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 33.2% cheaper than Playa del Carmen without rent, and 32% cheaper with rent.

😐 Family of 3: Kota Kinabalu is 4.2% more expensive than Playa del Carmen without rent, and 39.3% cheaper with rent.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$3.47 MYR 14.62

$11.99 MX$227

-71.06%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$19.14 MYR 80.7

$42.47 MX$803

-54.93%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$4.79 MYR 20.2

$10.47 MX$198

-54.25%

Cappuccino

$2.64 MYR 11.14

$3.6 MX$68.2

-26.67%

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

$0.64 MYR 2.72

$1.44 MX$27.16

-55.56%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.37 MYR 1.56

$0.89 MX$16.79

-58.43%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.3 MYR 9.71

$3.09 MX$58.5

-25.57%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.45 MYR 14.55

$4.58 MX$86.6

-24.67%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.73 MYR 7.29

$1.38 MX$26.04

25.36%

White Bread (500g)

$1.18 MYR 5

$1.85 MX$34.9

-36.22%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.73 MYR 7.28

$1.57 MX$29.68

10.19%

Eggs

$2.89 MYR 12.18

$2.55 MX$48.3

13.33%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$26.25 MYR 111

$8.61 MX$163

204.88%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$3.51 MYR 14.82

$8.54 MX$161

-58.90%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$7.11 MYR 29.99

$10.98 MX$208

-35.25%

Apples (1kg)

$2.55 MYR 10.75

$2.72 MX$51.4

-6.25%

Banana (1kg)

$1.14 MYR 4.79

$1.51 MX$28.57

-24.50%

Oranges (1kg)

$3.3 MYR 13.91

$1.88 MX$35.63

75.53%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.01 MYR 8.5

$2.19 MX$41.42

-8.22%

Potato (1kg)

$1.47 MYR 6.18

$1.87 MX$35.3

-21.39%

Onion (1kg)

$1.77 MYR 7.45

$2.19 MX$41.37

-19.18%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.11 MYR 4.7

$1.07 MX$20.23

3.74%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.47 MYR 1.98

$1.09 MX$20.64

-56.88%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.04 MYR 17.04

$3.96 MX$74.9

2.02%

Wine (Bottle)

$18.72 MYR 79

$8.86 MX$167

111.29%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.84 MYR 7.77

$1.72 MX$32.53

6.98%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.61 MYR 6.78

$2.61 MX$49.37

-38.31%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.49 MYR 6.27

$0.52 MX$9.74

186.54%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$40.22 MYR 170

$26.59 MX$503

51.26%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.92 MYR 8.09

$3.24 MX$61.2

-40.74%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.43 MYR 1.82

$2.38 MX$44.94

-81.93%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$5.79 MYR 24.43

$3.11 MX$58.7

86.17%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$0.46 MYR 1.93

$1.31 MX$24.85

-64.89%

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

$29.6K MYR 124.7K

$30.3K MX$573K

-2.42%

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

$27.7K MYR 116.9K

$24K MX$453.6K

15.51%

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

$51.2 MYR 216

$84.2 MX$1,592

-39.26%

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

$8.97 MYR 37.84

$22.14 MX$419

-59.49%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$33.43 MYR 141

$30.14 MX$570

10.92%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$43.94 MYR 185

$52 MX$983

-15.47%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$2.98 MYR 12.57

$18.72 MX$354

-84.08%

Cinema Ticket

$4.58 MYR 19.33

$5.07 MX$95.9

-9.66%

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

$129 MYR 544

$200 MX$3,787

-35.55%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$4,457 MYR 18.8K

$5,333 MX$100.8K

-16.42%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$60.6 MYR 255

$35.74 MX$676

69.50%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$22.48 MYR 94.8

$39.8 MX$753

-43.52%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$71.1 MYR 300

$79 MX$1,493

-9.99%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$94 MYR 396

$88.4 MX$1,671

6.38%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$379 MYR 1,598

$965 MX$18.3K

-60.74%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$168 MYR 709

$474 MX$8,968

-64.56%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$648 MYR 2,735

$1,653 MX$31.2K

-60.76%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$366 MYR 1,544

$1,202 MX$22.7K

-69.53%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$1,364 MYR 5,754

$3,081 MX$58.3K

-55.72%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,139 MYR 4,804

$7,529 MX$142.3K

-84.87%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$551 MYR 2,325

$792 MX$15K

-30.36%

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: October 27, 2025

Last update for Playa del Carmen: October 28, 2025

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