Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Taoyuan and Playa del Carmen

For one person, living costs are similar in Taoyuan and in Playa del Carmen: $1,183 and $1,204 a month, rent and utilities included.

57

Cost of Living Index in Taoyuan
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Taoyuan Living Index
58

Cost of Living Index in Playa del Carmen
Learn more

Playa del Carmen Living Index

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Taoyuan

🇹🇼 Taiwan

$1,183

/mo nomad

Playa del Carmen

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,204

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Real prices from locals and on-the-ground checks – rent, groceries, transit and the daily extras. Here's what a month in Taoyuan and in Playa del Carmen actually costs, broken down by who's living it.

A single person spends $1,183 per month in Taoyuan vs $1,204 in Playa del Carmen, rent included.

Taoyuan $1,183
Playa del Carmen $1,204

A couple spends around $1,731 per month in Taoyuan vs $2,082 in Playa del Carmen, rent included.

Taoyuan $1,731
Playa del Carmen $2,082

A family of three spends $2,278 per month in Taoyuan vs $2,959 in Playa del Carmen, rent included.

Taoyuan $2,278
Playa del Carmen $2,959

Taoyuan and Playa del Carmen have comparable living costs – the differences are in the details.

Both Taoyuan and Playa del Carmen are more affordable than the global median – Taoyuan 13% lower, Playa del Carmen 12% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$4.13 NT$135

$10.92 MX$205

-62.18%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$24.84 NT$810

$43.37 MX$814

-42.73%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$5.46 NT$178

$11.78 MX$221

-53.65%

Cappuccino

$3.00 NT$97.8

$3.81 MX$71.5

-21.26%

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

$1.00 NT$32.66

$1.28 MX$24.07

-21.88%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.69 NT$22.65

$0.78 MX$14.70

-11.54%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$1.81 NT$58.9

$3.17 MX$59.5

-42.90%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.25 NT$73.3

$4.93 MX$92.7

-54.36%

Milk (1 liter)

$2.76 NT$89.9

$1.41 MX$26.40

95.74%

White Bread (500g)

$1.16 NT$37.73

$2.22 MX$41.62

-47.75%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.58 NT$84.0

$1.42 MX$26.61

81.69%

Eggs

$2.14 NT$69.9

$2.52 MX$47.36

-15.08%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$8.84 NT$288

$7.26 MX$136

21.76%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$7.14 NT$233

$7.70 MX$144

-7.27%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$21.23 NT$692

$12.69 MX$238

67.30%

Apples (1kg)

$3.77 NT$123

$2.78 MX$52.3

35.61%

Banana (1kg)

$1.94 NT$63.3

$1.37 MX$25.68

41.61%

Oranges (1kg)

$3.05 NT$99.4

$2.55 MX$47.89

19.61%

Tomato (1kg)

$3.05 NT$99.5

$2.12 MX$39.86

43.87%

Potato (1kg)

$2.44 NT$79.5

$1.94 MX$36.39

25.77%

Onion (1kg)

$1.91 NT$62.2

$1.89 MX$35.41

1.06%

Lettuce (1 head)

$2.29 NT$74.6

$1.15 MX$21.53

99.13%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.87 NT$28.21

$1.18 MX$22.13

-26.27%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.85 NT$158

$4.30 MX$80.6

12.79%

Wine (Bottle)

$10.78 NT$351

$9.95 MX$187

8.34%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.48 NT$48.27

$1.58 MX$29.73

-6.33%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.03 NT$66.3

$2.67 MX$50.1

-23.97%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.52 NT$17.07

$0.55 MX$10.39

-5.45%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$37.11 NT$1,210

$26.62 MX$500

39.41%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$2.83 NT$92.3

$4.97 MX$93.3

-43.06%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.81 NT$26.32

$3.33 MX$62.5

-75.68%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$6.89 NT$225

$5.36 MX$101

28.54%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$0.95 NT$31.03

$1.44 MX$27.11

-34.03%

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

$36.5K NT$1.2M

$20.7K MX$388.0K

76.54%

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

$23.0K NT$748.9K

$23.5K MX$440.5K

-2.12%

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

$66.9 NT$2,180

$84.8 MX$1,592

-21.15%

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

$17.45 NT$569

$23.41 MX$439

-25.46%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$21.84 NT$712

$28.66 MX$538

-23.80%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$30.19 NT$984

$57.1 MX$1,071

-47.08%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$7.09 NT$231

$28.91 MX$543

-75.48%

Cinema Ticket

$10.80 NT$352

$5.14 MX$96.5

110.12%

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

$521 NT$17.0K

$207 MX$3,878

152.39%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$31.3K NT$1.0M

$3,927 MX$73.7K

698.05%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$88.0 NT$2,871

$43.35 MX$814

103.09%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$24.36 NT$794

$41.44 MX$778

-41.22%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$83.0 NT$2,707

$74.2 MX$1,393

11.87%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$96.0 NT$3,129

$89.3 MX$1,676

7.54%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$641 NT$20.9K

$980 MX$18.4K

-34.58%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$437 NT$14.2K

$381 MX$7,150

14.76%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$777 NT$25.3K

$1,708 MX$32.1K

-54.53%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$610 NT$19.9K

$1,075 MX$20.2K

-43.29%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$6,226 NT$203.0K

$3,943 MX$74.0K

57.89%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$4,079 NT$133.0K

$6,158 MX$115.6K

-33.75%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,507 NT$49.1K

$735 MX$13.8K

105.15%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

2.38

11.45

-79.21%

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

Last update for Taoyuan: October 27, 2026

Last update for Playa del Carmen: October 25, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Taoyuan

$437 36.9%

Playa del Carmen

$381 31.6% 12.9% $56

Groceries & Markets

Taoyuan

$306 25.8%

Playa del Carmen

$255 21.2% 16.6% $51

Clothing & Footwear

Taoyuan

$131 11.1%

Playa del Carmen

$112 9.3% 14.8% $19

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Taoyuan

$106 9%

Playa del Carmen

$137 11.4% 28.9% $31

Eating Out

Taoyuan

$106 8.9%

Playa del Carmen

$202 16.8% 91.4% $97

Sport & Entertainment

Taoyuan

$52 4.4%

Playa del Carmen

$67 5.6% 30% $16

Getting Around

Taoyuan

$46 3.9%

Playa del Carmen

$50 4.2% 9.5% $4.4

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $641 in Taoyuan versus $980 in Playa del Carmen. Rent is usually the largest line item in a monthly budget, so the gap here sets the tone for the overall comparison.

Salaries in Taoyuan are about 2.1 times higher. Purchasing power depends on which expenses matter most to you.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $25 in Taoyuan versus $43 in Playa del Carmen. Groceries tell a different story – $306 in Taoyuan vs $255 in Playa del Carmen – so Playa del Carmen wins on supermarket bills even if dining out costs more.

Good to know

🇹🇼 Taoyuan

🇲🇽 Playa del Carmen

🕒 Local time

02:41 2:41 AM

13:41 1:41 PM

13 h behind Taoyuan

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

2,147,763

149,923

💱 Currency

New Taiwan Dollar TWD NT$

Mexican Peso MXN $

📈 Exchange rate

100 TWD = 3.07 USD

100 TWD = 2.75 EUR

100 MXN = 5.33 USD

100 MXN = 4.77 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

MXN, USD, EUR to TWD – New Taiwan Dollar Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇹🇼 New Taiwan Dollar (NT$)

New Taiwan Dollar exchange rates as of October 31, 2026: 1 USD = 32.61 TWD (100 TWD = 3.07 USD). 1 EUR = 36.41 TWD (100 TWD = 2.75 EUR).

Mexican Peso exchange rates as of October 31, 2026: 1 USD = 18.77 MXN (100 MXN = 5.33 USD). 1 EUR = 20.96 MXN (100 MXN = 4.77 EUR).

USD to TWD in detail →

On the map

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Highest

Between locations

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

From you

Taoyuan
Playa del Carmen

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

Taoyuan vs Playa del Carmen: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

For a comfortable life, plan on about $1,775 per month in Taoyuan and $1,806 in Playa del Carmen. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

Rent is clearly cheaper in Taoyuan, especially for central apartments: a one-bedroom in the center costs $641 there versus $980 in Playa del Carmen.

Interestingly, groceries are about 17% cheaper in Playa del Carmen – one category where the pricier city actually offers better value.

Kindergarten costs $521 per month in Taoyuan and $207 in Playa del Carmen. For families with young kids, this one expense can tip the scales when choosing between the two cities.

$1,000 is a stretch for both – monthly costs hit $1,183 in Taoyuan and $1,204 in Playa del Carmen. You’ll need shared housing and careful budgeting no matter which city you pick.

It depends on your priorities. Playa del Carmen has an edge in some lifestyle areas, with costs from $1,183 in Taoyuan to $1,204 in Playa del Carmen. Climate, culture, job market, and personal taste all factor in.