Cost of living comparison

China

compared to

Mexico

Playa del Carmen vs. Shenzhen Cost of Living Summary

Playa del Carmen is 18.1% more expensive than Shenzhen.

Restaurants: pay 2.6 times more in Playa del Carmen
Groceries: pay 25.4% more in Playa del Carmen
Transportation: pay 38.8% more in Playa del Carmen
Housing: pay 10.3% more in Playa del Carmen
Childcare: pay 74.3% less in Playa del Carmen
Entertainment and Sports: pay 15.4% more in Playa del Carmen
Clothing: pay 2.5% less in Playa del Carmen

The cost of restaurants, transportation, groceries, entertainment and sports, and housing in Playa del Carmen are more expensive than in Shenzhen. Expenses including childcare and clothing are lower in Playa del Carmen. Notably, restaurants is significantly more expensive in Playa del Carmen.

Planning a move to Mexico? Get up to 5 free, no-obligation quotes from vetted international movers. Get free quotes →

Playa del Carmen vs. Shenzhen Cost Breakdown

If you lived in Playa del Carmen instead of Shenzhen, you would:

Display currency: USD

pay 2.6 times more for restaurants

	Shenzhen	Playa del Carmen
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$3.73 CN¥24.95	$11.13 MX$205.76	+198.4%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$5.22 CN¥34.93	$11.94 MX$220.72	+128.6%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$0.56 CN¥3.72	$1.34 MX$24.83	+141.4%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$0.34 CN¥2.27	$0.82 MX$15.25	+143.5%
Average			+160.8%

Shenzhen vs. Playa del Carmen - Cost of restaurants

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 25.4% more for groceries

	Shenzhen	Playa del Carmen
Bread 1 loaf	$1.60 CN¥10.72	$2.30 MX$42.51	+43.5%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$10.53 CN¥70.43	$3.80 MX$70.30	-63.9%
Milk (1 gallon)	$5.97 CN¥39.92	$5.64 MX$104.29	-5.5%
Eggs 1 dozen	$1.72 CN¥11.52	$2.53 MX$46.87	+47.2%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$1.53 CN¥10.22	$3.67 MX$67.89	+140.3%
Apples (1 lb)	$1.03 CN¥6.90	$1.31 MX$24.17	+26.8%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.72 CN¥4.82	$0.66 MX$12.13	-8.9%
Oranges (1 lb)	$0.87 CN¥5.79	$1.20 MX$22.24	+38.9%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$0.66 CN¥4.39	$0.97 MX$17.89	+47.5%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$0.48 CN¥3.21	$0.91 MX$16.82	+89.5%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.57 CN¥3.85	$0.89 MX$16.46	+54.9%
Average			+25.4%

Shenzhen vs. Playa del Carmen - Cost of groceries

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 38.8% more for transportation

	Shenzhen	Playa del Carmen
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$5.01 CN¥33.51	$5.72 MX$105.85	+14.3%
Monthly public transit pass	$22.37 CN¥149.69	$27.82 MX$514.40	+24.3%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$19,374.76 CN¥130K	$21,528.95 MX$398K	+11.1%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$4.65 CN¥31.14	$32.66 MX$604.00	+601.9%
Average			+38.8%

Shenzhen vs. Playa del Carmen - Cost of transportation

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 10.3% more for housing

	Shenzhen	Playa del Carmen
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$16.39 CN¥109.66	$29.02 MX$536.69	+77.1%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$759.98 CN¥5,084.90	$998.64 MX$18,467.72	+31.4%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$476.09 CN¥3,185.43	$386.21 MX$7,142.10	-18.9%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$48.84 CN¥326.76	$65.50 MX$1,211.29	+34.1%
Average			+10.3%

Shenzhen vs. Playa del Carmen - Cost of housing

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 74.3% less for childcare

	Shenzhen	Playa del Carmen
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$528.93 CN¥3,539.00	$210.01 MX$3,883.69	-60.3%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$24,029.94 CN¥161K	$4,005.49 MX$74,073.10	-83.3%
Average			-74.3%

Shenzhen vs. Playa del Carmen - Cost of childcare

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 15.4% more for entertainment and sports

	Shenzhen	Playa del Carmen
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$1.49 CN¥9.98	$3.17 MX$58.59	+112.4%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$3.31 CN¥22.16	$3.84 MX$71.02	+15.9%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$4.47 CN¥29.94	$4.45 MX$82.30	-0.5%
Monthly membership at local gym	$49.66 CN¥332.26	$64.07 MX$1,184.89	+29.0%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$7.45 CN¥49.85	$5.00 MX$92.42	-32.9%
Average			+15.4%

Shenzhen vs. Playa del Carmen - Cost of entertainment and sports

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 2.5% less for clothing

	Shenzhen	Playa del Carmen
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$54.66 CN¥365.75	$44.85 MX$829.44	-18.0%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$39.75 CN¥265.95	$42.62 MX$788.17	+7.2%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$72.46 CN¥484.85	$76.03 MX$1,406.02	+4.9%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$91.98 CN¥615.39	$90.05 MX$1,665.28	-2.1%
Average			-2.5%

Shenzhen vs. Playa del Carmen - Cost of clothing

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

We average the price of thousands of data points entered by users across the world. Sources: MyLifeElsewhere's cost-of-living dataset (prices updated October 2026). How we calculate this

Compare further: Shenzhen vs. Playa del Carmen

Salary Calculator · Free tool

What salary would you need in Playa del Carmen?

More cost comparisons

Shenzhen vs.

London

Shenzhen vs.

Lima

Shenzhen vs.

Paris

Shenzhen vs.

Moscow

Shenzhen vs.

Dublin

Shenzhen vs.

Vienna

Shenzhen vs.

Rome

Shenzhen vs.

Warsaw

Share this

Compare countries by overall cost of living

See the cost of living in China vs. Mexico. This provides a comparison of the average cost of living from cities within China and Mexico.

Help us improve these prices

MyLifeElsewhere is a collaborative project. Please enter price information for your location to help assist us in making these comparisons more accurate. Learn more

Add prices for Shenzhen

Add prices for Playa del Carmen

Ask the Elsewhere Community

Join the Elsewhere community and ask a question about Playa del Carmen or Shenzhen. It's a free, question-and-answer based forum to discuss what life is like in countries and cities around the world.