Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Zhongli City and Playa del Carmen

For one person, living is cheaper in Zhongli City: $993 a month against $1,210 in Playa del Carmen, rent and utilities included – about $2,600 less a year. Rent and utilities account for about half of the difference.

48

Cost of Living Index in Zhongli City
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Zhongli City Living Index
59

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

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Zhongli City

🇹🇼 Taiwan

$993

/mo nomad

Playa del Carmen

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,210

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Zhongli City 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 Zhongli City and in Playa del Carmen actually costs, broken down by who's living it.

A single person spends $993 per month in Zhongli City vs $1,210 in Playa del Carmen, rent included.

Zhongli City $993
Playa del Carmen $1,210

A couple spends around $1,675 per month in Zhongli City vs $2,113 in Playa del Carmen, rent included.

Zhongli City $1,675
Playa del Carmen $2,113

A family of three spends $2,357 per month in Zhongli City vs $3,016 in Playa del Carmen, rent included.

Zhongli City $2,357
Playa del Carmen $3,016

Zhongli City is about 18% cheaper than Playa del Carmen, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Both Zhongli City and Playa del Carmen are more affordable than the global median – Zhongli City 26% lower, Playa del Carmen 10% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$4.62 NT$150

$10.76 MX$199

-57.06%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$31.29 NT$1,015

$43.03 MX$795

-27.28%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$4.77 NT$155

$11.79 MX$218

-59.54%

Cappuccino

$2.57 NT$83.4

$3.87 MX$71.4

-33.59%

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

$1.03 NT$33.52

$1.37 MX$25.29

-24.82%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.69 NT$22.35

$0.84 MX$15.44

-17.86%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$1.61 NT$52.2

$3.10 MX$57.3

-48.06%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.75 NT$89.1

$5.07 MX$93.6

-45.76%

Milk (1 liter)

$3.18 NT$103

$1.44 MX$26.55

120.83%

White Bread (500g)

$1.74 NT$56.3

$2.23 MX$41.23

-21.97%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.71 NT$87.9

$1.47 MX$27.17

84.35%

Eggs

$2.60 NT$84.3

$2.53 MX$46.71

2.77%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$12.77 NT$414

$7.30 MX$135

74.93%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$7.09 NT$230

$7.86 MX$145

-9.80%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$15.39 NT$499

$12.79 MX$236

20.33%

Apples (1kg)

$3.74 NT$121

$2.90 MX$53.6

28.97%

Banana (1kg)

$1.97 NT$63.8

$1.44 MX$26.53

36.81%

Oranges (1kg)

$3.08 NT$99.9

$2.55 MX$47.07

20.78%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.22 NT$72.1

$2.06 MX$38.03

7.77%

Potato (1kg)

$1.23 NT$39.81

$2.00 MX$36.97

-38.50%

Onion (1kg)

$1.90 NT$61.5

$2.01 MX$37.07

-5.47%

Lettuce (1 head)

$2.44 NT$79.0

$1.19 MX$22.02

105.04%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.85 NT$27.52

$1.26 MX$23.23

-32.54%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$3.77 NT$122

$4.40 MX$81.4

-14.32%

Wine (Bottle)

$15.45 NT$501

$9.59 MX$177

61.11%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.55 NT$50.2

$1.59 MX$29.41

-2.52%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.55 NT$82.8

$2.81 MX$51.9

-9.25%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.61 NT$19.90

$0.57 MX$10.47

7.02%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$37.64 NT$1,221

$27.82 MX$514

35.30%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$2.68 NT$86.8

$4.98 MX$92.1

-46.18%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.58 NT$18.72

$3.50 MX$64.6

-83.43%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$9.61 NT$312

$5.40 MX$99.8

77.96%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$0.97 NT$31.60

$1.47 MX$27.08

-34.01%

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

$33.1K NT$1.1M

$21.0K MX$387.8K

57.57%

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

$23.3K NT$754.6K

$23.9K MX$441.8K

-2.66%

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

$106 NT$3,433

$84.2 MX$1,556

25.72%

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

$14.76 NT$479

$23.99 MX$443

-38.47%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$17.14 NT$556

$29.02 MX$536

-40.94%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$63.0 MX$1,164

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$29.14 MX$539

Cinema Ticket

$9.62 NT$312

$4.94 MX$91.3

94.74%

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

$344 NT$11.1K

$204 MX$3,763

68.83%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$16.9K NT$546.5K

$3,941 MX$72.8K

327.66%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$72.1 NT$2,338

$43.60 MX$806

65.34%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$36.46 NT$1,182

$43.12 MX$797

-15.45%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$55.0 NT$1,782

$75.8 MX$1,400

-27.46%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$108 NT$3,505

$88.6 MX$1,637

22.02%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$448 NT$14.5K

$1,008 MX$18.6K

-55.54%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$251 NT$8,125

$374 MX$6,911

-33.01%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$874 NT$28.3K

$1,708 MX$31.6K

-48.85%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$716 NT$23.2K

$1,106 MX$20.4K

-35.27%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,944 MX$72.9K

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$6,169 MX$114.0K

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$2,288 NT$74.2K

$754 MX$13.9K

203.41%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

2.1

11.45

-81.66%

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

Last update for Zhongli City: October 12, 2026

Last update for Playa del Carmen: October 10, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Groceries & Markets

Zhongli City

$315 31.8%

Playa del Carmen

$258 21.4% 18.1% $57

Accommodation & Living

Zhongli City

$251 25.2%

Playa del Carmen

$374 30.9% 49.3% $123

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Zhongli City

$138 13.9%

Playa del Carmen

$137 11.3% 0.4% $0.5

Clothing & Footwear

Zhongli City

$122 12.3%

Playa del Carmen

$113 9.3% 7.6% $9.2

Eating Out

Zhongli City

$103 10.3%

Playa del Carmen

$202 16.7% 97.2% $100

Getting Around

Zhongli City

$46 4.6%

Playa del Carmen

$53 4.3% 15.1% $6.9

Sport & Entertainment

Zhongli City

$19 * 1.9%

Playa del Carmen

$73 6% 279% $54

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

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $448 in Zhongli City versus $1,008 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 run about 203% higher in Zhongli City, 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 $31.00 in Zhongli City versus $43.00 in Playa del Carmen. Groceries tell a different story – $315 in Zhongli City vs $258 in Playa del Carmen – so Playa del Carmen wins on supermarket bills even if dining out costs more.

Good to know

🇹🇼 Zhongli City

🇲🇽 Playa del Carmen

🕒 Local time

08:16 8:16 AM

19:16 7:16 PM

13 h behind Zhongli City

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

396,453

149,923

💱 Currency

New Taiwan Dollar TWD NT$

Mexican Peso MXN $

📈 Exchange rate

100 TWD = 3.08 USD

100 TWD = 2.74 EUR

100 MXN = 5.41 USD

100 MXN = 4.81 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 19, 2026: 1 USD = 32.43 TWD (100 TWD = 3.08 USD). 1 EUR = 36.46 TWD (100 TWD = 2.74 EUR).

Mexican Peso exchange rates as of October 19, 2026: 1 USD = 18.48 MXN (100 MXN = 5.41 USD). 1 EUR = 20.77 MXN (100 MXN = 4.81 EUR).

USD to TWD in detail →

On the map

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Highest

Between locations

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

From you

Zhongli City
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

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

Yes – Playa del Carmen is pricier by about 22%, and outside of rent the gap shows up most in eating out.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $1,490 per month in Zhongli City and $1,816 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 Zhongli City, 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 $993 in Zhongli City and $1,210 in Playa del Carmen. That's a gap of about 22%.

Public transport costs about 35% less in Zhongli City. For daily commuters, that gap adds up to noticeable savings over a year.

A $2,000 monthly budget goes further in Zhongli City, where all-in costs run around $993, than in Playa del Carmen at $1,210. In Zhongli City it covers expenses comfortably, while in Playa del Carmen it requires careful planning or may not stretch far enough.

Families tend to lean toward Zhongli City – lower housing and cheaper childcare make a real difference, especially on a single income or when paying for private education.

Both have safer and rougher neighborhoods, but overall safety is comparable to other large cities. Neighborhood choice matters more than the city-level comparison – central, well-trafficked areas feel secure in both.

If budget matters most, go with Zhongli City. 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.