Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Kaifeng and Playa del Carmen

For one person, living is cheaper in Kaifeng: $500 a month against $1,204 in Playa del Carmen, rent and utilities included – about $8,400 less a year. Rent and utilities account for about half of the difference.

24

Cost of Living Index in Kaifeng
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Kaifeng Living Index
58

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

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Kaifeng

🇨🇳 China

$500

/mo nomad

Playa del Carmen

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,204

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $500 in Kaifeng versus $1,204 in Playa del Carmen.

Kaifeng $500
Playa del Carmen $1,204

Estimated couple costs with rent: $792 in Kaifeng versus $2,082 in Playa del Carmen.

Kaifeng $792
Playa del Carmen $2,082

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $1,083 in Kaifeng versus $2,959 in Playa del Carmen.

Kaifeng $1,083
Playa del Carmen $2,959

Living in Kaifeng costs roughly 58% less than in Playa del Carmen, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Both cities sit below the global median: Kaifeng 63% lower, Playa del Carmen 12% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$1.85 ¥12.30

$10.92 MX$205

-83.06%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$13.44 ¥89.3

$43.37 MX$815

-69.01%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$4.12 ¥27.40

$11.78 MX$221

-65.03%

Cappuccino

$2.19 ¥14.54

$3.81 MX$71.6

-42.52%

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

$0.39 ¥2.56

$1.28 MX$24.10

-69.53%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.17 ¥1.14

$0.78 MX$14.71

-78.21%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$0.89 ¥5.91

$3.17 MX$59.5

-71.92%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.53 ¥10.16

$4.93 MX$92.7

-68.97%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.57 ¥10.40

$1.41 MX$26.43

11.35%

White Bread (500g)

$1.54 ¥10.21

$2.22 MX$41.66

-30.63%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$0.81 ¥5.39

$1.42 MX$26.64

-42.96%

Eggs

$0.96 ¥6.39

$2.52 MX$47.41

-61.90%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$6.67 ¥44.30

$7.26 MX$137

-8.13%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$2.30 ¥15.25

$7.70 MX$145

-70.13%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$10.21 ¥67.8

$12.69 MX$239

-19.54%

Apples (1kg)

$0.87 ¥5.78

$2.78 MX$52.3

-68.71%

Banana (1kg)

$0.97 ¥6.42

$1.37 MX$25.71

-29.20%

Oranges (1kg)

$0.59 ¥3.94

$2.55 MX$47.94

-76.86%

Tomato (1kg)

$0.64 ¥4.25

$2.12 MX$39.90

-69.81%

Potato (1kg)

$0.58 ¥3.84

$1.94 MX$36.43

-70.10%

Onion (1kg)

$0.67 ¥4.47

$1.89 MX$35.44

-64.55%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.21 ¥1.39

$1.15 MX$21.55

-81.74%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.55 ¥3.67

$1.18 MX$22.16

-53.39%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$2.94 ¥19.56

$4.30 MX$80.7

-31.63%

Wine (Bottle)

$14.88 ¥98.9

$9.95 MX$187

49.55%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.01 ¥6.70

$1.58 MX$29.76

-36.08%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.01 ¥13.36

$2.67 MX$50.2

-24.72%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.13 ¥0.87

$0.55 MX$10.40

-76.36%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$26.62 MX$500

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.17 ¥7.75

$4.97 MX$93.4

-76.46%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.15 ¥0.99

$3.33 MX$62.6

-95.50%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$3.69 ¥24.50

$5.36 MX$101

-31.16%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.27 ¥8.44

$1.44 MX$27.14

-11.81%

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

$19.2K ¥127.3K

$20.7K MX$388.4K

-7.27%

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

$14.9K ¥99.0K

$23.5K MX$441.0K

-36.53%

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

$45.22 ¥300

$84.8 MX$1,594

-46.67%

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

$4.76 ¥31.62

$23.41 MX$440

-79.67%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$5.28 ¥35.07

$28.66 MX$539

-81.58%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$29.67 ¥197

$57.1 MX$1,072

-47.99%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$10.55 ¥70.1

$28.91 MX$543

-63.51%

Cinema Ticket

$3.82 ¥25.36

$5.14 MX$96.6

-25.68%

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

$388 ¥2,581

$207 MX$3,882

88.06%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$31.2K ¥207.3K

$3,927 MX$73.8K

694.39%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$43.81 ¥291

$43.35 MX$815

1.06%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$33.96 ¥226

$41.44 MX$779

-18.05%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$71.9 ¥478

$74.2 MX$1,394

-3.14%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$45.32 ¥301

$89.3 MX$1,677

-49.22%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$121 ¥801

$980 MX$18.4K

-87.70%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$88.7 ¥589

$381 MX$7,157

-76.71%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$225 ¥1,494

$1,708 MX$32.1K

-86.84%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$180 ¥1,197

$1,075 MX$20.2K

-83.24%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,943 MX$74.1K

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$6,158 MX$115.7K

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$580 ¥3,852

$735 MX$13.8K

-21.08%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

3.1

11.45

-72.93%

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

Last update for Kaifeng: October 26, 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

Kaifeng

$165 33.1%

Playa del Carmen

$255 21.2% 54.1% $89

Accommodation & Living

Kaifeng

$89 17.7%

Playa del Carmen

$381 31.6% 329% $292

Clothing & Footwear

Kaifeng

$88 17.6%

Playa del Carmen

$112 9.3% 27.3% $24

Eating Out

Kaifeng

$63 12.6%

Playa del Carmen

$202 16.8% 220% $139

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Kaifeng

$55 11.1%

Playa del Carmen

$137 11.4% 148% $82

Sport & Entertainment

Kaifeng

$37 7.5%

Playa del Carmen

$67 5.6% 80.5% $30

Getting Around

Kaifeng

$2.4 * 0.5%

Playa del Carmen

$50 4.2% 1968% $48

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 $121 in Kaifeng and $980 in Playa del Carmen. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Playa del Carmen pays 27% more on average. The extra income cushions the higher costs, though housing choices and lifestyle decide how much of the gap is truly closed.

Dining out: $13 in Kaifeng vs $43 in Playa del Carmen for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $165 vs $255 per month, with Kaifeng cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇨🇳 Kaifeng

🇲🇽 Playa del Carmen

🕒 Local time

18:03 6:03 PM

05:03 5:03 AM

13 h behind Kaifeng

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

4,676,159

149,923

💱 Currency

Chinese Yuan CNY ¥

Mexican Peso MXN $

📈 Exchange rate

1 CNY = 0.15 USD

1 CNY = 0.135 EUR

100 MXN = 5.32 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 2, 2026: 1 USD = 6.64 CNY (1 CNY = 0.15 USD). 1 EUR = 7.42 CNY (1 CNY = 0.135 EUR).

Mexican Peso exchange rates as of November 2, 2026: 1 USD = 18.79 MXN (100 MXN = 5.32 USD). 1 EUR = 20.97 MXN (100 MXN = 4.77 EUR).

USD to CNY in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Kaifeng Playa del Carmen 13,450 km ≈ 17 h nonstop flight

From you

Kaifeng
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

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

Kaifeng wins on cost – living expenses run 58% lower than in Playa del Carmen. Housing and daily spending are where you’ll feel the difference most, making Kaifeng the obvious pick if budget is a priority.

On paper, salaries run 21% lower in Kaifeng. That’s worth factoring in alongside costs, though remote workers earning in a stronger currency may not notice the difference at all.

Rent for a central apartment: $121 in Kaifeng versus $980 in Playa del Carmen. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Supermarket bills run roughly 54% higher in Playa del Carmen. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

All in, you’ll spend $500 per month in Kaifeng versus $1,204 in Playa del Carmen – Kaifeng is about 58% cheaper, which adds up to real savings over time.

At $500 in Kaifeng versus $1,204 in Playa del Carmen, a $800 budget is realistic in Kaifeng but tight or insufficient in Playa del Carmen. The gap between the two cities makes Kaifeng 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.

It comes down to priorities – Kaifeng wins on affordability, Playa del Carmen on earning potential. Factor in climate, language, visa rules, and proximity to places that matter to you before deciding.