Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Playa del Carmen and Guilin

For one person, living is cheaper in Guilin: $655 a month against $1,204 in Playa del Carmen, rent and utilities included – about $6,600 less a year. Rent and utilities account for about half 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 Guilin
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Guilin Living Index

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Playa del Carmen

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,204

/mo nomad

Guilin

🇨🇳 China

$655

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

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

A single person spends $1,204 per month in Playa del Carmen vs $655 in Guilin, rent included.

Playa del Carmen $1,204
Guilin $655

A couple spends around $2,082 per month in Playa del Carmen vs $1,046 in Guilin, rent included.

Playa del Carmen $2,082
Guilin $1,046

A family of three spends $2,959 per month in Playa del Carmen vs $1,436 in Guilin, rent included.

Playa del Carmen $2,959
Guilin $1,436

Playa del Carmen costs about 84% more than Guilin, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Both Playa del Carmen and Guilin are more affordable than the global median – Playa del Carmen 12% lower, Guilin 52% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$10.92 MX$205

$2.21 ¥14.68

394.12%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$43.37 MX$815

$15.11 ¥100

187.03%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.78 MX$221

$3.02 ¥20.05

290.07%

Cappuccino

$3.81 MX$71.6

$2.07 ¥13.72

84.06%

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

$1.28 MX$24.10

$0.40 ¥2.65

220.00%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.78 MX$14.71

$0.31 ¥2.08

151.61%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.17 MX$59.5

$0.83 ¥5.54

281.93%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.93 MX$92.7

$2.14 ¥14.23

130.37%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.41 MX$26.43

$1.48 ¥9.80

-4.73%

White Bread (500g)

$2.22 MX$41.66

$1.30 ¥8.63

70.77%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.42 MX$26.64

$0.63 ¥4.19

125.40%

Eggs

$2.52 MX$47.41

$1.76 ¥11.69

43.18%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$7.26 MX$137

$13.08 ¥86.9

-44.50%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$7.70 MX$145

$3.29 ¥21.85

134.04%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$12.69 MX$239

$11.43 ¥76.0

11.02%

Apples (1kg)

$2.78 MX$52.3

$1.51 ¥10.05

84.11%

Banana (1kg)

$1.37 MX$25.71

$1.21 ¥8.05

13.22%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.55 MX$47.94

$1.06 ¥7.05

140.57%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.12 MX$39.90

$0.92 ¥6.10

130.43%

Potato (1kg)

$1.94 MX$36.43

$0.71 ¥4.69

173.24%

Onion (1kg)

$1.89 MX$35.44

$0.90 ¥6.00

110.00%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.15 MX$21.55

$0.56 ¥3.75

105.36%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.18 MX$22.16

$0.43 ¥2.87

174.42%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.30 MX$80.7

$3.84 ¥25.53

11.98%

Wine (Bottle)

$9.95 MX$187

$10.65 ¥70.8

-6.57%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.58 MX$29.76

$0.86 ¥5.72

83.72%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.67 MX$50.2

$1.53 ¥10.15

74.51%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.55 MX$10.40

$0.29 ¥1.93

89.66%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$26.62 MX$500

$17.76 ¥118

49.89%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$4.97 MX$93.4

$1.38 ¥9.18

260.14%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$3.33 MX$62.6

$0.31 ¥2.07

974.19%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$5.36 MX$101

$8.12 ¥53.9

-33.99%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.44 MX$27.14

$1.17 ¥7.77

23.08%

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

$20.7K MX$388.4K

$19.5K ¥129.4K

6.15%

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

$23.5K MX$441.0K

$18.0K ¥119.5K

30.49%

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

$84.8 MX$1,594

$24.16 ¥161

250.95%

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

$23.41 MX$440

$5.06 ¥33.63

362.65%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$28.66 MX$539

$11.06 ¥73.5

159.13%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$57.1 MX$1,072

$41.98 ¥279

35.90%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$28.91 MX$543

$14.59 ¥96.9

98.15%

Cinema Ticket

$5.14 MX$96.6

$5.12 ¥34.04

0.39%

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

$207 MX$3,882

$468 ¥3,111

-55.88%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$3,927 MX$73.8K

$18.8K ¥124.8K

-79.09%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$43.35 MX$815

$42.25 ¥281

2.60%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$41.44 MX$779

$32.05 ¥213

29.30%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$74.2 MX$1,394

$75.2 ¥500

-1.37%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$89.3 MX$1,677

$75.0 ¥498

18.97%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$980 MX$18.4K

$281 ¥1,870

248.10%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$381 MX$7,157

$186 ¥1,236

104.76%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,708 MX$32.1K

$597 ¥3,967

186.10%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,075 MX$20.2K

$362 ¥2,402

197.40%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,943 MX$74.1K

$1,368 ¥9,090

188.23%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$6,158 MX$115.7K

$1,942 ¥12.9K

217.02%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$735 MX$13.8K

$485 ¥3,221

51.53%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

11.45

3.36

240.77%

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 Guilin: October 25, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Playa del Carmen

$381 31.6%

Guilin

$186 28.4% 51.2% $195

Groceries & Markets

Playa del Carmen

$255 21.2%

Guilin

$191 29.1% 25% $64

Eating Out

Playa del Carmen

$202 16.8%

Guilin

$63 9.6% 69% $140

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Playa del Carmen

$137 11.4%

Guilin

$40 6.2% 70.6% $97

Clothing & Footwear

Playa del Carmen

$112 9.3%

Guilin

$101 15.4% 9.6% $11

Sport & Entertainment

Playa del Carmen

$67 5.6%

Guilin

$52 8% 22.4% $15

Getting Around

Playa del Carmen

$50 4.2%

Guilin

$22 3.3% 56.7% $29

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $980 in Playa del Carmen versus $281 in Guilin. Rent is usually the largest line item in a monthly budget, so the gap here sets the tone for the overall comparison.

Salaries run about 52% higher in Playa del Carmen, which partly offsets the higher cost of living there. Purchasing power depends on which expenses matter most to you.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $43 in Playa del Carmen versus $15 in Guilin. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $255 vs $191 – making Guilin the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇲🇽 Playa del Carmen

🇨🇳 Guilin

🕒 Local time

13:22 1:22 PM

02:22 2:22 AM

13 h ahead of Playa del Carmen

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

149,923

4,931,137

💱 Currency

Mexican Peso MXN $

Chinese Yuan CNY ¥

📈 Exchange rate

100 MXN = 5.32 USD

100 MXN = 4.77 EUR

1 CNY = 0.15 USD

1 CNY = 0.135 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 2, 2026: 1 USD = 18.79 MXN (100 MXN = 5.32 USD). 1 EUR = 20.97 MXN (100 MXN = 4.77 EUR).

Chinese Yuan exchange rates as of November 2, 2026: 1 USD = 6.64 CNY (1 CNY = 0.15 USD). 1 EUR = 7.42 CNY (1 CNY = 0.135 EUR).

USD to MXN in detail →

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Playa del Carmen Guilin 14,580 km ≈ 19 h nonstop flight

From you

Playa del Carmen
Guilin

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 Guilin: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Yes – Playa del Carmen is pricier by about 84%, and outside of rent the gap shows up most in eating out.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $1,806 per month in Playa del Carmen and $983 in Guilin. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

Rent is clearly cheaper in Guilin, especially for central apartments: a one-bedroom in the center costs $281 there versus $980 in Playa del Carmen.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $43 in Playa del Carmen and $15 in Guilin. That’s a good indicator of the overall restaurant and café pricing gap between the two cities.

Monthly expenses with rent come to $1,204 in Playa del Carmen and $655 in Guilin. That makes Guilin about 46% cheaper.

A $1,000 monthly budget goes further in Guilin, where all-in costs run around $655, than in Playa del Carmen at $1,204. In Guilin it covers expenses comfortably, while in Playa del Carmen it requires careful planning or may not stretch far enough.

It depends on your priorities. Playa del Carmen has an edge in some lifestyle areas, with costs from $655 in Guilin to $1,204 in Playa del Carmen. Climate, culture, job market, and personal taste all factor in.

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