Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Playa del Carmen and Chungju

For one person, living is cheaper in Playa del Carmen: $1,204 a month against $1,450 in Chungju, rent and utilities included – about $3,000 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
70

Cost of Living Index in Chungju
Learn more

Chungju Living Index

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Playa del Carmen

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,204

/mo nomad

Chungju

🇰🇷 South Korea

$1,450

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

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

A single person spends $1,204 per month in Playa del Carmen vs $1,450 in Chungju, rent included.

Playa del Carmen $1,204
Chungju $1,450

A couple spends around $2,082 per month in Playa del Carmen vs $2,312 in Chungju, rent included.

Playa del Carmen $2,082
Chungju $2,312

A family of three spends $2,959 per month in Playa del Carmen vs $3,173 in Chungju, rent included.

Playa del Carmen $2,959
Chungju $3,173

Playa del Carmen is about 17% cheaper than Chungju, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Playa del Carmen sits 12% below the global median, while Chungju is 7% above – they fall on opposite sides of the world average.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$10.92 MX$204

$7.70 ₩10.3K

41.82%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$43.37 MX$808

$49.08 ₩65.9K

-11.63%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.78 MX$220

$6.74 ₩9,052

74.78%

Cappuccino

$3.81 MX$71.0

$3.62 ₩4,859

5.25%

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

$1.28 MX$23.90

$1.78 ₩2,394

-28.09%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.78 MX$14.59

$1.45 ₩1,953

-46.21%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.17 MX$59.0

$3.72 ₩5,000

-14.78%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.93 MX$92.0

$4.34 ₩5,822

13.59%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.41 MX$26.22

$2.32 ₩3,112

-39.22%

White Bread (500g)

$2.22 MX$41.33

$2.95 ₩3,964

-24.75%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.42 MX$26.42

$3.09 ₩4,150

-54.05%

Eggs

$2.52 MX$47.03

$2.66 ₩3,576

-5.26%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$7.26 MX$135

$11.14 ₩15.0K

-34.83%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$7.70 MX$143

$7.59 ₩10.2K

1.45%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$12.69 MX$237

$24.68 ₩33.1K

-48.58%

Apples (1kg)

$2.78 MX$51.9

$8.96 ₩12.0K

-68.97%

Banana (1kg)

$1.37 MX$25.50

$3.69 ₩4,954

-62.87%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.55 MX$47.55

$7.96 ₩10.7K

-67.96%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.12 MX$39.58

$5.79 ₩7,778

-63.39%

Potato (1kg)

$1.94 MX$36.13

$6.09 ₩8,176

-68.14%

Onion (1kg)

$1.89 MX$35.16

$3.39 ₩4,550

-44.25%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.15 MX$21.37

$2.74 ₩3,684

-58.03%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.18 MX$21.98

$1.30 ₩1,743

-9.23%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.30 MX$80.1

$3.29 ₩4,418

30.70%

Wine (Bottle)

$9.95 MX$185

$18.95 ₩25.4K

-47.49%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.58 MX$29.52

$2.42 ₩3,248

-34.71%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.67 MX$49.79

$2.96 ₩3,980

-9.80%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.55 MX$10.31

$1.10 ₩1,483

-50.00%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$26.62 MX$496

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$4.97 MX$92.6

$3.62 ₩4,855

37.29%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$3.33 MX$62.1

$0.72 ₩968

362.50%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$5.36 MX$99.8

$16.99 ₩22.8K

-68.45%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.44 MX$26.92

$1.43 ₩1,918

0.70%

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

$20.7K MX$385.2K

$39.4K ₩53.0M

-47.60%

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

$23.5K MX$437.4K

$34.5K ₩46.3M

-31.92%

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

$84.8 MX$1,581

$198 ₩265.6K

-57.14%

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

$23.41 MX$436

$27.49 ₩36.9K

-14.84%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$28.66 MX$534

$27.04 ₩36.3K

5.99%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$57.1 MX$1,063

$54.3 ₩72.9K

5.08%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$28.91 MX$539

$14.29 ₩19.2K

102.31%

Cinema Ticket

$5.14 MX$95.8

$11.89 ₩16.0K

-56.77%

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

$207 MX$3,851

$629 ₩844.7K

-67.16%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$3,927 MX$73.2K

$22.1K ₩29.7M

-82.26%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$43.35 MX$808

$76.1 ₩102.1K

-43.01%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$41.44 MX$772

$37.91 ₩50.9K

9.31%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$74.2 MX$1,383

$73.6 ₩98.9K

0.79%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$89.3 MX$1,664

$113 ₩151.6K

-20.96%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$980 MX$18.3K

$483 ₩649.1K

102.63%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$381 MX$7,099

$351 ₩471.3K

8.51%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,708 MX$31.8K

$1,189 ₩1.6M

43.66%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,075 MX$20.0K

$761 ₩1.0M

41.27%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,943 MX$73.5K

$7,118 ₩9.6M

-44.60%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$6,158 MX$114.8K

$5,478 ₩7.4M

12.41%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$735 MX$13.7K

$1,672 ₩2.2M

-56.07%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

11.45

4.22

171.33%

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 Chungju: October 26, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Playa del Carmen

$381 31.6%

Chungju

$351 24.2% 7.8% $30

Groceries & Markets

Playa del Carmen

$255 21.2%

Chungju

$456 31.5% 79.1% $202

Eating Out

Playa del Carmen

$202 16.8%

Chungju

$165 11.4% 18.2% $37

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Playa del Carmen

$137 11.4%

Chungju

$252 17.4% 84.4% $116

Clothing & Footwear

Playa del Carmen

$112 9.3%

Chungju

$135 9.3% 21.1% $24

Sport & Entertainment

Playa del Carmen

$67 5.6%

Chungju

$78 5.4% 16% $11

Getting Around

Playa del Carmen

$50 4.2%

Chungju

$12 * 0.8% 76.9% $39

Categories marked with * are only partly priced – their share counts the items that do have prices.

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $980 in Playa del Carmen versus $483 in Chungju. Rent is usually the largest line item in a monthly budget, so the gap here sets the tone for the overall comparison.

Salaries in Chungju are about 2.3 times higher. Purchasing power depends on which expenses matter most to you.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $43 in Playa del Carmen versus $49 in Chungju. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $255 vs $456 – making Playa del Carmen the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇲🇽 Playa del Carmen

🇰🇷 Chungju

🕒 Local time

13:06 1:06 PM

03:06 3:06 AM

14 h ahead of Playa del Carmen

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

149,923

208,529

💱 Currency

Mexican Peso MXN $

South Korean Won KRW ₩

📈 Exchange rate

100 MXN = 5.36 USD

100 MXN = 4.82 EUR

10,000 KRW = 7.45 USD

10,000 KRW = 6.69 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

KRW, USD, EUR to MXN – Mexican Peso Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇲🇽 Mexican Peso ($)

Mexican Peso exchange rates as of October 28, 2026: 1 USD = 18.64 MXN (100 MXN = 5.36 USD). 1 EUR = 20.75 MXN (100 MXN = 4.82 EUR).

South Korean Won exchange rates as of October 28, 2026: 1 USD = 1,343 KRW (10,000 KRW = 7.45 USD). 1 EUR = 1,495 KRW (10,000 KRW = 6.69 EUR).

USD to MXN in detail →

On the map

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Highest

Between locations

Playa del Carmen Chungju 12,630 km ≈ 16 h nonstop flight

From you

Playa del Carmen
Chungju

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 Chungju: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Chungju costs about 20% more than Playa del Carmen, and outside of rent the gap comes mainly from groceries. That’s enough to noticeably affect everyday spending and lifestyle for anyone choosing between the two.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $1,806 per month in Playa del Carmen and $2,175 in Chungju. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

Rent is clearly cheaper in Chungju, especially for central apartments: a one-bedroom in the center costs $483 there versus $980 in Playa del Carmen.

Monthly expenses with rent come to $1,204 in Playa del Carmen and $1,450 in Chungju. That’s a gap of about 20%.

Kindergarten costs $207 per month in Playa del Carmen and $629 in Chungju. For families with young kids, this one expense can tip the scales when choosing between the two cities.

It depends on your priorities. Playa del Carmen has an edge in some lifestyle areas, with costs from $1,204 in Playa del Carmen to $1,450 in Chungju. Climate, culture, job market, and personal taste all factor in.

If budget matters most, go with Playa del Carmen. If higher salaries, better infrastructure, or specific career opportunities are the priority, Chungju makes more sense. Both are solid long-term options with distinct trade-offs.