Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Playa del Carmen and Kedah

For one person, living is cheaper in Kedah: $877 a month against $1,204 in Playa del Carmen, rent and utilities included – about $3,900 less a year. Rent and utilities account for about half 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 Kedah
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Kedah Living Index

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Playa del Carmen

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,204

/mo nomad

Kedah

🇲🇾 Malaysia

$877

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,204 in Playa del Carmen versus $877 in Kedah.

Playa del Carmen $1,204
Kedah $877

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,082 in Playa del Carmen versus $1,399 in Kedah.

Playa del Carmen $2,082
Kedah $1,399

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $2,959 in Playa del Carmen versus $1,920 in Kedah.

Playa del Carmen $2,959
Kedah $1,920

Living in Playa del Carmen is roughly 37% more expensive than in Kedah, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Both cities sit below the global median: Playa del Carmen 12% lower, Kedah 36% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$10.92 MX$204

$3.72 MYR 15.19

193.55%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$43.37 MX$810

$12.32 MYR 50.4

252.03%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.78 MX$220

$4.56 MYR 18.65

158.33%

Cappuccino

$3.81 MX$71.2

$2.91 MYR 11.90

30.93%

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

$1.28 MX$23.96

$0.77 MYR 3.15

66.23%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.78 MX$14.63

$0.39 MYR 1.60

100.00%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.17 MX$59.2

$4.24 MYR 17.31

-25.24%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.93 MX$92.2

$4.36 MYR 17.80

13.07%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.41 MX$26.28

$1.88 MYR 7.68

-25.00%

White Bread (500g)

$2.22 MX$41.43

$1.06 MYR 4.33

109.43%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.42 MX$26.48

$1.72 MYR 7.01

-17.44%

Eggs

$2.52 MX$47.14

$2.19 MYR 8.94

15.07%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$7.26 MX$136

$13.55 MYR 55.4

-46.42%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$7.70 MX$144

$4.34 MYR 17.75

77.42%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$12.69 MX$237

$8.84 MYR 36.13

43.55%

Apples (1kg)

$2.78 MX$52.0

$2.94 MYR 12.02

-5.44%

Banana (1kg)

$1.37 MX$25.56

$1.63 MYR 6.67

-15.95%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.55 MX$47.66

$2.75 MYR 11.24

-7.27%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.12 MX$39.67

$1.45 MYR 5.94

46.21%

Potato (1kg)

$1.94 MX$36.22

$1.10 MYR 4.50

76.36%

Onion (1kg)

$1.89 MX$35.24

$1.09 MYR 4.45

73.39%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.15 MX$21.42

$1.13 MYR 4.63

1.77%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.18 MX$22.03

$0.57 MYR 2.34

107.02%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.30 MX$80.3

$4.62 MYR 18.89

-6.93%

Wine (Bottle)

$9.95 MX$186

$18.76 MYR 76.7

-46.96%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.58 MX$29.59

$2.98 MYR 12.19

-46.98%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.67 MX$49.91

$5.33 MYR 21.79

-49.91%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.55 MX$10.34

$0.76 MYR 3.11

-27.63%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$26.62 MX$497

$12.85 MYR 52.5

107.16%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$4.97 MX$92.9

$1.66 MYR 6.78

199.40%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$3.33 MX$62.2

$0.38 MYR 1.54

776.32%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$5.36 MX$100

$7.29 MYR 29.79

-26.47%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.44 MX$26.98

$0.60 MYR 2.47

140.00%

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

$20.7K MX$386.2K

$45.6K MYR 186.5K

-54.72%

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

$23.5K MX$438.5K

$35.8K MYR 146.5K

-34.54%

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

$84.8 MX$1,584

$36.47 MYR 149

132.49%

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

$23.41 MX$437

$9.66 MYR 39.47

142.34%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$28.66 MX$535

$29.48 MYR 120

-2.78%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$57.1 MX$1,066

$34.63 MYR 142

64.74%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$28.91 MX$540

$6.85 MYR 28.01

322.04%

Cinema Ticket

$5.14 MX$96.0

$4.79 MYR 19.59

7.31%

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

$207 MX$3,860

$388 MYR 1,584

-46.71%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$3,927 MX$73.4K

$10.7K MYR 43.6K

-63.15%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$43.35 MX$810

$58.9 MYR 241

-26.34%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$41.44 MX$774

$34.76 MYR 142

19.22%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$74.2 MX$1,386

$81.6 MYR 334

-9.08%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$89.3 MX$1,668

$70.7 MYR 289

26.31%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$980 MX$18.3K

$358 MYR 1,462

173.78%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$381 MX$7,116

$258 MYR 1,054

47.62%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,708 MX$31.9K

$712 MYR 2,911

139.79%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,075 MX$20.1K

$607 MYR 2,479

77.23%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,943 MX$73.7K

$1,930 MYR 7,889

104.27%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$6,158 MX$115.1K

$1,258 MYR 5,140

389.63%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$735 MX$13.7K

$1,339 MYR 5,473

-45.15%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

11.45

4.04

183.42%

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 Kedah: October 25, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Playa del Carmen

$381 31.6%

Kedah

$258 29.4% 32.3% $123

Groceries & Markets

Playa del Carmen

$255 21.2%

Kedah

$257 29.3% 0.7% $1.9

Eating Out

Playa del Carmen

$202 16.8%

Kedah

$113 12.9% 44.2% $89

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Playa del Carmen

$137 11.4%

Kedah

$76 8.6% 44.7% $61

Clothing & Footwear

Playa del Carmen

$112 9.3%

Kedah

$111 12.6% 0.9% $1.1

Sport & Entertainment

Playa del Carmen

$67 5.6%

Kedah

$44 5% 34.3% $23

Getting Around

Playa del Carmen

$50 4.2%

Kedah

$19 2.2% 61.5% $31

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $980 in Playa del Carmen and $358 in Kedah. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Kedah pays 82% more on average while also being the cheaper of the two. The combined effect is a noticeably stronger local purchasing power.

Dining out: $43 in Playa del Carmen vs $12 in Kedah. Groceries flip the comparison at $255 vs $257, with Playa del Carmen cheaper for home cooking.

Good to know

🇲🇽 Playa del Carmen

🇲🇾 Kedah

🕒 Local time

08:05 8:05 AM

21:05 9:05 PM

13 h ahead of Playa del Carmen

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

149,923

417,800

💱 Currency

Mexican Peso MXN $

Malaysian Ringgit MYR RM

📈 Exchange rate

100 MXN = 5.35 USD

100 MXN = 4.81 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 = 18.69 MXN (100 MXN = 5.35 USD). 1 EUR = 20.8 MXN (100 MXN = 4.81 EUR).

Malaysian Ringgit exchange rates as of October 28, 2026: 1 USD = 4.09 MYR (1 MYR = 0.245 USD). 1 EUR = 4.55 MYR (1 MYR = 0.22 EUR).

USD to MXN in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Playa del Carmen Kedah 16,930 km ≈ 22 h nonstop flight

From you

Playa del Carmen
Kedah

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 Kedah: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Playa del Carmen and Kedah differ by about 37% in total monthly costs ($1,204 vs $877 including rent). Kedah is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

On paper, salaries run 45% lower in Playa del Carmen. That’s worth factoring in alongside costs, though remote workers earning in a stronger currency may not notice the difference at all.

Rent for a central apartment: $980 in Playa del Carmen versus $358 in Kedah. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

A monthly transit pass in Kedah runs roughly 52% less than in Playa del Carmen. Both cities have functional networks, but the price difference matters if you’re watching your budget.

All in, you’ll spend $1,204 per month in Playa del Carmen versus $877 in Kedah – a 37% gap that adds up to real savings over time for anyone picking the cheaper option.

At $877 in Kedah versus $1,204 in Playa del Carmen, a $1,200 budget is realistic in Kedah but tight or insufficient in Playa del Carmen. The gap between the two cities makes Kedah the clear choice for anyone on this budget.

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.