Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between New Taipei City and Playa del Carmen

For one person, living costs are similar in New Taipei City and in Playa del Carmen: $1,177 and $1,202 a month, rent and utilities included.

56

Cost of Living Index in New Taipei City
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New Taipei City Living Index
57

Cost of Living Index in Playa del Carmen
Learn more

Playa del Carmen Living Index

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New Taipei City

🇹🇼 Taiwan

$1,177

/mo nomad

Playa del Carmen

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,202

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,177 in New Taipei City versus $1,202 in Playa del Carmen.

New Taipei City $1,177
Playa del Carmen $1,202

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,976 in New Taipei City versus $2,082 in Playa del Carmen.

New Taipei City $1,976
Playa del Carmen $2,082

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $2,774 in New Taipei City versus $2,962 in Playa del Carmen.

New Taipei City $2,774
Playa del Carmen $2,962

Monthly costs are close between New Taipei City and Playa del Carmen; which city is cheaper depends on the spending category.

Both cities sit below the global median: New Taipei City 13% lower, Playa del Carmen 11% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$4.57 NT$150

$10.67 MX$199

-57.17%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$30.49 NT$1,001

$43.80 MX$815

-30.39%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$5.15 NT$169

$11.79 MX$219

-56.32%

Cappuccino

$2.23 NT$73.2

$3.79 MX$70.5

-41.16%

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

$0.84 NT$27.64

$1.30 MX$24.14

-35.38%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.56 NT$18.45

$0.83 MX$15.51

-32.53%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$1.56 NT$51.3

$3.15 MX$58.6

-50.48%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.49 NT$81.8

$4.93 MX$91.8

-49.49%

Milk (1 liter)

$3.10 NT$102

$1.41 MX$26.22

119.86%

White Bread (500g)

$1.76 NT$57.8

$2.20 MX$40.86

-20.00%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.13 NT$69.9

$1.47 MX$27.40

44.90%

Eggs

$2.16 NT$71.0

$2.50 MX$46.46

-13.60%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$24.29 NT$797

$7.29 MX$136

233.20%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$10.34 NT$339

$7.95 MX$148

30.06%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$18.50 NT$607

$12.86 MX$239

43.86%

Apples (1kg)

$4.04 NT$133

$2.90 MX$53.9

39.31%

Banana (1kg)

$2.39 NT$78.6

$1.38 MX$25.74

73.19%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.61 NT$85.8

$2.49 MX$46.35

4.82%

Tomato (1kg)

$3.92 NT$129

$2.03 MX$37.77

93.10%

Potato (1kg)

$3.92 NT$129

$2.02 MX$37.68

94.06%

Onion (1kg)

$2.07 NT$67.9

$1.90 MX$35.42

8.95%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.53 NT$50.3

$1.14 MX$21.30

34.21%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.07 NT$35.00

$1.24 MX$23.05

-13.71%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.18 NT$137

$4.27 MX$79.5

-2.11%

Wine (Bottle)

$8.70 NT$286

$9.81 MX$183

-11.31%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.40 NT$45.80

$1.59 MX$29.51

-11.95%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.26 NT$74.2

$2.75 MX$51.1

-17.82%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.64 NT$20.92

$0.51 MX$9.58

25.49%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$36.63 NT$1,202

$27.39 MX$510

33.73%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$2.66 NT$87.4

$4.76 MX$88.6

-44.12%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.73 NT$24.03

$3.25 MX$60.5

-77.54%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$9.17 NT$301

$5.39 MX$100

70.13%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.04 NT$34.02

$1.53 MX$28.44

-32.03%

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

$33.5K NT$1.1M

$21.2K MX$394.8K

57.91%

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

$22.8K NT$748.9K

$23.3K MX$432.9K

-1.91%

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

$112 NT$3,677

$83.5 MX$1,554

34.17%

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

$16.50 NT$541

$23.19 MX$431

-28.85%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$22.72 NT$746

$27.61 MX$514

-17.71%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$38.10 NT$1,250

$56.4 MX$1,050

-32.48%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$7.87 NT$258

$28.19 MX$525

-72.08%

Cinema Ticket

$10.91 NT$358

$5.00 MX$93.1

118.20%

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

$631 NT$20.7K

$207 MX$3,854

204.80%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$23.4K NT$766.4K

$5,231 MX$97.3K

346.39%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$34.69 NT$1,138

$43.45 MX$809

-20.16%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$30.51 NT$1,001

$42.54 MX$792

-28.28%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$90.6 NT$2,974

$72.8 MX$1,354

24.55%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$95.8 NT$3,144

$88.4 MX$1,645

8.41%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$613 NT$20.1K

$995 MX$18.5K

-38.35%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$336 NT$11.0K

$382 MX$7,116

-12.12%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,346 NT$44.2K

$1,674 MX$31.2K

-19.61%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$907 NT$29.8K

$1,081 MX$20.1K

-16.11%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$11.0K NT$362.1K

$3,909 MX$72.7K

182.25%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$6,481 NT$212.7K

$6,138 MX$114.2K

5.60%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,334 NT$43.8K

$832 MX$15.5K

60.25%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

2.81

11.45

-75.46%

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

Last update for New Taipei City: 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

New Taipei City

$374 31.8%

Playa del Carmen

$257 21.4% 31.2% $117

Accommodation & Living

New Taipei City

$336 28.5%

Playa del Carmen

$382 31.8% 13.8% $46

Monthly Utilities & Internet

New Taipei City

$151 12.9%

Playa del Carmen

$134 11.2% 11.2% $17

Clothing & Footwear

New Taipei City

$113 9.6%

Playa del Carmen

$111 9.3% 1.8% $2

Eating Out

New Taipei City

$97 8.3%

Playa del Carmen

$200 16.7% 106% $103

Sport & Entertainment

New Taipei City

$60 5.1%

Playa del Carmen

$66 5.5% 10.9% $6.5

Getting Around

New Taipei City

$46 3.9%

Playa del Carmen

$50 4.2% 10.9% $5

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $613 in New Taipei City and $995 in Playa del Carmen. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

New Taipei City pays 60% more on average. How far that income stretches comes down to housing choices and lifestyle.

Dining out: $30 in New Taipei City vs $44 in Playa del Carmen. Groceries flip the comparison at $374 vs $257, with Playa del Carmen cheaper for home cooking.

Good to know

🇹🇼 New Taipei City

🇲🇽 Playa del Carmen

🕒 Local time

16:46 4:46 PM

03:46 3:46 AM

13 h behind New Taipei City

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

4,004,367

149,923

💱 Currency

New Taiwan Dollar TWD NT$

Mexican Peso MXN $

📈 Exchange rate

100 TWD = 3.05 USD

100 TWD = 2.71 EUR

100 MXN = 5.37 USD

100 MXN = 4.78 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 November 5, 2026: 1 USD = 32.82 TWD (100 TWD = 3.05 USD). 1 EUR = 36.88 TWD (100 TWD = 2.71 EUR).

Mexican Peso exchange rates as of November 5, 2026: 1 USD = 18.61 MXN (100 MXN = 5.37 USD). 1 EUR = 20.91 MXN (100 MXN = 4.78 EUR).

USD to TWD in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

New Taipei City Playa del Carmen 14,090 km ≈ 18 h nonstop flight

From you

New Taipei City
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

New Taipei City vs Playa del Carmen: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Average pay runs 60% higher in New Taipei City, 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: $613 in New Taipei City versus $995 in Playa del Carmen. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

A monthly transit pass in Playa del Carmen runs roughly 25% less than in New Taipei City. The price difference matters if you commute daily and watch your budget.

Shoppers in Playa del Carmen pay roughly 31% less for everyday groceries. It’s an unusual reversal that partly offsets higher costs elsewhere.

Either city works on $2,000 a month, though New Taipei City gives you more room to save. At this income level, the choice is more about lifestyle than financial pressure.

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.