥3.67

$1.26 MX$23.23

-56.35%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.49 ¥30.03

$4.40 MX$81.4

2.05%

Wine (Bottle)

$11.89 ¥79.5

$9.59 MX$177

23.98%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$0.86 ¥5.75

$1.59 MX$29.41

-45.91%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.75 ¥11.67

$2.81 MX$51.9

-37.72%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.35 ¥2.35

$0.57 MX$10.47

-38.60%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$22.79 ¥152

$27.82 MX$514

-18.08%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.18 ¥7.91

$4.98 MX$92.1

-76.31%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.39 ¥2.59

$3.50 MX$64.6

-88.86%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$4.36 ¥29.14

$5.40 MX$99.8

-19.26%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.28 ¥8.53

$1.47 MX$27.08

-12.93%

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

$19.5K ¥130.7K

$21.0K MX$387.8K

-6.86%

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

$18.6K ¥124.5K

$23.9K MX$441.8K

-22.09%

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

$63.8 ¥426

$84.2 MX$1,556

-24.28%

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

$9.24 ¥61.8

$23.99 MX$443

-61.48%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$13.08 ¥87.5

$29.02 MX$536

-54.93%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$51.1 ¥341

$63.0 MX$1,164

-18.93%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$16.01 ¥107

$29.14 MX$539

-45.06%

Cinema Ticket

$7.67 ¥51.3

$4.94 MX$91.3

55.26%

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

$533 ¥3,565

$204 MX$3,763

161.87%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$24.2K ¥161.6K

$3,941 MX$72.8K

513.27%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$46.76 ¥313

$43.60 MX$806

7.25%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$40.41 ¥270

$43.12 MX$797

-6.28%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$73.3 ¥490

$75.8 MX$1,400

-3.26%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$39.10 ¥261

$88.6 MX$1,637

-55.86%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$372 ¥2,490

$1,008 MX$18.6K

-63.07%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$218 ¥1,459

$374 MX$6,911

-41.66%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$662 ¥4,426

$1,708 MX$31.6K

-61.25%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$431 ¥2,882

$1,106 MX$20.4K

-61.03%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$5,714 ¥38.2K

$3,944 MX$72.9K

44.86%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$3,066 ¥20.5K

$6,169 MX$114.0K

-50.30%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$858 ¥5,734

$754 MX$13.9K

13.72%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

3.35

11.45

-70.74%

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

Last update for Dongguan: October 10, 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

Dongguan

$246 30.3%

Playa del Carmen

$258 21.4% 4.9% $12

Accommodation & Living

Dongguan

$218 26.8%

Playa del Carmen

$374 30.9% 71.4% $156

Clothing & Footwear

Dongguan

$90 11%

Playa del Carmen

$113 9.3% 25.8% $23

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Dongguan

$86 10.6%

Playa del Carmen

$137 11.3% 59.4% $51

Eating Out

Dongguan

$79 9.7%

Playa del Carmen

$202 16.7% 156% $123

Sport & Entertainment

Dongguan

$66 8.2%

Playa del Carmen

$73 6% 9.7% $6.5

Getting Around

Dongguan

$27 3.4%

Playa del Carmen

$53 4.3% 92.4% $25

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $372 in Dongguan and $1,008 in Playa del Carmen. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Dongguan pays 14% more on average while also being the cheaper of the two. The combined effect is a noticeably stronger local purchasing power.

Dining out: $22.00 in Dongguan vs $43.00 in Playa del Carmen for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $246 vs $258 per month, with Dongguan cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇨🇳 Dongguan

🇲🇽 Playa del Carmen

🕒 Local time

15:29 3:29 PM

02:29 2:29 AM

13 h behind Dongguan

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

8,254,100

149,923

💱 Currency

Chinese Yuan CNY ¥

Mexican Peso MXN $

📈 Exchange rate

1 CNY = 0.15 USD

1 CNY = 0.133 EUR

100 MXN = 5.41 USD

100 MXN = 4.81 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 October 20, 2026: 1 USD = 6.69 CNY (1 CNY = 0.15 USD). 1 EUR = 7.52 CNY (1 CNY = 0.133 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 CNY in detail →

On the map

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Highest

Between locations

Dongguan Playa del Carmen 14,660 km ≈ 19 h nonstop flight

From you

Dongguan
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

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

Dongguan is cheaper overall, especially in groceries, clothing, and eating out. The 49% gap adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

Average pay runs 14% higher in Dongguan, 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: $372 in Dongguan versus $1,008 in Playa del Carmen. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

A monthly transit pass in Dongguan runs roughly 22% less than in Playa del Carmen. Both cities have functional networks, but the price difference matters if you're watching your budget.

Childcare runs $533 in Dongguan versus $204 in Playa del Carmen. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

At $813 in Dongguan versus $1,210 in Playa del Carmen, a $1,500 budget is realistic in Dongguan but tight or insufficient in Playa del Carmen. The gap between the two cities makes Dongguan the clear choice for anyone on this budget.

For families, Dongguan is more practical. Housing and childcare are both notably cheaper than in Playa del Carmen, and the savings on those two alone free up budget for education, activities, and family trips.

Expats usually find Dongguan gentler on the wallet – expenses run 49% less than in Playa del Carmen. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.