Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Playa del Carmen and Kampar

For one person, living is cheaper in Kampar: $878 a month against $1,204 in Playa del Carmen, rent and utilities included – about $3,900 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
42

Cost of Living Index in Kampar
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Kampar Living Index

Jump to prices

Playa del Carmen

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,204

/mo nomad

Kampar

🇲🇾 Malaysia

$878

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

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

A single person spends $1,204 per month in Playa del Carmen vs $878 in Kampar, rent included.

Playa del Carmen $1,204
Kampar $878

A couple spends around $2,082 per month in Playa del Carmen vs $1,349 in Kampar, rent included.

Playa del Carmen $2,082
Kampar $1,349

A family of three spends $2,959 per month in Playa del Carmen vs $1,820 in Kampar, rent included.

Playa del Carmen $2,959
Kampar $1,820

Playa del Carmen costs about 37% more than Kampar, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Both Playa del Carmen and Kampar are more affordable than the global median – Playa del Carmen 12% lower, Kampar 36% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$10.92 MX$204

$2.15 MYR 8.76

407.91%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$43.37 MX$808

$19.27 MYR 78.5

125.06%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.78 MX$220

$4.75 MYR 19.37

148.00%

Cappuccino

$3.81 MX$71.0

$2.39 MYR 9.74

59.41%

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

$1.28 MX$23.90

$0.51 MYR 2.06

150.98%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.78 MX$14.59

$0.46 MYR 1.88

69.57%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.17 MX$59.0

$2.19 MYR 8.90

44.75%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.93 MX$92.0

$6.20 MYR 25.26

-20.48%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.41 MX$26.22

$1.94 MYR 7.90

-27.32%

White Bread (500g)

$2.22 MX$41.33

$0.69 MYR 2.83

221.74%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.42 MX$26.42

$1.85 MYR 7.52

-23.24%

Eggs

$2.52 MX$47.03

$1.81 MYR 7.38

39.23%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$7.26 MX$135

$13.95 MYR 56.9

-47.96%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$7.70 MX$143

$4.60 MYR 18.76

67.39%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$12.69 MX$237

$7.21 MYR 29.37

76.01%

Apples (1kg)

$2.78 MX$51.9

$3.35 MYR 13.63

-17.01%

Banana (1kg)

$1.37 MX$25.50

$1.86 MYR 7.59

-26.34%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.55 MX$47.55

$2.27 MYR 9.24

12.33%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.12 MX$39.58

$1.58 MYR 6.42

34.18%

Potato (1kg)

$1.94 MX$36.13

$1.22 MYR 4.96

59.02%

Onion (1kg)

$1.89 MX$35.16

$1.36 MYR 5.53

38.97%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.15 MX$21.37

$1.13 MYR 4.61

1.77%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.18 MX$21.98

$0.71 MYR 2.89

66.20%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.30 MX$80.1

$4.36 MYR 17.75

-1.38%

Wine (Bottle)

$9.95 MX$185

$19.63 MYR 80.0

-49.31%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.58 MX$29.52

$3.43 MYR 13.96

-53.94%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.67 MX$49.79

$5.01 MYR 20.40

-46.71%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.55 MX$10.31

$0.71 MYR 2.89

-22.54%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$26.62 MX$496

$12.15 MYR 49.52

119.09%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$4.97 MX$92.6

$1.20 MYR 4.89

314.17%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$3.33 MX$62.1

$1.23 MYR 5.01

170.73%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$5.36 MX$99.8

$4.84 MYR 19.74

10.74%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.44 MX$26.92

$0.64 MYR 2.60

125.00%

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

$20.7K MX$385.2K

$43.7K MYR 178.1K

-52.72%

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

$23.5K MX$437.4K

$34.3K MYR 139.9K

-31.63%

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

$84.8 MX$1,581

$49.92 MYR 203

69.85%

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

$23.41 MX$436

$4.84 MYR 19.73

383.68%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$28.66 MX$534

$21.50 MYR 87.6

33.30%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$57.1 MX$1,063

$36.90 MYR 150

54.61%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$28.91 MX$539

$6.60 MYR 26.89

338.03%

Cinema Ticket

$5.14 MX$95.8

$4.92 MYR 20.03

4.47%

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

$207 MX$3,851

$235 MYR 957

-12.04%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$3,927 MX$73.2K

$13.0K MYR 52.8K

-69.70%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$43.35 MX$808

$60.3 MYR 246

-28.10%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$41.44 MX$772

$12.03 MYR 49.01

244.47%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$74.2 MX$1,383

$72.4 MYR 295

2.44%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$89.3 MX$1,664

$72.2 MYR 294

23.68%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$980 MX$18.3K

$407 MYR 1,658

140.75%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$381 MX$7,099

$289 MYR 1,179

31.59%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,708 MX$31.8K

$707 MYR 2,879

141.69%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,075 MX$20.0K

$547 MYR 2,228

96.58%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,943 MX$73.5K

$1,867 MYR 7,607

111.20%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$6,158 MX$114.8K

$1,348 MYR 5,491

356.90%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$735 MX$13.7K

$371 MYR 1,512

97.87%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

11.45

4.17

174.58%

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 Kampar: October 24, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Playa del Carmen

$381 31.6%

Kampar

$289 33% 24% $91

Groceries & Markets

Playa del Carmen

$255 21.2%

Kampar

$258 29.4% 1.3% $3.4

Eating Out

Playa del Carmen

$202 16.8%

Kampar

$87 10% 56.8% $115

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Playa del Carmen

$137 11.4%

Kampar

$76 8.7% 44.3% $61

Clothing & Footwear

Playa del Carmen

$112 9.3%

Kampar

$98 11.1% 12.6% $14

Sport & Entertainment

Playa del Carmen

$67 5.6%

Kampar

$47 5.3% 30.6% $21

Getting Around

Playa del Carmen

$50 4.2%

Kampar

$22 2.6% 55.7% $28

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $980 in Playa del Carmen versus $407 in Kampar. Rent is usually the largest line item in a monthly budget, so the gap here sets the tone for the overall comparison.

Salaries run about 98% higher in Playa del Carmen. Purchasing power depends on which expenses matter most to you.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $43 in Playa del Carmen versus $19 in Kampar. Groceries tell a different story – $255 in Playa del Carmen vs $258 in Kampar – so Playa del Carmen wins on supermarket bills even if dining out costs more.

Good to know

🇲🇽 Playa del Carmen

🇲🇾 Kampar

🕒 Local time

13:49 1:49 PM

02:49 2:49 AM

13 h ahead of Playa del Carmen

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

149,923

98,878

💱 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 Kampar 17,100 km ≈ 22 h nonstop flight

From you

Playa del Carmen
Kampar

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 Kampar: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Yes – Playa del Carmen is pricier by about 37%, and outside of rent the gap shows up most in eating out.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $1,806 per month in Playa del Carmen and $1,317 in Kampar. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

Rent is clearly cheaper in Kampar, especially for central apartments: a one-bedroom in the center costs $407 there versus $980 in Playa del Carmen.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $43 in Playa del Carmen and $19 in Kampar. That’s a good indicator of the overall restaurant and café pricing gap between the two cities.

Public transport costs about 54% less in Kampar. For daily commuters, that gap adds up to noticeable savings over a year.

A $1,000 monthly budget goes further in Kampar, where all-in costs run around $878, than in Playa del Carmen at $1,204. In Kampar it covers expenses comfortably, while in Playa del Carmen it requires careful planning or may not stretch far enough.

It depends on your priorities. Playa del Carmen has an edge in some lifestyle areas, with costs from $878 in Kampar to $1,204 in Playa del Carmen. Climate, culture, job market, and personal taste all factor in.

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