Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Playa del Carmen and Liuzhou

For one person, living is cheaper in Liuzhou: $770 a month against $1,210 in Playa del Carmen, rent and utilities included – about $5,300 less a year. Rent and utilities account for about half of the difference.

59

Cost of Living Index in Playa del Carmen
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Playa del Carmen Living Index
37

Cost of Living Index in Liuzhou
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Liuzhou Living Index

Jump to prices

Playa del Carmen

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,210

/mo nomad

Liuzhou

🇨🇳 China

$770

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

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

A single person spends $1,210 per month in Playa del Carmen vs $770 in Liuzhou, rent included.

Playa del Carmen $1,210
Liuzhou $770

A couple spends around $2,113 per month in Playa del Carmen vs $1,196 in Liuzhou, rent included.

Playa del Carmen $2,113
Liuzhou $1,196

A family of three spends $3,016 per month in Playa del Carmen vs $1,621 in Liuzhou, rent included.

Playa del Carmen $3,016
Liuzhou $1,621

Playa del Carmen costs about 57% more than Liuzhou, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Both Playa del Carmen and Liuzhou are more affordable than the global median – Playa del Carmen 10% lower, Liuzhou 43% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$10.76 MX$199

$2.79 ¥18.65

285.66%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$43.03 MX$795

$22.22 ¥149

93.65%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.79 MX$218

$5.17 ¥34.55

128.05%

Cappuccino

$3.87 MX$71.4

$2.79 ¥18.68

38.71%

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

$1.37 MX$25.29

$0.51 ¥3.42

168.63%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.84 MX$15.44

$0.31 ¥2.10

170.97%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.10 MX$57.3

$1.06 ¥7.10

192.45%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$5.07 MX$93.6

$2.12 ¥14.16

139.15%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.44 MX$26.55

$1.81 ¥12.08

-20.44%

White Bread (500g)

$2.23 MX$41.23

$1.61 ¥10.75

38.51%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.47 MX$27.17

$0.99 ¥6.62

48.48%

Eggs

$2.53 MX$46.71

$1.66 ¥11.10

52.41%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$7.30 MX$135

$13.17 ¥88.1

-44.57%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$7.86 MX$145

$3.31 ¥22.14

137.46%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$12.79 MX$236

$10.98 ¥73.4

16.48%

Apples (1kg)

$2.90 MX$53.6

$1.47 ¥9.85

97.28%

Banana (1kg)

$1.44 MX$26.53

$0.88 ¥5.87

63.64%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.55 MX$47.07

$1.49 ¥9.94

71.14%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.06 MX$38.03

$1.27 ¥8.51

62.20%

Potato (1kg)

$2.00 MX$36.97

$0.74 ¥4.92

170.27%

Onion (1kg)

$2.01 MX$37.07

$0.96 ¥6.40

109.37%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.19 MX$22.02

$0.63 ¥4.20

88.89%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.26 MX$23.23

$0.56 ¥3.75

125.00%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.40 MX$81.4

$3.85 ¥25.74

14.29%

Wine (Bottle)

$9.59 MX$177

$11.99 ¥80.2

-20.02%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.59 MX$29.41

$0.87 ¥5.82

82.76%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.81 MX$51.9

$1.56 ¥10.42

80.13%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.57 MX$10.47

$0.29 ¥1.93

96.55%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$27.82 MX$514

$17.81 ¥119

56.20%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$4.98 MX$92.1

$1.52 ¥10.18

227.63%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$3.50 MX$64.6

$0.33 ¥2.19

960.61%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$5.40 MX$99.8

$6.96 ¥46.54

-22.41%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.47 MX$27.08

$1.35 ¥9.02

8.89%

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

$21.0K MX$387.8K

$19.7K ¥132.0K

6.32%

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

$23.9K MX$441.8K

$17.7K ¥118.3K

35.09%

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

$84.2 MX$1,556

$57.1 ¥382

47.45%

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

$23.99 MX$443

$8.60 ¥57.5

178.95%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$29.02 MX$536

$11.23 ¥75.1

158.41%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$63.0 MX$1,164

$82.2 ¥550

-23.38%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$29.14 MX$539

$15.17 ¥101

92.09%

Cinema Ticket

$4.94 MX$91.3

$6.25 ¥41.77

-20.96%

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

$204 MX$3,763

$425 ¥2,842

-52.09%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$3,941 MX$72.8K

$17.7K ¥118.2K

-77.70%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$43.60 MX$806

$43.51 ¥291

0.21%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$43.12 MX$797

$33.03 ¥221

30.55%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$75.8 MX$1,400

$73.9 ¥494

2.54%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$88.6 MX$1,637

$73.6 ¥492

20.33%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,008 MX$18.6K

$240 ¥1,603

320.64%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$374 MX$6,911

$188 ¥1,257

98.90%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,708 MX$31.6K

$423 ¥2,827

304.13%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,106 MX$20.4K

$319 ¥2,133

246.68%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,944 MX$72.9K

$3,425 ¥22.9K

15.16%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$6,169 MX$114.0K

$1,957 ¥13.1K

215.22%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$754 MX$13.9K

$594 ¥3,970

27.01%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

11.45

3.36

240.77%

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

Last update for Playa del Carmen: October 10, 2026

Last update for Liuzhou: October 10, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Playa del Carmen

$374 30.9%

Liuzhou

$188 24.4% 49.7% $186

Groceries & Markets

Playa del Carmen

$258 21.4%

Liuzhou

$204 26.4% 21.2% $55

Eating Out

Playa del Carmen

$202 16.7%

Liuzhou

$84 10.9% 58.4% $118

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Playa del Carmen

$137 11.3%

Liuzhou

$77 10% 43.9% $60

Clothing & Footwear

Playa del Carmen

$113 9.3%

Liuzhou

$101 13.1% 10.8% $12

Sport & Entertainment

Playa del Carmen

$73 6%

Liuzhou

$95 12.3% 29.9% $22

Getting Around

Playa del Carmen

$53 4.3%

Liuzhou

$22 2.9% 57.9% $30

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $1,008 in Playa del Carmen versus $240 in Liuzhou. 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 27% 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 $43.00 in Playa del Carmen versus $22.00 in Liuzhou. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $258 vs $204 – making Liuzhou the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇲🇽 Playa del Carmen

🇨🇳 Liuzhou

🕒 Local time

02:39 2:39 AM

15:39 3:39 PM

13 h ahead of Playa del Carmen

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

149,923

4,157,934

💱 Currency

Mexican Peso MXN $

Chinese Yuan CNY ¥

📈 Exchange rate

100 MXN = 5.41 USD

100 MXN = 4.81 EUR

1 CNY = 0.15 USD

1 CNY = 0.133 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 October 20, 2026: 1 USD = 18.48 MXN (100 MXN = 5.41 USD). 1 EUR = 20.77 MXN (100 MXN = 4.81 EUR).

Chinese Yuan exchange rates as of October 20, 2026: 1 USD = 6.69 CNY (1 CNY = 0.15 USD). 1 EUR = 7.52 CNY (1 CNY = 0.133 EUR).

USD to MXN in detail →

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Playa del Carmen Liuzhou 14,710 km ≈ 19 h nonstop flight

From you

Playa del Carmen
Liuzhou

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 Liuzhou: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Monthly costs with rent: $1,210 in Playa del Carmen, $770 in Liuzhou – roughly 57% apart. Outside of rent, the biggest gap is in eating out.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $1,816 per month in Playa del Carmen and $1,156 in Liuzhou. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

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

Groceries cost about 27% 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 $43.00 in Playa del Carmen and $22.00 in Liuzhou. 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 Liuzhou, where all-in costs run around $770, than in Playa del Carmen at $1,210. In Liuzhou 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 $770 in Liuzhou to $1,210 in Playa del Carmen. Climate, culture, job market, and personal taste all factor in.

If budget matters most, go with Liuzhou. 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.