Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Playa del Carmen and Hua-lien

For one person, living is cheaper in Hua-lien: $1,054 a month against $1,204 in Playa del Carmen, rent and utilities included – about $1,800 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

58

Cost of Living Index in Playa del Carmen
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Playa del Carmen Living Index
51

Cost of Living Index in Hua-lien
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Hua-lien Living Index

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Playa del Carmen

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,204

/mo nomad

Hua-lien

🇹🇼 Taiwan

$1,054

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Playa del Carmen and in Hua-lien

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 Hua-lien actually costs, broken down by who's living it.

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,204 in Playa del Carmen versus $1,054 in Hua-lien.

Playa del Carmen $1,204
Hua-lien $1,054

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,082 in Playa del Carmen versus $1,788 in Hua-lien.

Playa del Carmen $2,082
Hua-lien $1,788

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $2,959 in Playa del Carmen versus $2,522 in Hua-lien.

Playa del Carmen $2,959
Hua-lien $2,522

Living in Playa del Carmen is roughly 14% more expensive than in Hua-lien, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Both cities sit below the global median: Playa del Carmen 12% lower, Hua-lien 23% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$10.92 MX$205

$4.08 NT$133

167.65%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$43.37 MX$814

$27.90 NT$910

55.45%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.78 MX$221

$4.13 NT$135

185.23%

Cappuccino

$3.81 MX$71.5

$2.62 NT$85.3

45.42%

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

$1.28 MX$24.07

$0.93 NT$30.42

37.63%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.78 MX$14.70

$0.53 NT$17.23

47.17%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.17 MX$59.5

$1.33 NT$43.26

138.35%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.93 MX$92.7

$2.04 NT$66.4

141.67%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.41 MX$26.40

$2.74 NT$89.2

-48.54%

White Bread (500g)

$2.22 MX$41.62

$1.64 NT$53.5

35.37%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.42 MX$26.61

$4.53 NT$148

-68.65%

Eggs

$2.52 MX$47.36

$1.93 NT$62.9

30.57%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$7.26 MX$136

$19.15 NT$624

-62.09%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$7.70 MX$144

$5.93 NT$193

29.85%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$12.69 MX$238

$25.47 NT$831

-50.18%

Apples (1kg)

$2.78 MX$52.3

$2.67 NT$87.0

4.12%

Banana (1kg)

$1.37 MX$25.68

$2.44 NT$79.5

-43.85%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.55 MX$47.89

$3.20 NT$104

-20.31%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.12 MX$39.86

$3.09 NT$101

-31.39%

Potato (1kg)

$1.94 MX$36.39

$2.29 NT$74.7

-15.28%

Onion (1kg)

$1.89 MX$35.41

$2.35 NT$76.5

-19.57%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.15 MX$21.53

$1.99 NT$64.9

-42.21%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.18 MX$22.13

$0.96 NT$31.42

22.92%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.30 MX$80.6

$3.76 NT$122

14.36%

Wine (Bottle)

$9.95 MX$187

$12.33 NT$402

-19.30%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.58 MX$29.73

$1.85 NT$60.4

-14.59%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.67 MX$50.1

$2.30 NT$74.9

16.09%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.55 MX$10.39

$0.60 NT$19.45

-8.33%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$26.62 MX$500

$33.87 NT$1,104

-21.41%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$4.97 MX$93.3

$3.07 NT$100

61.89%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$3.33 MX$62.5

$0.30 NT$9.64

1010.00%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$5.36 MX$101

$9.86 NT$321

-45.64%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.44 MX$27.11

$0.91 NT$29.62

58.24%

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

$20.7K MX$388.0K

$35.5K NT$1.2M

-41.75%

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

$23.5K MX$440.5K

$23.7K NT$772.4K

-0.94%

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

$84.8 MX$1,592

$99.3 NT$3,237

-14.59%

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

$23.41 MX$439

$18.72 NT$610

25.05%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$28.66 MX$538

$12.53 NT$409

128.73%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$57.1 MX$1,071

$35.49 NT$1,157

60.75%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$28.91 MX$543

Cinema Ticket

$5.14 MX$96.5

$10.12 NT$330

-49.21%

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

$207 MX$3,878

$729 NT$23.8K

-71.65%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$3,927 MX$73.7K

$16.2K NT$527.1K

-75.70%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$43.35 MX$814

$55.5 NT$1,811

-21.95%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$41.44 MX$778

$34.63 NT$1,129

19.67%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$74.2 MX$1,393

$76.5 NT$2,495

-3.02%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$89.3 MX$1,676

$103 NT$3,359

-13.37%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$980 MX$18.4K

$417 NT$13.6K

135.01%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$381 MX$7,150

$254 NT$8,268

50.18%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,708 MX$32.1K

$1,025 NT$33.4K

66.70%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,075 MX$20.2K

$749 NT$24.4K

43.53%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,943 MX$74.0K

$7,568 NT$246.7K

-47.90%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$6,158 MX$115.6K

$4,914 NT$160.2K

25.32%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$735 MX$13.8K

$2,802 NT$91.4K

-73.79%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

11.45

2.13

437.56%

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 Hua-lien: October 26, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Playa del Carmen

$381 31.6%

Hua-lien

$254 24.1% 33.4% $127

Groceries & Markets

Playa del Carmen

$255 21.2%

Hua-lien

$359 34.1% 40.9% $104

Eating Out

Playa del Carmen

$202 16.8%

Hua-lien

$93 8.8% 54.1% $109

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Playa del Carmen

$137 11.4%

Hua-lien

$131 12.4% 4.6% $6.3

Clothing & Footwear

Playa del Carmen

$112 9.3%

Hua-lien

$121 11.5% 8.6% $9.7

Sport & Entertainment

Playa del Carmen

$67 5.6%

Hua-lien

$56 5.3% 17.2% $12

Getting Around

Playa del Carmen

$50 4.2%

Hua-lien

$41 3.9% 19.1% $9.6

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $980 in Playa del Carmen and $417 in Hua-lien. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Hua-lien pays about 3.8 times more on average while also being the cheaper of the two. The combined effect is a noticeably stronger local purchasing power.

Dining out: $43 in Playa del Carmen vs $28 in Hua-lien. Groceries flip the comparison at $255 vs $359, with Playa del Carmen cheaper for home cooking.

Good to know

🇲🇽 Playa del Carmen

🇹🇼 Hua-lien

🕒 Local time

02:24 2:24 AM

15:24 3:24 PM

13 h ahead of Playa del Carmen

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

149,923

105,034

💱 Currency

Mexican Peso MXN $

New Taiwan Dollar TWD NT$

📈 Exchange rate

100 MXN = 5.33 USD

100 MXN = 4.77 EUR

100 TWD = 3.07 USD

100 TWD = 2.75 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

TWD, USD, EUR to MXN – Mexican Peso Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇲🇽 Mexican Peso ($)

Mexican Peso exchange rates as of November 2, 2026: 1 USD = 18.77 MXN (100 MXN = 5.33 USD). 1 EUR = 20.95 MXN (100 MXN = 4.77 EUR).

New Taiwan Dollar exchange rates as of November 2, 2026: 1 USD = 32.61 TWD (100 TWD = 3.07 USD). 1 EUR = 36.39 TWD (100 TWD = 2.75 EUR).

USD to MXN in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Playa del Carmen Hua-lien 14,160 km ≈ 18 h nonstop flight

From you

Playa del Carmen
Hua-lien

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 Hua-lien: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Hua-lien wins on cost – living expenses run 12% lower than in Playa del Carmen. Housing and daily spending are where you’ll feel the difference most, making Hua-lien the obvious pick if budget is a priority.

On paper, salaries run 74% lower in Playa del Carmen. That’s worth factoring in alongside costs, though remote workers earning in a stronger currency may not notice the difference at all.

Rent for a central apartment: $980 in Playa del Carmen versus $417 in Hua-lien. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Shoppers in Playa del Carmen pay roughly 29% less for everyday groceries. It’s an unusual reversal that partly offsets higher costs elsewhere.

Dining out is cheaper in Hua-lien – a meal for two runs $28 versus $43 in Playa del Carmen. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

Both cities are expensive relative to $1,000. Hua-lien is the more realistic option, but even there you’ll need to be disciplined with housing, food, and fun money.

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.