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

🙂 Solo nomad: Penang is 16.9% cheaper than Playa del Carmen without rent, and 31.6% cheaper with rent.

🙂 Family of 3: Penang is 26.1% cheaper than Playa del Carmen without rent, and 38.2% cheaper with rent.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$3.07 MYR 12.13

$11.85 MX$212

-74.09%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$21.19 MYR 83.7

$42.16 MX$755

-49.74%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$4.20 MYR 16.58

$10.75 MX$192

-60.93%

Cappuccino

$2.96 MYR 11.71

$3.47 MX$62.2

-14.70%

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

$0.74 MYR 2.93

$1.45 MX$26.01

-48.97%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.37 MYR 1.45

$0.90 MX$16.16

-58.89%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$4.49 MYR 17.73

$3.05 MX$54.7

47.21%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.40 MYR 17.40

$4.42 MX$79.1

-0.45%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.90 MYR 7.52

$1.37 MX$24.51

38.69%

White Bread (500g)

$0.99 MYR 3.92

$1.87 MX$33.51

-47.06%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.05 MYR 8.11

$1.54 MX$27.63

33.12%

Eggs

$2.15 MYR 8.48

$2.50 MX$44.81

-14.00%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$17.37 MYR 68.6

$8.61 MX$154

101.74%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$5.00 MYR 19.74

$8.63 MX$155

-42.06%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$14.88 MYR 58.8

$11.02 MX$197

35.03%

Apples (1kg)

$2.78 MYR 10.96

$2.75 MX$49.22

1.09%

Banana (1kg)

$1.47 MYR 5.80

$1.43 MX$25.56

2.80%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.58 MYR 10.21

$1.87 MX$33.52

37.97%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.19 MYR 8.66

$2.17 MX$38.80

0.92%

Potato (1kg)

$1.14 MYR 4.50

$1.88 MX$33.70

-39.36%

Onion (1kg)

$1.20 MYR 4.75

$2.25 MX$40.21

-46.67%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.89 MYR 3.53

$1.07 MX$19.11

-16.82%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.49 MYR 1.93

$1.07 MX$19.22

-54.21%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.35 MYR 17.18

$4.15 MX$74.4

4.82%

Wine (Bottle)

$19.52 MYR 77.1

$10.34 MX$185

88.78%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.62 MYR 10.34

$1.68 MX$30.06

55.95%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.48 MYR 13.75

$2.48 MX$44.46

40.32%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.46 MYR 1.80

$0.55 MX$9.93

-16.36%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$17.36 MYR 68.6

$26.53 MX$475

-34.56%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$0.68 MYR 2.68

$3.22 MX$57.6

-78.88%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.50 MYR 1.98

$2.48 MX$44.42

-79.84%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$7.19 MYR 28.39

$3.11 MX$55.7

131.19%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$0.49 MYR 1.96

$1.26 MX$22.48

-61.11%

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

$34.0K MYR 134.2K

$30.7K MX$548.8K

10.82%

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

$27.9K MYR 110.1K

$24.0K MX$430.3K

15.94%

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

$39.37 MYR 156

$82.5 MX$1,476

-52.27%

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

$10.01 MYR 39.54

$22.29 MX$399

-55.09%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$31.45 MYR 124

$30.02 MX$537

4.76%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$33.02 MYR 130

$51.4 MX$921

-35.81%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$5.53 MYR 21.84

$18.29 MX$327

-69.76%

Cinema Ticket

$4.81 MYR 19.01

$4.98 MX$89.2

-3.41%

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

$237 MYR 937

$200 MX$3,580

18.57%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$6,252 MYR 24.7K

$5,304 MX$94.9K

17.88%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$54.3 MYR 214

$35.71 MX$639

52.06%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$29.00 MYR 115

$39.56 MX$708

-26.69%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$62.5 MYR 247

$80.6 MX$1,442

-22.45%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$52.4 MYR 207

$88.3 MX$1,581

-40.63%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$394 MYR 1,556

$969 MX$17.4K

-59.37%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$230 MYR 910

$482 MX$8,632

-52.24%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$641 MYR 2,531

$1,595 MX$28.6K

-59.83%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$517 MYR 2,042

$1,184 MX$21.2K

-56.32%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,335 MYR 9,224

$4,050 MX$72.5K

-42.34%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,191 MYR 4,703

$6,522 MX$116.7K

-81.75%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$974 MYR 3,849

$756 MX$13.5K

28.83%

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: March 2, 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

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