Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Playa del Carmen and Huizhou

For one person, living is cheaper in Huizhou: $771 a month against $1,204 in Playa del Carmen, rent and utilities included – about $5,200 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
37

Cost of Living Index in Huizhou
Learn more

Huizhou Living Index

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Playa del Carmen

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,204

/mo nomad

Huizhou

🇨🇳 China

$771

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

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

A single person spends $1,204 per month in Playa del Carmen vs $771 in Huizhou, rent included.

Playa del Carmen $1,204
Huizhou $771

A couple spends around $2,082 per month in Playa del Carmen vs $1,187 in Huizhou, rent included.

Playa del Carmen $2,082
Huizhou $1,187

A family of three spends $2,959 per month in Playa del Carmen vs $1,603 in Huizhou, rent included.

Playa del Carmen $2,959
Huizhou $1,603

Playa del Carmen costs about 56% more than Huizhou, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Both Playa del Carmen and Huizhou are more affordable than the global median – Playa del Carmen 12% lower, Huizhou 43% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$10.92 MX$205

$2.23 ¥14.81

389.69%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$43.37 MX$815

$17.51 ¥116

147.69%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.78 MX$221

$5.18 ¥34.39

127.41%

Cappuccino

$3.81 MX$71.6

$2.94 ¥19.53

29.59%

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

$1.28 MX$24.10

$0.54 ¥3.61

137.04%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.78 MX$14.71

$0.29 ¥1.90

168.97%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.17 MX$59.5

$1.07 ¥7.12

196.26%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.93 MX$92.7

$1.70 ¥11.29

190.00%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.41 MX$26.43

$1.77 ¥11.75

-20.34%

White Bread (500g)

$2.22 MX$41.66

$1.64 ¥10.89

35.37%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.42 MX$26.64

$1.10 ¥7.29

29.09%

Eggs

$2.52 MX$47.41

$1.56 ¥10.40

61.54%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$7.26 MX$137

$7.68 ¥51.1

-5.47%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$7.70 MX$145

$4.40 ¥29.24

75.00%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$12.69 MX$239

$12.35 ¥82.0

2.75%

Apples (1kg)

$2.78 MX$52.3

$1.77 ¥11.77

57.06%

Banana (1kg)

$1.37 MX$25.71

$1.24 ¥8.26

10.48%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.55 MX$47.94

$1.24 ¥8.26

105.65%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.12 MX$39.90

$1.41 ¥9.39

50.35%

Potato (1kg)

$1.94 MX$36.43

$0.98 ¥6.52

97.96%

Onion (1kg)

$1.89 MX$35.44

$1.19 ¥7.90

58.82%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.15 MX$21.55

$0.68 ¥4.52

69.12%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.18 MX$22.16

$0.46 ¥3.06

156.52%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.30 MX$80.7

$2.97 ¥19.73

44.78%

Wine (Bottle)

$9.95 MX$187

$10.56 ¥70.2

-5.78%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.58 MX$29.76

$1.03 ¥6.86

53.40%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.67 MX$50.2

$1.72 ¥11.43

55.23%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.55 MX$10.40

$0.29 ¥1.92

89.66%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$26.62 MX$500

$18.27 ¥121

45.70%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$4.97 MX$93.4

$1.02 ¥6.78

387.25%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$3.33 MX$62.6

$0.43 ¥2.88

674.42%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$5.36 MX$101

$3.81 ¥25.30

40.68%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.44 MX$27.14

$1.20 ¥7.96

20.00%

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

$20.7K MX$388.4K

$19.2K ¥127.5K

7.68%

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

$23.5K MX$441.0K

$15.7K ¥104.5K

49.14%

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

$84.8 MX$1,594

$49.84 ¥331

70.12%

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

$23.41 MX$440

$11.61 ¥77.2

101.64%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$28.66 MX$539

$9.99 ¥66.4

186.89%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$57.1 MX$1,072

$40.58 ¥270

40.59%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$28.91 MX$543

$15.14 ¥101

90.95%

Cinema Ticket

$5.14 MX$96.6

$6.44 ¥42.78

-20.19%

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

$207 MX$3,882

$430 ¥2,860

-52.00%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$3,927 MX$73.8K

$21.4K ¥142.0K

-81.62%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$43.35 MX$815

$49.23 ¥327

-11.94%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$41.44 MX$779

$41.25 ¥274

0.46%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$74.2 MX$1,394

$81.2 ¥539

-8.60%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$89.3 MX$1,677

$69.8 ¥464

27.79%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$980 MX$18.4K

$208 ¥1,385

369.90%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$381 MX$7,157

$235 ¥1,565

61.72%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,708 MX$32.1K

$394 ¥2,618

333.48%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,075 MX$20.2K

$407 ¥2,706

163.97%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,943 MX$74.1K

$2,210 ¥14.7K

78.39%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$6,158 MX$115.7K

$1,212 ¥8,053

408.11%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$735 MX$13.8K

$868 ¥5,770

-15.40%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

11.45

3.38

238.76%

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 Huizhou: October 26, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Playa del Carmen

$381 31.6%

Huizhou

$235 30.6% 38.2% $145

Groceries & Markets

Playa del Carmen

$255 21.2%

Huizhou

$198 25.8% 22.1% $56

Eating Out

Playa del Carmen

$202 16.8%

Huizhou

$81 10.5% 60.1% $122

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Playa del Carmen

$137 11.4%

Huizhou

$71 9.3% 47.8% $65

Clothing & Footwear

Playa del Carmen

$112 9.3%

Huizhou

$109 14.1% 2.7% $3

Sport & Entertainment

Playa del Carmen

$67 5.6%

Huizhou

$53 6.9% 20.6% $14

Getting Around

Playa del Carmen

$50 4.2%

Huizhou

$23 2.9% 55.2% $28

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $980 in Playa del Carmen versus $208 in Huizhou. 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 18% higher in Huizhou, which reinforces the cost advantage – you earn more and spend less. Purchasing power leans clearly in its favor.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $43 in Playa del Carmen versus $18 in Huizhou. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $255 vs $198 – making Huizhou the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇲🇽 Playa del Carmen

🇨🇳 Huizhou

🕒 Local time

02:32 2:32 AM

15:32 3:32 PM

13 h ahead of Playa del Carmen

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

149,923

4,597,002

💱 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 →

On the map

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Between locations

Playa del Carmen Huizhou 14,620 km ≈ 19 h nonstop flight

From you

Playa del Carmen
Huizhou

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 Huizhou: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Monthly costs with rent: $1,204 in Playa del Carmen, $771 in Huizhou – Huizhou comes out roughly 36% cheaper. Outside of rent, the biggest gap is in eating out.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $1,806 per month in Playa del Carmen and $1,156 in Huizhou. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

Rent is clearly cheaper in Huizhou, especially for central apartments: a one-bedroom in the center costs $208 there versus $980 in Playa del Carmen.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $43 in Playa del Carmen and $18 in Huizhou. 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 $771 in Huizhou. That makes Huizhou about 36% cheaper.

A $1,200 monthly budget goes further in Huizhou, where all-in costs run around $771, than in Playa del Carmen at $1,204. In Huizhou 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 $771 in Huizhou to $1,204 in Playa del Carmen. Climate, culture, job market, and personal taste all factor in.

For expats, Huizhou is the easier option financially – housing and daily costs are lower, and overall it costs about 36% less, which matters a lot on a fixed budget or early-career salary.