Last update: Nov 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Playa del Carmen and Datong

For one person, living is cheaper in Datong: $713 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
Learn more

Playa del Carmen Living Index
34

Cost of Living Index in Datong
Learn more

Datong Living Index

Jump to prices

Playa del Carmen

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,202

/mo nomad

Datong

🇨🇳 China

$713

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,202 in Playa del Carmen versus $713 in Datong.

Playa del Carmen $1,202
Datong $713

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,082 in Playa del Carmen versus $1,133 in Datong.

Playa del Carmen $2,082
Datong $1,133

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $2,962 in Playa del Carmen versus $1,553 in Datong.

Playa del Carmen $2,962
Datong $1,553

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

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

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$10.67 MX$199

$2.75 ¥18.30

288.00%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$43.80 MX$815

$21.93 ¥146

99.73%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.79 MX$219

$4.79 ¥31.95

146.14%

Cappuccino

$3.79 MX$70.5

$3.09 ¥20.58

22.65%

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

$1.30 MX$24.14

$0.43 ¥2.90

202.33%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.83 MX$15.51

$0.29 ¥1.95

186.21%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.15 MX$58.6

$0.90 ¥5.97

250.00%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.93 MX$91.8

$2.05 ¥13.64

140.49%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.41 MX$26.22

$1.80 ¥12.03

-21.67%

White Bread (500g)

$2.20 MX$40.86

$1.54 ¥10.26

42.86%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.47 MX$27.40

$0.98 ¥6.50

50.00%

Eggs

$2.50 MX$46.46

$1.56 ¥10.38

60.26%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$7.29 MX$136

$12.86 ¥85.7

-43.31%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$7.95 MX$148

$3.23 ¥21.51

146.13%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$12.86 MX$239

$10.09 ¥67.3

27.45%

Apples (1kg)

$2.90 MX$53.9

$1.89 ¥12.59

53.44%

Banana (1kg)

$1.38 MX$25.74

$1.21 ¥8.09

14.05%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.49 MX$46.35

$1.55 ¥10.30

60.65%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.03 MX$37.77

$1.15 ¥7.64

76.52%

Potato (1kg)

$2.02 MX$37.68

$0.75 ¥5.03

169.33%

Onion (1kg)

$1.90 MX$35.42

$0.90 ¥5.99

111.11%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.14 MX$21.30

$0.56 ¥3.76

103.57%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.24 MX$23.05

$0.54 ¥3.62

129.63%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.27 MX$79.5

$3.10 ¥20.63

37.74%

Wine (Bottle)

$9.81 MX$183

$10.70 ¥71.3

-8.32%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.59 MX$29.51

$0.78 ¥5.22

103.85%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.75 MX$51.1

$1.58 ¥10.56

74.05%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.51 MX$9.58

$0.29 ¥1.95

75.86%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$27.39 MX$510

$17.04 ¥114

60.74%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$4.76 MX$88.6

$1.37 ¥9.16

247.45%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$3.25 MX$60.5

$0.36 ¥2.38

802.78%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$5.39 MX$100

$6.78 ¥45.21

-20.50%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.53 MX$28.44

$1.18 ¥7.89

29.66%

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

$21.2K MX$394.8K

$19.1K ¥127.0K

11.30%

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

$23.3K MX$432.9K

$17.1K ¥114.0K

35.94%

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

$83.5 MX$1,554

$44.32 ¥295

88.38%

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

$23.19 MX$431

$9.82 ¥65.4

136.15%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$27.61 MX$514

$11.70 ¥78.0

135.98%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$56.4 MX$1,050

$42.16 ¥281

33.85%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$28.19 MX$525

$13.77 ¥91.7

104.72%

Cinema Ticket

$5.00 MX$93.1

$5.99 ¥39.89

-16.53%

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

$207 MX$3,854

$338 ¥2,252

-38.73%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$5,231 MX$97.3K

$16.9K ¥112.8K

-69.09%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$43.45 MX$809

$44.48 ¥296

-2.32%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$42.54 MX$792

$30.37 ¥202

40.07%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$72.8 MX$1,354

$71.4 ¥476

1.86%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$88.4 MX$1,645

$71.3 ¥475

23.96%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$995 MX$18.5K

$276 ¥1,836

261.03%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$382 MX$7,116

$191 ¥1,271

100.49%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,674 MX$31.2K

$603 ¥4,018

177.72%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,081 MX$20.1K

$360 ¥2,398

200.33%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,909 MX$72.7K

$3,037 ¥20.2K

28.70%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$6,138 MX$114.2K

$2,026 ¥13.5K

202.89%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$832 MX$15.5K

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 Datong: November 1, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Playa del Carmen

$382 31.8%

Datong

$191 26.7% 50.1% $192

Groceries & Markets

Playa del Carmen

$257 21.4%

Datong

$199 27.8% 22.9% $59

Eating Out

Playa del Carmen

$200 16.7%

Datong

$85 11.9% 57.6% $115

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Playa del Carmen

$134 11.2%

Datong

$66 9.2% 51% $68

Clothing & Footwear

Playa del Carmen

$111 9.3%

Datong

$98 13.7% 12% $13

Sport & Entertainment

Playa del Carmen

$66 5.5%

Datong

$54 7.6% 18.5% $12

Getting Around

Playa del Carmen

$50 4.2%

Datong

$21 3% 57.6% $29

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $995 in Playa del Carmen and $276 in Datong. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Dining out: $44 in Playa del Carmen vs $22 in Datong for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $257 vs $199 per month, with Datong cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇲🇽 Playa del Carmen

🇨🇳 Datong

🕒 Local time

00:25 12:25 AM

13:25 1:25 PM

13 h ahead of Playa del Carmen

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

149,923

3,318,057

💱 Currency

Mexican Peso MXN $

Chinese Yuan CNY ¥

📈 Exchange rate

100 MXN = 5.37 USD

100 MXN = 4.77 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 November 5, 2026: 1 USD = 18.61 MXN (100 MXN = 5.37 USD). 1 EUR = 20.95 MXN (100 MXN = 4.77 EUR).

Chinese Yuan exchange rates as of November 5, 2026: 1 USD = 6.66 CNY (1 CNY = 0.15 USD). 1 EUR = 7.5 CNY (1 CNY = 0.133 EUR).

USD to MXN in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Playa del Carmen Datong 12,940 km ≈ 17 h nonstop flight

From you

Playa del Carmen
Datong

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 Datong: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Datong wins on cost – living expenses run 41% lower than in Playa del Carmen. Housing and daily spending are where you’ll feel the difference most, making Datong the obvious pick if budget is a priority.

You’d need roughly $1,804 in Playa del Carmen and $1,070 in Datong 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 $276 in Datong. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $207 in Playa del Carmen versus $338 in Datong. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Supermarket bills run roughly 30% higher in Playa del Carmen. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

At $713 in Datong versus $1,202 in Playa del Carmen, a $800 budget is realistic in Datong but tight or insufficient in Playa del Carmen. The gap between the two cities makes Datong 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 Datong 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.