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 30% cheaper than Playa del Carmen without rent, and 31.5% cheaper with rent.

😐 Family of 3: Kota Kinabalu is 0.3% more expensive than Playa del Carmen without rent, and 41.3% cheaper with rent.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$3.55 MYR 14.42

$11.88 MX$210

-70.12%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$18.72 MYR 76.0

$41.90 MX$740

-55.32%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$4.62 MYR 18.78

$10.55 MX$186

-56.21%

Cappuccino

$2.60 MYR 10.55

$3.60 MX$63.5

-27.78%

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

$0.64 MYR 2.58

$1.50 MX$26.45

-57.33%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.40 MYR 1.61

$0.91 MX$16.09

-56.04%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.40 MYR 9.72

$3.08 MX$54.4

-22.08%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.44 MYR 13.95

$4.47 MX$78.8

-23.04%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.69 MYR 6.85

$1.39 MX$24.54

21.58%

White Bread (500g)

$1.20 MYR 4.87

$1.90 MX$33.47

-36.84%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.68 MYR 6.83

$1.60 MX$28.27

5.00%

Eggs

$2.92 MYR 11.84

$2.60 MX$45.97

12.31%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$26.22 MYR 106

$8.36 MX$148

213.64%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$3.57 MYR 14.51

$8.64 MX$152

-58.68%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$7.21 MYR 29.29

$10.91 MX$192

-33.91%

Apples (1kg)

$2.53 MYR 10.26

$2.61 MX$45.98

-3.07%

Banana (1kg)

$1.16 MYR 4.72

$1.44 MX$25.46

-19.44%

Oranges (1kg)

$3.16 MYR 12.81

$1.96 MX$34.55

61.22%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.02 MYR 8.19

$2.12 MX$37.34

-4.72%

Potato (1kg)

$1.51 MYR 6.12

$1.86 MX$32.87

-18.82%

Onion (1kg)

$1.72 MYR 6.97

$2.22 MX$39.20

-22.52%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.07 MYR 4.35

$1.02 MX$17.99

4.90%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.48 MYR 1.93

$1.04 MX$18.36

-53.85%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.10 MYR 16.66

$4.05 MX$71.5

1.23%

Wine (Bottle)

$19.44 MYR 78.9

$10.18 MX$180

90.96%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.86 MYR 7.56

$1.69 MX$29.79

10.06%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.62 MYR 6.59

$2.62 MX$46.25

-38.17%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.57 MYR 6.39

$0.51 MX$9.09

207.84%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$40.90 MYR 166

$26.52 MX$468

54.22%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.86 MYR 7.54

$3.15 MX$55.7

-40.95%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.44 MYR 1.78

$2.46 MX$43.49

-82.11%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$5.78 MYR 23.48

$3.26 MX$57.5

77.30%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$0.47 MYR 1.89

$1.32 MX$23.36

-64.39%

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

$29.6K MYR 120.3K

$30.1K MX$531.0K

-1.51%

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

$27.3K MYR 110.8K

$23.8K MX$419.3K

14.85%

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

$52.5 MYR 213

$83.5 MX$1,474

-37.15%

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

$9.04 MYR 36.70

$22.86 MX$404

-60.45%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$33.02 MYR 134

$30.04 MX$530

9.92%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$42.82 MYR 174

$51.9 MX$916

-17.50%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$2.99 MYR 12.14

$18.30 MX$323

-83.66%

Cinema Ticket

$4.78 MYR 19.42

$5.12 MX$90.4

-6.64%

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

$129 MYR 522

$201 MX$3,541

-35.88%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$4,463 MYR 18.1K

$5,318 MX$93.9K

-16.09%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$59.7 MYR 242

$35.73 MX$631

66.95%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$22.57 MYR 91.6

$40.27 MX$711

-43.95%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$71.7 MYR 291

$79.2 MX$1,398

-9.45%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$94.7 MYR 385

$89.3 MX$1,576

6.12%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$376 MYR 1,526

$947 MX$16.7K

-60.30%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$165 MYR 669

$483 MX$8,525

-65.90%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$653 MYR 2,653

$1,599 MX$28.2K

-59.13%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$372 MYR 1,509

$1,211 MX$21.4K

-69.30%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$1,848 MYR 7,502

$3,996 MX$70.5K

-53.76%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,092 MYR 4,434

$6,402 MX$113.0K

-82.94%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$580 MYR 2,356

$730 MX$12.9K

-20.47%

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: January 11, 2026

Last update for Playa del Carmen: January 13, 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

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