Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Playa del Carmen and Miaoli

For one person, living is cheaper in Miaoli: $768 a month against $1,204 in Playa del Carmen, rent and utilities included – about $5,200 less a year. Rent and utilities 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 Miaoli
Learn more

Miaoli Living Index

Jump to prices

Playa del Carmen

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,204

/mo nomad

Miaoli

🇹🇼 Taiwan

$768

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,204 in Playa del Carmen versus $768 in Miaoli.

Playa del Carmen $1,204
Miaoli $768

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,082 in Playa del Carmen versus $1,069 in Miaoli.

Playa del Carmen $2,082
Miaoli $1,069

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $2,959 in Playa del Carmen versus $1,370 in Miaoli.

Playa del Carmen $2,959
Miaoli $1,370

Living in Playa del Carmen is roughly 57% more expensive than in Miaoli, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Both cities sit below the global median: Playa del Carmen 12% lower, Miaoli 44% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$10.92 MX$204

$2.53 NT$82.1

331.62%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$43.37 MX$810

$23.04 NT$747

88.24%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.78 MX$220

$4.69 NT$152

151.17%

Cappuccino

$3.81 MX$71.2

$2.94 NT$95.4

29.59%

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

$1.28 MX$23.96

$0.83 NT$26.77

54.22%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.78 MX$14.63

$0.55 NT$17.90

41.82%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.17 MX$59.2

$1.20 NT$38.81

164.17%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.93 MX$92.2

$1.28 NT$41.56

285.16%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.41 MX$26.28

$2.64 NT$85.6

-46.59%

White Bread (500g)

$2.22 MX$41.43

$1.22 NT$39.62

81.97%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.42 MX$26.48

$2.64 NT$85.7

-46.21%

Eggs

$2.52 MX$47.14

$2.05 NT$66.6

22.93%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$7.26 MX$136

$8.96 NT$290

-18.97%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$7.70 MX$144

$7.43 NT$241

3.63%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$12.69 MX$237

$21.11 NT$685

-39.89%

Apples (1kg)

$2.78 MX$52.0

$3.77 NT$122

-26.26%

Banana (1kg)

$1.37 MX$25.56

$1.96 NT$63.5

-30.10%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.55 MX$47.66

$2.91 NT$94.4

-12.37%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.12 MX$39.67

$3.10 NT$101

-31.61%

Potato (1kg)

$1.94 MX$36.22

$2.53 NT$81.9

-23.32%

Onion (1kg)

$1.89 MX$35.24

$1.91 NT$61.8

-1.05%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.15 MX$21.42

$2.20 NT$71.3

-47.73%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.18 MX$22.03

$0.89 NT$29.00

32.58%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.30 MX$80.3

$3.86 NT$125

11.40%

Wine (Bottle)

$9.95 MX$186

$10.90 NT$354

-8.72%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.58 MX$29.59

$1.40 NT$45.44

12.86%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.67 MX$49.91

$2.10 NT$68.2

27.14%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.55 MX$10.34

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$26.62 MX$497

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$4.97 MX$92.9

$2.81 NT$91.2

76.87%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$3.33 MX$62.2

$0.74 NT$23.97

350.00%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$5.36 MX$100

$7.07 NT$229

-24.19%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.44 MX$26.98

$1.01 NT$32.81

42.57%

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

$20.7K MX$386.2K

$36.7K NT$1.2M

-43.65%

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

$23.5K MX$438.5K

$22.8K NT$738.9K

2.97%

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

$84.8 MX$1,584

$68.0 NT$2,205

24.71%

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

$23.41 MX$437

$17.30 NT$561

35.32%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$28.66 MX$535

$21.61 NT$701

32.62%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$57.1 MX$1,066

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$28.91 MX$540

Cinema Ticket

$5.14 MX$96.0

$10.84 NT$351

-52.58%

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

$207 MX$3,860

$508 NT$16.5K

-59.34%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$3,927 MX$73.4K

$30.8K NT$1.0M

-87.27%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$43.35 MX$810

$12.19 NT$395

255.62%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$41.44 MX$774

$23.87 NT$774

73.61%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$74.2 MX$1,386

$62.2 NT$2,016

19.35%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$89.3 MX$1,668

$94.1 NT$3,052

-5.17%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$980 MX$18.3K

$211 NT$6,840

364.38%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$381 MX$7,116

$156 NT$5,064

143.83%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,708 MX$31.9K

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,075 MX$20.1K

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,943 MX$73.7K

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$6,158 MX$115.1K

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$735 MX$13.7K

$2,374 NT$77.0K

-69.07%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

11.45

2.38

381.09%

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 Miaoli: October 24, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Playa del Carmen

$381 31.6%

Miaoli

$156 20.3% 59% $225

Groceries & Markets

Playa del Carmen

$255 21.2%

Miaoli

$306 39.9% 20.3% $52

Eating Out

Playa del Carmen

$202 16.8%

Miaoli

$84 10.9% 58.6% $119

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Playa del Carmen

$137 11.4%

Miaoli

$107 13.9% 21.9% $30

Clothing & Footwear

Playa del Carmen

$112 9.3%

Miaoli

$87 11.3% 22.5% $25

Sport & Entertainment

Playa del Carmen

$67 5.6%

Miaoli

$22 * 2.8% 67.8% $46

Getting Around

Playa del Carmen

$50 4.2%

Miaoli

$6.5 * 0.9% 87.1% $44

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 $211 in Miaoli. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Miaoli pays about 3.2 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 $23 in Miaoli. Groceries flip the comparison at $255 vs $306, with Playa del Carmen cheaper for home cooking.

Good to know

🇲🇽 Playa del Carmen

🇹🇼 Miaoli

🕒 Local time

14:02 2:02 PM

03:02 3:02 AM

13 h ahead of Playa del Carmen

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

149,923

89,892

💱 Currency

Mexican Peso MXN $

New Taiwan Dollar TWD NT$

📈 Exchange rate

100 MXN = 5.35 USD

100 MXN = 4.81 EUR

100 TWD = 3.08 USD

100 TWD = 2.77 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 October 28, 2026: 1 USD = 18.69 MXN (100 MXN = 5.35 USD). 1 EUR = 20.8 MXN (100 MXN = 4.81 EUR).

New Taiwan Dollar exchange rates as of October 28, 2026: 1 USD = 32.43 TWD (100 TWD = 3.08 USD). 1 EUR = 36.1 TWD (100 TWD = 2.77 EUR).

USD to MXN in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Playa del Carmen Miaoli 14,150 km ≈ 18 h nonstop flight

From you

Playa del Carmen
Miaoli

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 Miaoli: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Playa del Carmen and Miaoli differ by about 57% in total monthly costs ($1,204 vs $768 including rent). Miaoli is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

On paper, salaries run 69% 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 $211 in Miaoli. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Shoppers in Playa del Carmen pay roughly 17% less for everyday groceries. It’s an unusual reversal that partly offsets higher costs elsewhere.

All in, you’ll spend $1,204 per month in Playa del Carmen versus $768 in Miaoli – a 57% gap that adds up to real savings over time for anyone picking the cheaper option.

At $768 in Miaoli versus $1,204 in Playa del Carmen, a $1,200 budget is realistic in Miaoli but tight or insufficient in Playa del Carmen. The gap between the two cities makes Miaoli 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.