Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Playa del Carmen and Yiwu

For one person, living is cheaper in Yiwu: $550 a month against $1,204 in Playa del Carmen, rent and utilities included – about $7,800 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

58

Cost of Living Index in Playa del Carmen
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Playa del Carmen Living Index
27

Cost of Living Index in Yiwu
Learn more

Yiwu Living Index

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Playa del Carmen

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,204

/mo nomad

Yiwu

🇨🇳 China

$550

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

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

A single person spends $1,204 per month in Playa del Carmen vs $550 in Yiwu, rent included.

Playa del Carmen $1,204
Yiwu $550

A couple spends around $2,082 per month in Playa del Carmen vs $1,299 in Yiwu, rent included.

Playa del Carmen $2,082
Yiwu $1,299

A family of three spends $2,959 per month in Playa del Carmen vs $2,048 in Yiwu, rent included.

Playa del Carmen $2,959
Yiwu $2,048

Playa del Carmen costs about 119% more than Yiwu, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Both Playa del Carmen and Yiwu are more affordable than the global median – Playa del Carmen 12% lower, Yiwu 60% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$10.92 MX$203

$2.88 ¥19.15

279.17%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$43.37 MX$808

$29.56 ¥197

46.72%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.78 MX$219

$5.27 ¥35.06

123.53%

Cappuccino

$3.81 MX$71.0

$3.41 ¥22.70

11.73%

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

$1.28 MX$23.89

$0.58 ¥3.85

120.69%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.78 MX$14.58

$0.38 ¥2.53

105.26%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.17 MX$59.0

$1.23 ¥8.20

157.72%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.93 MX$91.9

$2.30 ¥15.28

114.35%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.41 MX$26.20

$1.78 ¥11.82

-20.79%

White Bread (500g)

$2.22 MX$41.30

$1.94 ¥12.91

14.43%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.42 MX$26.40

$1.03 ¥6.87

37.86%

Eggs

$2.52 MX$47.00

$1.69 ¥11.27

49.11%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$7.26 MX$135

$16.96 ¥113

-57.19%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$7.70 MX$143

$3.31 ¥22.04

132.63%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$12.69 MX$236

$12.92 ¥86.0

-1.78%

Apples (1kg)

$2.78 MX$51.9

$2.15 ¥14.33

29.30%

Banana (1kg)

$1.37 MX$25.49

$1.73 ¥11.48

-20.81%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.55 MX$47.52

$2.03 ¥13.49

25.62%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.12 MX$39.55

$1.69 ¥11.27

25.44%

Potato (1kg)

$1.94 MX$36.11

$0.82 ¥5.45

136.59%

Onion (1kg)

$1.89 MX$35.13

$0.92 ¥6.09

105.43%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.15 MX$21.36

$0.64 ¥4.26

79.69%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.18 MX$21.96

$0.59 ¥3.91

100.00%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.30 MX$80.0

$3.84 ¥25.52

11.98%

Wine (Bottle)

$9.95 MX$185

$10.77 ¥71.7

-7.61%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.58 MX$29.50

$0.88 ¥5.89

79.55%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.67 MX$49.76

$1.55 ¥10.32

72.26%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.55 MX$10.31

$0.46 ¥3.06

19.57%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$26.62 MX$496

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$4.97 MX$92.6

$1.39 ¥9.23

257.55%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$3.33 MX$62.1

$0.47 ¥3.10

608.51%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$5.36 MX$99.8

$8.98 ¥59.8

-40.31%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.44 MX$26.90

$1.27 ¥8.47

13.39%

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

$20.7K MX$385.0K

$19.8K ¥132.1K

4.13%

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

$23.5K MX$437.2K

$18.3K ¥121.5K

28.56%

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

$84.8 MX$1,580

$57.7 ¥384

47.00%

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

$23.41 MX$436

$7.89 ¥52.5

196.70%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$28.66 MX$534

$10.44 ¥69.5

174.52%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$57.1 MX$1,063

$15.16 ¥101

276.32%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$28.91 MX$539

$11.35 ¥75.5

154.71%

Cinema Ticket

$5.14 MX$95.7

$7.09 ¥47.19

-27.50%

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

$207 MX$3,848

$1,606 ¥10.7K

-87.14%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$3,927 MX$73.2K

$28.1K ¥186.9K

-86.02%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$43.35 MX$808

$55.7 ¥371

-22.20%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$41.44 MX$772

$37.90 ¥252

9.34%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$74.2 MX$1,382

$76.5 ¥509

-2.94%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$89.3 MX$1,663

$74.5 ¥496

19.83%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$980 MX$18.2K

$456 ¥3,035

114.80%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$381 MX$7,095

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,708 MX$31.8K

$1,055 ¥7,024

61.82%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,075 MX$20.0K

$759 ¥5,051

41.66%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,943 MX$73.5K

$11.9K ¥79.1K

-66.82%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$6,158 MX$114.7K

$2,935 ¥19.5K

109.83%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$735 MX$13.7K

$757 ¥5,035

-2.92%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

11.45

3.36

240.77%

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 Yiwu: October 25, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Playa del Carmen

$381 31.6%

Yiwu

- * 0% 100%

Groceries & Markets

Playa del Carmen

$255 21.2%

Yiwu

$235 42.7% 7.8% $20

Eating Out

Playa del Carmen

$202 16.8%

Yiwu

$94 17.2% 53.4% $108

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Playa del Carmen

$137 11.4%

Yiwu

$76 13.8% 44.5% $61

Clothing & Footwear

Playa del Carmen

$112 9.3%

Yiwu

$110 20% 1.5% $1.7

Sport & Entertainment

Playa del Carmen

$67 5.6%

Yiwu

$29 5.3% 56.4% $38

Getting Around

Playa del Carmen

$50 4.2%

Yiwu

$5.6 * 1% 89% $45

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

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $980 in Playa del Carmen versus $456 in Yiwu. 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 3% higher in Yiwu, 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 $30 in Yiwu. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $255 vs $235 – making Yiwu the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇲🇽 Playa del Carmen

🇨🇳 Yiwu

🕒 Local time

03:21 3:21 AM

16:21 4:21 PM

13 h ahead of Playa del Carmen

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

149,923

1,234,015

💱 Currency

Mexican Peso MXN $

Chinese Yuan CNY ¥

📈 Exchange rate

100 MXN = 5.37 USD

100 MXN = 4.81 EUR

1 CNY = 0.15 USD

1 CNY = 0.135 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 29, 2026: 1 USD = 18.63 MXN (100 MXN = 5.37 USD). 1 EUR = 20.79 MXN (100 MXN = 4.81 EUR).

Chinese Yuan exchange rates as of October 29, 2026: 1 USD = 6.65 CNY (1 CNY = 0.15 USD). 1 EUR = 7.43 CNY (1 CNY = 0.135 EUR).

USD to MXN in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Playa del Carmen Yiwu 13,750 km ≈ 18 h nonstop flight

From you

Playa del Carmen
Yiwu

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 Yiwu: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Yes – Playa del Carmen is pricier by about 119%, 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 $825 in Yiwu. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

Rent is clearly cheaper in Yiwu, especially for central apartments: a one-bedroom in the center costs $456 there versus $980 in Playa del Carmen.

Monthly expenses with rent come to $1,204 in Playa del Carmen and $550 in Yiwu. That makes Yiwu about 54% cheaper.

Kindergarten costs $207 per month in Playa del Carmen and $1,606 in Yiwu. For families with young kids, this one expense can tip the scales when choosing between the two cities.

A $800 monthly budget goes further in Yiwu, where all-in costs run around $550, than in Playa del Carmen at $1,204. In Yiwu 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 $550 in Yiwu to $1,204 in Playa del Carmen. Climate, culture, job market, and personal taste all factor in.