Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Playa del Carmen and Anqing

For one person, living is cheaper in Anqing: $636 a month against $1,204 in Playa del Carmen, rent and utilities included – about $6,800 less a year. Rent and utilities account for about half of the difference.

59

Cost of Living Index in Playa del Carmen
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Playa del Carmen Living Index
31

Cost of Living Index in Anqing
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Anqing Living Index

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Playa del Carmen

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,204

/mo nomad

Anqing

🇨🇳 China

$636

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Playa del Carmen and in Anqing

Real prices from locals and on-the-ground checks – rent, groceries, transit and the daily extras. Here's what a month in Playa del Carmen and in Anqing actually costs, broken down by who's living it.

A single person spends $1,204 per month in Playa del Carmen vs $636 in Anqing, rent included.

Playa del Carmen $1,204
Anqing $636

A couple spends around $2,102 per month in Playa del Carmen vs $1,001 in Anqing, rent included.

Playa del Carmen $2,102
Anqing $1,001

A family of three spends $3,000 per month in Playa del Carmen vs $1,366 in Anqing, rent included.

Playa del Carmen $3,000
Anqing $1,366

Playa del Carmen costs about 89% more than Anqing, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Both Playa del Carmen and Anqing are more affordable than the global median – Playa del Carmen 11% lower, Anqing 53% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$10.86 MX$201

$2.56 ¥17.13

324.22%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$44.21 MX$817

$20.24 ¥135

118.43%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.76 MX$217

$5.92 ¥39.59

98.65%

Cappuccino

$3.68 MX$68.0

$2.14 ¥14.33

71.96%

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

$1.34 MX$24.79

$0.44 ¥2.91

204.55%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.82 MX$15.24

$0.23 ¥1.54

256.52%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.06 MX$56.6

$1.02 ¥6.84

200.00%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.94 MX$91.2

$1.33 ¥8.91

271.43%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.47 MX$27.17

$0.96 ¥6.45

53.13%

White Bread (500g)

$2.22 MX$40.95

$1.49 ¥9.98

48.99%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.48 MX$27.32

$0.94 ¥6.31

57.45%

Eggs

$2.49 MX$45.99

$0.92 ¥6.13

170.65%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$7.52 MX$139

$13.13 ¥87.8

-42.73%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$7.96 MX$147

$3.68 ¥24.63

116.30%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$12.57 MX$232

$11.36 ¥75.9

10.65%

Apples (1kg)

$2.78 MX$51.3

$2.23 ¥14.92

24.66%

Banana (1kg)

$1.43 MX$26.37

$1.25 ¥8.37

14.40%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.62 MX$48.37

$1.46 ¥9.74

79.45%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.14 MX$39.49

$1.14 ¥7.62

87.72%

Potato (1kg)

$2.02 MX$37.38

$0.77 ¥5.17

162.34%

Onion (1kg)

$1.99 MX$36.74

$0.81 ¥5.42

145.68%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.14 MX$21.01

$0.34 ¥2.29

235.29%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.20 MX$22.18

$0.36 ¥2.39

233.33%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.26 MX$78.7

$6.81 ¥45.55

-37.44%

Wine (Bottle)

$10.02 MX$185

$11.91 ¥79.6

-15.87%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.54 MX$28.41

$0.78 ¥5.24

97.44%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.66 MX$49.17

$1.47 ¥9.81

80.95%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.53 MX$9.73

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$27.51 MX$508

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$4.90 MX$90.6

$0.92 ¥6.16

432.61%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$3.43 MX$63.5

$0.24 ¥1.60

1329.17%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$5.38 MX$99.4

$2.92 ¥19.51

84.25%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.45 MX$26.76

$1.23 ¥8.19

17.89%

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

$21.2K MX$391.0K

$19.2K ¥128.6K

9.98%

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

$23.0K MX$425.3K

$17.9K ¥119.5K

28.80%

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

$85.4 MX$1,577

$58.0 ¥388

47.27%

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

$23.46 MX$434

$8.59 ¥57.5

173.11%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$28.43 MX$525

$8.93 ¥59.7

218.37%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$62.2 MX$1,149

$74.2 ¥496

-16.22%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$28.68 MX$530

$15.09 ¥101

90.06%

Cinema Ticket

$5.10 MX$94.3

$5.17 ¥34.59

-1.35%

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

$201 MX$3,715

$225 ¥1,504

-10.61%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$3,947 MX$72.9K

$12.2K ¥81.5K

-67.63%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$44.39 MX$820

$25.89 ¥173

71.46%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$41.35 MX$764

$20.70 ¥138

99.76%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$72.7 MX$1,344

$79.0 ¥528

-7.96%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$89.6 MX$1,656

$33.23 ¥222

169.67%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$979 MX$18.1K

$193 ¥1,290

407.58%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$373 MX$6,887

$134 ¥896

178.06%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,681 MX$31.1K

$355 ¥2,372

373.78%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,095 MX$20.2K

$242 ¥1,620

352.05%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,949 MX$73.0K

$12.9K ¥86.0K

-69.31%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$6,137 MX$113.4K

$6,495 ¥43.4K

-5.52%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$738 MX$13.6K

$779 ¥5,206

-5.27%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

11.45

281.67%

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

Last update for Playa del Carmen: October 17, 2026

Last update for Anqing: October 18, 2026

Monthly budget structure

Share of the monthly basket for one person, rent included.

Accommodation & Living

Playa del Carmen

$373 31%

Anqing

$134 21.1% 64% $239

Groceries & Markets

Playa del Carmen

$258 21.5%

Anqing

$194 30.5% 24.8% $64

Eating Out

Playa del Carmen

$200 16.6%

Anqing

$74 11.7% 62.8% $126

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Playa del Carmen

$137 11.4%

Anqing

$75 11.9% 45% $62

Clothing & Footwear

Playa del Carmen

$112 9.3%

Anqing

$71 11.2% 36% $40

Sport & Entertainment

Playa del Carmen

$72 6%

Anqing

$85 13.3% 16.8% $12

Getting Around

Playa del Carmen

$52 4.3%

Anqing

$2.1 * 0.3% 95.9% $50

Categories marked with * are only partly priced – their share counts the items that do have prices.

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $979 in Playa del Carmen versus $193 in Anqing. 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 6% higher in Anqing, 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 $44.00 in Playa del Carmen versus $20.00 in Anqing. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $258 vs $194 – making Anqing the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇲🇽 Playa del Carmen

🇨🇳 Anqing

🕒 Local time

10:16 10:16 AM

23:16 11:16 PM

13 h ahead of Playa del Carmen

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

149,923

4,165,284

💱 Currency

Mexican Peso MXN $

Chinese Yuan CNY ¥

📈 Exchange rate

100 MXN = 5.41 USD

100 MXN = 4.81 EUR

1 CNY = 0.15 USD

1 CNY = 0.133 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

CNY, USD, EUR to MXN – Mexican Peso Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇲🇽 Mexican Peso ($)

Mexican Peso exchange rates as of October 20, 2026: 1 USD = 18.48 MXN (100 MXN = 5.41 USD). 1 EUR = 20.77 MXN (100 MXN = 4.81 EUR).

Chinese Yuan exchange rates as of October 20, 2026: 1 USD = 6.69 CNY (1 CNY = 0.15 USD). 1 EUR = 7.52 CNY (1 CNY = 0.133 EUR).

USD to MXN in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Playa del Carmen Anqing 13,770 km ≈ 18 h nonstop flight

From you

Playa del Carmen
Anqing

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

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

Monthly costs with rent: $1,204 in Playa del Carmen, $636 in Anqing – roughly 89% apart. Outside of rent, the biggest gap is in eating out.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $1,806 per month in Playa del Carmen and $955 in Anqing. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

Rent is clearly cheaper in Anqing, 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 $44.00 in Playa del Carmen and $20.00 in Anqing. That's a good indicator of the overall restaurant and café pricing gap between the two cities.

Groceries cost about 33% more in Playa del Carmen, though it depends on what you buy. Local produce may be comparable; imported and premium items show the biggest price gap.

A $2,000 monthly budget goes further in Anqing, where all-in costs run around $636, than in Playa del Carmen at $1,204. In Anqing it covers expenses comfortably, while in Playa del Carmen it requires careful planning or may not stretch far enough.

It depends on your priorities. Playa del Carmen has an edge in some lifestyle areas, with costs from $636 in Anqing to $1,204 in Playa del Carmen. Climate, culture, job market, and personal taste all factor in.

If budget matters most, go with Anqing. 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.