Cost of Living Comparison Between Kota Kinabalu and Playa del Carmen Cost of Living Comparison Between Kota Kinabalu and Playa del Carmen

🙂 Solo nomad: Kota Kinabalu is 16.4% cheaper than Playa del Carmen without rent, and 30.3% cheaper with rent.

🙂 Family of 3: Kota Kinabalu is 28% cheaper than Playa del Carmen without rent, and 38.9% cheaper with rent.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$3.51 MYR 13.85

$11.85 MX$209

-70.38%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$18.61 MYR 73.3

$42.16 MX$744

-55.86%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$4.70 MYR 18.52

$10.75 MX$190

-56.28%

Cappuccino

$2.61 MYR 10.30

$3.47 MX$61.3

-24.78%

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

$0.64 MYR 2.53

$1.45 MX$25.65

-55.86%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.36 MYR 1.43

$0.90 MX$15.93

-60.00%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.33 MYR 9.16

$3.05 MX$53.9

-23.61%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.56 MYR 14.01

$4.42 MX$77.9

-19.46%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.68 MYR 6.61

$1.37 MX$24.17

22.63%

White Bread (500g)

$1.24 MYR 4.90

$1.87 MX$33.05

-33.69%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.67 MYR 6.56

$1.54 MX$27.25

8.44%

Eggs

$2.93 MYR 11.54

$2.50 MX$44.18

17.20%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$26.42 MYR 104

$8.61 MX$152

206.85%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$3.45 MYR 13.59

$8.63 MX$152

-60.02%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$7.14 MYR 28.15

$11.02 MX$195

-35.21%

Apples (1kg)

$2.66 MYR 10.47

$2.75 MX$48.53

-3.27%

Banana (1kg)

$1.13 MYR 4.44

$1.43 MX$25.21

-20.98%

Oranges (1kg)

$3.20 MYR 12.60

$1.87 MX$33.05

71.12%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.98 MYR 7.82

$2.17 MX$38.26

-8.76%

Potato (1kg)

$1.47 MYR 5.78

$1.88 MX$33.23

-21.81%

Onion (1kg)

$1.75 MYR 6.89

$2.25 MX$39.65

-22.22%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.12 MYR 4.41

$1.07 MX$18.85

4.67%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.48 MYR 1.88

$1.07 MX$18.95

-55.14%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.15 MYR 16.36

$4.15 MX$73.3

Wine (Bottle)

$27.15 MYR 107

$10.34 MX$182

162.57%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.91 MYR 7.51

$1.68 MX$29.64

13.69%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.63 MYR 6.40

$2.48 MX$43.84

-34.27%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.54 MYR 6.08

$0.55 MX$9.80

180.00%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$40.82 MYR 161

$26.53 MX$468

53.86%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.86 MYR 7.32

$3.22 MX$56.8

-42.24%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.46 MYR 1.82

$2.48 MX$43.80

-81.45%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$5.79 MYR 22.83

$3.11 MX$54.9

86.17%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$0.49 MYR 1.95

$1.26 MX$22.16

-61.11%

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

$29.8K MYR 117.4K

$30.7K MX$541.1K

-2.77%

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

$27.9K MYR 109.9K

$24.0K MX$424.3K

16.03%

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

$51.8 MYR 204

$82.5 MX$1,456

-37.22%

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

$9.14 MYR 35.99

$22.29 MX$393

-59.00%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$33.16 MYR 131

$30.02 MX$530

10.46%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$42.77 MYR 169

$51.4 MX$908

-16.85%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$2.96 MYR 11.66

$18.29 MX$323

-83.82%

Cinema Ticket

$4.57 MYR 18.00

$4.98 MX$88.0

-8.23%

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

$132 MYR 519

$200 MX$3,530

-34.21%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$4,466 MYR 17.6K

$5,304 MX$93.6K

-15.81%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$59.8 MYR 236

$35.71 MX$630

67.49%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$22.69 MYR 89.4

$39.56 MX$698

-42.64%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$70.6 MYR 278

$80.6 MX$1,422

-12.35%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$92.5 MYR 364

$88.3 MX$1,559

4.73%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$382 MYR 1,506

$969 MX$17.1K

-60.56%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$166 MYR 652

$482 MX$8,511

-65.68%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$656 MYR 2,585

$1,595 MX$28.2K

-58.88%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$367 MYR 1,446

$1,184 MX$20.9K

-69.00%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$1,910 MYR 7,524

$4,050 MX$71.5K

-52.85%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,123 MYR 4,426

$6,522 MX$115.1K

-82.78%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$609 MYR 2,401

$756 MX$13.4K

-19.42%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

3.8

11.42

-66.73%

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

Last update for Kota Kinabalu: March 1, 2026

Last update for Playa del Carmen: March 3, 2026

City Median Internet Speeds Comparison (Updated December 2025)

The chart highlights the Precision Threshold for mobile and fixed broadband internet speeds, updated quarterly.

Digital Nomad Cost of Living Index

Similar cities

Chiang Mai

🇹🇭 Thailand

Cebu

🇵🇭 Philippines

Minsk

🇧🇾 Belarus

Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon)

🇻🇳 Vietnam

Jakarta

🇮🇩 Indonesia

Curitiba

🇧🇷 Brazil

Astana

🇰🇿 Kazakhstan

Bishkek

🇰🇬 Kyrgyzstan