Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Playa del Carmen and Ha Long

For one person, living is cheaper in Ha Long: $759 a month against $1,215 in Playa del Carmen, rent and utilities included – about $5,500 less a year. The total is higher in Playa del Carmen despite lower rent and utilities.

60

Cost of Living Index in Playa del Carmen
Learn more

Playa del Carmen Living Index
37

Cost of Living Index in Ha Long
Learn more

Ha Long Living Index

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Playa del Carmen

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,215

/mo nomad

Ha Long

🇻🇳 Vietnam

$759

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

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

A single person spends $1,215 per month in Playa del Carmen vs $759 in Ha Long, rent included.

Playa del Carmen $1,215
Ha Long $759

A couple spends around $2,144 per month in Playa del Carmen vs $1,223 in Ha Long, rent included.

Playa del Carmen $2,144
Ha Long $1,223

A family of three spends $3,072 per month in Playa del Carmen vs $1,686 in Ha Long, rent included.

Playa del Carmen $3,072
Ha Long $1,686

Playa del Carmen costs about 60% more than Ha Long, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Both Playa del Carmen and Ha Long are more affordable than the global median – Playa del Carmen 9% lower, Ha Long 43% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$10.97 MX$200

$1.83 ₫47.5K

499.45%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$44.85 MX$819

$18.93 ₫490.8K

136.93%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.92 MX$218

$4.36 ₫113.1K

173.39%

Cappuccino

$3.80 MX$69.5

$1.81 ₫46.9K

109.94%

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

$1.31 MX$23.95

$0.57 ₫14.7K

129.82%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.86 MX$15.63

$0.30 ₫7,775

186.67%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.21 MX$58.6

$0.79 ₫20.6K

306.33%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$5.01 MX$91.5

$1.31 ₫33.9K

282.44%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.46 MX$26.62

$1.68 ₫43.6K

-13.10%

White Bread (500g)

$2.33 MX$42.48

$1.04 ₫26.9K

124.04%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.44 MX$26.34

$1.11 ₫28.7K

29.73%

Eggs

$2.46 MX$44.94

$1.66 ₫43.2K

48.19%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$7.70 MX$141

$10.56 ₫273.7K

-27.08%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$7.89 MX$144

$4.12 ₫106.9K

91.50%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$12.80 MX$234

$8.74 ₫226.8K

46.45%

Apples (1kg)

$2.92 MX$53.3

$2.74 ₫71.2K

6.57%

Banana (1kg)

$1.42 MX$25.96

$1.15 ₫29.8K

23.48%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.57 MX$46.84

$1.13 ₫29.4K

127.43%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.14 MX$39.02

$1.26 ₫32.6K

69.84%

Potato (1kg)

$1.95 MX$35.55

$1.06 ₫27.5K

83.96%

Onion (1kg)

$1.94 MX$35.35

$1.14 ₫29.6K

70.18%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.15 MX$21.01

$0.64 ₫16.5K

79.69%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.22 MX$22.29

$0.50 ₫13.0K

144.00%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.38 MX$79.9

$1.52 ₫39.4K

188.16%

Wine (Bottle)

$9.85 MX$180

$11.62 ₫301.3K

-15.23%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.54 MX$28.07

$0.92 ₫23.8K

67.39%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.72 MX$49.58

$1.62 ₫42.0K

67.90%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.52 MX$9.58

$0.31 ₫8,162

67.74%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$27.42 MX$501

$6.09 ₫157.9K

350.25%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$4.91 MX$89.7

$0.68 ₫17.7K

622.06%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$3.52 MX$64.3

$0.58 ₫15.0K

506.90%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$5.69 MX$104

$2.14 ₫55.4K

165.89%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.54 MX$28.12

$0.89 ₫23.1K

73.03%

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

$21.2K MX$387.8K

$34.5K ₫894.6M

-38.43%

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

$24.5K MX$447.1K

$31.8K ₫825.9M

-23.11%

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

$83.6 MX$1,527

$77.6 ₫2.0M

7.80%

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

$24.03 MX$439

$5.83 ₫151.2K

312.18%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$29.33 MX$536

$7.24 ₫187.8K

305.11%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$64.9 MX$1,184

$19.71 ₫511.1K

229.12%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$29.46 MX$538

$8.29 ₫215.1K

255.37%

Cinema Ticket

$5.09 MX$92.9

$2.91 ₫75.4K

74.91%

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

$208 MX$3,792

$165 ₫4.3M

26.17%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$4,045 MX$73.9K

$14.1K ₫366.6M

-71.38%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$44.55 MX$813

$51.9 ₫1.3M

-14.11%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$42.06 MX$768

$22.66 ₫587.7K

85.61%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$75.5 MX$1,379

$76.0 ₫2.0M

-0.58%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$91.4 MX$1,668

$71.4 ₫1.9M

28.02%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$986 MX$18.0K

$421 ₫10.9M

134.31%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$385 MX$7,033

$278 ₫7.2M

38.68%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,713 MX$31.3K

$774 ₫20.1M

121.29%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,108 MX$20.2K

$674 ₫17.5M

64.34%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$4,016 MX$73.3K

$3,212 ₫83.3M

25.01%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$6,247 MX$114.1K

$1,170 ₫30.3M

434.02%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$758 MX$13.8K

$228 ₫5.9M

232.42%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

11.45

8.46

35.34%

CityCost data is based on AI and user input – minor inaccuracies may occur.

Last update for Playa del Carmen: October 4, 2026

Last update for Ha Long: October 4, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Playa del Carmen

$385 31.4%

Ha Long

$278 36.7% 27.9% $107

Groceries & Markets

Playa del Carmen

$260 21.2%

Ha Long

$193 25.5% 25.7% $67

Eating Out

Playa del Carmen

$204 16.6%

Ha Long

$59 7.9% 70.8% $144

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Playa del Carmen

$137 11.2%

Ha Long

$91 12% 33.8% $46

Clothing & Footwear

Playa del Carmen

$114 9.3%

Ha Long

$100 13.2% 12.5% $14

Sport & Entertainment

Playa del Carmen

$75 6.1%

Ha Long

$26 3.4% 66% $50

Getting Around

Playa del Carmen

$52 4.2%

Ha Long

$11 1.4% 79% $41

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $986 in Playa del Carmen versus $421 in Ha Long. 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 232% 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 $45.00 in Playa del Carmen versus $19.00 in Ha Long. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $260 vs $193 – making Ha Long the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇲🇽 Playa del Carmen

🇻🇳 Ha Long

🕒 Local time

21:52 9:52 PM

09:52 9:52 AM

12 h ahead of Playa del Carmen

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

149,923

270,054

💱 Currency

Mexican Peso MXN $

Vietnamese Dong VND ₫

📈 Exchange rate

100 MXN = 5.48 USD

100 MXN = 4.89 EUR

100,000 VND = 3.86 USD

100,000 VND = 3.44 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 13, 2026: 1 USD = 18.26 MXN (100 MXN = 5.48 USD). 1 EUR = 20.46 MXN (100 MXN = 4.89 EUR).

Vietnamese Dong exchange rates as of October 13, 2026: 1 USD = 25,934 VND (100,000 VND = 3.86 USD). 1 EUR = 29,064 VND (100,000 VND = 3.44 EUR).

USD to MXN in detail →

On the map

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Highest

Between locations

Playa del Carmen Ha Long 15,140 km ≈ 19 h nonstop flight

From you

Playa del Carmen
Ha Long

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 Long: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Monthly costs with rent: $1,215 in Playa del Carmen, $759 in Ha Long – roughly 60% apart. Outside of rent, the biggest gap is in eating out.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $1,823 per month in Playa del Carmen and $1,138 in Ha Long. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

Rent is clearly cheaper in Ha Long, especially for central apartments. Housing is actually the single biggest factor behind the overall cost gap between these two cities.

Groceries cost about 35% more in Playa del Carmen, though it depends on what you buy. Local produce may be comparable; imported and premium items show the biggest price gap.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $45.00 in Playa del Carmen and $19.00 in Ha Long. That's a good indicator of the overall restaurant and café pricing gap between the two cities.

A $2,000 monthly budget goes further in Ha Long, where all-in costs run around $759, than in Playa del Carmen at $1,215. In Ha Long 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 $759 in Ha Long to $1,215 in Playa del Carmen. Climate, culture, job market, and personal taste all factor in.

Both have safer and rougher neighborhoods, but overall safety is comparable to other large cities. Neighborhood choice matters more than the city-level comparison – central, well-trafficked areas feel secure in both.

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