Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Playa del Carmen and Zhangjiakou

For one person, living is cheaper in Zhangjiakou: $776 a month against $1,204 in Playa del Carmen, rent and utilities included – about $5,100 less a year. Other living expenses account for most of the difference.

59

Cost of Living Index in Playa del Carmen
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Playa del Carmen Living Index
38

Cost of Living Index in Zhangjiakou
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Zhangjiakou Living Index

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Playa del Carmen

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,204

/mo nomad

Zhangjiakou

🇨🇳 China

$776

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

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

A single person spends $1,204 per month in Playa del Carmen vs $776 in Zhangjiakou, rent included.

Playa del Carmen $1,204
Zhangjiakou $776

A couple spends around $2,102 per month in Playa del Carmen vs $1,223 in Zhangjiakou, rent included.

Playa del Carmen $2,102
Zhangjiakou $1,223

A family of three spends $3,000 per month in Playa del Carmen vs $1,670 in Zhangjiakou, rent included.

Playa del Carmen $3,000
Zhangjiakou $1,670

Playa del Carmen costs about 55% more than Zhangjiakou, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

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

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$10.86 MX$203

$2.21 ¥14.72

391.40%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$44.21 MX$826

$24.26 ¥161

82.23%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.76 MX$220

$5.91 ¥39.37

98.98%

Cappuccino

$3.68 MX$68.8

$3.50 ¥23.30

5.14%

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

$1.34 MX$25.06

$0.50 ¥3.35

168.00%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.82 MX$15.41

$0.26 ¥1.72

215.38%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.06 MX$57.2

$0.92 ¥6.14

232.61%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.94 MX$92.2

$1.69 ¥11.27

192.31%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.47 MX$27.46

$1.48 ¥9.86

-0.68%

White Bread (500g)

$2.22 MX$41.39

$2.21 ¥14.73

0.45%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.48 MX$27.62

$1.06 ¥7.07

39.62%

Eggs

$2.49 MX$46.50

$1.06 ¥7.03

134.91%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$7.52 MX$140

$15.23 ¥101

-50.62%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$7.96 MX$149

$2.98 ¥19.80

167.11%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$12.57 MX$235

$9.59 ¥63.8

31.07%

Apples (1kg)

$2.78 MX$51.9

$1.66 ¥11.02

67.47%

Banana (1kg)

$1.43 MX$26.66

$0.93 ¥6.16

53.76%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.62 MX$48.90

$1.76 ¥11.70

48.86%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.14 MX$39.92

$1.22 ¥8.10

75.41%

Potato (1kg)

$2.02 MX$37.79

$0.81 ¥5.37

149.38%

Onion (1kg)

$1.99 MX$37.14

$0.57 ¥3.80

249.12%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.14 MX$21.24

$0.62 ¥4.13

83.87%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.20 MX$22.42

$0.74 ¥4.93

62.16%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.26 MX$79.6

$3.63 ¥24.17

17.36%

Wine (Bottle)

$10.02 MX$187

$13.60 ¥90.5

-26.32%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.54 MX$28.72

$1.07 ¥7.10

43.93%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.66 MX$49.71

$2.43 ¥16.16

9.47%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.53 MX$9.84

$0.29 ¥1.90

82.76%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$27.51 MX$514

$17.61 ¥117

56.22%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$4.90 MX$91.6

$1.08 ¥7.19

353.70%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$3.43 MX$64.2

$0.33 ¥2.17

939.39%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$5.38 MX$100

$6.21 ¥41.37

-13.37%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.45 MX$27.05

$1.18 ¥7.83

22.88%

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

$21.2K MX$395.3K

$19.6K ¥130.6K

7.83%

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

$23.0K MX$430.0K

$17.0K ¥113.3K

35.22%

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

$85.4 MX$1,595

$95.7 ¥637

-10.80%

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

$23.46 MX$438

$6.22 ¥41.40

277.17%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$28.43 MX$531

$7.68 ¥51.1

270.18%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$62.2 MX$1,162

$42.01 ¥280

48.04%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$28.68 MX$536

$15.20 ¥101

88.68%

Cinema Ticket

$5.10 MX$95.4

$7.30 ¥48.57

-30.14%

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

$201 MX$3,756

$342 ¥2,275

-41.16%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$3,947 MX$73.7K

$5,321 ¥35.4K

-25.83%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$44.39 MX$829

$44.73 ¥298

-0.76%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$41.35 MX$773

$28.35 ¥189

45.86%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$72.7 MX$1,359

$96.5 ¥643

-24.65%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$89.6 MX$1,674

$60.0 ¥399

49.37%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$979 MX$18.3K

$294 ¥1,954

233.64%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$373 MX$6,963

$182 ¥1,214

104.44%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,681 MX$31.4K

$622 ¥4,142

170.13%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,095 MX$20.5K

$379 ¥2,523

188.96%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,949 MX$73.8K

$3,446 ¥22.9K

14.61%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$6,137 MX$114.6K

$1,966 ¥13.1K

212.20%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$738 MX$13.8K

$382 ¥2,544

93.00%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

11.45

3.54

223.45%

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 Zhangjiakou: October 18, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Playa del Carmen

$373 31%

Zhangjiakou

$182 23.5% 51.1% $190

Groceries & Markets

Playa del Carmen

$258 21.5%

Zhangjiakou

$214 27.6% 17.2% $44

Eating Out

Playa del Carmen

$200 16.6%

Zhangjiakou

$88 11.4% 55.8% $112

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Playa del Carmen

$137 11.4%

Zhangjiakou

$110 14.1% 20.2% $28

Clothing & Footwear

Playa del Carmen

$112 9.3%

Zhangjiakou

$103 13.3% 7.4% $8.3

Sport & Entertainment

Playa del Carmen

$72 6%

Zhangjiakou

$57 7.3% 21.8% $16

Getting Around

Playa del Carmen

$52 4.3%

Zhangjiakou

$21 2.8% 58.5% $30

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $979 in Playa del Carmen versus $294 in Zhangjiakou. 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 93% higher in Playa del Carmen. Purchasing power depends on which expenses matter most to you.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $44 in Playa del Carmen versus $24 in Zhangjiakou. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $258 vs $214 – making Zhangjiakou the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇲🇽 Playa del Carmen

🇨🇳 Zhangjiakou

🕒 Local time

15:44 3:44 PM

04:44 4:44 AM

13 h ahead of Playa del Carmen

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

149,923

4,345,491

💱 Currency

Mexican Peso MXN $

Chinese Yuan CNY ¥

📈 Exchange rate

100 MXN = 5.35 USD

100 MXN = 4.78 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 26, 2026: 1 USD = 18.68 MXN (100 MXN = 5.35 USD). 1 EUR = 20.92 MXN (100 MXN = 4.78 EUR).

Chinese Yuan exchange rates as of October 26, 2026: 1 USD = 6.66 CNY (1 CNY = 0.15 USD). 1 EUR = 7.45 CNY (1 CNY = 0.134 EUR).

USD to MXN in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Playa del Carmen Zhangjiakou 12,820 km ≈ 17 h nonstop flight

From you

Playa del Carmen
Zhangjiakou

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 Zhangjiakou: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Yes – Playa del Carmen is pricier by about 55%, 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 $1,164 in Zhangjiakou. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

Rent is clearly cheaper in Zhangjiakou, especially for central apartments: a one-bedroom in the center costs $294 there versus $979 in Playa del Carmen.

Monthly expenses with rent come to $1,204 in Playa del Carmen and $776 in Zhangjiakou. That’s a gap of about 55%.

Public transport costs about 36% less in Zhangjiakou. For daily commuters, that gap adds up to noticeable savings over a year.

A $1,000 monthly budget goes further in Zhangjiakou, where all-in costs run around $776, than in Playa del Carmen at $1,204. In Zhangjiakou 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 $776 in Zhangjiakou to $1,204 in Playa del Carmen. Climate, culture, job market, and personal taste all factor in.

If budget matters most, go with Zhangjiakou. 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.