Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Playa del Carmen and Beihai

For one person, living is cheaper in Beihai: $744 a month against $1,210 in Playa del Carmen, rent and utilities included – about $5,600 less a year. Rent and utilities account for about half of the difference.

59

Cost of Living Index in Playa del Carmen
Learn more

Playa del Carmen Living Index
36

Cost of Living Index in Beihai
Learn more

Beihai Living Index

Jump to prices

Playa del Carmen

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,210

/mo nomad

Beihai

🇨🇳 China

$744

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

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

A single person spends $1,210 per month in Playa del Carmen vs $744 in Beihai, rent included.

Playa del Carmen $1,210
Beihai $744

A couple spends around $2,113 per month in Playa del Carmen vs $1,167 in Beihai, rent included.

Playa del Carmen $2,113
Beihai $1,167

A family of three spends $3,016 per month in Playa del Carmen vs $1,590 in Beihai, rent included.

Playa del Carmen $3,016
Beihai $1,590

Playa del Carmen costs about 63% more than Beihai, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Both Playa del Carmen and Beihai are more affordable than the global median – Playa del Carmen 10% lower, Beihai 45% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$10.76 MX$199

$3.40 ¥22.75

216.47%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$43.03 MX$794

$19.56 ¥131

119.99%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.79 MX$218

$5.58 ¥37.31

111.29%

Cappuccino

$3.87 MX$71.4

$2.43 ¥16.28

59.26%

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

$1.37 MX$25.26

$0.46 ¥3.09

197.83%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.84 MX$15.43

$0.30 ¥1.99

180.00%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.10 MX$57.2

$1.22 ¥8.14

154.10%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$5.07 MX$93.5

$2.29 ¥15.34

121.40%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.44 MX$26.52

$1.90 ¥12.69

-24.21%

White Bread (500g)

$2.23 MX$41.19

$1.70 ¥11.36

31.18%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.47 MX$27.14

$1.10 ¥7.33

33.64%

Eggs

$2.53 MX$46.66

$1.87 ¥12.53

35.29%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$7.30 MX$135

$13.95 ¥93.3

-47.67%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$7.86 MX$145

$2.92 ¥19.54

169.18%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$12.79 MX$236

$10.58 ¥70.8

20.89%

Apples (1kg)

$2.90 MX$53.5

$2.10 ¥14.03

38.10%

Banana (1kg)

$1.44 MX$26.50

$1.48 ¥9.91

-2.70%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.55 MX$47.02

$1.52 ¥10.19

67.76%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.06 MX$37.99

$1.27 ¥8.48

62.20%

Potato (1kg)

$2.00 MX$36.93

$0.74 ¥4.92

170.27%

Onion (1kg)

$2.01 MX$37.03

$0.97 ¥6.46

107.22%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.19 MX$21.99

$0.67 ¥4.47

77.61%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.26 MX$23.20

$0.50 ¥3.33

152.00%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.40 MX$81.3

$3.39 ¥22.70

29.79%

Wine (Bottle)

$9.59 MX$177

$12.05 ¥80.6

-20.41%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.59 MX$29.38

$0.74 ¥4.95

114.86%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.81 MX$51.9

$1.66 ¥11.10

69.28%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.57 MX$10.46

$0.30 ¥2.02

90.00%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$27.82 MX$514

$17.17 ¥115

62.03%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$4.98 MX$92.0

$1.56 ¥10.42

219.23%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$3.50 MX$64.6

$0.31 ¥2.08

1029.03%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$5.40 MX$99.7

$6.21 ¥41.53

-13.04%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.47 MX$27.05

$1.39 ¥9.31

5.76%

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

$21.0K MX$387.4K

$18.2K ¥121.6K

15.40%

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

$23.9K MX$441.3K

$18.2K ¥121.9K

31.10%

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

$84.2 MX$1,554

$61.5 ¥411

36.86%

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

$23.99 MX$443

$9.42 ¥63.0

154.67%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$29.02 MX$536

$12.09 ¥80.9

140.03%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$63.0 MX$1,163

$40.99 ¥274

53.65%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$29.14 MX$538

$14.01 ¥93.7

107.99%

Cinema Ticket

$4.94 MX$91.2

$5.71 ¥38.20

-13.49%

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

$204 MX$3,759

$458 ¥3,065

-55.57%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$3,941 MX$72.8K

$18.3K ¥122.6K

-78.50%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$43.60 MX$805

$48.58 ¥325

-10.25%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$43.12 MX$796

$38.03 ¥254

13.38%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$75.8 MX$1,399

$79.9 ¥534

-5.16%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$88.6 MX$1,635

$79.0 ¥528

12.15%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,008 MX$18.6K

$279 ¥1,863

262.02%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$374 MX$6,904

$178 ¥1,190

110.15%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,708 MX$31.5K

$718 ¥4,804

137.83%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,106 MX$20.4K

$332 ¥2,221

233.03%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,944 MX$72.8K

$3,665 ¥24.5K

7.62%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$6,169 MX$113.9K

$2,221 ¥14.9K

177.79%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$754 MX$13.9K

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

11.45

3.36

240.77%

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

Last update for Playa del Carmen: October 10, 2026

Last update for Beihai: October 10, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Playa del Carmen

$374 30.9%

Beihai

$178 23.9% 52.4% $196

Groceries & Markets

Playa del Carmen

$258 21.4%

Beihai

$212 28.5% 18.1% $47

Eating Out

Playa del Carmen

$202 16.7%

Beihai

$87 11.7% 57.1% $115

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Playa del Carmen

$137 11.3%

Beihai

$83 11.2% 39.5% $54

Clothing & Footwear

Playa del Carmen

$113 9.3%

Beihai

$110 14.9% 2.2% $2.5

Sport & Entertainment

Playa del Carmen

$73 6%

Beihai

$52 7% 28.1% $20

Getting Around

Playa del Carmen

$53 4.3%

Beihai

$22 2.9% 59.1% $31

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $1,008 in Playa del Carmen versus $279 in Beihai. Rent is usually the largest line item in a monthly budget, so the gap here sets the tone for the overall comparison.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $43.00 in Playa del Carmen versus $20.00 in Beihai. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $258 vs $212 – making Beihai the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇲🇽 Playa del Carmen

🇨🇳 Beihai

🕒 Local time

02:40 2:40 AM

15:40 3:40 PM

13 h ahead of Playa del Carmen

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

149,923

1,617,500

💱 Currency

Mexican Peso MXN $

Chinese Yuan CNY ¥

📈 Exchange rate

100 MXN = 5.42 USD

100 MXN = 4.84 EUR

1 CNY = 0.15 USD

1 CNY = 0.134 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 15, 2026: 1 USD = 18.46 MXN (100 MXN = 5.42 USD). 1 EUR = 20.67 MXN (100 MXN = 4.84 EUR).

Chinese Yuan exchange rates as of October 15, 2026: 1 USD = 6.69 CNY (1 CNY = 0.15 USD). 1 EUR = 7.49 CNY (1 CNY = 0.134 EUR).

USD to MXN in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Playa del Carmen Beihai 15,010 km ≈ 19 h nonstop flight

From you

Playa del Carmen
Beihai

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 Beihai: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Playa del Carmen costs about 63% more than Beihai, 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 $1,816 per month in Playa del Carmen and $1,116 in Beihai. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

Rent is clearly cheaper in Beihai, especially for central apartments. Housing is actually the single biggest factor behind the overall cost gap between these two cities.

Groceries cost about 22% 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 mid-range dinner for two costs $43.00 in Playa del Carmen and $20.00 in Beihai. That's a good indicator of the overall restaurant and café pricing gap between the two cities.

A $1,000 monthly budget goes further in Beihai, where all-in costs run around $744, than in Playa del Carmen at $1,210. In Beihai it covers expenses comfortably, while in Playa del Carmen it requires careful planning or may not stretch far enough.

For digital nomads, it depends on budget. Beihai costs $744 versus $1,210 in Playa del Carmen. Both have workable remote work infrastructure, but the cost gap matters when income varies month to month.

If budget matters most, go with Beihai. 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.