Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Playa del Carmen and Ha Dong

For one person, living is cheaper in Ha Dong: $794 a month against $1,204 in Playa del Carmen, rent and utilities included – about $4,900 less a year. Other living expenses account for most of the difference.

58

Cost of Living Index in Playa del Carmen
Learn more

Playa del Carmen Living Index
38

Cost of Living Index in Ha Dong
Learn more

Ha Dong Living Index

Jump to prices

Playa del Carmen

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,204

/mo nomad

Ha Dong

🇻🇳 Vietnam

$794

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Playa del Carmen and in Ha Dong

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

A single person spends $1,204 per month in Playa del Carmen vs $794 in Ha Dong, rent included.

Playa del Carmen $1,204
Ha Dong $794

A couple spends around $2,082 per month in Playa del Carmen vs $1,278 in Ha Dong, rent included.

Playa del Carmen $2,082
Ha Dong $1,278

A family of three spends $2,959 per month in Playa del Carmen vs $1,762 in Ha Dong, rent included.

Playa del Carmen $2,959
Ha Dong $1,762

Playa del Carmen costs about 52% more than Ha Dong, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Both Playa del Carmen and Ha Dong are more affordable than the global median – Playa del Carmen 12% lower, Ha Dong 42% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$10.92 MX$204

$1.99 ₫51.5K

448.74%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$43.37 MX$808

$22.71 ₫586.6K

90.97%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.78 MX$220

$4.43 ₫114.5K

165.91%

Cappuccino

$3.81 MX$71.0

$1.86 ₫48.2K

104.84%

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

$1.28 MX$23.90

$0.52 ₫13.4K

146.15%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.78 MX$14.59

$0.34 ₫8,654

129.41%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.17 MX$59.0

$1.11 ₫28.7K

185.59%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.93 MX$92.0

$1.99 ₫51.3K

147.74%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.41 MX$26.22

$1.53 ₫39.4K

-7.84%

White Bread (500g)

$2.22 MX$41.33

$1.12 ₫29.0K

98.21%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.42 MX$26.42

$0.77 ₫19.8K

84.42%

Eggs

$2.52 MX$47.03

$1.44 ₫37.1K

75.00%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$7.26 MX$135

$11.87 ₫306.7K

-38.84%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$7.70 MX$143

$3.62 ₫93.5K

112.71%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$12.69 MX$237

$10.20 ₫263.4K

24.41%

Apples (1kg)

$2.78 MX$51.9

$3.27 ₫84.5K

-14.98%

Banana (1kg)

$1.37 MX$25.50

$1.03 ₫26.6K

33.01%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.55 MX$47.55

$1.31 ₫33.9K

94.66%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.12 MX$39.58

$1.11 ₫28.7K

90.99%

Potato (1kg)

$1.94 MX$36.13

$0.92 ₫23.7K

110.87%

Onion (1kg)

$1.89 MX$35.16

$1.09 ₫28.1K

73.39%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.15 MX$21.37

$0.59 ₫15.1K

94.92%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.18 MX$21.98

$0.52 ₫13.3K

126.92%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.30 MX$80.1

$1.42 ₫36.7K

202.82%

Wine (Bottle)

$9.95 MX$185

$12.66 ₫327.1K

-21.41%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.58 MX$29.52

$0.96 ₫24.9K

64.58%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.67 MX$49.79

$1.75 ₫45.2K

52.57%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.55 MX$10.31

$0.31 ₫8,122

77.42%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$26.62 MX$496

$6.51 ₫168.2K

308.91%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$4.97 MX$92.6

$0.74 ₫19.0K

571.62%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$3.33 MX$62.1

$0.60 ₫15.5K

455.00%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$5.36 MX$99.8

$2.28 ₫58.9K

135.09%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.44 MX$26.92

$0.88 ₫22.8K

63.64%

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

$20.7K MX$385.2K

$30.7K ₫793.9M

-32.76%

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

$23.5K MX$437.4K

$29.4K ₫758.4M

-20.07%

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

$84.8 MX$1,581

$86.7 ₫2.2M

-2.19%

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

$23.41 MX$436

$5.38 ₫139.1K

335.13%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$28.66 MX$534

$8.89 ₫229.6K

222.38%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$57.1 MX$1,063

$23.54 ₫608.1K

142.35%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$28.91 MX$539

$7.69 ₫198.7K

275.94%

Cinema Ticket

$5.14 MX$95.8

$4.37 ₫112.8K

17.62%

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

$207 MX$3,851

$246 ₫6.4M

-16.09%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$3,927 MX$73.2K

$12.7K ₫327.5M

-69.02%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$43.35 MX$808

$48.83 ₫1.3M

-11.22%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$41.44 MX$772

$26.19 ₫676.6K

58.23%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$74.2 MX$1,383

$83.5 ₫2.2M

-11.10%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$89.3 MX$1,664

$78.9 ₫2.0M

13.16%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$980 MX$18.3K

$407 ₫10.5M

140.41%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$381 MX$7,099

$278 ₫7.2M

36.94%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,708 MX$31.8K

$820 ₫21.2M

108.28%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,075 MX$20.0K

$625 ₫16.2M

71.92%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,943 MX$73.5K

$2,226 ₫57.5M

77.11%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$6,158 MX$114.8K

$1,228 ₫31.7M

401.57%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$735 MX$13.7K

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

11.45

8.28

38.29%

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 Ha Dong: October 25, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Playa del Carmen

$381 31.6%

Ha Dong

$278 35% 27% $103

Groceries & Markets

Playa del Carmen

$255 21.2%

Ha Dong

$200 25.2% 21.5% $55

Eating Out

Playa del Carmen

$202 16.8%

Ha Dong

$65 8.1% 68.1% $138

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Playa del Carmen

$137 11.4%

Ha Dong

$101 12.7% 26.2% $36

Clothing & Footwear

Playa del Carmen

$112 9.3%

Ha Dong

$107 13.5% 4.4% $4.9

Sport & Entertainment

Playa del Carmen

$67 5.6%

Ha Dong

$32 4.1% 52.1% $35

Getting Around

Playa del Carmen

$50 4.2%

Ha Dong

$12 1.5% 77.2% $39

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $980 in Playa del Carmen versus $407 in Ha Dong. Rent is usually the largest line item in a monthly budget, so the gap here sets the tone for the overall comparison.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $43 in Playa del Carmen versus $23 in Ha Dong. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $255 vs $200 – making Ha Dong the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇲🇽 Playa del Carmen

🇻🇳 Ha Dong

🕒 Local time

11:07 11:07 AM

23:07 11:07 PM

12 h ahead of Playa del Carmen

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

149,923

50,877

💱 Currency

Mexican Peso MXN $

Vietnamese Dong VND ₫

📈 Exchange rate

100 MXN = 5.36 USD

100 MXN = 4.82 EUR

100,000 VND = 3.87 USD

100,000 VND = 3.48 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 October 28, 2026: 1 USD = 18.64 MXN (100 MXN = 5.36 USD). 1 EUR = 20.75 MXN (100 MXN = 4.82 EUR).

Vietnamese Dong exchange rates as of October 28, 2026: 1 USD = 25,832 VND (100,000 VND = 3.87 USD). 1 EUR = 28,750 VND (100,000 VND = 3.48 EUR).

USD to MXN in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Playa del Carmen Ha Dong 15,190 km ≈ 19 h nonstop flight

From you

Playa del Carmen
Ha Dong

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 Ha Dong: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Playa del Carmen costs about 52% more than Ha Dong, and outside of rent the gap comes mainly from eating out. 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 $1,191 in Ha Dong. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

Rent is clearly cheaper in Ha Dong, especially for central apartments: a one-bedroom in the center costs $407 there versus $980 in Playa del Carmen.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $43 in Playa del Carmen and $23 in Ha Dong. 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 $794 in Ha Dong. That’s a gap of about 52%.

It depends on your priorities. Playa del Carmen has an edge in some lifestyle areas, with costs from $794 in Ha Dong to $1,204 in Playa del Carmen. Climate, culture, job market, and personal taste all factor in.

For expats, Ha Dong is the easier option financially – housing and daily costs are lower, and the 52% gap matters a lot on a fixed budget or early-career salary.