Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Kedah and Playa del Carmen

For one person, living is cheaper in Kedah: $877 a month against $1,204 in Playa del Carmen, rent and utilities included – about $3,900 less a year. Rent and utilities account for about half of the difference.

44

Cost of Living Index in Kedah
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Kedah Living Index
58

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

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Kedah

🇲🇾 Malaysia

$877

/mo nomad

Playa del Carmen

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,204

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $877 in Kedah versus $1,204 in Playa del Carmen.

Kedah $877
Playa del Carmen $1,204

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,399 in Kedah versus $2,082 in Playa del Carmen.

Kedah $1,399
Playa del Carmen $2,082

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $1,920 in Kedah versus $2,959 in Playa del Carmen.

Kedah $1,920
Playa del Carmen $2,959

Living in Kedah costs roughly 27% less than in Playa del Carmen, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Both cities sit below the global median: Kedah 36% lower, Playa del Carmen 12% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$3.72 MYR 15.19

$10.92 MX$204

-65.93%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$12.32 MYR 50.4

$43.37 MX$810

-71.59%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$4.56 MYR 18.65

$11.78 MX$220

-61.29%

Cappuccino

$2.91 MYR 11.90

$3.81 MX$71.2

-23.62%

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

$0.77 MYR 3.15

$1.28 MX$23.96

-39.84%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.39 MYR 1.60

$0.78 MX$14.63

-50.00%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$4.24 MYR 17.31

$3.17 MX$59.2

33.75%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.36 MYR 17.80

$4.93 MX$92.2

-11.56%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.88 MYR 7.68

$1.41 MX$26.28

33.33%

White Bread (500g)

$1.06 MYR 4.33

$2.22 MX$41.43

-52.25%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.72 MYR 7.01

$1.42 MX$26.48

21.13%

Eggs

$2.19 MYR 8.94

$2.52 MX$47.14

-13.10%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$13.55 MYR 55.4

$7.26 MX$136

86.64%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$4.34 MYR 17.75

$7.70 MX$144

-43.64%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$8.84 MYR 36.13

$12.69 MX$237

-30.34%

Apples (1kg)

$2.94 MYR 12.02

$2.78 MX$52.0

5.76%

Banana (1kg)

$1.63 MYR 6.67

$1.37 MX$25.56

18.98%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.75 MYR 11.24

$2.55 MX$47.66

7.84%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.45 MYR 5.94

$2.12 MX$39.67

-31.60%

Potato (1kg)

$1.10 MYR 4.50

$1.94 MX$36.22

-43.30%

Onion (1kg)

$1.09 MYR 4.45

$1.89 MX$35.24

-42.33%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.13 MYR 4.63

$1.15 MX$21.42

-1.74%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.57 MYR 2.34

$1.18 MX$22.03

-51.69%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.62 MYR 18.89

$4.30 MX$80.3

7.44%

Wine (Bottle)

$18.76 MYR 76.7

$9.95 MX$186

88.54%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.98 MYR 12.19

$1.58 MX$29.59

88.61%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$5.33 MYR 21.79

$2.67 MX$49.91

99.63%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.76 MYR 3.11

$0.55 MX$10.34

38.18%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$12.85 MYR 52.5

$26.62 MX$497

-51.73%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.66 MYR 6.78

$4.97 MX$92.9

-66.60%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.38 MYR 1.54

$3.33 MX$62.2

-88.59%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$7.29 MYR 29.79

$5.36 MX$100

36.01%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$0.60 MYR 2.47

$1.44 MX$26.98

-58.33%

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

$45.6K MYR 186.5K

$20.7K MX$386.2K

120.83%

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

$35.8K MYR 146.5K

$23.5K MX$438.5K

52.76%

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

$36.47 MYR 149

$84.8 MX$1,584

-56.99%

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

$9.66 MYR 39.47

$23.41 MX$437

-58.74%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$29.48 MYR 120

$28.66 MX$535

2.86%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$34.63 MYR 142

$57.1 MX$1,066

-39.30%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$6.85 MYR 28.01

$28.91 MX$540

-76.31%

Cinema Ticket

$4.79 MYR 19.59

$5.14 MX$96.0

-6.81%

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

$388 MYR 1,584

$207 MX$3,860

87.65%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$10.7K MYR 43.6K

$3,927 MX$73.4K

171.41%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$58.9 MYR 241

$43.35 MX$810

35.76%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$34.76 MYR 142

$41.44 MX$774

-16.12%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$81.6 MYR 334

$74.2 MX$1,386

9.99%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$70.7 MYR 289

$89.3 MX$1,668

-20.83%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$358 MYR 1,462

$980 MX$18.3K

-63.47%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$258 MYR 1,054

$381 MX$7,116

-32.26%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$712 MYR 2,911

$1,708 MX$31.9K

-58.30%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$607 MYR 2,479

$1,075 MX$20.1K

-43.58%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$1,930 MYR 7,889

$3,943 MX$73.7K

-51.04%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,258 MYR 5,140

$6,158 MX$115.1K

-79.58%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,339 MYR 5,473

$735 MX$13.7K

82.32%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

4.04

11.45

-64.72%

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

Last update for Kedah: October 25, 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

Kedah

$258 29.4%

Playa del Carmen

$381 31.6% 47.6% $123

Groceries & Markets

Kedah

$257 29.3%

Playa del Carmen

$255 21.2% 0.7% $1.9

Eating Out

Kedah

$113 12.9%

Playa del Carmen

$202 16.8% 79.2% $89

Clothing & Footwear

Kedah

$111 12.6%

Playa del Carmen

$112 9.3% 1% $1.1

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Kedah

$76 8.6%

Playa del Carmen

$137 11.4% 81% $61

Sport & Entertainment

Kedah

$44 5%

Playa del Carmen

$67 5.6% 52.2% $23

Getting Around

Kedah

$19 2.2%

Playa del Carmen

$50 4.2% 160% $31

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $358 in Kedah and $980 in Playa del Carmen. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Kedah pays 82% more on average while also being the cheaper of the two. The combined effect is a noticeably stronger local purchasing power.

Dining out: $12 in Kedah vs $43 in Playa del Carmen. Groceries flip the comparison at $257 vs $255, with Playa del Carmen cheaper for home cooking.

Good to know

🇲🇾 Kedah

🇲🇽 Playa del Carmen

🕒 Local time

19:10 7:10 PM

06:10 6:10 AM

13 h behind Kedah

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

417,800

149,923

💱 Currency

Malaysian Ringgit MYR RM

Mexican Peso MXN $

📈 Exchange rate

1 MYR = 0.245 USD

1 MYR = 0.22 EUR

100 MXN = 5.35 USD

100 MXN = 4.81 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

MXN, USD, EUR to MYR – Malaysian Ringgit Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇲🇾 Malaysian Ringgit (RM)

Malaysian Ringgit exchange rates as of October 28, 2026: 1 USD = 4.09 MYR (1 MYR = 0.245 USD). 1 EUR = 4.55 MYR (1 MYR = 0.22 EUR).

Mexican Peso exchange rates as of October 28, 2026: 1 USD = 18.69 MXN (100 MXN = 5.35 USD). 1 EUR = 20.8 MXN (100 MXN = 4.81 EUR).

USD to MYR in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Kedah Playa del Carmen 16,930 km ≈ 22 h nonstop flight

From you

Kedah
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

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

Kedah and Playa del Carmen differ by about 37% in total monthly costs ($877 vs $1,204 including rent). Kedah is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

Average pay runs 82% higher in Kedah, which matters when comparing affordability. Whether that higher income actually nets you more depends on your spending habits and housing choices.

Rent for a central apartment: $358 in Kedah versus $980 in Playa del Carmen. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

A monthly transit pass in Kedah runs roughly 52% less than in Playa del Carmen. Both cities have functional networks, but the price difference matters if you’re watching your budget.

All in, you’ll spend $877 per month in Kedah versus $1,204 in Playa del Carmen – a 37% gap that adds up to real savings over time for anyone picking the cheaper option.

At $877 in Kedah versus $1,204 in Playa del Carmen, a $1,200 budget is realistic in Kedah but tight or insufficient in Playa del Carmen. The gap between the two cities makes Kedah the clear choice for anyone on this budget.

Both cities offer a good standard of living with different trade-offs. Neither is objectively better – the right pick depends on what matters most: affordability, career, cultural scene, or climate.