Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Playa del Carmen and Kangar, Perlis

For one person, living is cheaper in Kangar, Perlis: $910 a month against $1,204 in Playa del Carmen, rent and utilities included – about $3,500 less a year. Rent and utilities account for about half of the difference.

58

Cost of Living Index in Playa del Carmen
Learn more

Playa del Carmen Living Index
45

Cost of Living Index in Kangar, Perlis
Learn more

Kangar, Perlis Living Index

Jump to prices

Playa del Carmen

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,204

/mo nomad

Kangar, Perlis

🇲🇾 Malaysia

$910

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Playa del Carmen and in Kangar, Perlis

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

A single person spends $1,204 per month in Playa del Carmen vs $910 in Kangar, Perlis, rent included.

Playa del Carmen $1,204
Kangar, Perlis $910

A couple spends around $2,082 per month in Playa del Carmen vs $1,427 in Kangar, Perlis, rent included.

Playa del Carmen $2,082
Kangar, Perlis $1,427

A family of three spends $2,959 per month in Playa del Carmen vs $1,944 in Kangar, Perlis, rent included.

Playa del Carmen $2,959
Kangar, Perlis $1,944

Playa del Carmen costs about 32% more than Kangar, Perlis, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Both Playa del Carmen and Kangar, Perlis are more affordable than the global median – Playa del Carmen 12% lower, Kangar, Perlis 33% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$10.92 MX$205

$3.59 MYR 14.55

204.18%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$43.37 MX$815

$20.29 MYR 82.3

113.75%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.78 MX$221

$5.02 MYR 20.37

134.66%

Cappuccino

$3.81 MX$71.6

$2.59 MYR 10.51

47.10%

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

$1.28 MX$24.10

$0.70 MYR 2.84

82.86%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.78 MX$14.71

$0.47 MYR 1.90

65.96%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.17 MX$59.5

$4.37 MYR 17.73

-27.46%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.93 MX$92.7

$4.62 MYR 18.73

6.71%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.41 MX$26.43

$1.84 MYR 7.47

-23.37%

White Bread (500g)

$2.22 MX$41.66

$1.06 MYR 4.29

109.43%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.42 MX$26.64

$1.40 MYR 5.66

1.43%

Eggs

$2.52 MX$47.41

$2.23 MYR 9.02

13.00%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$7.26 MX$137

$15.65 MYR 63.4

-53.61%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$7.70 MX$145

$5.01 MYR 20.30

53.69%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$12.69 MX$239

$9.38 MYR 38.03

35.29%

Apples (1kg)

$2.78 MX$52.3

$2.84 MYR 11.50

-2.11%

Banana (1kg)

$1.37 MX$25.71

$1.82 MYR 7.38

-24.73%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.55 MX$47.94

$2.65 MYR 10.76

-3.77%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.12 MX$39.90

$1.34 MYR 5.42

58.21%

Potato (1kg)

$1.94 MX$36.43

$1.06 MYR 4.31

83.02%

Onion (1kg)

$1.89 MX$35.44

$1.45 MYR 5.87

30.34%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.15 MX$21.55

$1.12 MYR 4.53

2.68%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.18 MX$22.16

$0.50 MYR 2.01

136.00%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.30 MX$80.7

$4.93 MYR 20.00

-12.78%

Wine (Bottle)

$9.95 MX$187

$21.61 MYR 87.6

-53.96%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.58 MX$29.76

$2.81 MYR 11.38

-43.77%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.67 MX$50.2

$4.47 MYR 18.13

-40.27%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.55 MX$10.40

$0.78 MYR 3.16

-29.49%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$26.62 MX$500

$11.74 MYR 47.60

126.75%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$4.97 MX$93.4

$1.24 MYR 5.01

300.81%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$3.33 MX$62.6

$0.60 MYR 2.43

455.00%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$5.36 MX$101

$7.61 MYR 30.83

-29.57%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.44 MX$27.14

$0.80 MYR 3.26

80.00%

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

$20.7K MX$388.4K

$50.2K MYR 203.7K

-58.87%

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

$23.5K MX$441.0K

$37.5K MYR 151.9K

-37.38%

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

$84.8 MX$1,594

$49.46 MYR 201

71.43%

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

$23.41 MX$440

$9.52 MYR 38.59

145.90%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$28.66 MX$539

$30.47 MYR 124

-5.94%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$57.1 MX$1,072

$32.44 MYR 132

75.86%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$28.91 MX$543

$7.31 MYR 29.62

295.49%

Cinema Ticket

$5.14 MX$96.6

$4.44 MYR 17.98

15.77%

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

$207 MX$3,882

$208 MYR 842

-0.55%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$3,927 MX$73.8K

$7,103 MYR 28.8K

-44.71%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$43.35 MX$815

$59.7 MYR 242

-27.34%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$41.44 MX$779

$38.71 MYR 157

7.05%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$74.2 MX$1,394

$75.9 MYR 308

-2.28%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$89.3 MX$1,677

$84.9 MYR 344

5.07%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$980 MX$18.4K

$442 MYR 1,792

121.62%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$381 MX$7,157

$264 MYR 1,072

44.08%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,708 MX$32.1K

$764 MYR 3,098

123.47%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,075 MX$20.2K

$547 MYR 2,219

96.41%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,943 MX$74.1K

$1,900 MYR 7,703

107.51%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$6,158 MX$115.7K

$1,131 MYR 4,586

444.33%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$735 MX$13.8K

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

11.45

4.06

182.02%

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 Kangar, Perlis: October 27, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Playa del Carmen

$381 31.6%

Kangar, Perlis

$264 29% 30.6% $117

Groceries & Markets

Playa del Carmen

$255 21.2%

Kangar, Perlis

$269 29.5% 5.5% $14

Eating Out

Playa del Carmen

$202 16.8%

Kangar, Perlis

$111 12.2% 45.3% $92

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Playa del Carmen

$137 11.4%

Kangar, Perlis

$89 9.8% 34.6% $47

Clothing & Footwear

Playa del Carmen

$112 9.3%

Kangar, Perlis

$117 12.8% 4.4% $5

Sport & Entertainment

Playa del Carmen

$67 5.6%

Kangar, Perlis

$41 4.5% 38.6% $26

Getting Around

Playa del Carmen

$50 4.2%

Kangar, Perlis

$19 2.1% 62.1% $31

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $980 in Playa del Carmen versus $442 in Kangar, Perlis. Rent is usually the largest line item in a monthly budget, so the gap here sets the tone for the overall comparison.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $43 in Playa del Carmen versus $20 in Kangar, Perlis. Groceries tell a different story – $255 in Playa del Carmen vs $269 in Kangar, Perlis – so Playa del Carmen wins on supermarket bills even if dining out costs more.

Good to know

🇲🇽 Playa del Carmen

🇲🇾 Kangar, Perlis

🕒 Local time

20:07 8:07 PM

09:07 9:07 AM

13 h ahead of Playa del Carmen

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

149,923

284,853

💱 Currency

Mexican Peso MXN $

Malaysian Ringgit MYR RM

📈 Exchange rate

100 MXN = 5.32 USD

100 MXN = 4.77 EUR

1 MYR = 0.247 USD

1 MYR = 0.221 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 November 2, 2026: 1 USD = 18.79 MXN (100 MXN = 5.32 USD). 1 EUR = 20.98 MXN (100 MXN = 4.77 EUR).

Malaysian Ringgit exchange rates as of November 2, 2026: 1 USD = 4.05 MYR (1 MYR = 0.247 USD). 1 EUR = 4.53 MYR (1 MYR = 0.221 EUR).

USD to MXN in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Playa del Carmen Kangar, Perlis 16,900 km ≈ 22 h nonstop flight

From you

Playa del Carmen
Kangar, Perlis

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 Kangar, Perlis: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Monthly costs with rent: $1,204 in Playa del Carmen, $910 in Kangar, Perlis – Kangar, Perlis comes out roughly 24% cheaper. Outside of rent, the biggest gap is in eating out.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $1,806 per month in Playa del Carmen and $1,365 in Kangar, Perlis. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

Rent is clearly cheaper in Kangar, Perlis, especially for central apartments: a one-bedroom in the center costs $442 there versus $980 in Playa del Carmen.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $43 in Playa del Carmen and $20 in Kangar, Perlis. That’s a good indicator of the overall restaurant and café pricing gap between the two cities.

Monthly expenses with rent come to $1,204 in Playa del Carmen and $910 in Kangar, Perlis. That makes Kangar, Perlis about 24% cheaper.

A $1,200 monthly budget goes further in Kangar, Perlis, where all-in costs run around $910, than in Playa del Carmen at $1,204. In Kangar, Perlis 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 $910 in Kangar, Perlis to $1,204 in Playa del Carmen. Climate, culture, job market, and personal taste all factor in.