Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Playa del Carmen and Zhongli City

For one person, living is cheaper in Zhongli City: $1,005 a month against $1,204 in Playa del Carmen, rent and utilities included – about $2,400 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
48

Cost of Living Index in Zhongli City
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Zhongli City Living Index

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Playa del Carmen

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,204

/mo nomad

Zhongli City

🇹🇼 Taiwan

$1,005

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Playa del Carmen and in Zhongli City

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

A single person spends $1,204 per month in Playa del Carmen vs $1,005 in Zhongli City, rent included.

Playa del Carmen $1,204
Zhongli City $1,005

A couple spends around $2,082 per month in Playa del Carmen vs $1,698 in Zhongli City, rent included.

Playa del Carmen $2,082
Zhongli City $1,698

A family of three spends $2,959 per month in Playa del Carmen vs $2,392 in Zhongli City, rent included.

Playa del Carmen $2,959
Zhongli City $2,392

Playa del Carmen costs about 20% more than Zhongli City, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Both Playa del Carmen and Zhongli City are more affordable than the global median – Playa del Carmen 12% lower, Zhongli City 26% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$10.92 MX$205

$4.60 NT$150

137.39%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$43.37 MX$814

$30.45 NT$993

42.43%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.78 MX$221

$4.86 NT$158

142.39%

Cappuccino

$3.81 MX$71.5

$2.52 NT$82.3

51.19%

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

$1.28 MX$24.07

$0.99 NT$32.20

29.29%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.78 MX$14.70

$0.68 NT$22.12

14.71%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.17 MX$59.5

$1.50 NT$48.99

111.33%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.93 MX$92.7

$2.68 NT$87.4

83.96%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.41 MX$26.40

$3.22 NT$105

-56.21%

White Bread (500g)

$2.22 MX$41.62

$1.67 NT$54.5

32.93%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.42 MX$26.61

$2.62 NT$85.3

-45.80%

Eggs

$2.52 MX$47.36

$2.51 NT$81.7

0.40%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$7.26 MX$136

$12.15 NT$396

-40.25%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$7.70 MX$144

$6.60 NT$215

16.67%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$12.69 MX$238

$15.66 NT$511

-18.97%

Apples (1kg)

$2.78 MX$52.3

$3.64 NT$119

-23.63%

Banana (1kg)

$1.37 MX$25.68

$1.85 NT$60.5

-25.95%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.55 MX$47.89

$2.93 NT$95.6

-12.97%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.12 MX$39.86

$2.13 NT$69.5

-0.47%

Potato (1kg)

$1.94 MX$36.39

$1.22 NT$39.89

59.02%

Onion (1kg)

$1.89 MX$35.41

$1.86 NT$60.5

1.61%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.15 MX$21.53

$2.29 NT$74.7

-49.78%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.18 MX$22.13

$0.88 NT$28.56

34.09%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.30 MX$80.6

$3.80 NT$124

13.16%

Wine (Bottle)

$9.95 MX$187

$15.54 NT$507

-35.97%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.58 MX$29.73

$1.54 NT$50.2

2.60%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.67 MX$50.1

$2.42 NT$78.9

10.33%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.55 MX$10.39

$0.59 NT$19.37

-6.78%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$26.62 MX$500

$33.95 NT$1,107

-21.59%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$4.97 MX$93.3

$2.57 NT$83.8

93.39%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$3.33 MX$62.5

$0.52 NT$16.84

540.38%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$5.36 MX$101

$9.25 NT$301

-42.05%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.44 MX$27.11

$0.95 NT$31.02

51.58%

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

$20.7K MX$388.0K

$34.4K NT$1.1M

-39.98%

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

$23.5K MX$440.5K

$22.3K NT$726.4K

5.33%

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

$84.8 MX$1,592

$101 NT$3,288

-15.92%

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

$23.41 MX$439

$14.83 NT$484

57.86%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$28.66 MX$538

$16.67 NT$544

71.93%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$57.1 MX$1,071

$36.46 NT$1,189

56.47%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$28.91 MX$543

Cinema Ticket

$5.14 MX$96.5

$10.03 NT$327

-48.75%

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

$207 MX$3,878

$332 NT$10.8K

-37.84%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$3,927 MX$73.7K

$16.7K NT$543.5K

-76.44%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$43.35 MX$814

$71.3 NT$2,323

-39.16%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$41.44 MX$778

$34.96 NT$1,140

18.54%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$74.2 MX$1,393

$53.6 NT$1,749

38.33%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$89.3 MX$1,676

$105 NT$3,437

-15.35%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$980 MX$18.4K

$440 NT$14.4K

122.50%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$381 MX$7,150

$246 NT$8,019

54.83%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,708 MX$32.1K

$857 NT$28.0K

99.22%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,075 MX$20.2K

$720 NT$23.5K

49.28%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,943 MX$74.0K

$6,314 NT$205.9K

-37.56%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$6,158 MX$115.6K

$4,301 NT$140.2K

43.17%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$735 MX$13.8K

$2,257 NT$73.6K

-67.45%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

11.45

2.1

445.24%

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 Zhongli City: October 25, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Playa del Carmen

$381 31.6%

Zhongli City

$246 24.5% 35.4% $135

Groceries & Markets

Playa del Carmen

$255 21.2%

Zhongli City

$308 30.7% 21% $53

Eating Out

Playa del Carmen

$202 16.8%

Zhongli City

$101 10.1% 50% $101

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Playa del Carmen

$137 11.4%

Zhongli City

$132 13.2% 3.3% $4.5

Clothing & Footwear

Playa del Carmen

$112 9.3%

Zhongli City

$119 11.9% 6.9% $7.7

Sport & Entertainment

Playa del Carmen

$67 5.6%

Zhongli City

$57 5.6% 16.1% $11

Getting Around

Playa del Carmen

$50 4.2%

Zhongli City

$41 4.1% 17.8% $9

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $980 in Playa del Carmen versus $440 in Zhongli City. Rent is usually the largest line item in a monthly budget, so the gap here sets the tone for the overall comparison.

Salaries in Zhongli City are about 3.1 times higher, 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 Zhongli City. Groceries tell a different story – $255 in Playa del Carmen vs $308 in Zhongli City – so Playa del Carmen wins on supermarket bills even if dining out costs more.

Good to know

🇲🇽 Playa del Carmen

🇹🇼 Zhongli City

🕒 Local time

13:41 1:41 PM

02:41 2:41 AM

13 h ahead of Playa del Carmen

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

149,923

396,453

💱 Currency

Mexican Peso MXN $

New Taiwan Dollar TWD NT$

📈 Exchange rate

100 MXN = 5.33 USD

100 MXN = 4.77 EUR

100 TWD = 3.07 USD

100 TWD = 2.75 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

TWD, USD, EUR to MXN – Mexican Peso Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇲🇽 Mexican Peso ($)

Mexican Peso exchange rates as of November 1, 2026: 1 USD = 18.77 MXN (100 MXN = 5.33 USD). 1 EUR = 20.96 MXN (100 MXN = 4.77 EUR).

New Taiwan Dollar exchange rates as of November 1, 2026: 1 USD = 32.61 TWD (100 TWD = 3.07 USD). 1 EUR = 36.41 TWD (100 TWD = 2.75 EUR).

USD to MXN in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Playa del Carmen Zhongli City 14,090 km ≈ 18 h nonstop flight

From you

Playa del Carmen
Zhongli City

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 Zhongli City: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Yes – Playa del Carmen is pricier by about 20%, 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 $1,508 in Zhongli City. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

Rent is clearly cheaper in Zhongli City, especially for central apartments: a one-bedroom in the center costs $440 there versus $980 in Playa del Carmen.

Monthly expenses with rent come to $1,204 in Playa del Carmen and $1,005 in Zhongli City. That makes Zhongli City about 17% cheaper.

Public transport costs about 22% less in Playa del Carmen. For daily commuters, that gap adds up to noticeable savings over a year.

$2,000 covers both cities comfortably – all-in costs are $1,204 in Playa del Carmen and $1,005 in Zhongli City, leaving budget for savings and extras in both cases.

It depends on your priorities. Playa del Carmen has an edge in some lifestyle areas, with costs from $1,005 in Zhongli City to $1,204 in Playa del Carmen. Climate, culture, job market, and personal taste all factor in.