Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Playa del Carmen and Taizhou

For one person, living is cheaper in Taizhou: $774 a month against $1,204 in Playa del Carmen, rent and utilities included – about $5,200 less a year. Rent and utilities account for about half of the difference.

59

Cost of Living Index in Playa del Carmen
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Playa del Carmen Living Index
37

Cost of Living Index in Taizhou
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Taizhou Living Index

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Playa del Carmen

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,204

/mo nomad

Taizhou

🇨🇳 China

$774

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

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

A single person spends $1,204 per month in Playa del Carmen vs $774 in Taizhou, rent included.

Playa del Carmen $1,204
Taizhou $774

A couple spends around $2,102 per month in Playa del Carmen vs $1,255 in Taizhou, rent included.

Playa del Carmen $2,102
Taizhou $1,255

A family of three spends $3,000 per month in Playa del Carmen vs $1,735 in Taizhou, rent included.

Playa del Carmen $3,000
Taizhou $1,735

Playa del Carmen costs about 56% more than Taizhou, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Both Playa del Carmen and Taizhou are more affordable than the global median – Playa del Carmen 11% lower, Taizhou 43% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$10.86 MX$203

$3.76 ¥25.05

188.83%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$44.21 MX$824

$25.85 ¥172

71.03%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.76 MX$219

$4.54 ¥30.25

159.03%

Cappuccino

$3.68 MX$68.6

$3.43 ¥22.87

7.29%

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

$1.34 MX$25.01

$0.53 ¥3.56

152.83%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.82 MX$15.38

$0.29 ¥1.91

182.76%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.06 MX$57.1

$1.17 ¥7.82

161.54%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.94 MX$92.1

$2.27 ¥15.15

117.62%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.47 MX$27.41

$1.87 ¥12.44

-21.39%

White Bread (500g)

$2.22 MX$41.32

$1.65 ¥11.00

34.55%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.48 MX$27.57

$0.54 ¥3.59

174.07%

Eggs

$2.49 MX$46.41

$1.18 ¥7.87

111.02%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$7.52 MX$140

$19.42 ¥130

-61.28%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$7.96 MX$148

$3.66 ¥24.44

117.49%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$12.57 MX$234

$10.17 ¥67.9

23.60%

Apples (1kg)

$2.78 MX$51.8

$1.19 ¥7.95

133.61%

Banana (1kg)

$1.43 MX$26.61

$1.33 ¥8.87

7.52%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.62 MX$48.81

$1.52 ¥10.15

72.37%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.14 MX$39.85

$1.61 ¥10.75

32.92%

Potato (1kg)

$2.02 MX$37.72

$0.74 ¥4.95

172.97%

Onion (1kg)

$1.99 MX$37.08

$0.93 ¥6.22

113.98%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.14 MX$21.20

$0.68 ¥4.53

67.65%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.20 MX$22.38

$0.58 ¥3.87

106.90%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.26 MX$79.4

$4.22 ¥28.12

0.95%

Wine (Bottle)

$10.02 MX$187

$13.50 ¥90.0

-25.78%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.54 MX$28.67

$0.43 ¥2.89

258.14%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.66 MX$49.62

$1.64 ¥10.95

62.20%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.53 MX$9.82

$0.29 ¥1.93

82.76%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$27.51 MX$513

$18.07 ¥121

52.24%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$4.90 MX$91.4

$1.22 ¥8.10

301.64%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$3.43 MX$64.1

$0.39 ¥2.58

779.49%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$5.38 MX$100

$7.02 ¥46.81

-23.36%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.45 MX$27.00

$1.28 ¥8.55

13.28%

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

$21.2K MX$394.5K

$19.4K ¥129.6K

8.87%

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

$23.0K MX$429.2K

$16.3K ¥108.8K

41.14%

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

$85.4 MX$1,592

$48.64 ¥324

75.49%

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

$23.46 MX$438

$8.88 ¥59.2

164.19%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$28.43 MX$530

$11.43 ¥76.2

148.73%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$62.2 MX$1,160

$41.01 ¥274

51.65%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$28.68 MX$535

$15.17 ¥101

89.06%

Cinema Ticket

$5.10 MX$95.2

$7.43 ¥49.56

-31.36%

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

$201 MX$3,749

$564 ¥3,761

-64.34%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$3,947 MX$73.6K

$35.6K ¥237.4K

-88.91%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$44.39 MX$828

$33.06 ¥220

34.27%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$41.35 MX$771

$42.37 ¥283

-2.41%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$72.7 MX$1,356

$83.2 ¥555

-12.59%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$89.6 MX$1,671

$108 ¥722

-17.23%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$979 MX$18.3K

$299 ¥1,994

227.53%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$373 MX$6,950

$185 ¥1,236

101.20%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,681 MX$31.3K

$640 ¥4,267

162.76%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,095 MX$20.4K

$380 ¥2,537

187.93%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,949 MX$73.6K

$3,418 ¥22.8K

15.54%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$6,137 MX$114.4K

$1,980 ¥13.2K

209.86%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$738 MX$13.8K

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

11.45

3.5

227.14%

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 Taizhou: October 19, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Playa del Carmen

$373 31%

Taizhou

$185 23.9% 50.3% $187

Groceries & Markets

Playa del Carmen

$258 21.5%

Taizhou

$223 28.9% 13.5% $35

Eating Out

Playa del Carmen

$200 16.6%

Taizhou

$98 12.7% 50.8% $102

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Playa del Carmen

$137 11.4%

Taizhou

$69 8.9% 49.8% $68

Clothing & Footwear

Playa del Carmen

$112 9.3%

Taizhou

$120 15.5% 7.6% $8.5

Sport & Entertainment

Playa del Carmen

$72 6%

Taizhou

$56 7.2% 22.8% $17

Getting Around

Playa del Carmen

$52 4.3%

Taizhou

$22 2.9% 56.7% $29

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $979 in Playa del Carmen versus $299 in Taizhou. 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 $44 in Playa del Carmen versus $26 in Taizhou. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $258 vs $223 – making Taizhou the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇲🇽 Playa del Carmen

🇨🇳 Taizhou

🕒 Local time

12:19 12:19 PM

01:19 1:19 AM

13 h ahead of Playa del Carmen

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

149,923

615,000

💱 Currency

Mexican Peso MXN $

Chinese Yuan CNY ¥

📈 Exchange rate

100 MXN = 5.36 USD

100 MXN = 4.79 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 25, 2026: 1 USD = 18.65 MXN (100 MXN = 5.36 USD). 1 EUR = 20.89 MXN (100 MXN = 4.79 EUR).

Chinese Yuan exchange rates as of October 25, 2026: 1 USD = 6.67 CNY (1 CNY = 0.15 USD). 1 EUR = 7.47 CNY (1 CNY = 0.134 EUR).

USD to MXN in detail →

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Between locations

Playa del Carmen Taizhou 13,740 km ≈ 18 h nonstop flight

From you

Playa del Carmen
Taizhou

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 Taizhou: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Yes – Playa del Carmen is pricier by about 56%, 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 $1,162 in Taizhou. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

Rent is clearly cheaper in Taizhou, especially for central apartments: a one-bedroom in the center costs $299 there versus $979 in Playa del Carmen.

Monthly expenses with rent come to $1,204 in Playa del Carmen and $774 in Taizhou. That’s a gap of about 56%.

Public transport costs about 34% less in Taizhou. For daily commuters, that gap adds up to noticeable savings over a year.

It depends on your priorities. Playa del Carmen has an edge in some lifestyle areas, with costs from $774 in Taizhou to $1,204 in Playa del Carmen. Climate, culture, job market, and personal taste all factor in.

For expats, Taizhou is the easier option financially – housing and daily costs are lower, and the 56% gap matters a lot on a fixed budget or early-career salary.