Cost of Living Comparison Between Penang and Playa del Carmen Cost of Living Comparison Between Penang and Playa del Carmen

🙂 Solo nomad: Penang is 30.2% cheaper than Playa del Carmen without rent, and 33.8% cheaper with rent.

🙂 Family of 3: Penang is 12% cheaper than Playa del Carmen without rent, and 38.1% cheaper with rent.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$2.97 MYR 12.54

$11.99 MX$227

-75.23%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$20.84 MYR 87.9

$42.47 MX$803

-50.93%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$4.34 MYR 18.32

$10.47 MX$198

-58.55%

Cappuccino

$2.84 MYR 11.97

$3.6 MX$68.2

-21.11%

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

$0.69 MYR 2.89

$1.44 MX$27.16

-52.08%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.36 MYR 1.52

$0.89 MX$16.79

-59.55%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$4.23 MYR 17.84

$3.09 MX$58.5

36.89%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.41 MYR 18.6

$4.58 MX$86.6

-3.71%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.82 MYR 7.65

$1.38 MX$26.04

31.88%

White Bread (500g)

$0.99 MYR 4.18

$1.85 MX$34.9

-46.49%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.04 MYR 8.62

$1.57 MX$29.68

29.94%

Eggs

$2.05 MYR 8.63

$2.55 MX$48.3

-19.61%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$17.11 MYR 72.2

$8.61 MX$163

98.72%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$5.23 MYR 22.05

$8.54 MX$161

-38.76%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$14.77 MYR 62.3

$10.98 MX$208

34.52%

Apples (1kg)

$2.91 MYR 12.25

$2.72 MX$51.4

6.99%

Banana (1kg)

$1.46 MYR 6.18

$1.51 MX$28.57

-3.31%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.59 MYR 10.92

$1.88 MX$35.63

37.77%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.11 MYR 8.88

$2.19 MX$41.42

-3.65%

Potato (1kg)

$1.18 MYR 4.98

$1.87 MX$35.3

-36.90%

Onion (1kg)

$1.21 MYR 5.1

$2.19 MX$41.37

-44.75%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.91 MYR 3.82

$1.07 MX$20.23

-14.95%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.45 MYR 1.91

$1.09 MX$20.64

-58.72%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.2 MYR 17.73

$3.96 MX$74.9

6.06%

Wine (Bottle)

$14.1 MYR 59.5

$8.86 MX$167

59.14%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.71 MYR 11.44

$1.72 MX$32.53

57.56%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.47 MYR 14.65

$2.61 MX$49.37

32.95%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.49 MYR 2.05

$0.52 MX$9.74

-5.77%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$17.98 MYR 75.8

$26.59 MX$503

-32.38%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$0.72 MYR 3.04

$3.24 MX$61.2

-77.78%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.5 MYR 2.1

$2.38 MX$44.94

-78.99%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$7 MYR 29.53

$3.11 MX$58.7

125.08%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$0.46 MYR 1.96

$1.31 MX$24.85

-64.89%

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

$33.6K MYR 141.7K

$30.3K MX$573K

10.84%

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

$27.1K MYR 114.3K

$24K MX$453.6K

12.93%

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

$39.21 MYR 165

$84.2 MX$1,592

-53.45%

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

$10.33 MYR 43.55

$22.14 MX$419

-53.34%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$31.17 MYR 131

$30.14 MX$570

3.42%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$32.59 MYR 137

$52 MX$983

-37.30%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$5.59 MYR 23.59

$18.72 MX$354

-70.14%

Cinema Ticket

$5.01 MYR 21.15

$5.07 MX$95.9

-1.18%

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

$241 MYR 1,014

$200 MX$3,787

20.07%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$6,174 MYR 26K

$5,333 MX$100.8K

15.77%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$55.3 MYR 233

$35.74 MX$676

54.76%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$28.42 MYR 120

$39.8 MX$753

-28.59%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$61.2 MYR 258

$79 MX$1,493

-22.46%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$53.6 MYR 226

$88.4 MX$1,671

-39.32%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$388 MYR 1,637

$965 MX$18.3K

-59.78%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$230 MYR 968

$474 MX$8,968

-51.59%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$640 MYR 2,700

$1,653 MX$31.2K

-61.26%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$522 MYR 2,201

$1,202 MX$22.7K

-56.57%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,431 MYR 10.3K

$3,081 MX$58.3K

-21.09%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,481 MYR 6,247

$7,529 MX$142.3K

-80.33%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,101 MYR 4,643

$792 MX$15K

39.06%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

4.16

11.42

-63.57%

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

Last update for Penang: October 26, 2025

Last update for Playa del Carmen: October 28, 2025

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