Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Playa del Carmen and Tainan

For one person, living is cheaper in Tainan: $1,148 a month against $1,204 in Playa del Carmen, rent and utilities included – about $670 less a year. Higher rent and utilities in Playa del Carmen outweigh lower spending on other living expenses.

58

Cost of Living Index in Playa del Carmen
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Playa del Carmen Living Index
56

Cost of Living Index in Tainan
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Tainan Living Index

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Playa del Carmen

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,204

/mo nomad

Tainan

🇹🇼 Taiwan

$1,148

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

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

A single person spends $1,204 per month in Playa del Carmen vs $1,148 in Tainan, rent included.

Playa del Carmen $1,204
Tainan $1,148

A couple spends around $2,082 per month in Playa del Carmen vs $1,985 in Tainan, rent included.

Playa del Carmen $2,082
Tainan $1,985

A family of three spends $2,959 per month in Playa del Carmen vs $2,822 in Tainan, rent included.

Playa del Carmen $2,959
Tainan $2,822

Playa del Carmen costs about 5% more than Tainan, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Both Playa del Carmen and Tainan are more affordable than the global median – Playa del Carmen 12% lower, Tainan 16% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$10.92 MX$203

$3.63 NT$118

200.83%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$43.37 MX$808

$25.03 NT$810

73.27%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.78 MX$219

$4.72 NT$153

149.58%

Cappuccino

$3.81 MX$71.0

$3.09 NT$99.9

23.30%

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

$1.28 MX$23.89

$1.35 NT$43.71

-5.19%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.78 MX$14.58

$0.82 NT$26.51

-4.88%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.17 MX$59.0

$3.06 NT$99.0

3.59%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.93 MX$91.9

$3.33 NT$108

48.05%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.41 MX$26.20

$3.00 NT$97.1

-53.00%

White Bread (500g)

$2.22 MX$41.30

$1.75 NT$56.7

26.86%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.42 MX$26.40

$3.97 NT$129

-64.23%

Eggs

$2.52 MX$47.00

$2.90 NT$93.8

-13.10%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$7.26 MX$135

$21.70 NT$703

-66.54%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$7.70 MX$143

$12.55 NT$406

-38.65%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$12.69 MX$236

$20.38 NT$660

-37.73%

Apples (1kg)

$2.78 MX$51.9

$5.30 NT$172

-47.55%

Banana (1kg)

$1.37 MX$25.49

$2.71 NT$87.8

-49.45%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.55 MX$47.52

$4.94 NT$160

-48.38%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.12 MX$39.55

$7.03 NT$228

-69.84%

Potato (1kg)

$1.94 MX$36.11

$4.50 NT$146

-56.89%

Onion (1kg)

$1.89 MX$35.13

$4.48 NT$145

-57.81%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.15 MX$21.36

$2.91 NT$94.1

-60.48%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.18 MX$21.96

$1.43 NT$46.33

-17.48%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.30 MX$80.0

$3.93 NT$127

9.41%

Wine (Bottle)

$9.95 MX$185

$18.61 NT$603

-46.53%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.58 MX$29.50

$1.96 NT$63.4

-19.39%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.67 MX$49.76

$2.26 NT$73.2

18.14%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.55 MX$10.31

$0.54 NT$17.44

1.85%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$26.62 MX$496

$19.90 NT$645

33.77%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$4.97 MX$92.6

$2.58 NT$83.6

92.64%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$3.33 MX$62.1

$0.93 NT$30.24

258.06%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$5.36 MX$99.8

$5.67 NT$184

-5.47%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.44 MX$26.90

$1.01 NT$32.69

42.57%

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

$20.7K MX$385.0K

$35.9K NT$1.2M

-42.50%

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

$23.5K MX$437.2K

$23.0K NT$743.6K

2.18%

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

$84.8 MX$1,580

$85.9 NT$2,781

-1.26%

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

$23.41 MX$436

$17.17 NT$556

36.34%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$28.66 MX$534

$20.75 NT$672

38.12%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$57.1 MX$1,063

$44.23 NT$1,432

28.98%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$28.91 MX$539

Cinema Ticket

$5.14 MX$95.7

$9.31 NT$302

-44.79%

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

$207 MX$3,848

$430 NT$13.9K

-51.97%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$3,927 MX$73.2K

$5,382 NT$174.3K

-27.04%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$43.35 MX$808

$90.7 NT$2,938

-52.21%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$41.44 MX$772

$44.43 NT$1,439

-6.73%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$74.2 MX$1,382

$116 NT$3,747

-35.87%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$89.3 MX$1,663

$121 NT$3,915

-26.17%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$980 MX$18.2K

$324 NT$10.5K

202.35%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$381 MX$7,095

$190 NT$6,140

100.83%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,708 MX$31.8K

$826 NT$26.8K

106.68%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,075 MX$20.0K

$707 NT$22.9K

52.16%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,943 MX$73.5K

$3,122 NT$101.1K

26.29%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$6,158 MX$114.7K

$2,148 NT$69.6K

186.64%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$735 MX$13.7K

$1,350 NT$43.7K

-45.59%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

11.45

2.5

358.00%

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 Tainan: October 26, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Playa del Carmen

$381 31.6%

Tainan

$190 16.5% 50.2% $191

Groceries & Markets

Playa del Carmen

$255 21.2%

Tainan

$464 40.5% 82.3% $210

Eating Out

Playa del Carmen

$202 16.8%

Tainan

$111 9.7% 45.2% $92

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Playa del Carmen

$137 11.4%

Tainan

$124 10.8% 9.5% $13

Clothing & Footwear

Playa del Carmen

$112 9.3%

Tainan

$167 14.6% 49.8% $56

Sport & Entertainment

Playa del Carmen

$67 5.6%

Tainan

$63 5.5% 6.6% $4.5

Getting Around

Playa del Carmen

$50 4.2%

Tainan

$29 2.6% 41.9% $21

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $980 in Playa del Carmen versus $324 in Tainan. 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 84% higher in Tainan, 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 $43 in Playa del Carmen versus $25 in Tainan. Groceries tell a different story – $255 in Playa del Carmen vs $464 in Tainan – so Playa del Carmen wins on supermarket bills even if dining out costs more.

Good to know

🇲🇽 Playa del Carmen

🇹🇼 Tainan

🕒 Local time

03:20 3:20 AM

16:20 4:20 PM

13 h ahead of Playa del Carmen

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

149,923

1,886,033

💱 Currency

Mexican Peso MXN $

New Taiwan Dollar TWD NT$

📈 Exchange rate

100 MXN = 5.37 USD

100 MXN = 4.81 EUR

100 TWD = 3.09 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 29, 2026: 1 USD = 18.63 MXN (100 MXN = 5.37 USD). 1 EUR = 20.79 MXN (100 MXN = 4.81 EUR).

New Taiwan Dollar exchange rates as of October 29, 2026: 1 USD = 32.38 TWD (100 TWD = 3.09 USD). 1 EUR = 36.14 TWD (100 TWD = 2.77 EUR).

USD to MXN in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Playa del Carmen Tainan 14,330 km ≈ 18 h nonstop flight

From you

Playa del Carmen
Tainan

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 Tainan: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Yes – Playa del Carmen is pricier by about 5%, 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 $1,722 in Tainan. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

Rent is clearly cheaper in Tainan, especially for central apartments: a one-bedroom in the center costs $324 there versus $980 in Playa del Carmen.

Monthly expenses with rent come to $1,204 in Playa del Carmen and $1,148 in Tainan. That makes Tainan about 5% cheaper.

Public transport costs about 25% less in Tainan. For daily commuters, that gap adds up to noticeable savings over a year.

$2,000 covers both cities comfortably – all-in costs are $1,204 in Playa del Carmen and $1,148 in Tainan, leaving budget for savings and extras in both cases.

It depends on your priorities. Playa del Carmen has an edge in some lifestyle areas, with costs from $1,148 in Tainan to $1,204 in Playa del Carmen. Climate, culture, job market, and personal taste all factor in.