Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Playa del Carmen and Putian

For one person, living is cheaper in Putian: $518 a month against $1,204 in Playa del Carmen, rent and utilities included – about $8,200 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

59

Cost of Living Index in Playa del Carmen
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Playa del Carmen Living Index
25

Cost of Living Index in Putian
Learn more

Putian Living Index

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Playa del Carmen

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,204

/mo nomad

Putian

🇨🇳 China

$518

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

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

A single person spends $1,204 per month in Playa del Carmen vs $518 in Putian, rent included.

Playa del Carmen $1,204
Putian $518

A couple spends around $2,102 per month in Playa del Carmen vs $854 in Putian, rent included.

Playa del Carmen $2,102
Putian $854

A family of three spends $3,000 per month in Playa del Carmen vs $1,190 in Putian, rent included.

Playa del Carmen $3,000
Putian $1,190

Playa del Carmen costs about 132% more than Putian, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Both Playa del Carmen and Putian are more affordable than the global median – Playa del Carmen 11% lower, Putian 62% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$10.86 MX$201

$2.21 ¥14.79

391.40%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$44.21 MX$817

$23.26 ¥156

90.07%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.76 MX$217

$5.17 ¥34.57

127.47%

Cappuccino

$3.68 MX$68.0

$2.44 ¥16.32

50.82%

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

$1.34 MX$24.79

$0.43 ¥2.88

211.63%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.82 MX$15.24

$0.29 ¥1.92

182.76%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.06 MX$56.6

$0.77 ¥5.16

297.40%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.94 MX$91.2

$2.93 ¥19.58

68.60%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.47 MX$27.17

$1.47 ¥9.82

White Bread (500g)

$2.22 MX$40.95

$2.25 ¥15.07

-1.33%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.48 MX$27.32

$0.93 ¥6.19

59.14%

Eggs

$2.49 MX$45.99

$1.58 ¥10.58

57.59%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$7.52 MX$139

$11.73 ¥78.4

-35.89%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$7.96 MX$147

$2.43 ¥16.22

227.57%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$12.57 MX$232

$12.18 ¥81.4

3.20%

Apples (1kg)

$2.78 MX$51.3

$2.55 ¥17.03

9.02%

Banana (1kg)

$1.43 MX$26.37

$1.42 ¥9.49

0.70%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.62 MX$48.37

$1.70 ¥11.34

54.12%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.14 MX$39.49

$1.98 ¥13.25

8.08%

Potato (1kg)

$2.02 MX$37.38

$1.02 ¥6.79

98.04%

Onion (1kg)

$1.99 MX$36.74

$1.77 ¥11.86

12.43%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.14 MX$21.01

$0.93 ¥6.19

22.58%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.20 MX$22.18

$0.50 ¥3.36

140.00%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.26 MX$78.7

$3.04 ¥20.31

40.13%

Wine (Bottle)

$10.02 MX$185

$11.18 ¥74.8

-10.38%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.54 MX$28.41

$0.83 ¥5.58

85.54%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.66 MX$49.17

$1.71 ¥11.44

55.56%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.53 MX$9.73

$0.74 ¥4.92

-28.38%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$27.51 MX$508

$22.38 ¥150

22.92%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$4.90 MX$90.6

$1.52 ¥10.16

222.37%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$3.43 MX$63.5

$0.29 ¥1.94

1082.76%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$5.38 MX$99.4

$7.02 ¥46.94

-23.36%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.45 MX$26.76

$1.31 ¥8.76

10.69%

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

$21.2K MX$391.0K

$19.4K ¥129.8K

8.98%

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

$23.0K MX$425.3K

$17.8K ¥118.8K

29.54%

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

$85.4 MX$1,577

$44.03 ¥294

93.87%

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

$23.46 MX$434

$8.87 ¥59.3

164.49%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$28.43 MX$525

$10.55 ¥70.6

169.48%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$62.2 MX$1,149

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$28.68 MX$530

Cinema Ticket

$5.10 MX$94.3

$10.08 ¥67.4

-49.40%

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

$201 MX$3,715

$492 ¥3,286

-59.09%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$3,947 MX$72.9K

$24.5K ¥163.6K

-83.87%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$44.39 MX$820

$39.10 ¥261

13.53%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$41.35 MX$764

$29.11 ¥195

42.05%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$72.7 MX$1,344

$103 ¥691

-29.62%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$89.6 MX$1,656

$85.7 ¥573

4.55%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$979 MX$18.1K

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$373 MX$6,887

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,681 MX$31.1K

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,095 MX$20.2K

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,949 MX$73.0K

$2,637 ¥17.6K

49.72%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$6,137 MX$113.4K

$1,115 ¥7,452

450.55%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$738 MX$13.6K

$480 ¥3,211

53.56%

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 17, 2026

Last update for Putian: October 20, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Playa del Carmen

$373 31%

Putian

- * 0% 100%

Groceries & Markets

Playa del Carmen

$258 21.5%

Putian

$215 41.6% 16.7% $43

Eating Out

Playa del Carmen

$200 16.6%

Putian

$75 14.5% 62.5% $125

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Playa del Carmen

$137 11.4%

Putian

$63 12.3% 53.8% $74

Clothing & Footwear

Playa del Carmen

$112 9.3%

Putian

$116 22.4% 3.7% $4.1

Sport & Entertainment

Playa del Carmen

$72 6%

Putian

$20 * 3.9% 72.2% $52

Getting Around

Playa del Carmen

$52 4.3%

Putian

$28 5.5% 45.3% $23

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

Cost Breakdown

Salaries run about 54% 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 $44.00 in Playa del Carmen versus $23.00 in Putian. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $258 vs $215 – making Putian the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇲🇽 Playa del Carmen

🇨🇳 Putian

🕒 Local time

22:10 10:10 PM

11:10 11:10 AM

13 h ahead of Playa del Carmen

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

149,923

1,954,000

💱 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 23, 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 23, 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 →

On the map

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Between locations

Playa del Carmen Putian 14,170 km ≈ 18 h nonstop flight

From you

Playa del Carmen
Putian

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 Putian: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Yes – Playa del Carmen is pricier by about 132%, and outside of rent the gap shows up most in eating out.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $1,806 per month in Playa del Carmen and $777 in Putian. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

Monthly expenses with rent come to $1,204 in Playa del Carmen and $518 in Putian. That's a gap of about 132%.

Public transport costs about 23% less in Putian. For daily commuters, that gap adds up to noticeable savings over a year.

A $1,500 monthly budget goes further in Putian, where all-in costs run around $518, than in Playa del Carmen at $1,204. In Putian it covers expenses comfortably, while in Playa del Carmen it requires careful planning or may not stretch far enough.

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

If budget matters most, go with Putian. 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.