Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Dongying and Playa del Carmen

For one person, living is cheaper in Dongying: $709 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 Dongying
Learn more

Dongying Living Index
57

Cost of Living Index in Playa del Carmen
Learn more

Playa del Carmen Living Index

Jump to prices

Dongying

🇨🇳 China

$709

/mo nomad

Playa del Carmen

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,202

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $709 in Dongying versus $1,202 in Playa del Carmen.

Dongying $709
Playa del Carmen $1,202

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,128 in Dongying versus $2,082 in Playa del Carmen.

Dongying $1,128
Playa del Carmen $2,082

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $1,547 in Dongying versus $2,962 in Playa del Carmen.

Dongying $1,547
Playa del Carmen $2,962

Living in Dongying 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: Dongying 48% lower, Playa del Carmen 11% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$2.73 ¥18.17

$10.67 MX$198

-74.41%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$21.79 ¥145

$43.80 MX$813

-50.25%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$4.85 ¥32.26

$11.79 MX$219

-58.86%

Cappuccino

$3.00 ¥19.97

$3.79 MX$70.3

-20.84%

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

$0.47 ¥3.12

$1.30 MX$24.07

-63.85%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.27 ¥1.79

$0.83 MX$15.47

-67.47%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$0.90 ¥5.97

$3.15 MX$58.4

-71.43%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.05 ¥13.63

$4.93 MX$91.6

-58.42%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.79 ¥11.92

$1.41 MX$26.14

26.95%

White Bread (500g)

$1.57 ¥10.44

$2.20 MX$40.75

-28.64%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$0.96 ¥6.40

$1.47 MX$27.33

-34.69%

Eggs

$1.59 ¥10.57

$2.50 MX$46.34

-36.40%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$12.89 ¥85.8

$7.29 MX$135

76.82%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$3.12 ¥20.76

$7.95 MX$148

-60.75%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$10.05 ¥66.9

$12.86 MX$239

-21.85%

Apples (1kg)

$1.81 ¥12.05

$2.90 MX$53.8

-37.59%

Banana (1kg)

$1.22 ¥8.09

$1.38 MX$25.67

-11.59%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.53 ¥10.22

$2.49 MX$46.23

-38.55%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.09 ¥7.27

$2.03 MX$37.67

-46.31%

Potato (1kg)

$0.70 ¥4.68

$2.02 MX$37.58

-65.35%

Onion (1kg)

$0.89 ¥5.91

$1.90 MX$35.32

-53.16%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.55 ¥3.68

$1.14 MX$21.24

-51.75%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.55 ¥3.67

$1.24 MX$22.99

-55.65%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$3.12 ¥20.74

$4.27 MX$79.3

-26.93%

Wine (Bottle)

$10.54 ¥70.2

$9.81 MX$182

7.44%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$0.75 ¥5.02

$1.59 MX$29.43

-52.83%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.66 ¥11.06

$2.75 MX$51.0

-39.64%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.29 ¥1.93

$0.51 MX$9.56

-43.14%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$16.81 ¥112

$27.39 MX$508

-38.63%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.43 ¥9.50

$4.76 MX$88.4

-69.96%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.36 ¥2.37

$3.25 MX$60.3

-88.92%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$6.70 ¥44.62

$5.39 MX$100

24.30%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.16 ¥7.74

$1.53 MX$28.36

-24.18%

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

$19.7K ¥130.9K

$21.2K MX$393.7K

-7.29%

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

$17.1K ¥114.0K

$23.3K MX$431.7K

-26.39%

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

$45.40 ¥302

$83.5 MX$1,549

-45.62%

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

$9.92 ¥66.0

$23.19 MX$430

-57.22%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$11.93 ¥79.4

$27.61 MX$512

-56.79%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$41.02 ¥273

$56.4 MX$1,047

-27.31%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$13.78 ¥91.7

$28.19 MX$523

-51.12%

Cinema Ticket

$5.79 ¥38.58

$5.00 MX$92.8

15.80%

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

$333 ¥2,217

$207 MX$3,843

60.81%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$16.6K ¥110.3K

$5,231 MX$97.1K

216.58%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$43.38 ¥289

$43.45 MX$806

-0.16%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$30.64 ¥204

$42.54 MX$789

-27.97%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$71.4 ¥475

$72.8 MX$1,350

-1.94%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$70.6 ¥470

$88.4 MX$1,640

-20.16%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$275 ¥1,834

$995 MX$18.5K

-72.31%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$190 ¥1,266

$382 MX$7,097

-50.27%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$583 ¥3,880

$1,674 MX$31.1K

-65.19%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$363 ¥2,420

$1,081 MX$20.1K

-66.37%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,976 ¥19.8K

$3,909 MX$72.5K

-23.86%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$2,056 ¥13.7K

$6,138 MX$113.9K

-66.50%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$832 MX$15.4K

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 Dongying: October 31, 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

Dongying

$197 27.8%

Playa del Carmen

$257 21.4% 30.7% $60

Accommodation & Living

Dongying

$190 26.8%

Playa del Carmen

$382 31.8% 101% $192

Clothing & Footwear

Dongying

$97 13.7%

Playa del Carmen

$111 9.3% 14.4% $14

Eating Out

Dongying

$84 11.8%

Playa del Carmen

$200 16.7% 139% $116

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Dongying

$67 9.5%

Playa del Carmen

$134 11.2% 99.7% $67

Sport & Entertainment

Dongying

$53 7.4%

Playa del Carmen

$66 5.5% 26.3% $14

Getting Around

Dongying

$21 3%

Playa del Carmen

$50 4.2% 138% $29

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $275 in Dongying and $995 in Playa del Carmen. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Dining out: $22 in Dongying vs $44 in Playa del Carmen for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $197 vs $257 per month, with Dongying cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇨🇳 Dongying

🇲🇽 Playa del Carmen

🕒 Local time

23:29 11:29 PM

10:29 10:29 AM

13 h behind Dongying

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

2,035,300

149,923

💱 Currency

Chinese Yuan CNY ¥

Mexican Peso MXN $

📈 Exchange rate

1 CNY = 0.15 USD

1 CNY = 0.134 EUR

100 MXN = 5.39 USD

100 MXN = 4.8 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 = 6.66 CNY (1 CNY = 0.15 USD). 1 EUR = 7.48 CNY (1 CNY = 0.134 EUR).

Mexican Peso exchange rates as of November 5, 2026: 1 USD = 18.56 MXN (100 MXN = 5.39 USD). 1 EUR = 20.85 MXN (100 MXN = 4.8 EUR).

USD to CNY in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Dongying Playa del Carmen 13,030 km ≈ 17 h nonstop flight

From you

Dongying
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

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

Dongying is about 41% cheaper overall, especially in eating out, groceries, and transport. That difference adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

You’d need roughly $1,064 in Dongying 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: $275 in Dongying versus $995 in Playa del Carmen. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $333 in Dongying 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 31% higher in Playa del Carmen. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

At $709 in Dongying versus $1,202 in Playa del Carmen, a $1,000 budget is realistic in Dongying but tight or insufficient in Playa del Carmen. The gap between the two cities makes Dongying 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 Dongying 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.