Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Playa del Carmen and Bien Hoa

For one person, living is cheaper in Bien Hoa: $671 a month against $1,204 in Playa del Carmen, rent and utilities included – about $6,400 less a year. Other living expenses account for most of the difference.

58

Cost of Living Index in Playa del Carmen
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Playa del Carmen Living Index
32

Cost of Living Index in Bien Hoa
Learn more

Bien Hoa Living Index

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Playa del Carmen

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,204

/mo nomad

Bien Hoa

🇻🇳 Vietnam

$671

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Playa del Carmen and in Bien Hoa

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,204 in Playa del Carmen versus $671 in Bien Hoa.

Playa del Carmen $1,204
Bien Hoa $671

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,082 in Playa del Carmen versus $921 in Bien Hoa.

Playa del Carmen $2,082
Bien Hoa $921

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $2,959 in Playa del Carmen versus $1,172 in Bien Hoa.

Playa del Carmen $2,959
Bien Hoa $1,172

Living in Playa del Carmen is roughly 80% more expensive than in Bien Hoa, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Both cities sit below the global median: Playa del Carmen 12% lower, Bien Hoa 51% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$10.92 MX$205

$1.90 ₫48.9K

474.74%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$43.37 MX$815

$11.66 ₫300.9K

271.96%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.78 MX$221

$4.72 ₫121.9K

149.58%

Cappuccino

$3.81 MX$71.6

$1.17 ₫30.2K

225.64%

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

$1.28 MX$24.10

$0.43 ₫11.0K

197.67%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.78 MX$14.71

$0.21 ₫5,417

271.43%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.17 MX$59.5

$0.52 ₫13.3K

509.62%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.93 MX$92.7

$0.78 ₫20.2K

532.05%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.41 MX$26.43

$1.23 ₫31.8K

14.63%

White Bread (500g)

$2.22 MX$41.66

$0.79 ₫20.5K

181.01%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.42 MX$26.64

$0.94 ₫24.2K

51.06%

Eggs

$2.52 MX$47.41

$1.44 ₫37.1K

75.00%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$7.26 MX$137

$11.93 ₫307.7K

-39.15%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$7.70 MX$145

$1.96 ₫50.5K

292.86%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$12.69 MX$239

$9.82 ₫253.4K

29.23%

Apples (1kg)

$2.78 MX$52.3

$2.06 ₫53.2K

34.95%

Banana (1kg)

$1.37 MX$25.71

$1.24 ₫32.1K

10.48%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.55 MX$47.94

$1.18 ₫30.3K

116.10%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.12 MX$39.90

$0.94 ₫24.2K

125.53%

Potato (1kg)

$1.94 MX$36.43

$1.18 ₫30.5K

64.41%

Onion (1kg)

$1.89 MX$35.44

$1.15 ₫29.6K

64.35%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.15 MX$21.55

$0.41 ₫10.5K

180.49%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.18 MX$22.16

$0.49 ₫12.7K

140.82%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.30 MX$80.7

$1.26 ₫32.4K

241.27%

Wine (Bottle)

$9.95 MX$187

$7.63 ₫197.0K

30.41%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.58 MX$29.76

$0.40 ₫10.2K

295.00%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.67 MX$50.2

$0.80 ₫20.7K

233.75%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.55 MX$10.40

$0.31 ₫8,119

77.42%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$26.62 MX$500

$6.53 ₫168.4K

307.66%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$4.97 MX$93.4

$0.49 ₫12.6K

914.29%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$3.33 MX$62.6

$0.56 ₫14.4K

494.64%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$5.36 MX$101

$1.13 ₫29.2K

374.34%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.44 MX$27.14

$0.86 ₫22.1K

67.44%

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

$20.7K MX$388.4K

$31.0K ₫800.4M

-33.38%

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

$23.5K MX$441.0K

$29.5K ₫761.4M

-20.48%

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

$84.8 MX$1,594

$50.9 ₫1.3M

66.68%

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

$23.41 MX$440

$4.13 ₫106.6K

466.83%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$28.66 MX$539

$6.59 ₫169.9K

334.90%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$57.1 MX$1,072

$10.97 ₫283.0K

420.05%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$28.91 MX$543

$7.86 ₫202.8K

267.81%

Cinema Ticket

$5.14 MX$96.6

$3.42 ₫88.3K

50.29%

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

$207 MX$3,882

$67.4 ₫1.7M

206.61%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$3,927 MX$73.8K

$14.6K ₫376.4M

-73.08%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$43.35 MX$815

$15.21 ₫392.4K

185.01%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$41.44 MX$779

$15.57 ₫401.8K

166.15%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$74.2 MX$1,394

$68.0 ₫1.8M

9.10%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$89.3 MX$1,677

$94.6 ₫2.4M

-5.69%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$980 MX$18.4K

$408 ₫10.5M

140.25%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$381 MX$7,157

$279 ₫7.2M

36.53%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,708 MX$32.1K

$423 ₫10.9M

304.09%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,075 MX$20.2K

$305 ₫7.9M

252.32%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,943 MX$74.1K

$2,244 ₫57.9M

75.70%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$6,158 MX$115.7K

$1,241 ₫32.0M

396.31%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$735 MX$13.8K

$315 ₫8.1M

133.16%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

11.45

7.8

46.79%

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

Last update for Playa del Carmen: October 25, 2026

Last update for Bien Hoa: October 27, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Playa del Carmen

$381 31.6%

Bien Hoa

$279 41.6% 26.8% $102

Groceries & Markets

Playa del Carmen

$255 21.2%

Bien Hoa

$164 24.5% 35.6% $91

Eating Out

Playa del Carmen

$202 16.8%

Bien Hoa

$50 7.5% 75.3% $152

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Playa del Carmen

$137 11.4%

Bien Hoa

$62 9.2% 55% $75

Clothing & Footwear

Playa del Carmen

$112 9.3%

Bien Hoa

$87 13% 22.1% $25

Sport & Entertainment

Playa del Carmen

$67 5.6%

Bien Hoa

$18 2.7% 73.5% $50

Getting Around

Playa del Carmen

$50 4.2%

Bien Hoa

$11 1.7% 78.1% $39

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $980 in Playa del Carmen and $408 in Bien Hoa. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Playa del Carmen pays about 2.3 times more on average. How far that income stretches comes down to housing choices and lifestyle.

Dining out: $43 in Playa del Carmen vs $12 in Bien Hoa for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $255 vs $164 per month, with Bien Hoa cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇲🇽 Playa del Carmen

🇻🇳 Bien Hoa

🕒 Local time

20:07 8:07 PM

08:07 8:07 AM

12 h ahead of Playa del Carmen

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

149,923

1,272,235

💱 Currency

Mexican Peso MXN $

Vietnamese Dong VND ₫

📈 Exchange rate

100 MXN = 5.32 USD

100 MXN = 4.77 EUR

100,000 VND = 3.88 USD

100,000 VND = 3.47 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 2, 2026: 1 USD = 18.79 MXN (100 MXN = 5.32 USD). 1 EUR = 20.98 MXN (100 MXN = 4.77 EUR).

Vietnamese Dong exchange rates as of November 2, 2026: 1 USD = 25,802 VND (100,000 VND = 3.88 USD). 1 EUR = 28,810 VND (100,000 VND = 3.47 EUR).

USD to MXN in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Playa del Carmen Bien Hoa 16,190 km ≈ 21 h nonstop flight

From you

Playa del Carmen
Bien Hoa

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 Bien Hoa: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Bien Hoa is about 44% cheaper overall, especially in eating out, groceries, and leisure. That difference adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

Average pay in Playa del Carmen is about 2.3 times higher, 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: $980 in Playa del Carmen versus $408 in Bien Hoa. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Supermarket bills run roughly 55% higher in Playa del Carmen. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

Dining out is cheaper in Bien Hoa – a meal for two runs $12 versus $43 in Playa del Carmen. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

At $671 in Bien Hoa versus $1,204 in Playa del Carmen, a $1,000 budget is realistic in Bien Hoa but tight or insufficient in Playa del Carmen. The gap between the two cities makes Bien Hoa the clear choice for anyone on this budget.

Both cities offer a good standard of living with different trade-offs. Neither is objectively better – the right pick depends on what matters most: affordability, career, cultural scene, or climate.

Expats usually find Bien Hoa gentler on the wallet – expenses run 44% less than in Playa del Carmen. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.