Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Playa del Carmen and Bengbu

For one person, living is cheaper in Bengbu: $666 a month against $1,210 in Playa del Carmen, rent and utilities included – about $6,500 less a year. Other living expenses account for most of the difference.

59

Cost of Living Index in Playa del Carmen
Learn more

Playa del Carmen Living Index
32

Cost of Living Index in Bengbu
Learn more

Bengbu Living Index

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Playa del Carmen

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,210

/mo nomad

Bengbu

🇨🇳 China

$666

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,210 in Playa del Carmen versus $666 in Bengbu.

Playa del Carmen $1,210
Bengbu $666

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,113 in Playa del Carmen versus $1,043 in Bengbu.

Playa del Carmen $2,113
Bengbu $1,043

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,016 in Playa del Carmen versus $1,420 in Bengbu.

Playa del Carmen $3,016
Bengbu $1,420

Living in Playa del Carmen is roughly 82% more expensive than in Bengbu, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Both cities sit below the global median: Playa del Carmen 10% lower, Bengbu 51% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$10.76 MX$199

$2.31 ¥15.42

365.80%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$43.03 MX$795

$10.50 ¥70.2

309.81%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.79 MX$218

$4.76 ¥31.80

147.69%

Cappuccino

$3.87 MX$71.4

$3.15 ¥21.08

22.86%

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

$1.37 MX$25.29

$0.47 ¥3.16

191.49%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.84 MX$15.44

$0.25 ¥1.66

236.00%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.10 MX$57.3

$1.45 ¥9.67

113.79%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$5.07 MX$93.6

$2.21 ¥14.74

129.41%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.44 MX$26.55

$2.18 ¥14.56

-33.94%

White Bread (500g)

$2.23 MX$41.23

$1.02 ¥6.82

118.63%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.47 MX$27.17

$0.72 ¥4.85

104.17%

Eggs

$2.53 MX$46.71

$1.32 ¥8.82

91.67%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$7.30 MX$135

$10.42 ¥69.7

-29.94%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$7.86 MX$145

$3.04 ¥20.30

158.55%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$12.79 MX$236

$9.00 ¥60.2

42.11%

Apples (1kg)

$2.90 MX$53.6

$1.50 ¥10.03

93.33%

Banana (1kg)

$1.44 MX$26.53

$1.07 ¥7.13

34.58%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.55 MX$47.07

$1.52 ¥10.16

67.76%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.06 MX$38.03

$0.78 ¥5.22

164.10%

Potato (1kg)

$2.00 MX$36.97

$0.62 ¥4.16

222.58%

Onion (1kg)

$2.01 MX$37.07

$0.63 ¥4.20

219.05%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.19 MX$22.02

$0.76 ¥5.09

56.58%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.26 MX$23.23

$0.43 ¥2.90

193.02%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.40 MX$81.4

$2.93 ¥19.56

50.17%

Wine (Bottle)

$9.59 MX$177

$6.10 ¥40.82

57.21%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.59 MX$29.41

$0.76 ¥5.11

109.21%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.81 MX$51.9

$1.47 ¥9.86

91.16%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.57 MX$10.47

$0.31 ¥2.09

83.87%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$27.82 MX$514

$20.48 ¥137

35.84%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$4.98 MX$92.1

$1.61 ¥10.76

209.32%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$3.50 MX$64.6

$0.38 ¥2.57

821.05%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$5.40 MX$99.8

$9.15 ¥61.2

-40.98%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.47 MX$27.08

$1.29 ¥8.66

13.95%

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

$21.0K MX$387.8K

$19.2K ¥128.4K

9.29%

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

$23.9K MX$441.8K

$16.6K ¥111.2K

43.69%

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

$84.2 MX$1,556

$36.70 ¥245

129.46%

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

$23.99 MX$443

$5.39 ¥36.01

345.08%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$29.02 MX$536

$7.07 ¥47.24

310.47%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$63.0 MX$1,164

$41.28 ¥276

52.57%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$29.14 MX$539

$16.25 ¥109

79.32%

Cinema Ticket

$4.94 MX$91.3

$5.99 ¥40.07

-17.53%

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

$204 MX$3,763

$417 ¥2,788

-51.18%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$3,941 MX$72.8K

$22.1K ¥147.9K

-82.19%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$43.60 MX$806

$43.41 ¥290

0.44%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$43.12 MX$797

$33.77 ¥226

27.69%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$75.8 MX$1,400

$66.1 ¥442

14.61%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$88.6 MX$1,637

$88.5 ¥592

0.14%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,008 MX$18.6K

$294 ¥1,969

242.44%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$374 MX$6,911

$181 ¥1,209

106.81%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,708 MX$31.6K

$586 ¥3,920

191.39%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,106 MX$20.4K

$349 ¥2,334

216.81%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,944 MX$72.9K

$3,507 ¥23.4K

12.47%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$6,169 MX$114.0K

$2,194 ¥14.7K

181.23%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$754 MX$13.9K

$668 ¥4,468

12.86%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

11.45

3.42

234.80%

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 Bengbu: October 12, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Playa del Carmen

$374 30.9%

Bengbu

$181 27.2% 51.6% $193

Groceries & Markets

Playa del Carmen

$258 21.4%

Bengbu

$168 25.2% 35.1% $91

Eating Out

Playa del Carmen

$202 16.7%

Bengbu

$85 12.8% 57.9% $117

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Playa del Carmen

$137 11.3%

Bengbu

$49 7.4% 64.2% $88

Clothing & Footwear

Playa del Carmen

$113 9.3%

Bengbu

$104 15.7% 7.7% $8.7

Sport & Entertainment

Playa del Carmen

$73 6%

Bengbu

$53 8% 26.9% $20

Getting Around

Playa del Carmen

$53 4.3%

Bengbu

$25 3.8% 51.9% $27

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,008 in Playa del Carmen and $294 in Bengbu. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Playa del Carmen pays 13% more on average. The extra income cushions the higher costs, though housing choices and lifestyle decide how much of the gap is truly closed.

Dining out: $43.00 in Playa del Carmen vs $11.00 in Bengbu for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $258 vs $168 per month, with Bengbu cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇲🇽 Playa del Carmen

🇨🇳 Bengbu

🕒 Local time

04:17 4:17 AM

17:17 5:17 PM

13 h ahead of Playa del Carmen

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

149,923

3,296,408

💱 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 Bengbu 13,520 km ≈ 17 h nonstop flight

From you

Playa del Carmen
Bengbu

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 Bengbu: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Bengbu is cheaper overall, especially in groceries, eating out, and clothing. The 82% gap adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

Average pay runs 13% higher in Playa del Carmen, 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: $1,008 in Playa del Carmen versus $294 in Bengbu. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $204 in Playa del Carmen versus $417 in Bengbu. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Supermarket bills run roughly 54% higher in Playa del Carmen. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

At $666 in Bengbu versus $1,210 in Playa del Carmen, a $1,500 budget is realistic in Bengbu but tight or insufficient in Playa del Carmen. The gap between the two cities makes Bengbu the clear choice for anyone on this budget.

For families, Bengbu is more practical. Housing and childcare are both notably cheaper than in Playa del Carmen, and the savings on those two alone free up budget for education, activities, and family trips.

Expats usually find Bengbu gentler on the wallet – expenses run 82% less than in Playa del Carmen. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.