Last update: Nov 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Playa del Carmen and Beijing (Pekin)

For one person, living costs are similar in Playa del Carmen and in Beijing (Pekin): $1,202 and $1,190 a month, rent and utilities included.

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Cost of Living Index in Playa del Carmen
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Playa del Carmen Living Index
57

Cost of Living Index in Beijing (Pekin)
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Beijing (Pekin) Living Index

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Playa del Carmen

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,202

/mo nomad

Beijing (Pekin)

🇨🇳 China

$1,190

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Playa del Carmen and in Beijing (Pekin)

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 Beijing (Pekin) actually costs, broken down by who's living it.

A single person spends $1,202 per month in Playa del Carmen vs $1,190 in Beijing (Pekin), rent included.

Playa del Carmen $1,202
Beijing (Pekin) $1,190

A couple spends around $2,082 per month in Playa del Carmen vs $1,889 in Beijing (Pekin), rent included.

Playa del Carmen $2,082
Beijing (Pekin) $1,889

A family of three spends $2,962 per month in Playa del Carmen vs $2,588 in Beijing (Pekin), rent included.

Playa del Carmen $2,962
Beijing (Pekin) $2,588

Playa del Carmen and Beijing (Pekin) have comparable living costs – the differences are in the details.

Both Playa del Carmen and Beijing (Pekin) are more affordable than the global median – Playa del Carmen 11% lower, Beijing (Pekin) 12% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$10.67 MX$199

$4.54 ¥30.28

135.02%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$43.80 MX$815

$29.58 ¥197

48.07%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.79 MX$219

$5.22 ¥34.83

125.86%

Cappuccino

$3.79 MX$70.5

$3.73 ¥24.91

1.61%

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

$1.30 MX$24.14

$0.53 ¥3.54

145.28%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.83 MX$15.51

$0.29 ¥1.94

186.21%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.15 MX$58.6

$1.17 ¥7.81

169.23%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.93 MX$91.8

$1.70 ¥11.32

190.00%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.41 MX$26.22

$1.69 ¥11.30

-16.57%

White Bread (500g)

$2.20 MX$40.86

$1.70 ¥11.31

29.41%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.47 MX$27.40

$1.30 ¥8.69

13.08%

Eggs

$2.50 MX$46.47

$1.99 ¥13.27

25.63%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$7.29 MX$136

$14.82 ¥98.8

-50.81%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$7.95 MX$148

$3.29 ¥21.94

141.64%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$12.86 MX$239

$10.93 ¥72.9

17.66%

Apples (1kg)

$2.90 MX$53.9

$2.09 ¥13.96

38.76%

Banana (1kg)

$1.38 MX$25.74

$1.71 ¥11.42

-19.30%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.49 MX$46.36

$2.05 ¥13.68

21.46%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.03 MX$37.78

$1.56 ¥10.40

30.13%

Potato (1kg)

$2.02 MX$37.69

$0.74 ¥4.93

172.97%

Onion (1kg)

$1.90 MX$35.42

$0.84 ¥5.58

126.19%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.14 MX$21.30

$0.74 ¥4.92

54.05%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.24 MX$23.06

$0.57 ¥3.82

117.54%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.27 MX$79.5

$4.25 ¥28.38

0.47%

Wine (Bottle)

$9.81 MX$183

$14.22 ¥94.9

-31.01%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.59 MX$29.51

$0.98 ¥6.51

62.24%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.75 MX$51.1

$1.88 ¥12.57

46.28%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.51 MX$9.58

$0.57 ¥3.83

-10.53%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$27.39 MX$510

$29.59 ¥197

-7.43%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$4.76 MX$88.6

$1.94 ¥12.91

145.36%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$3.25 MX$60.5

$0.33 ¥2.23

884.85%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$5.39 MX$100

$7.08 ¥47.25

-23.87%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.53 MX$28.44

$1.37 ¥9.13

11.68%

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

$21.2K MX$394.8K

$19.8K ¥132.2K

7.06%

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

$23.3K MX$432.9K

$17.9K ¥119.4K

29.98%

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

$83.5 MX$1,554

$59.7 ¥398

39.87%

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

$23.19 MX$431

$8.90 ¥59.4

160.56%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$27.61 MX$514

$14.41 ¥96.2

91.60%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$56.4 MX$1,050

$46.85 ¥313

20.45%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$28.19 MX$525

$24.86 ¥166

13.40%

Cinema Ticket

$5.00 MX$93.1

$7.50 ¥50.1

-33.33%

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

$207 MX$3,854

$968 ¥6,458

-78.61%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$5,231 MX$97.4K

$44.5K ¥297.2K

-88.26%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$43.45 MX$809

$72.2 ¥482

-39.84%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$42.54 MX$792

$40.00 ¥267

6.35%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$72.8 MX$1,354

$89.3 ¥596

-18.53%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$88.4 MX$1,645

$125 ¥832

-29.11%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$995 MX$18.5K

$942 ¥6,287

5.56%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$382 MX$7,116

$525 ¥3,502

-27.15%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,674 MX$31.2K

$2,250 ¥15.0K

-25.57%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,081 MX$20.1K

$1,061 ¥7,081

1.82%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,909 MX$72.7K

$12.2K ¥81.1K

-67.83%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$6,138 MX$114.2K

$6,534 ¥43.6K

-6.07%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$832 MX$15.5K

$1,688 ¥11.3K

-50.71%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

11.45

3.12

266.99%

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

Last update for Playa del Carmen: November 2, 2026

Last update for Beijing (Pekin): November 2, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Playa del Carmen

$382 31.8%

Beijing (Pekin)

$525 44.1% 37.3% $142

Groceries & Markets

Playa del Carmen

$257 21.4%

Beijing (Pekin)

$228 19.2% 11.3% $29

Eating Out

Playa del Carmen

$200 16.7%

Beijing (Pekin)

$109 9.2% 45.4% $91

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Playa del Carmen

$134 11.2%

Beijing (Pekin)

$83 7% 38.2% $51

Clothing & Footwear

Playa del Carmen

$111 9.3%

Beijing (Pekin)

$147 12.3% 32% $36

Sport & Entertainment

Playa del Carmen

$66 5.5%

Beijing (Pekin)

$62 5.2% 6.9% $4.6

Getting Around

Playa del Carmen

$50 4.2%

Beijing (Pekin)

$35 3% 29.7% $15

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $995 in Playa del Carmen versus $942 in Beijing (Pekin). Rent is usually the largest line item in a monthly budget, so the gap here sets the tone for the overall comparison.

Salaries in Beijing (Pekin) are about 2 times higher. Purchasing power depends on which expenses matter most to you.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $44 in Playa del Carmen versus $30 in Beijing (Pekin). Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $257 vs $228 – making Beijing (Pekin) the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇲🇽 Playa del Carmen

🇨🇳 Beijing (Pekin)

🕒 Local time

10:09 10:09 AM

23:09 11:09 PM

13 h ahead of Playa del Carmen

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

149,923

21,893,095 Capital

💱 Currency

Mexican Peso MXN $

Chinese Yuan CNY ¥

📈 Exchange rate

100 MXN = 5.37 USD

100 MXN = 4.79 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 November 4, 2026: 1 USD = 18.61 MXN (100 MXN = 5.37 USD). 1 EUR = 20.86 MXN (100 MXN = 4.79 EUR).

Chinese Yuan exchange rates as of November 4, 2026: 1 USD = 6.67 CNY (1 CNY = 0.15 USD). 1 EUR = 7.48 CNY (1 CNY = 0.134 EUR).

USD to MXN in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Playa del Carmen Beijing (Pekin) 12,860 km ≈ 17 h nonstop flight

From you

Playa del Carmen
Beijing (Pekin)

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 Beijing (Pekin): Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

For a comfortable life, plan on about $1,804 per month in Playa del Carmen and $1,784 in Beijing (Pekin). That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

A central 1-bedroom goes for about $995 in Playa del Carmen and $942 in Beijing (Pekin). The gap holds across neighborhoods – outer areas show a similar spread, just at lower price points.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $44 in Playa del Carmen and $30 in Beijing (Pekin). That’s a good indicator of the overall restaurant and café pricing gap between the two cities.

Public transport costs about 7% less in Playa del Carmen. For daily commuters, that gap adds up to noticeable savings over a year.

$1,500 covers both cities comfortably – all-in costs are $1,202 in Playa del Carmen and $1,190 in Beijing (Pekin), leaving budget for savings and extras in both cases.

It depends on your priorities. Playa del Carmen has an edge in some lifestyle areas, with costs from $1,190 in Beijing (Pekin) to $1,202 in Playa del Carmen. Climate, culture, job market, and personal taste all factor in.