Last update: Nov 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Playa del Carmen and Bac Ninh

For one person, living is cheaper in Bac Ninh: $457 a month against $1,203 in Playa del Carmen, rent and utilities included – about $9,000 less a year. Rent and utilities account for about half of the difference.

57

Cost of Living Index in Playa del Carmen
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Playa del Carmen Living Index
22

Cost of Living Index in Bac Ninh
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Bac Ninh Living Index

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Playa del Carmen

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,203

/mo nomad

Bac Ninh

🇻🇳 Vietnam

$457

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Playa del Carmen and in Bac Ninh

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 Bac Ninh actually costs, broken down by who's living it.

A single person spends $1,203 per month in Playa del Carmen vs $457 in Bac Ninh, rent included.

Playa del Carmen $1,203
Bac Ninh $457

A couple spends around $2,084 per month in Playa del Carmen vs $743 in Bac Ninh, rent included.

Playa del Carmen $2,084
Bac Ninh $743

A family of three spends $2,965 per month in Playa del Carmen vs $1,028 in Bac Ninh, rent included.

Playa del Carmen $2,965
Bac Ninh $1,028

Playa del Carmen costs about 163% more than Bac Ninh, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Both Playa del Carmen and Bac Ninh are more affordable than the global median – Playa del Carmen 10% lower, Bac Ninh 66% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$10.72 MX$199

$1.15 ₫29.4K

832.17%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$42.71 MX$792

$23.01 ₫587.1K

85.61%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.86 MX$220

$2.60 ₫66.4K

356.15%

Cappuccino

$3.80 MX$70.4

$1.15 ₫29.5K

230.43%

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

$1.29 MX$23.85

$0.26 ₫6,573

396.15%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.82 MX$15.25

$0.22 ₫5,516

272.73%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.07 MX$56.9

$0.72 ₫18.3K

326.39%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.99 MX$92.4

$1.00 ₫25.6K

399.00%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.49 MX$27.58

$1.57 ₫39.9K

-5.10%

White Bread (500g)

$2.26 MX$41.93

$1.01 ₫25.8K

123.76%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.40 MX$25.88

$0.78 ₫19.8K

79.49%

Eggs

$2.47 MX$45.81

$1.49 ₫38.1K

65.77%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$7.25 MX$134

$11.72 ₫298.9K

-38.14%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$8.09 MX$150

$3.71 ₫94.8K

118.06%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$12.87 MX$239

$9.70 ₫247.4K

32.68%

Apples (1kg)

$2.89 MX$53.6

$3.06 ₫78.0K

-5.56%

Banana (1kg)

$1.44 MX$26.67

$1.01 ₫25.8K

42.57%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.61 MX$48.36

$1.31 ₫33.5K

99.24%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.13 MX$39.48

$1.08 ₫27.5K

97.22%

Potato (1kg)

$1.99 MX$36.87

$0.91 ₫23.2K

118.68%

Onion (1kg)

$1.89 MX$35.10

$1.19 ₫30.4K

58.82%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.15 MX$21.39

$0.54 ₫13.8K

112.96%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.23 MX$22.88

$0.52 ₫13.3K

136.54%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.45 MX$82.5

$1.40 ₫35.8K

217.86%

Wine (Bottle)

$9.61 MX$178

$11.04 ₫281.6K

-12.95%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.60 MX$29.66

$0.86 ₫22.0K

86.05%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.68 MX$49.72

$1.62 ₫41.2K

65.43%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.57 MX$10.48

$0.41 ₫10.4K

39.02%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$26.54 MX$492

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$4.79 MX$88.8

$0.90 ₫23.0K

432.22%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$3.29 MX$61.0

$0.61 ₫15.5K

439.34%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$5.39 MX$99.9

$2.32 ₫59.3K

132.33%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.46 MX$27.13

$0.90 ₫23.0K

62.22%

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

$21.1K MX$390.8K

$30.8K ₫784.6M

-31.45%

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

$23.4K MX$434.3K

$29.5K ₫752.3M

-20.54%

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

$83.9 MX$1,555

$84.7 ₫2.2M

-0.91%

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

$23.11 MX$428

$5.12 ₫130.5K

351.37%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$28.32 MX$525

$6.95 ₫177.2K

307.48%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$52.7 MX$977

$11.93 ₫304.3K

341.74%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$30.94 MX$574

$7.98 ₫203.5K

287.72%

Cinema Ticket

$4.96 MX$91.9

$3.21 ₫81.8K

54.52%

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

$203 MX$3,769

$716 ₫18.3M

-71.58%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$5,245 MX$97.2K

$12.8K ₫327.6M

-59.16%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$44.12 MX$818

$46.36 ₫1.2M

-4.83%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$41.37 MX$767

$29.33 ₫748.2K

41.05%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$73.8 MX$1,368

$83.8 ₫2.1M

-11.91%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$90.0 MX$1,668

$74.8 ₫1.9M

20.25%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$988 MX$18.3K

$692 ₫17.6M

42.86%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$382 MX$7,088

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,667 MX$30.9K

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,085 MX$20.1K

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,942 MX$73.1K

$1,691 ₫43.1M

133.09%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$6,102 MX$113.1K

$792 ₫20.2M

670.88%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$907 MX$16.8K

$384 ₫9.8M

136.27%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

11.45

8.17

40.15%

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

Last update for Playa del Carmen: November 8, 2026

Last update for Bac Ninh: November 10, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Playa del Carmen

$382 31.8%

Bac Ninh

- * 0% 100%

Groceries & Markets

Playa del Carmen

$260 21.6%

Bac Ninh

$193 42.2% 25.8% $67

Eating Out

Playa del Carmen

$201 16.7%

Bac Ninh

$38 8.4% 80.9% $162

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Playa del Carmen

$135 11.3%

Bac Ninh

$97 21.2% 28.5% $39

Clothing & Footwear

Playa del Carmen

$112 9.3%

Bac Ninh

$105 23.1% 6% $6.7

Sport & Entertainment

Playa del Carmen

$63 5.2%

Bac Ninh

$18 4% 70.7% $44

Getting Around

Playa del Carmen

$50 4.2%

Bac Ninh

$5.6 * 1.2% 88.9% $44

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

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $988 in Playa del Carmen versus $692 in Bac Ninh. Rent is usually the largest line item in a monthly budget, so the gap here sets the tone for the overall comparison.

Salaries in Playa del Carmen are about 2.4 times higher, which partly offsets the higher cost of living there. Purchasing power depends on which expenses matter most to you.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $43 in Playa del Carmen versus $23 in Bac Ninh. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $260 vs $193 – making Bac Ninh the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇲🇽 Playa del Carmen

🇻🇳 Bac Ninh

🕒 Local time

08:26 8:26 AM

20:26 8:26 PM

12 h ahead of Playa del Carmen

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

149,923

288,766

💱 Currency

Mexican Peso MXN $

Vietnamese Dong VND ₫

📈 Exchange rate

100 MXN = 5.4 USD

100 MXN = 4.81 EUR

100,000 VND = 3.92 USD

100,000 VND = 3.49 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

VND, USD, EUR to MXN – Mexican Peso Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇲🇽 Mexican Peso ($)

Mexican Peso exchange rates as of November 10, 2026: 1 USD = 18.53 MXN (100 MXN = 5.4 USD). 1 EUR = 20.8 MXN (100 MXN = 4.81 EUR).

Vietnamese Dong exchange rates as of November 10, 2026: 1 USD = 25,509 VND (100,000 VND = 3.92 USD). 1 EUR = 28,633 VND (100,000 VND = 3.49 EUR).

USD to MXN in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Playa del Carmen Bac Ninh 15,150 km ≈ 19 h nonstop flight

From you

Playa del Carmen
Bac Ninh

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 Bac Ninh: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Playa del Carmen costs about 163% more than Bac Ninh, and outside of rent the gap comes mainly from eating out. That’s enough to noticeably affect everyday spending and lifestyle for anyone choosing between the two.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $1,805 per month in Playa del Carmen and $686 in Bac Ninh. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

Rent is clearly cheaper in Bac Ninh, especially for central apartments: a one-bedroom in the center costs $692 there versus $988 in Playa del Carmen.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $43 in Playa del Carmen and $23 in Bac Ninh. That’s a good indicator of the overall restaurant and café pricing gap between the two cities.

Groceries cost about 35% more in Playa del Carmen, though the gap depends on what you buy.

A $800 monthly budget goes further in Bac Ninh, where all-in costs run around $457, than in Playa del Carmen at $1,203. In Bac Ninh 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 $457 in Bac Ninh to $1,203 in Playa del Carmen. Climate, culture, job market, and personal taste all factor in.

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