Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Playa del Carmen and Nanjing

For one person, living is cheaper in Nanjing: $838 a month against $1,204 in Playa del Carmen, rent and utilities included – about $4,400 less a year. Other living expenses account for most of the difference.

58

Cost of Living Index in Playa del Carmen
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Playa del Carmen Living Index
40

Cost of Living Index in Nanjing
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Nanjing Living Index

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Playa del Carmen

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,204

/mo nomad

Nanjing

🇨🇳 China

$838

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,204 in Playa del Carmen versus $838 in Nanjing.

Playa del Carmen $1,204
Nanjing $838

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,082 in Playa del Carmen versus $1,317 in Nanjing.

Playa del Carmen $2,082
Nanjing $1,317

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $2,959 in Playa del Carmen versus $1,797 in Nanjing.

Playa del Carmen $2,959
Nanjing $1,797

Living in Playa del Carmen is roughly 44% more expensive than in Nanjing, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Both cities sit below the global median: Playa del Carmen 12% lower, Nanjing 38% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$10.92 MX$205

$3.84 ¥25.52

184.38%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$43.37 MX$815

$22.82 ¥152

90.05%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.78 MX$221

$4.78 ¥31.74

146.44%

Cappuccino

$3.81 MX$71.6

$3.17 ¥21.05

20.19%

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

$1.28 MX$24.10

$0.54 ¥3.59

137.04%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.78 MX$14.71

$0.27 ¥1.81

188.89%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.17 MX$59.5

$1.54 ¥10.25

105.84%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.93 MX$92.7

$2.27 ¥15.07

117.18%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.41 MX$26.43

$2.09 ¥13.88

-32.54%

White Bread (500g)

$2.22 MX$41.66

$2.07 ¥13.76

7.25%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.42 MX$26.64

$0.91 ¥6.05

56.04%

Eggs

$2.52 MX$47.41

$1.36 ¥9.04

85.29%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$7.26 MX$137

$10.45 ¥69.4

-30.53%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$7.70 MX$145

$2.96 ¥19.69

160.14%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$12.69 MX$239

$8.81 ¥58.5

44.04%

Apples (1kg)

$2.78 MX$52.3

$2.09 ¥13.90

33.01%

Banana (1kg)

$1.37 MX$25.71

$1.30 ¥8.61

5.38%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.55 MX$47.94

$1.81 ¥12.02

40.88%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.12 MX$39.90

$1.06 ¥7.06

100.00%

Potato (1kg)

$1.94 MX$36.43

$0.90 ¥5.96

115.56%

Onion (1kg)

$1.89 MX$35.44

$0.95 ¥6.32

98.95%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.15 MX$21.55

$0.93 ¥6.19

23.66%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.18 MX$22.16

$0.53 ¥3.50

122.64%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.30 MX$80.7

$3.85 ¥25.60

11.69%

Wine (Bottle)

$9.95 MX$187

$13.42 ¥89.2

-25.86%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.58 MX$29.76

$1.00 ¥6.66

58.00%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.67 MX$50.2

$1.51 ¥10.04

76.82%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.55 MX$10.40

$0.31 ¥2.06

77.42%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$26.62 MX$500

$30.16 ¥200

-11.74%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$4.97 MX$93.4

$1.70 ¥11.28

192.35%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$3.33 MX$62.6

$0.38 ¥2.54

776.32%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$5.36 MX$101

$9.16 ¥60.9

-41.48%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.44 MX$27.14

$1.36 ¥9.02

5.88%

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

$20.7K MX$388.4K

$19.6K ¥130.5K

5.26%

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

$23.5K MX$441.0K

$17.7K ¥117.4K

32.87%

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

$84.8 MX$1,594

$53.8 ¥358

57.60%

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

$23.41 MX$440

$7.62 ¥50.6

207.22%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$28.66 MX$539

$7.14 ¥47.43

301.40%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$57.1 MX$1,072

$28.75 ¥191

98.43%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$28.91 MX$543

$34.96 ¥232

-17.31%

Cinema Ticket

$5.14 MX$96.6

$6.17 ¥41.03

-16.69%

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

$207 MX$3,882

$1,461 ¥9,708

-85.86%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$3,927 MX$73.8K

$22.8K ¥151.8K

-82.81%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$43.35 MX$815

$43.23 ¥287

0.28%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$41.44 MX$779

$34.43 ¥229

20.36%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$74.2 MX$1,394

$64.2 ¥427

15.56%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$89.3 MX$1,677

$88.8 ¥590

0.47%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$980 MX$18.4K

$490 ¥3,254

100.02%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$381 MX$7,157

$287 ¥1,910

32.47%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,708 MX$32.1K

$1,031 ¥6,848

65.73%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,075 MX$20.2K

$531 ¥3,528

102.48%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,943 MX$74.1K

$4,837 ¥32.1K

-18.48%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$6,158 MX$115.7K

$3,107 ¥20.6K

98.22%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$735 MX$13.8K

$1,450 ¥9,632

-49.33%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

11.45

3.42

234.80%

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 Nanjing: October 26, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Playa del Carmen

$381 31.6%

Nanjing

$287 34.3% 24.5% $93

Groceries & Markets

Playa del Carmen

$255 21.2%

Nanjing

$204 24.3% 20.1% $51

Eating Out

Playa del Carmen

$202 16.8%

Nanjing

$99 11.8% 51.3% $104

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Playa del Carmen

$137 11.4%

Nanjing

$69 8.2% 49.9% $68

Clothing & Footwear

Playa del Carmen

$112 9.3%

Nanjing

$104 12.4% 7.1% $7.9

Sport & Entertainment

Playa del Carmen

$67 5.6%

Nanjing

$41 4.9% 38.9% $26

Getting Around

Playa del Carmen

$50 4.2%

Nanjing

$35 4.2% 30.6% $15

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $980 in Playa del Carmen and $490 in Nanjing. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Nanjing pays 97% 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 Nanjing for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $255 vs $204 per month, with Nanjing cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇲🇽 Playa del Carmen

🇨🇳 Nanjing

🕒 Local time

12:35 12:35 PM

01:35 1:35 AM

13 h ahead of Playa del Carmen

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

149,923

9,314,685

💱 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 Nanjing 13,540 km ≈ 17 h nonstop flight

From you

Playa del Carmen
Nanjing

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 Nanjing: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Nanjing is about 30% cheaper overall, especially in eating out, groceries, and utilities. That difference adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

On paper, salaries run 49% 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 $490 in Nanjing. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Dining out is cheaper in Nanjing – a meal for two runs $23 versus $43 in Playa del Carmen. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

All in, you’ll spend $1,204 per month in Playa del Carmen versus $838 in Nanjing – Nanjing is about 30% cheaper, which adds up to real savings over time.

At $838 in Nanjing versus $1,204 in Playa del Carmen, a $1,000 budget is realistic in Nanjing but tight or insufficient in Playa del Carmen. The gap between the two cities makes Nanjing 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.