Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Playa del Carmen and Longyan

For one person, living is cheaper in Longyan: $465 a month against $1,204 in Playa del Carmen, rent and utilities included – about $8,900 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
22

Cost of Living Index in Longyan
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Longyan Living Index

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Playa del Carmen

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,204

/mo nomad

Longyan

🇨🇳 China

$465

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

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

A single person spends $1,204 per month in Playa del Carmen vs $465 in Longyan, rent included.

Playa del Carmen $1,204
Longyan $465

A couple spends around $2,082 per month in Playa del Carmen vs $754 in Longyan, rent included.

Playa del Carmen $2,082
Longyan $754

A family of three spends $2,959 per month in Playa del Carmen vs $1,044 in Longyan, rent included.

Playa del Carmen $2,959
Longyan $1,044

Playa del Carmen costs about 159% more than Longyan, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Both Playa del Carmen and Longyan are more affordable than the global median – Playa del Carmen 12% lower, Longyan 66% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$10.92 MX$205

$2.94 ¥19.51

271.43%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$43.37 MX$815

$22.79 ¥151

90.30%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.78 MX$221

$4.93 ¥32.77

138.95%

Cappuccino

$3.81 MX$71.6

$2.29 ¥15.22

66.38%

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

$1.28 MX$24.10

$0.44 ¥2.91

190.91%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.78 MX$14.71

$0.29 ¥1.95

168.97%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.17 MX$59.5

$0.87 ¥5.76

264.37%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.93 MX$92.7

$1.63 ¥10.81

202.45%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.41 MX$26.43

$2.01 ¥13.33

-29.85%

White Bread (500g)

$2.22 MX$41.66

$1.47 ¥9.75

51.02%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.42 MX$26.64

$0.77 ¥5.12

84.42%

Eggs

$2.52 MX$47.41

$1.52 ¥10.08

65.79%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$7.26 MX$137

$7.62 ¥50.7

-4.72%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$7.70 MX$145

$2.19 ¥14.56

251.60%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$12.69 MX$239

$9.46 ¥62.9

34.14%

Apples (1kg)

$2.78 MX$52.3

$1.84 ¥12.22

51.09%

Banana (1kg)

$1.37 MX$25.71

$1.33 ¥8.87

3.01%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.55 MX$47.94

$1.78 ¥11.80

43.26%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.12 MX$39.90

$1.08 ¥7.21

96.30%

Potato (1kg)

$1.94 MX$36.43

$0.91 ¥6.04

113.19%

Onion (1kg)

$1.89 MX$35.44

$1.01 ¥6.70

87.13%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.15 MX$21.55

$0.47 ¥3.12

144.68%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.18 MX$22.16

$0.51 ¥3.41

131.37%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.30 MX$80.7

$3.44 ¥22.84

25.00%

Wine (Bottle)

$9.95 MX$187

$12.20 ¥81.1

-18.44%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.58 MX$29.76

$0.77 ¥5.10

105.19%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.67 MX$50.2

$1.22 ¥8.13

118.85%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.55 MX$10.40

$0.15 ¥1.00

266.67%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$26.62 MX$500

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$4.97 MX$93.4

$1.02 ¥6.78

387.25%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$3.33 MX$62.6

$0.51 ¥3.37

552.94%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$5.36 MX$101

$7.38 ¥49.03

-27.37%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.44 MX$27.14

$1.33 ¥8.86

8.27%

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

$20.7K MX$388.4K

$19.5K ¥129.5K

6.06%

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

$23.5K MX$441.0K

$15.6K ¥103.7K

50.38%

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

$84.8 MX$1,594

$67.6 ¥449

25.47%

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

$23.41 MX$440

$15.77 ¥105

48.45%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$28.66 MX$539

$8.78 ¥58.4

226.42%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$57.1 MX$1,072

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$28.91 MX$543

$4.39 ¥29.16

558.54%

Cinema Ticket

$5.14 MX$96.6

$7.56 ¥50.3

-32.01%

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

$207 MX$3,882

$213 ¥1,417

-3.15%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$3,927 MX$73.8K

$11.9K ¥79.3K

-67.10%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$43.35 MX$815

$29.53 ¥196

46.80%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$41.44 MX$779

$15.14 ¥101

173.71%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$74.2 MX$1,394

$73.7 ¥490

0.69%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$89.3 MX$1,677

$98.6 ¥655

-9.48%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$980 MX$18.4K

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$381 MX$7,157

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,708 MX$32.1K

$370 ¥2,459

361.62%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,075 MX$20.2K

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,943 MX$74.1K

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$6,158 MX$115.7K

$1,375 ¥9,136

347.85%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$735 MX$13.8K

$492 ¥3,266

49.43%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

11.45

3.46

230.92%

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 Longyan: October 25, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Playa del Carmen

$381 31.6%

Longyan

- * 0% 100%

Groceries & Markets

Playa del Carmen

$255 21.2%

Longyan

$179 38.6% 29.6% $75

Eating Out

Playa del Carmen

$202 16.8%

Longyan

$76 16.4% 62.3% $126

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Playa del Carmen

$137 11.4%

Longyan

$92 19.8% 32.7% $45

Clothing & Footwear

Playa del Carmen

$112 9.3%

Longyan

$98 21% 12.6% $14

Sport & Entertainment

Playa del Carmen

$67 5.6%

Longyan

$15 * 3.3% 77.5% $52

Getting Around

Playa del Carmen

$50 4.2%

Longyan

$4.2 * 0.9% 91.8% $46

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

Cost Breakdown

Salaries run about 49% 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 in Playa del Carmen versus $23 in Longyan. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $255 vs $179 – making Longyan the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇲🇽 Playa del Carmen

🇨🇳 Longyan

🕒 Local time

23:43 11:43 PM

12:43 12:43 PM

13 h ahead of Playa del Carmen

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

149,923

2,559,545

💱 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 = 20.98 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 Longyan 14,300 km ≈ 18 h nonstop flight

From you

Playa del Carmen
Longyan

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 Longyan: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Monthly costs with rent: $1,204 in Playa del Carmen, $465 in Longyan – Longyan comes out roughly 61% 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 $697 in Longyan. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $43 in Playa del Carmen and $23 in Longyan. That’s a good indicator of the overall restaurant and café pricing gap between the two cities.

Groceries cost about 42% more in Playa del Carmen, though the gap depends on what you buy.

A $1,200 monthly budget goes further in Longyan, where all-in costs run around $465, than in Playa del Carmen at $1,204. In Longyan 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 $465 in Longyan to $1,204 in Playa del Carmen. Climate, culture, job market, and personal taste all factor in.

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