Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Playa del Carmen and Kaifeng

For one person, living is cheaper in Kaifeng: $500 a month against $1,204 in Playa del Carmen, rent and utilities included – about $8,400 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
24

Cost of Living Index in Kaifeng
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Kaifeng Living Index

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Playa del Carmen

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,204

/mo nomad

Kaifeng

🇨🇳 China

$500

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,204 in Playa del Carmen versus $500 in Kaifeng.

Playa del Carmen $1,204
Kaifeng $500

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,082 in Playa del Carmen versus $792 in Kaifeng.

Playa del Carmen $2,082
Kaifeng $792

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $2,959 in Playa del Carmen versus $1,083 in Kaifeng.

Playa del Carmen $2,959
Kaifeng $1,083

Living in Playa del Carmen is roughly 141% more expensive than in Kaifeng, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Both cities sit below the global median: Playa del Carmen 12% lower, Kaifeng 63% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$10.92 MX$205

$1.85 ¥12.30

490.27%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$43.37 MX$815

$13.44 ¥89.3

222.69%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.78 MX$221

$4.12 ¥27.40

185.92%

Cappuccino

$3.81 MX$71.6

$2.19 ¥14.54

73.97%

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

$1.28 MX$24.10

$0.39 ¥2.56

228.21%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.78 MX$14.71

$0.17 ¥1.14

358.82%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.17 MX$59.5

$0.89 ¥5.91

256.18%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.93 MX$92.7

$1.53 ¥10.16

222.22%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.41 MX$26.43

$1.57 ¥10.40

-10.19%

White Bread (500g)

$2.22 MX$41.66

$1.54 ¥10.21

44.16%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.42 MX$26.64

$0.81 ¥5.39

75.31%

Eggs

$2.52 MX$47.41

$0.96 ¥6.39

162.50%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$7.26 MX$137

$6.67 ¥44.30

8.85%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$7.70 MX$145

$2.30 ¥15.25

234.78%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$12.69 MX$239

$10.21 ¥67.8

24.29%

Apples (1kg)

$2.78 MX$52.3

$0.87 ¥5.78

219.54%

Banana (1kg)

$1.37 MX$25.71

$0.97 ¥6.42

41.24%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.55 MX$47.94

$0.59 ¥3.94

332.20%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.12 MX$39.90

$0.64 ¥4.25

231.25%

Potato (1kg)

$1.94 MX$36.43

$0.58 ¥3.84

234.48%

Onion (1kg)

$1.89 MX$35.44

$0.67 ¥4.47

182.09%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.15 MX$21.55

$0.21 ¥1.39

447.62%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.18 MX$22.16

$0.55 ¥3.67

114.55%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.30 MX$80.7

$2.94 ¥19.56

46.26%

Wine (Bottle)

$9.95 MX$187

$14.88 ¥98.9

-33.13%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.58 MX$29.76

$1.01 ¥6.70

56.44%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.67 MX$50.2

$2.01 ¥13.36

32.84%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.55 MX$10.40

$0.13 ¥0.87

323.08%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$26.62 MX$500

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$4.97 MX$93.4

$1.17 ¥7.75

324.79%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$3.33 MX$62.6

$0.15 ¥0.99

2120.00%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$5.36 MX$101

$3.69 ¥24.50

45.26%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.44 MX$27.14

$1.27 ¥8.44

13.39%

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

$20.7K MX$388.4K

$19.2K ¥127.3K

7.84%

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

$23.5K MX$441.0K

$14.9K ¥99.0K

57.56%

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

$84.8 MX$1,594

$45.22 ¥300

87.51%

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

$23.41 MX$440

$4.76 ¥31.62

391.81%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$28.66 MX$539

$5.28 ¥35.07

442.80%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$57.1 MX$1,072

$29.67 ¥197

92.28%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$28.91 MX$543

$10.55 ¥70.1

174.03%

Cinema Ticket

$5.14 MX$96.6

$3.82 ¥25.36

34.55%

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

$207 MX$3,882

$388 ¥2,581

-46.82%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$3,927 MX$73.8K

$31.2K ¥207.3K

-87.41%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$43.35 MX$815

$43.81 ¥291

-1.05%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$41.44 MX$779

$33.96 ¥226

22.03%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$74.2 MX$1,394

$71.9 ¥478

3.24%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$89.3 MX$1,677

$45.32 ¥301

96.93%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$980 MX$18.4K

$121 ¥801

712.71%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$381 MX$7,157

$88.7 ¥589

329.38%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,708 MX$32.1K

$225 ¥1,494

659.63%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,075 MX$20.2K

$180 ¥1,197

496.60%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,943 MX$74.1K

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$6,158 MX$115.7K

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$735 MX$13.8K

$580 ¥3,852

26.72%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

11.45

3.1

269.35%

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 Kaifeng: October 26, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Playa del Carmen

$381 31.6%

Kaifeng

$89 17.7% 76.7% $292

Groceries & Markets

Playa del Carmen

$255 21.2%

Kaifeng

$165 33.1% 35.1% $89

Eating Out

Playa del Carmen

$202 16.8%

Kaifeng

$63 12.6% 68.8% $139

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Playa del Carmen

$137 11.4%

Kaifeng

$55 11.1% 59.6% $82

Clothing & Footwear

Playa del Carmen

$112 9.3%

Kaifeng

$88 17.6% 21.5% $24

Sport & Entertainment

Playa del Carmen

$67 5.6%

Kaifeng

$37 7.5% 44.6% $30

Getting Around

Playa del Carmen

$50 4.2%

Kaifeng

$2.4 * 0.5% 95.2% $48

Categories marked with * are only partly priced – their share counts the items that do have prices.

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $980 in Playa del Carmen and $121 in Kaifeng. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Playa del Carmen pays 27% more on average. The extra income cushions the higher costs, though housing choices and lifestyle decide how much of the gap is truly closed.

Dining out: $43 in Playa del Carmen vs $13 in Kaifeng for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $255 vs $165 per month, with Kaifeng cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇲🇽 Playa del Carmen

🇨🇳 Kaifeng

🕒 Local time

09:30 9:30 AM

22:30 10:30 PM

13 h ahead of Playa del Carmen

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

149,923

4,676,159

💱 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 Kaifeng 13,450 km ≈ 17 h nonstop flight

From you

Playa del Carmen
Kaifeng

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 Kaifeng: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Kaifeng wins on cost – living expenses run 58% lower than in Playa del Carmen. Housing and daily spending are where you’ll feel the difference most, making Kaifeng the obvious pick if budget is a priority.

Average pay runs 27% higher in Playa del Carmen, which matters when comparing affordability. Whether that higher income actually nets you more depends on your spending habits and housing choices.

Rent for a central apartment: $980 in Playa del Carmen versus $121 in Kaifeng. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Supermarket bills run roughly 54% higher in Playa del Carmen. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

All in, you’ll spend $1,204 per month in Playa del Carmen versus $500 in Kaifeng – Kaifeng is about 58% cheaper, which adds up to real savings over time.

At $500 in Kaifeng versus $1,204 in Playa del Carmen, a $800 budget is realistic in Kaifeng but tight or insufficient in Playa del Carmen. The gap between the two cities makes Kaifeng the clear choice for anyone on this budget.

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.

It comes down to priorities – Kaifeng wins on affordability, Playa del Carmen on earning potential. Factor in climate, language, visa rules, and proximity to places that matter to you before deciding.