Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Keelung and Playa del Carmen

For one person, living is cheaper in Keelung: $978 a month against $1,210 in Playa del Carmen, rent and utilities included – about $2,800 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

47

Cost of Living Index in Keelung
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Keelung Living Index
59

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

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Keelung

🇹🇼 Taiwan

$978

/mo nomad

Playa del Carmen

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,210

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $978 in Keelung versus $1,210 in Playa del Carmen.

Keelung $978
Playa del Carmen $1,210

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,717 in Keelung versus $2,113 in Playa del Carmen.

Keelung $1,717
Playa del Carmen $2,113

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $2,457 in Keelung versus $3,016 in Playa del Carmen.

Keelung $2,457
Playa del Carmen $3,016

Living in Keelung costs roughly 19% less than in Playa del Carmen, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Both cities sit below the global median: Keelung 28% lower, Playa del Carmen 10% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$4.65 NT$151

$10.76 MX$199

-56.78%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$31.92 NT$1,035

$43.03 MX$795

-25.82%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$4.85 NT$157

$11.79 MX$218

-58.86%

Cappuccino

$2.85 NT$92.4

$3.87 MX$71.4

-26.36%

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

$1.03 NT$33.31

$1.37 MX$25.29

-24.82%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.73 NT$23.60

$0.84 MX$15.44

-13.10%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$1.54 NT$50.1

$3.10 MX$57.3

-50.32%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.81 NT$91.1

$5.07 MX$93.6

-44.58%

Milk (1 liter)

$3.24 NT$105

$1.44 MX$26.55

125.00%

White Bread (500g)

$1.39 NT$45.01

$2.23 MX$41.23

-37.67%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.12 NT$36.44

$1.47 MX$27.17

-23.81%

Eggs

$2.22 NT$72.1

$2.53 MX$46.71

-12.25%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$29.36 NT$952

$7.30 MX$135

302.19%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$5.83 NT$189

$7.86 MX$145

-25.83%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$17.08 NT$554

$12.79 MX$236

33.54%

Apples (1kg)

$4.35 NT$141

$2.90 MX$53.6

50.00%

Banana (1kg)

$1.89 NT$61.4

$1.44 MX$26.53

31.25%

Oranges (1kg)

$3.02 NT$98.0

$2.55 MX$47.07

18.43%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.16 NT$70.1

$2.06 MX$38.03

4.85%

Potato (1kg)

$1.19 NT$38.69

$2.00 MX$36.97

-40.50%

Onion (1kg)

$1.90 NT$61.6

$2.01 MX$37.07

-5.47%

Lettuce (1 head)

$2.42 NT$78.5

$1.19 MX$22.02

103.36%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.91 NT$29.60

$1.26 MX$23.23

-27.78%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$3.76 NT$122

$4.40 MX$81.4

-14.55%

Wine (Bottle)

$9.24 NT$300

$9.59 MX$177

-3.65%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.09 NT$35.21

$1.59 MX$29.41

-31.45%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.56 NT$83.0

$2.81 MX$51.9

-8.90%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.64 NT$20.87

$0.57 MX$10.47

12.28%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$63.7 NT$2,064

$27.82 MX$514

128.83%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$2.61 NT$84.7

$4.98 MX$92.1

-47.59%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.96 NT$31.16

$3.50 MX$64.6

-72.57%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$9.61 NT$311

$5.40 MX$99.8

77.96%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.03 NT$33.31

$1.47 MX$27.08

-29.93%

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

$33.3K NT$1.1M

$21.0K MX$387.8K

58.72%

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

$23.0K NT$744.6K

$23.9K MX$441.8K

-3.95%

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

$41.52 NT$1,346

$84.2 MX$1,556

-50.69%

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

$15.14 NT$491

$23.99 MX$443

-36.89%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$11.07 NT$359

$29.02 MX$536

-61.85%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$34.14 NT$1,107

$63.0 MX$1,164

-45.79%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$32.11 NT$1,041

$29.14 MX$539

10.19%

Cinema Ticket

$7.92 NT$257

$4.94 MX$91.3

60.32%

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

$336 NT$10.9K

$204 MX$3,763

64.81%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$16.9K NT$546.4K

$3,941 MX$72.8K

327.57%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$73.0 NT$2,368

$43.60 MX$806

67.50%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$36.15 NT$1,172

$43.12 MX$797

-16.16%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$47.16 NT$1,529

$75.8 MX$1,400

-37.76%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$31.66 NT$1,027

$88.6 MX$1,637

-64.26%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$401 NT$13.0K

$1,008 MX$18.6K

-60.26%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$254 NT$8,247

$374 MX$6,911

-32.00%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$978 NT$31.7K

$1,708 MX$31.6K

-42.75%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$731 NT$23.7K

$1,106 MX$20.4K

-33.94%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,385 NT$109.8K

$3,944 MX$72.9K

-14.18%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$2,352 NT$76.3K

$6,169 MX$114.0K

-61.88%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$2,436 NT$79.0K

$754 MX$13.9K

222.92%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

2.27

11.45

-80.17%

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

Last update for Keelung: October 13, 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

Keelung

$341 34.9%

Playa del Carmen

$258 21.4% 24.3% $83

Accommodation & Living

Keelung

$254 26%

Playa del Carmen

$374 30.9% 47.1% $120

Eating Out

Keelung

$106 10.9%

Playa del Carmen

$202 16.7% 90.2% $96

Clothing & Footwear

Keelung

$85 8.7%

Playa del Carmen

$113 9.3% 33.6% $28

Getting Around

Keelung

$74 7.5%

Playa del Carmen

$53 4.3% 28.6% $21

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Keelung

$68 6.9%

Playa del Carmen

$137 11.3% 103% $69

Sport & Entertainment

Keelung

$50 5.1%

Playa del Carmen

$73 6% 45.8% $23

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $401 in Keelung and $1,008 in Playa del Carmen. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Keelung pays 223% more on average while also being the cheaper of the two. The combined effect is a noticeably stronger local purchasing power.

Dining out: $32.00 in Keelung vs $43.00 in Playa del Carmen. Groceries flip the comparison at $341 vs $258, with Playa del Carmen cheaper for home cooking.

Good to know

🇹🇼 Keelung

🇲🇽 Playa del Carmen

🕒 Local time

01:28 1:28 AM

12:28 12:28 PM

13 h behind Keelung

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

372,100

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 17, 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 17, 2026: 1 USD = 18.48 MXN (100 MXN = 5.41 USD). 1 EUR = 20.78 MXN (100 MXN = 4.81 EUR).

USD to TWD in detail →

On the map

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Highest

Between locations

Keelung Playa del Carmen 14,050 km ≈ 18 h nonstop flight

From you

Keelung
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

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

Keelung and Playa del Carmen differ by about 24% in total monthly costs ($978 vs $1,210 including rent). Keelung is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

Average pay runs 223% higher in Keelung, 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: $401 in Keelung versus $1,008 in Playa del Carmen. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Shoppers in Playa del Carmen pay roughly 32% less for everyday groceries. It's an unusual reversal that partly offsets higher costs elsewhere.

Dining out is cheaper in Keelung – a meal for two runs $32.00 versus $43.00 in Playa del Carmen. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

At $978 in Keelung versus $1,210 in Playa del Carmen, a $2,000 budget is realistic in Keelung but tight or insufficient in Playa del Carmen. The gap between the two cities makes Keelung 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.

Safety-wise, Keelung and Playa del Carmen are on par. Petty crime is typical for cities this size, and most residents feel comfortable going about their daily routines in either place.

Expats usually find Keelung gentler on the wallet – expenses run 24% less than in Playa del Carmen. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.