Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Playa del Carmen and Bandar Seri Begawan

For one person, living costs are similar in Playa del Carmen and in Bandar Seri Begawan: $1,204 and $1,215 a month, rent and utilities included.

58

Cost of Living Index in Playa del Carmen
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Playa del Carmen Living Index
58

Cost of Living Index in Bandar Seri Begawan
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Bandar Seri Begawan Living Index

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Playa del Carmen

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,204

/mo nomad

Bandar Seri Begawan

🇧🇳 Brunei

$1,215

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Playa del Carmen and in Bandar Seri Begawan

Real prices from locals and on-the-ground checks – rent, groceries, transit and the daily extras. Here's what a month in Playa del Carmen and in Bandar Seri Begawan actually costs, broken down by who's living it.

A single person spends $1,204 per month in Playa del Carmen vs $1,215 in Bandar Seri Begawan, rent included.

Playa del Carmen $1,204
Bandar Seri Begawan $1,215

A couple spends around $2,082 per month in Playa del Carmen vs $1,756 in Bandar Seri Begawan, rent included.

Playa del Carmen $2,082
Bandar Seri Begawan $1,756

A family of three spends $2,959 per month in Playa del Carmen vs $2,296 in Bandar Seri Begawan, rent included.

Playa del Carmen $2,959
Bandar Seri Begawan $2,296

Playa del Carmen and Bandar Seri Begawan have comparable living costs – the differences are in the details.

Both Playa del Carmen and Bandar Seri Begawan are more affordable than the global median – Playa del Carmen 12% lower, Bandar Seri Begawan 11% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$10.92 MX$204

$3.93 BND 5.03

177.86%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$43.37 MX$808

$27.87 BND 35.73

55.62%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.78 MX$220

$6.14 BND 7.87

91.86%

Local Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$1.96 BND 2.51

Imported Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.36 BND 3.03

Cappuccino

$3.81 MX$71.0

$4.01 BND 5.14

-4.99%

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

$1.28 MX$23.90

$0.95 BND 1.22

34.74%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.78 MX$14.59

$0.53 BND 0.68

47.17%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.17 MX$59.0

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.93 MX$92.0

Milk (1 liter)

$1.41 MX$26.22

$1.89 BND 2.42

-25.40%

White Bread (500g)

$2.22 MX$41.33

$1.76 BND 2.25

26.14%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.42 MX$26.42

$1.19 BND 1.52

19.33%

Eggs

$2.52 MX$47.03

$2.09 BND 2.68

20.57%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$7.26 MX$135

$9.18 BND 11.77

-20.92%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$7.70 MX$143

$4.61 BND 5.91

67.03%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$12.69 MX$237

$10.69 BND 13.70

18.71%

Apples (1kg)

$2.78 MX$51.9

$3.14 BND 4.02

-11.46%

Banana (1kg)

$1.37 MX$25.50

$2.22 BND 2.84

-38.29%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.55 MX$47.55

$2.84 BND 3.64

-10.21%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.12 MX$39.58

$2.58 BND 3.31

-17.83%

Potato (1kg)

$1.94 MX$36.13

$1.67 BND 2.15

16.17%

Onion (1kg)

$1.89 MX$35.16

$1.99 BND 2.55

-5.03%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.15 MX$21.37

$3.63 BND 4.65

-68.32%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.18 MX$21.98

$0.92 BND 1.18

28.26%

Bottle of Non-Alcoholic Wine (Mid-Range)

$23.60 BND 30.25

Local Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$3.34 BND 4.28

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.30 MX$80.1

$15.44 BND 19.79

-72.15%

Wine (Bottle)

$9.95 MX$185

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.58 MX$29.52

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.67 MX$49.79

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.55 MX$10.31

$0.81 BND 1.04

-32.10%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$26.62 MX$496

$23.46 BND 30.08

13.47%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$4.97 MX$92.6

$3.98 BND 5.11

24.87%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$3.33 MX$62.1

$3.39 BND 4.34

-1.77%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$5.36 MX$99.8

$11.48 BND 14.71

-53.31%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.44 MX$26.92

$0.43 BND 0.55

234.88%

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

$20.7K MX$385.2K

$43.6K BND 55.8K

-52.56%

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

$23.5K MX$437.4K

$36.1K BND 46.3K

-35.07%

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

$84.8 MX$1,581

$61.3 BND 78.6

38.23%

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

$23.41 MX$436

$21.81 BND 27.96

7.34%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$28.66 MX$534

$66.1 BND 84.8

-56.66%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$57.1 MX$1,063

$46.25 BND 59.3

23.35%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$28.91 MX$539

$7.12 BND 9.13

306.04%

Cinema Ticket

$5.14 MX$95.8

$5.62 BND 7.20

-8.54%

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

$207 MX$3,851

$220 BND 282

-6.14%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$3,927 MX$73.2K

$9,743 BND 12.5K

-59.69%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$43.35 MX$808

$77.1 BND 98.8

-43.75%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$41.44 MX$772

$95.5 BND 122

-56.59%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$74.2 MX$1,383

$102 BND 131

-27.23%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$89.3 MX$1,664

$73.2 BND 93.8

21.91%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$980 MX$18.3K

$726 BND 931

34.86%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$381 MX$7,099

$481 BND 616

-20.78%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,708 MX$31.8K

$1,159 BND 1,486

47.34%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,075 MX$20.0K

$681 BND 873

57.92%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,943 MX$73.5K

$3,076 BND 3,943

28.18%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$6,158 MX$114.8K

$2,232 BND 2,861

175.92%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$735 MX$13.7K

$1,745 BND 2,237

-57.90%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

11.45

3.88

195.10%

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

Last update for Playa del Carmen: October 25, 2026

Last update for Bandar Seri Begawan: October 26, 2026

Monthly budget structure

Share of the monthly basket for one person, rent included.

Accommodation & Living

Playa del Carmen

$381 31.6%

Bandar Seri Begawan

$481 39.6% 26.2% $100

Groceries & Markets

Playa del Carmen

$255 21.2%

Bandar Seri Begawan

$220 18.1% 13.6% $35

Eating Out

Playa del Carmen

$202 16.8%

Bandar Seri Begawan

$104 8.6% 48.7% $98

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Playa del Carmen

$137 11.4%

Bandar Seri Begawan

$149 12.3% 9.1% $12

Clothing & Footwear

Playa del Carmen

$112 9.3%

Bandar Seri Begawan

$156 12.9% 40.1% $45

Sport & Entertainment

Playa del Carmen

$67 5.6%

Bandar Seri Begawan

$57 4.7% 14.6% $9.8

Getting Around

Playa del Carmen

$50 4.2%

Bandar Seri Begawan

$48 3.9% 5.6% $2.8

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $980 in Playa del Carmen versus $726 in Bandar Seri Begawan. Rent is usually the largest line item in a monthly budget, so the gap here sets the tone for the overall comparison.

Salaries in Bandar Seri Begawan are about 2.4 times higher. Purchasing power depends on which expenses matter most to you.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $43 in Playa del Carmen versus $28 in Bandar Seri Begawan. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $255 vs $220 – making Bandar Seri Begawan the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇲🇽 Playa del Carmen

🇧🇳 Bandar Seri Begawan

🕒 Local time

19:18 7:18 PM

08:18 8:18 AM

13 h ahead of Playa del Carmen

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

149,923

50,000 Capital

💱 Currency

Mexican Peso MXN $

Brunei Dollar BND $

📈 Exchange rate

100 MXN = 5.36 USD

100 MXN = 4.82 EUR

1 BND = 0.78 USD

1 BND = 0.701 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

BND, USD, EUR to MXN – Mexican Peso Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇲🇽 Mexican Peso ($)

Mexican Peso exchange rates as of October 29, 2026: 1 USD = 18.64 MXN (100 MXN = 5.36 USD). 1 EUR = 20.75 MXN (100 MXN = 4.82 EUR).

Brunei Dollar exchange rates as of October 29, 2026: 1 USD = 1.28 BND (1 BND = 0.78 USD). 1 EUR = 1.43 BND (1 BND = 0.701 EUR).

USD to MXN in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Playa del Carmen Bandar Seri Begawan 16,300 km ≈ 21 h nonstop flight

From you

Playa del Carmen
Bandar Seri Begawan

Distances are measured in a straight line. Your location is detected approximately.

City Median Internet Speeds Comparison (Updated April 2026)

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

Digital Nomad Cost of Living Index

Playa del Carmen vs Bandar Seri Begawan: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

For a comfortable life, plan on about $1,806 per month in Playa del Carmen and $1,823 in Bandar Seri Begawan. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

Rent is clearly cheaper in Bandar Seri Begawan, especially for central apartments: a one-bedroom in the center costs $726 there versus $980 in Playa del Carmen.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $43 in Playa del Carmen and $28 in Bandar Seri Begawan. That’s a good indicator of the overall restaurant and café pricing gap between the two cities.

Public transport costs about 12% less in Bandar Seri Begawan. For daily commuters, that gap adds up to noticeable savings over a year.

$1,500 covers both cities comfortably – all-in costs are $1,204 in Playa del Carmen and $1,215 in Bandar Seri Begawan, leaving budget for savings and extras in both cases.

It depends on your priorities. Playa del Carmen has an edge in some lifestyle areas, with costs from $1,204 in Playa del Carmen to $1,215 in Bandar Seri Begawan. Climate, culture, job market, and personal taste all factor in.

If budget matters most, go with Playa del Carmen. If higher salaries or specific career opportunities are the priority, Bandar Seri Begawan makes more sense. Both are solid long-term options with distinct trade-offs.