Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Playa del Carmen and Nam Dinh

For one person, living is cheaper in Nam Dinh: $783 a month against $1,210 in Playa del Carmen, rent and utilities included – about $5,100 less a year. Other living expenses account for most of the difference.

59

Cost of Living Index in Playa del Carmen
Learn more

Playa del Carmen Living Index
38

Cost of Living Index in Nam Dinh
Learn more

Nam Dinh Living Index

Jump to prices

Playa del Carmen

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,210

/mo nomad

Nam Dinh

🇻🇳 Vietnam

$783

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Playa del Carmen and in Nam Dinh

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

A single person spends $1,210 per month in Playa del Carmen vs $783 in Nam Dinh, rent included.

Playa del Carmen $1,210
Nam Dinh $783

A couple spends around $2,113 per month in Playa del Carmen vs $1,265 in Nam Dinh, rent included.

Playa del Carmen $2,113
Nam Dinh $1,265

A family of three spends $3,016 per month in Playa del Carmen vs $1,747 in Nam Dinh, rent included.

Playa del Carmen $3,016
Nam Dinh $1,747

Playa del Carmen costs about 55% more than Nam Dinh, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Both Playa del Carmen and Nam Dinh are more affordable than the global median – Playa del Carmen 10% lower, Nam Dinh 42% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$10.76 MX$199

$2.14 ₫55.3K

402.80%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$43.03 MX$795

$22.61 ₫585.4K

90.31%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.79 MX$218

$4.31 ₫111.6K

173.55%

Cappuccino

$3.87 MX$71.4

$1.89 ₫49.1K

104.76%

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

$1.37 MX$25.29

$0.51 ₫13.1K

168.63%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.84 MX$15.44

$0.30 ₫7,668

180.00%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.10 MX$57.3

$1.06 ₫27.5K

192.45%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$5.07 MX$93.6

$1.89 ₫48.8K

168.25%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.44 MX$26.55

$1.47 ₫37.9K

-2.04%

White Bread (500g)

$2.23 MX$41.23

$1.06 ₫27.6K

110.38%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.47 MX$27.17

$0.74 ₫19.2K

98.65%

Eggs

$2.53 MX$46.71

$1.50 ₫38.8K

68.67%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$7.30 MX$135

$10.21 ₫264.4K

-28.50%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$7.86 MX$145

$3.80 ₫98.4K

106.84%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$12.79 MX$236

$9.97 ₫258.1K

28.28%

Apples (1kg)

$2.90 MX$53.6

$3.39 ₫87.8K

-14.45%

Banana (1kg)

$1.44 MX$26.53

$1.04 ₫26.9K

38.46%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.55 MX$47.07

$1.32 ₫34.2K

93.18%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.06 MX$38.03

$1.15 ₫29.7K

79.13%

Potato (1kg)

$2.00 MX$36.97

$0.92 ₫23.8K

117.39%

Onion (1kg)

$2.01 MX$37.07

$1.09 ₫28.1K

84.40%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.19 MX$22.02

$0.55 ₫14.2K

116.36%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.26 MX$23.23

$0.52 ₫13.4K

142.31%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.40 MX$81.4

$1.39 ₫35.9K

216.55%

Wine (Bottle)

$9.59 MX$177

$12.51 ₫324.0K

-23.34%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.59 MX$29.41

$0.88 ₫22.8K

80.68%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.81 MX$51.9

$1.74 ₫45.1K

61.49%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.57 MX$10.47

$0.32 ₫8,215

78.12%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$27.82 MX$514

$6.71 ₫173.7K

314.61%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$4.98 MX$92.1

$0.74 ₫19.0K

572.97%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$3.50 MX$64.6

$0.60 ₫15.5K

483.33%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$5.40 MX$99.8

$2.36 ₫61.0K

128.81%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.47 MX$27.08

$0.88 ₫22.8K

67.05%

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

$21.0K MX$387.8K

$31.0K ₫802.2M

-32.27%

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

$23.9K MX$441.8K

$29.7K ₫769.8M

-19.60%

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

$84.2 MX$1,556

$85.6 ₫2.2M

-1.67%

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

$23.99 MX$443

$5.31 ₫137.5K

351.79%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$29.02 MX$536

$8.66 ₫224.3K

235.10%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$63.0 MX$1,164

$22.24 ₫575.8K

183.18%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$29.14 MX$539

$7.64 ₫197.8K

281.41%

Cinema Ticket

$4.94 MX$91.3

$4.34 ₫112.3K

13.82%

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

$204 MX$3,763

$161 ₫4.2M

26.14%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$3,941 MX$72.8K

$27.7K ₫718.2M

-85.79%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$43.60 MX$806

$48.87 ₫1.3M

-10.78%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$43.12 MX$797

$26.46 ₫684.9K

62.96%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$75.8 MX$1,400

$83.5 ₫2.2M

-9.20%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$88.6 MX$1,637

$79.5 ₫2.1M

11.42%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,008 MX$18.6K

$415 ₫10.7M

143.15%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$374 MX$6,911

$274 ₫7.1M

36.56%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,708 MX$31.6K

$756 ₫19.6M

125.91%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,106 MX$20.4K

$624 ₫16.2M

77.29%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,944 MX$72.9K

$2,789 ₫72.2M

41.43%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$6,169 MX$114.0K

$1,323 ₫34.2M

366.40%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$754 MX$13.9K

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

11.45

8.28

38.29%

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 Nam Dinh: October 12, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Playa del Carmen

$374 30.9%

Nam Dinh

$274 35% 26.8% $100

Groceries & Markets

Playa del Carmen

$258 21.4%

Nam Dinh

$194 24.8% 24.8% $64

Eating Out

Playa del Carmen

$202 16.7%

Nam Dinh

$65 8.3% 67.8% $137

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Playa del Carmen

$137 11.3%

Nam Dinh

$100 12.7% 27.4% $38

Clothing & Footwear

Playa del Carmen

$113 9.3%

Nam Dinh

$107 13.7% 5.1% $5.8

Sport & Entertainment

Playa del Carmen

$73 6%

Nam Dinh

$31 4% 57.6% $42

Getting Around

Playa del Carmen

$53 4.3%

Nam Dinh

$12 1.5% 77.7% $41

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $1,008 in Playa del Carmen versus $415 in Nam Dinh. Rent is usually the largest line item in a monthly budget, so the gap here sets the tone for the overall comparison.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $43.00 in Playa del Carmen versus $23.00 in Nam Dinh. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $258 vs $194 – making Nam Dinh the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇲🇽 Playa del Carmen

🇻🇳 Nam Dinh

🕒 Local time

15:24 3:24 PM

03:24 3:24 AM

12 h ahead of Playa del Carmen

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

149,923

179,229

💱 Currency

Mexican Peso MXN $

Vietnamese Dong VND ₫

📈 Exchange rate

100 MXN = 5.41 USD

100 MXN = 4.81 EUR

100,000 VND = 3.86 USD

100,000 VND = 3.44 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

VND, USD, EUR to MXN – Mexican Peso Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇲🇽 Mexican Peso ($)

Mexican Peso exchange rates as of October 17, 2026: 1 USD = 18.48 MXN (100 MXN = 5.41 USD). 1 EUR = 20.78 MXN (100 MXN = 4.81 EUR).

Vietnamese Dong exchange rates as of October 17, 2026: 1 USD = 25,889 VND (100,000 VND = 3.86 USD). 1 EUR = 29,108 VND (100,000 VND = 3.44 EUR).

USD to MXN in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Playa del Carmen Nam Dinh 15,230 km ≈ 20 h nonstop flight

From you

Playa del Carmen
Nam Dinh

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 Nam Dinh: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Yes – Playa del Carmen is pricier by about 55%, and outside of rent the gap shows up most in eating out.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $1,816 per month in Playa del Carmen and $1,174 in Nam Dinh. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

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

Monthly expenses with rent come to $1,210 in Playa del Carmen and $783 in Nam Dinh. That's a gap of about 55%.

Public transport costs about 315% less in Nam Dinh. For daily commuters, that gap adds up to noticeable savings over a year.

A $1,500 monthly budget goes further in Nam Dinh, where all-in costs run around $783, than in Playa del Carmen at $1,210. In Nam Dinh it covers expenses comfortably, while in Playa del Carmen it requires careful planning or may not stretch far enough.

Families tend to lean toward Nam Dinh – lower housing and cheaper childcare make a real difference, especially on a single income or when paying for private education.

Both have safer and rougher neighborhoods, but overall safety is comparable to other large cities. Neighborhood choice matters more than the city-level comparison – central, well-trafficked areas feel secure in both.

If budget matters most, go with Nam Dinh. 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.