Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Playa del Carmen and Yantai

For one person, living is cheaper in Yantai: $629 a month against $1,210 in Playa del Carmen, rent and utilities included – about $7,000 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
30

Cost of Living Index in Yantai
Learn more

Yantai Living Index

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Playa del Carmen

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,210

/mo nomad

Yantai

🇨🇳 China

$629

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

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

A single person spends $1,210 per month in Playa del Carmen vs $629 in Yantai, rent included.

Playa del Carmen $1,210
Yantai $629

A couple spends around $2,113 per month in Playa del Carmen vs $926 in Yantai, rent included.

Playa del Carmen $2,113
Yantai $926

A family of three spends $3,016 per month in Playa del Carmen vs $1,223 in Yantai, rent included.

Playa del Carmen $3,016
Yantai $1,223

Playa del Carmen costs about 92% more than Yantai, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Both Playa del Carmen and Yantai are more affordable than the global median – Playa del Carmen 10% lower, Yantai 53% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$10.76 MX$199

$2.92 ¥19.55

268.49%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$43.03 MX$795

$18.14 ¥121

137.21%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.79 MX$218

$4.58 ¥30.65

157.42%

Cappuccino

$3.87 MX$71.4

$2.81 ¥18.78

37.72%

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

$1.37 MX$25.29

$0.54 ¥3.58

153.70%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.84 MX$15.44

$0.32 ¥2.15

162.50%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.10 MX$57.3

$1.05 ¥7.01

195.24%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$5.07 MX$93.6

$2.60 ¥17.39

95.00%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.44 MX$26.55

$1.96 ¥13.11

-26.53%

White Bread (500g)

$2.23 MX$41.23

$1.35 ¥9.01

65.19%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.47 MX$27.17

$0.83 ¥5.58

77.11%

Eggs

$2.53 MX$46.71

$1.35 ¥9.02

87.41%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$7.30 MX$135

$16.32 ¥109

-55.27%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$7.86 MX$145

$3.28 ¥21.94

139.63%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$12.79 MX$236

$6.89 ¥46.04

85.63%

Apples (1kg)

$2.90 MX$53.6

$1.37 ¥9.19

111.68%

Banana (1kg)

$1.44 MX$26.53

$0.89 ¥5.98

61.80%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.55 MX$47.07

$1.07 ¥7.16

138.32%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.06 MX$38.03

$0.74 ¥4.92

178.38%

Potato (1kg)

$2.00 MX$36.97

$0.67 ¥4.49

198.51%

Onion (1kg)

$2.01 MX$37.07

$0.78 ¥5.24

157.69%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.19 MX$22.02

$0.58 ¥3.91

105.17%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.26 MX$23.23

$0.63 ¥4.19

100.00%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.40 MX$81.4

$3.65 ¥24.39

20.55%

Wine (Bottle)

$9.59 MX$177

$11.68 ¥78.1

-17.89%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.59 MX$29.41

$0.78 ¥5.25

103.85%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.81 MX$51.9

$1.03 ¥6.88

172.82%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.57 MX$10.47

$0.21 ¥1.40

171.43%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$27.82 MX$514

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$4.98 MX$92.1

$1.36 ¥9.11

266.18%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$3.50 MX$64.6

$0.29 ¥1.92

1106.90%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$5.40 MX$99.8

$6.48 ¥43.30

-16.67%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.47 MX$27.08

$1.23 ¥8.20

19.51%

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

$21.0K MX$387.8K

$19.3K ¥129.0K

8.77%

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

$23.9K MX$441.8K

$16.4K ¥109.8K

45.63%

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

$84.2 MX$1,556

$44.64 ¥298

88.64%

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

$23.99 MX$443

$6.79 ¥45.37

253.31%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$29.02 MX$536

$6.09 ¥40.75

376.52%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$63.0 MX$1,164

$29.60 ¥198

112.77%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$29.14 MX$539

$7.43 ¥49.69

292.19%

Cinema Ticket

$4.94 MX$91.3

$5.44 ¥36.37

-9.19%

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

$204 MX$3,763

$363 ¥2,426

-43.88%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$3,941 MX$72.8K

$16.6K ¥111.2K

-76.31%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$43.60 MX$806

$17.97 ¥120

142.63%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$43.12 MX$797

$22.78 ¥152

89.29%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$75.8 MX$1,400

$93.7 ¥626

-19.10%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$88.6 MX$1,637

$90.2 ¥603

-1.83%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,008 MX$18.6K

$223 ¥1,490

352.30%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$374 MX$6,911

$151 ¥1,010

147.71%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,708 MX$31.6K

$353 ¥2,358

384.45%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,106 MX$20.4K

$147 ¥982

652.73%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,944 MX$72.9K

$3,056 ¥20.4K

29.05%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$6,169 MX$114.0K

$5,096 ¥34.1K

21.06%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$754 MX$13.9K

$1,063 ¥7,107

-29.05%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

11.45

3.37

239.76%

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

Last update for Playa del Carmen: October 10, 2026

Last update for Yantai: October 12, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Playa del Carmen

$374 30.9%

Yantai

$151 24% 59.6% $223

Groceries & Markets

Playa del Carmen

$258 21.4%

Yantai

$191 30.3% 26.2% $68

Eating Out

Playa del Carmen

$202 16.7%

Yantai

$85 13.5% 58.1% $118

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Playa del Carmen

$137 11.3%

Yantai

$58 9.1% 58.1% $80

Clothing & Footwear

Playa del Carmen

$113 9.3%

Yantai

$101 16.1% 10.5% $12

Sport & Entertainment

Playa del Carmen

$73 6%

Yantai

$40 6.4% 44.4% $32

Getting Around

Playa del Carmen

$53 4.3%

Yantai

$3.6 * 0.6% 93.1% $49

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

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $1,008 in Playa del Carmen versus $223 in Yantai. 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 41% higher in Yantai, 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 $43.00 in Playa del Carmen versus $18.00 in Yantai. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $258 vs $191 – making Yantai the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇲🇽 Playa del Carmen

🇨🇳 Yantai

🕒 Local time

13:32 1:32 PM

02:32 2:32 AM

13 h ahead of Playa del Carmen

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

149,923

1,871,000

💱 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 18, 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 18, 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 →

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Between locations

Playa del Carmen Yantai 12,900 km ≈ 17 h nonstop flight

From you

Playa del Carmen
Yantai

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 Yantai: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Yes – Playa del Carmen is pricier by about 92%, and outside of rent the gap shows up most in eating out.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $1,816 per month in Playa del Carmen and $944 in Yantai. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

Rent is clearly cheaper in Yantai, 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 $1,210 in Playa del Carmen and $629 in Yantai. That's a gap of about 92%.

Kindergarten costs $204 per month in Playa del Carmen and $363 in Yantai. For families with young kids, this one expense can tip the scales when choosing between the two cities.

A $1,000 monthly budget goes further in Yantai, where all-in costs run around $629, than in Playa del Carmen at $1,210. In Yantai it covers expenses comfortably, while in Playa del Carmen it requires careful planning or may not stretch far enough.

Families tend to lean toward Yantai – 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 Yantai. 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.