Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Playa del Carmen and Xiamen

For one person, living is cheaper in Xiamen: $832 a month against $1,204 in Playa del Carmen, rent and utilities included – about $4,500 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 Xiamen
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Xiamen Living Index

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Playa del Carmen

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,204

/mo nomad

Xiamen

🇨🇳 China

$832

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

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

A single person spends $1,204 per month in Playa del Carmen vs $832 in Xiamen, rent included.

Playa del Carmen $1,204
Xiamen $832

A couple spends around $2,082 per month in Playa del Carmen vs $1,337 in Xiamen, rent included.

Playa del Carmen $2,082
Xiamen $1,337

A family of three spends $2,959 per month in Playa del Carmen vs $1,842 in Xiamen, rent included.

Playa del Carmen $2,959
Xiamen $1,842

Playa del Carmen costs about 45% more than Xiamen, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Both Playa del Carmen and Xiamen are more affordable than the global median – Playa del Carmen 12% lower, Xiamen 39% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$10.92 MX$206

$2.93 ¥19.49

272.70%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$43.37 MX$819

$23.60 ¥157

83.77%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.78 MX$223

$5.20 ¥34.52

126.54%

Cappuccino

$3.81 MX$72.0

$2.57 ¥17.06

48.25%

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

$1.28 MX$24.23

$0.47 ¥3.10

172.34%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.78 MX$14.79

$0.35 ¥2.35

122.86%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.17 MX$59.8

$1.51 ¥10.06

109.93%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.93 MX$93.2

$2.95 ¥19.57

67.12%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.41 MX$26.57

$1.47 ¥9.76

-4.08%

White Bread (500g)

$2.22 MX$41.88

$2.28 ¥15.14

-2.63%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.42 MX$26.78

$0.95 ¥6.30

49.47%

Eggs

$2.52 MX$47.66

$1.64 ¥10.87

53.66%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$7.26 MX$137

$12.02 ¥79.8

-39.60%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$7.70 MX$145

$2.45 ¥16.24

214.29%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$12.69 MX$240

$11.76 ¥78.1

7.91%

Apples (1kg)

$2.78 MX$52.6

$2.58 ¥17.16

7.75%

Banana (1kg)

$1.37 MX$25.85

$1.48 ¥9.80

-7.43%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.55 MX$48.19

$1.67 ¥11.10

52.69%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.12 MX$40.11

$1.99 ¥13.23

6.53%

Potato (1kg)

$1.94 MX$36.62

$0.97 ¥6.47

100.00%

Onion (1kg)

$1.89 MX$35.63

$1.81 ¥12.04

4.42%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.15 MX$21.66

$0.93 ¥6.15

23.66%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.18 MX$22.27

$0.54 ¥3.61

118.52%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.30 MX$81.2

$2.92 ¥19.36

47.26%

Wine (Bottle)

$9.95 MX$188

$11.38 ¥75.6

-12.57%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.58 MX$29.91

$0.79 ¥5.28

100.00%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.67 MX$50.5

$1.74 ¥11.55

53.45%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.55 MX$10.45

$0.16 ¥1.08

243.75%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$26.62 MX$503

$11.93 ¥79.2

123.13%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$4.97 MX$93.9

$1.46 ¥9.67

240.41%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$3.33 MX$62.9

$0.29 ¥1.91

1048.28%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$5.36 MX$101

$7.39 ¥49.07

-27.47%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.44 MX$27.28

$1.33 ¥8.84

8.27%

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

$20.7K MX$390.4K

$19.7K ¥131.1K

4.67%

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

$23.5K MX$443.3K

$17.6K ¥116.7K

33.57%

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

$84.8 MX$1,602

$43.23 ¥287

96.14%

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

$23.41 MX$442

$8.70 ¥57.8

169.08%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$28.66 MX$541

$10.38 ¥68.9

176.11%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$57.1 MX$1,078

$47.30 ¥314

20.61%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$28.91 MX$546

$10.31 ¥68.5

180.41%

Cinema Ticket

$5.14 MX$97.1

$10.24 ¥68.0

-49.80%

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

$207 MX$3,903

$496 ¥3,297

-58.39%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$3,927 MX$74.2K

$24.8K ¥164.7K

-84.16%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$43.35 MX$819

$39.20 ¥260

10.59%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$41.44 MX$783

$29.55 ¥196

40.24%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$74.2 MX$1,402

$107 ¥710

-30.58%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$89.3 MX$1,686

$84.5 ¥561

5.61%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$980 MX$18.5K

$352 ¥2,341

177.90%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$381 MX$7,195

$266 ¥1,766

43.24%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,708 MX$32.3K

$841 ¥5,587

103.05%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,075 MX$20.3K

$544 ¥3,610

97.80%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,943 MX$74.5K

$8,588 ¥57.0K

-54.09%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$6,158 MX$116.3K

$4,847 ¥32.2K

27.04%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$735 MX$13.9K

$1,179 ¥7,833

-37.72%

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 25, 2026

Last update for Xiamen: October 24, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Playa del Carmen

$381 31.6%

Xiamen

$266 32% 30.2% $115

Groceries & Markets

Playa del Carmen

$255 21.2%

Xiamen

$217 26.1% 14.9% $38

Eating Out

Playa del Carmen

$202 16.8%

Xiamen

$87 10.4% 57.2% $116

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Playa del Carmen

$137 11.4%

Xiamen

$62 7.5% 54.5% $75

Clothing & Footwear

Playa del Carmen

$112 9.3%

Xiamen

$117 14.1% 4.8% $5.4

Sport & Entertainment

Playa del Carmen

$67 5.6%

Xiamen

$68 8.2% 0.7% $0.5

Getting Around

Playa del Carmen

$50 4.2%

Xiamen

$15 1.9% 69.3% $35

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $980 in Playa del Carmen versus $352 in Xiamen. 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 61% higher in Xiamen, 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 $24 in Xiamen. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $255 vs $217 – making Xiamen the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇲🇽 Playa del Carmen

🇨🇳 Xiamen

🕒 Local time

21:10 9:10 PM

10:10 10:10 AM

13 h ahead of Playa del Carmen

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

149,923

3,531,000

💱 Currency

Mexican Peso MXN $

Chinese Yuan CNY ¥

📈 Exchange rate

100 MXN = 5.29 USD

100 MXN = 4.73 EUR

1 CNY = 0.151 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 31, 2026: 1 USD = 18.89 MXN (100 MXN = 5.29 USD). 1 EUR = 21.16 MXN (100 MXN = 4.73 EUR).

Chinese Yuan exchange rates as of October 31, 2026: 1 USD = 6.64 CNY (1 CNY = 0.151 USD). 1 EUR = 7.44 CNY (1 CNY = 0.134 EUR).

USD to MXN in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Playa del Carmen Xiamen 14,310 km ≈ 18 h nonstop flight

From you

Playa del Carmen
Xiamen

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 Xiamen: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Yes – Playa del Carmen is pricier by about 45%, 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 $1,248 in Xiamen. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

Rent is clearly cheaper in Xiamen, especially for central apartments: a one-bedroom in the center costs $352 there versus $980 in Playa del Carmen.

Monthly expenses with rent come to $1,204 in Playa del Carmen and $832 in Xiamen. That makes Xiamen about 31% cheaper.

Public transport costs about 55% less in Xiamen. For daily commuters, that gap adds up to noticeable savings over a year.

A $1,000 monthly budget goes further in Xiamen, where all-in costs run around $832, than in Playa del Carmen at $1,204. In Xiamen it covers expenses comfortably, while in Playa del Carmen it requires careful planning or may not stretch far enough.

It depends on your priorities. Playa del Carmen has an edge in some lifestyle areas, with costs from $832 in Xiamen to $1,204 in Playa del Carmen. Climate, culture, job market, and personal taste all factor in.

For expats, Xiamen is the easier option financially – housing and daily costs are lower, and overall it costs about 31% less, which matters a lot on a fixed budget or early-career salary.