Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Playa del Carmen and Gombak

For one person, living is cheaper in Gombak: $904 a month against $1,204 in Playa del Carmen, rent and utilities included – about $3,600 less a year. Other living expenses account for most of the difference.

58

Cost of Living Index in Playa del Carmen
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Playa del Carmen Living Index
44

Cost of Living Index in Gombak
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Gombak Living Index

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Playa del Carmen

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,204

/mo nomad

Gombak

🇲🇾 Malaysia

$904

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Playa del Carmen and in Gombak

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 Gombak actually costs, broken down by who's living it.

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,204 in Playa del Carmen versus $904 in Gombak.

Playa del Carmen $1,204
Gombak $904

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,082 in Playa del Carmen versus $1,437 in Gombak.

Playa del Carmen $2,082
Gombak $1,437

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $2,959 in Playa del Carmen versus $1,970 in Gombak.

Playa del Carmen $2,959
Gombak $1,970

Living in Playa del Carmen is roughly 33% more expensive than in Gombak, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Both cities sit below the global median: Playa del Carmen 12% lower, Gombak 34% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$10.92 MX$204

$3.60 MYR 14.67

203.33%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$43.37 MX$808

$24.44 MYR 99.6

77.45%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.78 MX$220

$5.02 MYR 20.47

134.66%

Cappuccino

$3.81 MX$71.0

$2.96 MYR 12.07

28.72%

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

$1.28 MX$23.90

$0.91 MYR 3.73

40.66%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.78 MX$14.59

$0.45 MYR 1.82

73.33%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.17 MX$59.0

$3.28 MYR 13.35

-3.35%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.93 MX$92.0

$5.76 MYR 23.47

-14.41%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.41 MX$26.22

$1.92 MYR 7.84

-26.56%

White Bread (500g)

$2.22 MX$41.33

$1.07 MYR 4.36

107.48%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.42 MX$26.42

$1.47 MYR 6.00

-3.40%

Eggs

$2.52 MX$47.03

$1.76 MYR 7.19

43.18%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$7.26 MX$135

$9.87 MYR 40.23

-26.44%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$7.70 MX$143

$3.35 MYR 13.67

129.85%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$12.69 MX$237

$9.68 MYR 39.46

31.10%

Apples (1kg)

$2.78 MX$51.9

$3.40 MYR 13.84

-18.24%

Banana (1kg)

$1.37 MX$25.50

$1.88 MYR 7.66

-27.13%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.55 MX$47.55

$2.63 MYR 10.73

-3.04%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.12 MX$39.58

$1.81 MYR 7.36

17.13%

Potato (1kg)

$1.94 MX$36.13

$2.08 MYR 8.49

-6.73%

Onion (1kg)

$1.89 MX$35.16

$1.96 MYR 7.99

-3.57%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.15 MX$21.37

$1.44 MYR 5.85

-20.14%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.18 MX$21.98

$0.52 MYR 2.11

126.92%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.30 MX$80.1

$4.48 MYR 18.26

-4.02%

Wine (Bottle)

$9.95 MX$185

$19.92 MYR 81.2

-50.05%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.58 MX$29.52

$2.68 MYR 10.91

-41.04%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.67 MX$49.79

$4.44 MYR 18.09

-39.86%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.55 MX$10.31

$0.82 MYR 3.35

-32.93%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$26.62 MX$496

$12.38 MYR 50.4

115.02%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$4.97 MX$92.6

$1.20 MYR 4.88

314.17%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$3.33 MX$62.1

$0.36 MYR 1.45

825.00%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$5.36 MX$99.8

$9.10 MYR 37.06

-41.10%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.44 MX$26.92

$0.87 MYR 3.55

65.52%

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

$20.7K MX$385.2K

$46.0K MYR 187.5K

-55.09%

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

$23.5K MX$437.4K

$35.1K MYR 143.1K

-33.17%

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

$84.8 MX$1,581

$50.0 MYR 204

69.58%

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

$23.41 MX$436

$8.39 MYR 34.20

179.02%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$28.66 MX$534

$26.39 MYR 108

8.60%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$57.1 MX$1,063

$37.05 MYR 151

53.98%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$28.91 MX$539

$5.93 MYR 24.17

387.52%

Cinema Ticket

$5.14 MX$95.8

$3.11 MYR 12.69

65.27%

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

$207 MX$3,851

$282 MYR 1,150

-26.81%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$3,927 MX$73.2K

$10.6K MYR 43.0K

-62.83%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$43.35 MX$808

$51.7 MYR 211

-16.18%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$41.44 MX$772

$29.84 MYR 122

38.87%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$74.2 MX$1,383

$76.1 MYR 310

-2.47%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$89.3 MX$1,664

$84.2 MYR 343

5.97%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$980 MX$18.3K

$411 MYR 1,673

138.60%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$381 MX$7,099

$285 MYR 1,163

33.44%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,708 MX$31.8K

$732 MYR 2,984

133.25%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,075 MX$20.0K

$608 MYR 2,475

76.97%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,943 MX$73.5K

$1,943 MYR 7,917

102.91%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$6,158 MX$114.8K

$1,168 MYR 4,760

427.13%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$735 MX$13.7K

$542 MYR 2,209

35.51%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

11.45

4.51

153.88%

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 Gombak: October 26, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Playa del Carmen

$381 31.6%

Gombak

$285 31.6% 25.1% $95

Groceries & Markets

Playa del Carmen

$255 21.2%

Gombak

$250 27.7% 1.7% $4.4

Eating Out

Playa del Carmen

$202 16.8%

Gombak

$113 12.5% 44.3% $90

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Playa del Carmen

$137 11.4%

Gombak

$85 9.4% 38% $52

Clothing & Footwear

Playa del Carmen

$112 9.3%

Gombak

$109 12% 2.6% $2.9

Sport & Entertainment

Playa del Carmen

$67 5.6%

Gombak

$43 4.8% 35.7% $24

Getting Around

Playa del Carmen

$50 4.2%

Gombak

$19 2.1% 63% $32

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $980 in Playa del Carmen and $411 in Gombak. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Playa del Carmen pays 36% more on average. How far that income stretches comes down to housing choices and lifestyle.

Dining out: $43 in Playa del Carmen vs $24 in Gombak for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $255 vs $250 per month, with Gombak cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇲🇽 Playa del Carmen

🇲🇾 Gombak

🕒 Local time

15:49 3:49 PM

04:49 4:49 AM

13 h ahead of Playa del Carmen

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

149,923

41,699

💱 Currency

Mexican Peso MXN $

Malaysian Ringgit MYR RM

📈 Exchange rate

100 MXN = 5.36 USD

100 MXN = 4.82 EUR

1 MYR = 0.245 USD

1 MYR = 0.22 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

MYR, USD, EUR to MXN – Mexican Peso Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇲🇽 Mexican Peso ($)

Mexican Peso exchange rates as of October 28, 2026: 1 USD = 18.64 MXN (100 MXN = 5.36 USD). 1 EUR = 20.75 MXN (100 MXN = 4.82 EUR).

Malaysian Ringgit exchange rates as of October 28, 2026: 1 USD = 4.07 MYR (1 MYR = 0.245 USD). 1 EUR = 4.54 MYR (1 MYR = 0.22 EUR).

USD to MXN in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Playa del Carmen Gombak 17,190 km ≈ 22 h nonstop flight

From you

Playa del Carmen
Gombak

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 Gombak: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Gombak wins on cost – living expenses run 25% lower than in Playa del Carmen. Housing and daily spending are where you’ll feel the difference most, making Gombak the obvious pick if budget is a priority.

Average pay runs 36% higher in Playa del Carmen, which matters when comparing affordability. Whether that higher income actually nets you more depends on your spending habits and housing choices.

Rent for a central apartment: $980 in Playa del Carmen versus $411 in Gombak. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

A monthly transit pass in Gombak runs roughly 53% less than in Playa del Carmen. The price difference matters if you commute daily and watch your budget.

All in, you’ll spend $1,204 per month in Playa del Carmen versus $904 in Gombak – Gombak is about 25% cheaper, which adds up to real savings over time.

Both cities are expensive relative to $800. Gombak is the more realistic option, but even there you’ll need to be disciplined with housing, food, and fun money.

Both cities offer a good standard of living with different trade-offs. Neither is objectively better – the right pick depends on what matters most: affordability, career, cultural scene, or climate.

It comes down to priorities – Gombak wins on affordability, Playa del Carmen on earning potential. Factor in climate, language, visa rules, and proximity to places that matter to you before deciding.