Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Douliu and Playa del Carmen

For one person, living is cheaper in Douliu: $1,138 a month against $1,210 in Playa del Carmen, rent and utilities included – about $860 less a year. Higher rent and utilities in Playa del Carmen outweigh lower spending on other living expenses.

55

Cost of Living Index in Douliu
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Douliu Living Index
59

Cost of Living Index in Playa del Carmen
Learn more

Playa del Carmen Living Index

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Douliu

🇹🇼 Taiwan

$1,138

/mo nomad

Playa del Carmen

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,210

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

A single person spends $1,138 per month in Douliu vs $1,210 in Playa del Carmen, rent included.

Douliu $1,138
Playa del Carmen $1,210

A couple spends around $1,894 per month in Douliu vs $2,113 in Playa del Carmen, rent included.

Douliu $1,894
Playa del Carmen $2,113

A family of three spends $2,650 per month in Douliu vs $3,016 in Playa del Carmen, rent included.

Douliu $2,650
Playa del Carmen $3,016

Douliu is about 6% cheaper than Playa del Carmen, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Both Douliu and Playa del Carmen are more affordable than the global median – Douliu 16% lower, Playa del Carmen 10% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$3.85 NT$125

$10.76 MX$199

-64.22%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$22.40 NT$726

$43.03 MX$795

-47.94%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$5.81 NT$189

$11.79 MX$218

-50.72%

Cappuccino

$3.40 NT$110

$3.87 MX$71.4

-12.14%

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

$0.94 NT$30.58

$1.37 MX$25.29

-31.39%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.67 NT$21.86

$0.84 MX$15.44

-20.24%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.79 NT$90.4

$3.10 MX$57.3

-10.00%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.73 NT$121

$5.07 MX$93.6

-26.43%

Milk (1 liter)

$3.09 NT$100

$1.44 MX$26.55

114.58%

White Bread (500g)

$2.01 NT$65.1

$2.23 MX$41.23

-9.87%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$3.17 NT$103

$1.47 MX$27.17

115.65%

Eggs

$2.76 NT$89.4

$2.53 MX$46.71

9.09%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$19.44 NT$631

$7.30 MX$135

166.30%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.97 NT$323

$7.86 MX$145

26.84%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$21.44 NT$695

$12.79 MX$236

67.63%

Apples (1kg)

$4.79 NT$155

$2.90 MX$53.6

65.17%

Banana (1kg)

$3.29 NT$107

$1.44 MX$26.53

128.47%

Oranges (1kg)

$3.08 NT$99.9

$2.55 MX$47.07

20.78%

Tomato (1kg)

$4.34 NT$141

$2.06 MX$38.03

110.68%

Potato (1kg)

$2.82 NT$91.3

$2.00 MX$36.97

41.00%

Onion (1kg)

$2.34 NT$75.9

$2.01 MX$37.07

16.42%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.71 NT$55.6

$1.19 MX$22.02

43.70%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.10 NT$35.65

$1.26 MX$23.23

-12.70%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$3.85 NT$125

$4.40 MX$81.4

-12.50%

Wine (Bottle)

$14.46 NT$469

$9.59 MX$177

50.78%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.63 NT$52.9

$1.59 MX$29.41

2.52%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.31 NT$75.0

$2.81 MX$51.9

-17.79%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.61 NT$19.89

$0.57 MX$10.47

7.02%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$35.53 NT$1,152

$27.82 MX$514

27.71%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$2.66 NT$86.3

$4.98 MX$92.1

-46.59%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.77 NT$24.82

$3.50 MX$64.6

-78.00%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$9.46 NT$307

$5.40 MX$99.8

75.19%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.03 NT$33.56

$1.47 MX$27.08

-29.93%

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

$34.0K NT$1.1M

$21.0K MX$387.8K

61.98%

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

$24.0K NT$777.6K

$23.9K MX$441.8K

0.31%

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

$86.6 NT$2,807

$84.2 MX$1,556

2.78%

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

$17.15 NT$556

$23.99 MX$443

-28.51%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$27.79 NT$901

$29.02 MX$536

-4.24%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$36.37 NT$1,179

$63.0 MX$1,164

-42.25%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$29.14 MX$539

Cinema Ticket

$9.54 NT$309

$4.94 MX$91.3

93.12%

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

$663 NT$21.5K

$204 MX$3,763

225.63%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$17.0K NT$550.7K

$3,941 MX$72.8K

330.91%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$64.5 NT$2,091

$43.60 MX$806

47.89%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$40.75 NT$1,321

$43.12 MX$797

-5.50%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$85.0 NT$2,756

$75.8 MX$1,400

12.16%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$105 NT$3,408

$88.6 MX$1,637

18.64%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$404 NT$13.1K

$1,008 MX$18.6K

-59.91%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$257 NT$8,334

$374 MX$6,911

-31.28%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$982 NT$31.8K

$1,708 MX$31.6K

-42.55%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$730 NT$23.7K

$1,106 MX$20.4K

-34.01%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$7,836 NT$254.1K

$3,944 MX$72.9K

98.67%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$4,924 NT$159.7K

$6,169 MX$114.0K

-20.19%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$2,544 NT$82.5K

$754 MX$13.9K

237.32%

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 Douliu: October 12, 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

Douliu

$400 35.1%

Playa del Carmen

$258 21.4% 35.3% $141

Accommodation & Living

Douliu

$257 22.6%

Playa del Carmen

$374 30.9% 45.5% $117

Clothing & Footwear

Douliu

$133 11.7%

Playa del Carmen

$113 9.3% 15% $20

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Douliu

$132 11.6%

Playa del Carmen

$137 11.3% 4.3% $5.7

Eating Out

Douliu

$117 10.3%

Playa del Carmen

$202 16.7% 73.1% $85

Sport & Entertainment

Douliu

$55 4.9%

Playa del Carmen

$73 6% 31.4% $17

Getting Around

Douliu

$44 3.9%

Playa del Carmen

$53 4.3% 18.2% $8.1

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $404 in Douliu versus $1,008 in Playa del Carmen. Rent is usually the largest line item in a monthly budget, so the gap here sets the tone for the overall comparison.

Salaries run about 237% higher in Douliu, which reinforces the cost advantage – you earn more and spend less. Purchasing power leans clearly in its favor.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $22.00 in Douliu versus $43.00 in Playa del Carmen. Groceries tell a different story – $400 in Douliu vs $258 in Playa del Carmen – so Playa del Carmen wins on supermarket bills even if dining out costs more.

Good to know

🇹🇼 Douliu

🇲🇽 Playa del Carmen

🕒 Local time

08:16 8:16 AM

19:16 7:16 PM

13 h behind Douliu

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

108,401

149,923

💱 Currency

New Taiwan Dollar TWD NT$

Mexican Peso MXN $

📈 Exchange rate

100 TWD = 3.08 USD

100 TWD = 2.74 EUR

100 MXN = 5.41 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 19, 2026: 1 USD = 32.43 TWD (100 TWD = 3.08 USD). 1 EUR = 36.46 TWD (100 TWD = 2.74 EUR).

Mexican Peso exchange rates as of October 19, 2026: 1 USD = 18.48 MXN (100 MXN = 5.41 USD). 1 EUR = 20.77 MXN (100 MXN = 4.81 EUR).

USD to TWD in detail →

On the map

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Highest

Between locations

Douliu Playa del Carmen 14,250 km ≈ 18 h nonstop flight

From you

Douliu
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

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

Playa del Carmen costs about 6% more than Douliu, and outside of rent the gap comes mainly from groceries. That's enough to noticeably affect everyday spending and lifestyle for anyone choosing between the two.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $1,707 per month in Douliu and $1,816 in Playa del Carmen. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

Rent is clearly cheaper in Douliu, especially for central apartments. Housing is actually the single biggest factor behind the overall cost gap between these two cities.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $22.00 in Douliu and $43.00 in Playa del Carmen. That's a good indicator of the overall restaurant and café pricing gap between the two cities.

Monthly expenses with rent come to $1,138 in Douliu and $1,210 in Playa del Carmen. That's a gap of about 6%.

A $1,000 monthly budget goes further in Douliu, where all-in costs run around $1,138, than in Playa del Carmen at $1,210. In Douliu it covers expenses comfortably, while in Playa del Carmen it requires careful planning or may not stretch far enough.

For digital nomads, it depends on budget. Douliu costs $1,138 versus $1,210 in Playa del Carmen. Both have workable remote work infrastructure, but the cost gap matters when income varies month to month.

Both have safer and rougher neighborhoods, but overall safety is comparable to other large cities. Neighborhood choice matters more than the city-level comparison – central, well-trafficked areas feel secure in both.

If budget matters most, go with Douliu. If higher salaries, better infrastructure, or specific career opportunities are the priority, Playa del Carmen makes more sense. Both are solid long-term options with distinct trade-offs.