Last update: Nov 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Playa del Carmen and Changshu

For one person, living is cheaper in Changshu: $712 a month against $1,202 in Playa del Carmen, rent and utilities included – about $5,900 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
34

Cost of Living Index in Changshu
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Changshu Living Index

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Playa del Carmen

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,202

/mo nomad

Changshu

🇨🇳 China

$712

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,202 in Playa del Carmen versus $712 in Changshu.

Playa del Carmen $1,202
Changshu $712

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,082 in Playa del Carmen versus $1,135 in Changshu.

Playa del Carmen $2,082
Changshu $1,135

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $2,962 in Playa del Carmen versus $1,558 in Changshu.

Playa del Carmen $2,962
Changshu $1,558

Living in Playa del Carmen is roughly 69% more expensive than in Changshu, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Both cities sit below the global median: Playa del Carmen 11% lower, Changshu 47% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$10.67 MX$200

$2.86 ¥19.01

273.08%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$43.80 MX$823

$22.02 ¥147

98.91%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.79 MX$221

$5.01 ¥33.36

135.33%

Cappuccino

$3.79 MX$71.1

$2.95 ¥19.66

28.47%

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

$1.30 MX$24.36

$0.47 ¥3.10

176.60%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.83 MX$15.65

$0.27 ¥1.79

207.41%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.15 MX$59.1

$0.94 ¥6.27

235.11%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.93 MX$92.7

$2.03 ¥13.54

142.86%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.41 MX$26.46

$1.78 ¥11.84

-20.79%

White Bread (500g)

$2.20 MX$41.23

$1.60 ¥10.65

37.50%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.47 MX$27.66

$0.90 ¥5.96

63.33%

Eggs

$2.50 MX$46.89

$1.59 ¥10.58

57.23%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$7.29 MX$137

$12.91 ¥86.0

-43.53%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$7.95 MX$149

$3.13 ¥20.86

153.99%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$12.86 MX$242

$10.04 ¥66.8

28.09%

Apples (1kg)

$2.90 MX$54.4

$1.82 ¥12.13

59.34%

Banana (1kg)

$1.38 MX$25.98

$1.25 ¥8.30

10.40%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.49 MX$46.78

$1.48 ¥9.86

68.24%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.03 MX$38.12

$1.14 ¥7.56

78.07%

Potato (1kg)

$2.02 MX$38.03

$0.70 ¥4.67

188.57%

Onion (1kg)

$1.90 MX$35.74

$0.94 ¥6.29

102.13%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.14 MX$21.49

$0.56 ¥3.76

103.57%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.24 MX$23.27

$0.54 ¥3.62

129.63%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.27 MX$80.2

$3.16 ¥21.07

35.13%

Wine (Bottle)

$9.81 MX$184

$10.53 ¥70.1

-6.84%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.59 MX$29.78

$0.80 ¥5.33

98.75%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.75 MX$51.6

$1.65 ¥10.99

66.67%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.51 MX$9.67

$0.27 ¥1.77

88.89%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$27.39 MX$514

$16.99 ¥113

61.21%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$4.76 MX$89.4

$1.43 ¥9.52

232.87%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$3.25 MX$61.0

$0.33 ¥2.19

884.85%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$5.39 MX$101

$6.88 ¥45.79

-21.66%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.53 MX$28.70

$1.17 ¥7.76

30.77%

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

$21.2K MX$398.4K

$19.1K ¥127.4K

10.84%

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

$23.3K MX$436.9K

$17.1K ¥113.9K

35.97%

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

$83.5 MX$1,568

$45.53 ¥303

83.37%

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

$23.19 MX$435

$9.56 ¥63.7

142.57%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$27.61 MX$519

$11.58 ¥77.1

138.43%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$56.4 MX$1,060

$41.24 ¥275

36.83%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$28.19 MX$529

$14.17 ¥94.3

98.94%

Cinema Ticket

$5.00 MX$93.9

$6.03 ¥40.18

-17.08%

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

$207 MX$3,889

$333 ¥2,214

-37.74%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$5,231 MX$98.2K

$16.8K ¥111.8K

-68.85%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$43.45 MX$816

$44.16 ¥294

-1.61%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$42.54 MX$799

$30.30 ¥202

40.40%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$72.8 MX$1,367

$71.5 ¥476

1.72%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$88.4 MX$1,660

$71.4 ¥475

23.82%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$995 MX$18.7K

$283 ¥1,881

252.08%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$382 MX$7,181

$190 ¥1,265

101.24%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,674 MX$31.4K

$591 ¥3,938

183.06%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,081 MX$20.3K

$367 ¥2,444

194.33%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,909 MX$73.4K

$3,049 ¥20.3K

28.21%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$6,138 MX$115.3K

$2,030 ¥13.5K

202.32%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$832 MX$15.6K

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

11.45

3.89

194.34%

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 Changshu: October 31, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Playa del Carmen

$382 31.8%

Changshu

$190 26.7% 50.3% $192

Groceries & Markets

Playa del Carmen

$257 21.4%

Changshu

$198 27.8% 23.3% $60

Eating Out

Playa del Carmen

$200 16.7%

Changshu

$85 12% 57.5% $115

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Playa del Carmen

$134 11.2%

Changshu

$67 9.4% 50.3% $68

Clothing & Footwear

Playa del Carmen

$111 9.3%

Changshu

$98 13.8% 12% $13

Sport & Entertainment

Playa del Carmen

$66 5.5%

Changshu

$53 7.5% 19.8% $13

Getting Around

Playa del Carmen

$50 4.2%

Changshu

$21 3% 58.1% $29

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $995 in Playa del Carmen and $283 in Changshu. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Dining out: $44 in Playa del Carmen vs $22 in Changshu for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $257 vs $198 per month, with Changshu cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇲🇽 Playa del Carmen

🇨🇳 Changshu

🕒 Local time

01:04 1:04 AM

14:04 2:04 PM

13 h ahead of Playa del Carmen

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

149,923

1,677,050

💱 Currency

Mexican Peso MXN $

Chinese Yuan CNY ¥

📈 Exchange rate

100 MXN = 5.32 USD

100 MXN = 4.74 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 6, 2026: 1 USD = 18.78 MXN (100 MXN = 5.32 USD). 1 EUR = 21.08 MXN (100 MXN = 4.74 EUR).

Chinese Yuan exchange rates as of November 6, 2026: 1 USD = 6.66 CNY (1 CNY = 0.15 USD). 1 EUR = 7.47 CNY (1 CNY = 0.134 EUR).

USD to MXN in detail →

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Playa del Carmen Changshu 13,490 km ≈ 17 h nonstop flight

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Playa del Carmen
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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 Changshu: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Changshu is about 41% cheaper overall, especially in eating out, groceries, and utilities. That difference adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

You’d need roughly $1,804 in Playa del Carmen and $1,067 in Changshu to live well. The gap comes down to housing and overall price levels. Both cities are liveable on less, but these numbers represent actual comfort.

Rent for a central apartment: $995 in Playa del Carmen versus $283 in Changshu. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Dining out is cheaper in Changshu – a meal for two runs $22 versus $44 in Playa del Carmen. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

All in, you’ll spend $1,202 per month in Playa del Carmen versus $712 in Changshu – Changshu is about 41% cheaper, which adds up to real savings over time.

At $712 in Changshu versus $1,202 in Playa del Carmen, a $1,000 budget is realistic in Changshu but tight or insufficient in Playa del Carmen. The gap between the two cities makes Changshu 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 Changshu gentler on the wallet – expenses run 41% less than in Playa del Carmen. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.