Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Playa del Carmen and Kepong

For one person, living is cheaper in Kepong: $896 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 Kepong
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Kepong Living Index

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Playa del Carmen

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,204

/mo nomad

Kepong

🇲🇾 Malaysia

$896

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

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

A single person spends $1,204 per month in Playa del Carmen vs $896 in Kepong, rent included.

Playa del Carmen $1,204
Kepong $896

A couple spends around $2,082 per month in Playa del Carmen vs $1,392 in Kepong, rent included.

Playa del Carmen $2,082
Kepong $1,392

A family of three spends $2,959 per month in Playa del Carmen vs $1,888 in Kepong, rent included.

Playa del Carmen $2,959
Kepong $1,888

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

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

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$10.92 MX$204

$3.74 MYR 15.23

191.98%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$43.37 MX$808

$24.13 MYR 98.3

79.73%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.78 MX$220

$4.99 MYR 20.31

136.07%

Cappuccino

$3.81 MX$71.0

$2.98 MYR 12.13

27.85%

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

$1.28 MX$23.90

$0.86 MYR 3.49

48.84%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.78 MX$14.59

$0.41 MYR 1.69

90.24%

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

$5.59 MYR 22.78

-11.81%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.41 MX$26.22

$1.74 MYR 7.09

-18.97%

White Bread (500g)

$2.22 MX$41.33

$1.03 MYR 4.20

115.53%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.42 MX$26.42

$1.42 MYR 5.77

Eggs

$2.52 MX$47.03

$1.82 MYR 7.43

38.46%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$7.26 MX$135

$9.82 MYR 40.02

-26.07%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$7.70 MX$143

$3.32 MYR 13.52

131.93%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$12.69 MX$237

$9.29 MYR 37.84

36.60%

Apples (1kg)

$2.78 MX$51.9

$3.40 MYR 13.85

-18.24%

Banana (1kg)

$1.37 MX$25.50

$1.74 MYR 7.07

-21.26%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.55 MX$47.55

$2.62 MYR 10.69

-2.67%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.12 MX$39.58

$1.66 MYR 6.77

27.71%

Potato (1kg)

$1.94 MX$36.13

$1.46 MYR 5.93

32.88%

Onion (1kg)

$1.89 MX$35.16

$1.72 MYR 7.02

9.88%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.15 MX$21.37

$1.32 MYR 5.38

-12.88%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.18 MX$21.98

$0.51 MYR 2.08

131.37%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.30 MX$80.1

$4.37 MYR 17.82

-1.60%

Wine (Bottle)

$9.95 MX$185

$13.83 MYR 56.4

-28.05%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.58 MX$29.52

$2.64 MYR 10.77

-40.15%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.67 MX$49.79

$3.02 MYR 12.30

-11.59%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.55 MX$10.31

$0.82 MYR 3.34

-32.93%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$26.62 MX$496

$12.44 MYR 50.7

113.99%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$4.97 MX$92.6

$0.95 MYR 3.86

423.16%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$3.33 MX$62.1

$0.35 MYR 1.44

851.43%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$5.36 MX$99.8

$8.86 MYR 36.10

-39.50%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.44 MX$26.92

$0.88 MYR 3.59

63.64%

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

$20.7K MX$385.2K

$43.6K MYR 177.6K

-52.59%

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

$23.5K MX$437.4K

$34.8K MYR 141.9K

-32.63%

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

$84.8 MX$1,581

$49.67 MYR 202

70.71%

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

$23.41 MX$436

$8.29 MYR 33.78

182.39%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$28.66 MX$534

$27.18 MYR 111

5.45%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$57.1 MX$1,063

$40.69 MYR 166

40.21%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$28.91 MX$539

$6.25 MYR 25.47

362.56%

Cinema Ticket

$5.14 MX$95.8

$4.85 MYR 19.75

5.98%

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

$207 MX$3,851

$238 MYR 968

-13.06%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$3,927 MX$73.2K

$4,440 MYR 18.1K

-11.55%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$43.35 MX$808

$53.3 MYR 217

-18.61%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$41.44 MX$772

$24.40 MYR 99.4

69.84%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$74.2 MX$1,383

$82.9 MYR 338

-10.44%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$89.3 MX$1,664

$87.0 MYR 354

2.61%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$980 MX$18.3K

$406 MYR 1,654

141.38%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$381 MX$7,099

$291 MYR 1,184

31.01%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,708 MX$31.8K

$713 MYR 2,906

139.48%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,075 MX$20.0K

$550 MYR 2,242

95.40%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,943 MX$73.5K

$1,993 MYR 8,122

97.79%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$6,158 MX$114.8K

$1,166 MYR 4,751

428.07%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$735 MX$13.7K

$650 MYR 2,647

13.07%

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 Kepong: October 26, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Playa del Carmen

$381 31.6%

Kepong

$291 32.4% 23.7% $90

Groceries & Markets

Playa del Carmen

$255 21.2%

Kepong

$227 25.3% 10.9% $28

Eating Out

Playa del Carmen

$202 16.8%

Kepong

$113 12.6% 44% $89

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Playa del Carmen

$137 11.4%

Kepong

$85 9.5% 37.8% $52

Clothing & Footwear

Playa del Carmen

$112 9.3%

Kepong

$111 12.4% 0.3% $0.3

Sport & Entertainment

Playa del Carmen

$67 5.6%

Kepong

$50 5.6% 25.1% $17

Getting Around

Playa del Carmen

$50 4.2%

Kepong

$18 2.1% 63.5% $32

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $980 in Playa del Carmen versus $406 in Kepong. 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 13% higher in Playa del Carmen, which partly offsets the higher cost of living there. Purchasing power depends on which expenses matter most to you.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $43 in Playa del Carmen versus $24 in Kepong. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $255 vs $227 – making Kepong the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇲🇽 Playa del Carmen

🇲🇾 Kepong

🕒 Local time

13:05 1:05 PM

02:05 2:05 AM

13 h ahead of Playa del Carmen

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

149,923

85,960

💱 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 Kepong 17,200 km ≈ 22 h nonstop flight

From you

Playa del Carmen
Kepong

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 Kepong: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Monthly costs with rent: $1,204 in Playa del Carmen, $896 in Kepong – roughly 34% apart. 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 $1,344 in Kepong. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

Rent is clearly cheaper in Kepong, especially for central apartments: a one-bedroom in the center costs $406 there versus $980 in Playa del Carmen.

Public transport costs about 53% less in Kepong. For daily commuters, that gap adds up to noticeable savings over a year.

Kindergarten costs $207 per month in Playa del Carmen and $238 in Kepong. For families with young kids, this one expense can tip the scales when choosing between the two cities.

A $1,200 monthly budget goes further in Kepong, where all-in costs run around $896, than in Playa del Carmen at $1,204. In Kepong 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 $896 in Kepong to $1,204 in Playa del Carmen. Climate, culture, job market, and personal taste all factor in.

If budget matters most, go with Kepong. 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.