Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Playa del Carmen and Kemaman

For one person, living is cheaper in Kemaman: $897 a month against $1,204 in Playa del Carmen, rent and utilities included – about $3,700 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
43

Cost of Living Index in Kemaman
Learn more

Kemaman Living Index

Jump to prices

Playa del Carmen

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,204

/mo nomad

Kemaman

🇲🇾 Malaysia

$897

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

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

A single person spends $1,204 per month in Playa del Carmen vs $897 in Kemaman, rent included.

Playa del Carmen $1,204
Kemaman $897

A couple spends around $2,082 per month in Playa del Carmen vs $1,369 in Kemaman, rent included.

Playa del Carmen $2,082
Kemaman $1,369

A family of three spends $2,959 per month in Playa del Carmen vs $1,841 in Kemaman, rent included.

Playa del Carmen $2,959
Kemaman $1,841

Playa del Carmen costs about 34% more than Kemaman, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Both Playa del Carmen and Kemaman are more affordable than the global median – Playa del Carmen 12% lower, Kemaman 34% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$10.92 MX$205

$2.62 MYR 10.65

316.79%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$43.37 MX$813

$14.92 MYR 60.7

190.68%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.78 MX$221

$4.40 MYR 17.90

167.73%

Cappuccino

$3.81 MX$71.4

$3.09 MYR 12.57

23.30%

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

$1.28 MX$24.03

$0.48 MYR 1.93

166.67%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.78 MX$14.67

$0.36 MYR 1.46

116.67%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.17 MX$59.3

$3.28 MYR 13.34

-3.35%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.93 MX$92.5

$5.76 MYR 23.45

-14.41%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.41 MX$26.35

$1.88 MYR 7.66

-25.00%

White Bread (500g)

$2.22 MX$41.54

$1.04 MYR 4.24

113.46%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.42 MX$26.56

$1.01 MYR 4.13

40.59%

Eggs

$2.52 MX$47.27

$1.15 MYR 4.70

119.13%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$7.26 MX$136

$9.61 MYR 39.11

-24.45%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$7.70 MX$144

$3.19 MYR 13.00

141.38%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$12.69 MX$238

$9.30 MYR 37.84

36.45%

Apples (1kg)

$2.78 MX$52.2

$3.59 MYR 14.63

-22.56%

Banana (1kg)

$1.37 MX$25.64

$1.87 MYR 7.62

-26.74%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.55 MX$47.80

$2.62 MYR 10.66

-2.67%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.12 MX$39.78

$1.82 MYR 7.40

16.48%

Potato (1kg)

$1.94 MX$36.32

$2.17 MYR 8.83

-10.60%

Onion (1kg)

$1.89 MX$35.34

$2.04 MYR 8.30

-7.35%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.15 MX$21.49

$1.47 MYR 5.98

-21.77%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.18 MX$22.09

$0.51 MYR 2.08

131.37%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.30 MX$80.5

$4.57 MYR 18.60

-5.91%

Wine (Bottle)

$9.95 MX$186

$19.42 MYR 79.1

-48.76%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.58 MX$29.67

$2.72 MYR 11.09

-41.91%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.67 MX$50.1

$4.44 MYR 18.07

-39.86%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.55 MX$10.37

$0.76 MYR 3.11

-27.63%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$26.62 MX$499

$10.79 MYR 43.94

146.71%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$4.97 MX$93.1

$1.20 MYR 4.88

314.17%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$3.33 MX$62.4

$0.36 MYR 1.46

825.00%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$5.36 MX$100

$8.90 MYR 36.24

-39.78%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.44 MX$27.06

$0.48 MYR 1.94

200.00%

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

$20.7K MX$387.3K

$46.4K MYR 188.7K

-55.43%

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

$23.5K MX$439.7K

$36.1K MYR 146.8K

-34.95%

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

$84.8 MX$1,589

$49.04 MYR 200

72.90%

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

$23.41 MX$439

$8.25 MYR 33.58

183.76%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$28.66 MX$537

$27.11 MYR 110

5.72%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$57.1 MX$1,069

$41.78 MYR 170

36.55%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$28.91 MX$542

$6.29 MYR 25.62

359.62%

Cinema Ticket

$5.14 MX$96.3

$4.79 MYR 19.49

7.31%

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

$207 MX$3,871

$123 MYR 500

68.02%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$3,927 MX$73.6K

$10.3K MYR 42.1K

-61.99%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$43.35 MX$812

$52.0 MYR 211

-16.57%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$41.44 MX$777

$30.15 MYR 123

37.45%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$74.2 MX$1,390

$78.6 MYR 320

-5.65%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$89.3 MX$1,672

$86.0 MYR 350

3.82%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$980 MX$18.4K

$434 MYR 1,767

125.67%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$381 MX$7,136

$288 MYR 1,171

32.34%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,708 MX$32.0K

$636 MYR 2,589

168.52%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,075 MX$20.1K

$546 MYR 2,223

96.84%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,943 MX$73.9K

$2,062 MYR 8,395

91.18%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$6,158 MX$115.4K

$1,069 MYR 4,351

476.08%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$735 MX$13.8K

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 Kemaman: October 26, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Playa del Carmen

$381 31.6%

Kemaman

$288 32.1% 24.4% $93

Groceries & Markets

Playa del Carmen

$255 21.2%

Kemaman

$243 27.1% 4.5% $11

Eating Out

Playa del Carmen

$202 16.8%

Kemaman

$102 11.4% 49.4% $100

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Playa del Carmen

$137 11.4%

Kemaman

$84 9.4% 38.3% $52

Clothing & Footwear

Playa del Carmen

$112 9.3%

Kemaman

$111 12.4% 0.6% $0.7

Sport & Entertainment

Playa del Carmen

$67 5.6%

Kemaman

$51 5.7% 23.7% $16

Getting Around

Playa del Carmen

$50 4.2%

Kemaman

$17 1.9% 66.6% $34

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $980 in Playa del Carmen versus $434 in Kemaman. 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 $15 in Kemaman. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $255 vs $243 – making Kemaman the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇲🇽 Playa del Carmen

🇲🇾 Kemaman

🕒 Local time

13:23 1:23 PM

02:23 2:23 AM

13 h ahead of Playa del Carmen

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

149,923

215,582

💱 Currency

Mexican Peso MXN $

Malaysian Ringgit MYR RM

📈 Exchange rate

100 MXN = 5.34 USD

100 MXN = 4.78 EUR

1 MYR = 0.246 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 November 2, 2026: 1 USD = 18.74 MXN (100 MXN = 5.34 USD). 1 EUR = 20.91 MXN (100 MXN = 4.78 EUR).

Malaysian Ringgit exchange rates as of November 2, 2026: 1 USD = 4.07 MYR (1 MYR = 0.246 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 Kemaman 17,020 km ≈ 22 h nonstop flight

From you

Playa del Carmen
Kemaman

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 Kemaman: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Yes – Playa del Carmen is pricier by about 34%, 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 $1,346 in Kemaman. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

Rent is clearly cheaper in Kemaman, especially for central apartments: a one-bedroom in the center costs $434 there versus $980 in Playa del Carmen.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $43 in Playa del Carmen and $15 in Kemaman. 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 $897 in Kemaman. That makes Kemaman about 26% cheaper.

A $1,000 monthly budget goes further in Kemaman, where all-in costs run around $897, than in Playa del Carmen at $1,204. In Kemaman it covers expenses comfortably, while in Playa del Carmen it requires careful planning or may not stretch far enough.

Families tend to lean toward Kemaman – lower housing and cheaper childcare make a real difference, especially on a single income or when paying for private education.

For expats, Kemaman is the easier option financially – housing and daily costs are lower, and overall it costs about 26% less, which matters a lot on a fixed budget or early-career salary.