Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Playa del Carmen and Suzhou

For one person, living is cheaper in Suzhou: $876 a month against $1,215 in Playa del Carmen, rent and utilities included – about $4,100 less a year. Other living expenses account for most of the difference.

60

Cost of Living Index in Playa del Carmen
Learn more

Playa del Carmen Living Index
42

Cost of Living Index in Suzhou
Learn more

Suzhou Living Index

Jump to prices

Playa del Carmen

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,215

/mo nomad

Suzhou

🇨🇳 China

$876

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

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

A single person spends $1,215 per month in Playa del Carmen vs $876 in Suzhou, rent included.

Playa del Carmen $1,215
Suzhou $876

A couple spends around $2,144 per month in Playa del Carmen vs $1,504 in Suzhou, rent included.

Playa del Carmen $2,144
Suzhou $1,504

A family of three spends $3,072 per month in Playa del Carmen vs $2,132 in Suzhou, rent included.

Playa del Carmen $3,072
Suzhou $2,132

Playa del Carmen costs about 39% more than Suzhou, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Both Playa del Carmen and Suzhou are more affordable than the global median – Playa del Carmen 9% lower, Suzhou 35% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$10.97 MX$201

$4.26 ¥28.48

157.51%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$44.85 MX$823

$29.42 ¥197

52.45%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.92 MX$219

$5.29 ¥35.36

125.33%

Cappuccino

$3.80 MX$69.9

$3.38 ¥22.58

12.43%

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

$1.31 MX$24.08

$0.73 ¥4.86

79.45%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.86 MX$15.72

$0.39 ¥2.59

120.51%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.21 MX$59.0

$2.25 ¥15.05

42.67%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$5.01 MX$92.0

$4.60 ¥30.71

8.91%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.46 MX$26.77

$1.89 ¥12.61

-22.75%

White Bread (500g)

$2.33 MX$42.72

$2.04 ¥13.63

14.22%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.44 MX$26.48

$1.29 ¥8.63

11.63%

Eggs

$2.46 MX$45.20

$1.82 ¥12.19

35.16%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$7.70 MX$141

$17.80 ¥119

-56.74%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$7.89 MX$145

$3.50 ¥23.36

125.43%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$12.80 MX$235

$8.57 ¥57.3

49.36%

Apples (1kg)

$2.92 MX$53.6

$2.03 ¥13.58

43.84%

Banana (1kg)

$1.42 MX$26.11

$1.28 ¥8.54

10.94%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.57 MX$47.10

$1.39 ¥9.27

84.89%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.14 MX$39.24

$1.50 ¥10.03

42.67%

Potato (1kg)

$1.95 MX$35.75

$0.63 ¥4.21

209.52%

Onion (1kg)

$1.94 MX$35.55

$1.17 ¥7.79

65.81%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.15 MX$21.13

$0.83 ¥5.56

38.55%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.22 MX$22.42

$0.55 ¥3.69

121.82%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.38 MX$80.3

$4.56 ¥30.50

-3.95%

Wine (Bottle)

$9.85 MX$181

$9.01 ¥60.2

9.32%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.54 MX$28.23

$1.06 ¥7.11

45.28%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.72 MX$49.86

$2.06 ¥13.77

32.04%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.52 MX$9.64

$0.39 ¥2.59

33.33%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$27.42 MX$503

$43.93 ¥294

-37.58%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$4.91 MX$90.2

$1.73 ¥11.59

183.82%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$3.52 MX$64.7

$0.36 ¥2.38

877.78%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$5.69 MX$104

$10.20 ¥68.2

-44.22%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.54 MX$28.27

$1.28 ¥8.58

20.31%

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

$21.2K MX$389.9K

$19.6K ¥131.3K

8.09%

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

$24.5K MX$449.6K

$17.7K ¥118.6K

37.98%

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

$83.6 MX$1,535

$99.4 ¥664

-15.89%

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

$24.03 MX$441

$12.81 ¥85.6

87.59%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$29.33 MX$539

$11.12 ¥74.4

163.76%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$64.9 MX$1,191

$33.16 ¥222

95.63%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$29.46 MX$541

$18.47 ¥123

59.50%

Cinema Ticket

$5.09 MX$93.4

$5.85 ¥39.09

-12.99%

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

$208 MX$3,813

$1,213 ¥8,105

-82.88%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$4,045 MX$74.3K

$21.4K ¥143.0K

-81.10%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$44.55 MX$818

$52.4 ¥350

-14.90%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$42.06 MX$772

$41.14 ¥275

2.24%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$75.5 MX$1,387

$83.3 ¥557

-9.36%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$91.4 MX$1,678

$86.6 ¥578

5.56%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$986 MX$18.1K

$457 ¥3,057

115.68%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$385 MX$7,072

$193 ¥1,292

99.23%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,713 MX$31.5K

$1,033 ¥6,902

65.91%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,108 MX$20.4K

$594 ¥3,971

86.55%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$4,016 MX$73.7K

$5,329 ¥35.6K

-24.64%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$6,247 MX$114.7K

$2,773 ¥18.5K

125.32%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$758 MX$13.9K

$1,381 ¥9,231

-45.12%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

11.45

3.53

224.36%

CityCost data is based on AI and user input – minor inaccuracies may occur.

Last update for Playa del Carmen: October 4, 2026

Last update for Suzhou: October 3, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Playa del Carmen

$385 31.4%

Suzhou

$193 22.3% 49.8% $192

Groceries & Markets

Playa del Carmen

$260 21.2%

Suzhou

$221 25.5% 15.2% $39

Eating Out

Playa del Carmen

$204 16.6%

Suzhou

$115 13.3% 43.4% $89

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Playa del Carmen

$137 11.2%

Suzhou

$123 14.3% 10% $14

Clothing & Footwear

Playa del Carmen

$114 9.3%

Suzhou

$119 13.7% 3.9% $4.4

Sport & Entertainment

Playa del Carmen

$75 6.1%

Suzhou

$45 5.2% 40.2% $30

Getting Around

Playa del Carmen

$52 4.2%

Suzhou

$49 5.7% 5.8% $3

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $986 in Playa del Carmen versus $457 in Suzhou. Rent is usually the largest line item in a monthly budget, so the gap here sets the tone for the overall comparison.

Salaries run about 82% higher in Suzhou, which reinforces the cost advantage – you earn more and spend less. Purchasing power leans clearly in its favor.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $45.00 in Playa del Carmen versus $29.00 in Suzhou. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $260 vs $221 – making Suzhou the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇲🇽 Playa del Carmen

🇨🇳 Suzhou

🕒 Local time

06:41 6:41 AM

19:41 7:41 PM

13 h ahead of Playa del Carmen

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

149,923

12,748,262

💱 Currency

Mexican Peso MXN $

Chinese Yuan CNY ¥

📈 Exchange rate

100 MXN = 5.45 USD

100 MXN = 4.86 EUR

1 CNY = 0.15 USD

1 CNY = 0.134 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 10, 2026: 1 USD = 18.36 MXN (100 MXN = 5.45 USD). 1 EUR = 20.57 MXN (100 MXN = 4.86 EUR).

Chinese Yuan exchange rates as of October 10, 2026: 1 USD = 6.68 CNY (1 CNY = 0.15 USD). 1 EUR = 7.49 CNY (1 CNY = 0.134 EUR).

USD to MXN in detail →

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Between locations

Playa del Carmen Suzhou 13,530 km ≈ 17 h nonstop flight

From you

Playa del Carmen
Suzhou

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 Suzhou: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Yes – Playa del Carmen is pricier by about 39%, and outside of rent the gap shows up most in eating out.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $1,823 per month in Playa del Carmen and $1,313 in Suzhou. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

Rent is clearly cheaper in Suzhou, 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 $1,215 in Playa del Carmen and $876 in Suzhou. That's a gap of about 39%.

Public transport costs about 60% less in Suzhou. For daily commuters, that gap adds up to noticeable savings over a year.

A $2,000 monthly budget goes further in Suzhou, where all-in costs run around $876, than in Playa del Carmen at $1,215. In Suzhou it covers expenses comfortably, while in Playa del Carmen it requires careful planning or may not stretch far enough.

Families tend to lean toward Suzhou – 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 Suzhou. 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.