Last update: Nov 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Playa del Carmen and Kota Bharu

For one person, living is cheaper in Kota Bharu: $694 a month against $1,202 in Playa del Carmen, rent and utilities included – about $6,100 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

57

Cost of Living Index in Playa del Carmen
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Playa del Carmen Living Index
33

Cost of Living Index in Kota Bharu
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Kota Bharu Living Index

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Playa del Carmen

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,202

/mo nomad

Kota Bharu

🇲🇾 Malaysia

$694

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Playa del Carmen and in Kota Bharu

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

A single person spends $1,202 per month in Playa del Carmen vs $694 in Kota Bharu, rent included.

Playa del Carmen $1,202
Kota Bharu $694

A couple spends around $2,082 per month in Playa del Carmen vs $1,075 in Kota Bharu, rent included.

Playa del Carmen $2,082
Kota Bharu $1,075

A family of three spends $2,962 per month in Playa del Carmen vs $1,455 in Kota Bharu, rent included.

Playa del Carmen $2,962
Kota Bharu $1,455

Playa del Carmen costs about 73% more than Kota Bharu, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Both Playa del Carmen and Kota Bharu are more affordable than the global median – Playa del Carmen 11% lower, Kota Bharu 49% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$10.67 MX$201

$2.24 MYR 9.12

376.34%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$43.80 MX$824

$19.43 MYR 79.2

125.42%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.79 MX$222

$4.79 MYR 19.51

146.14%

Cappuccino

$3.79 MX$71.2

$2.18 MYR 8.87

73.85%

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

$1.30 MX$24.41

$0.47 MYR 1.93

176.60%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.83 MX$15.69

$0.26 MYR 1.05

219.23%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.15 MX$59.2

$4.27 MYR 17.40

-26.23%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.93 MX$92.9

$4.34 MYR 17.68

13.59%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.41 MX$26.51

$1.57 MYR 6.38

-10.19%

White Bread (500g)

$2.20 MX$41.32

$0.90 MYR 3.67

144.44%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.47 MX$27.71

$0.78 MYR 3.18

88.46%

Eggs

$2.50 MX$46.99

$1.60 MYR 6.51

56.25%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$7.29 MX$137

$13.48 MYR 55.0

-45.92%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$7.95 MX$150

$3.06 MYR 12.49

159.80%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$12.86 MX$242

$6.52 MYR 26.57

97.24%

Apples (1kg)

$2.90 MX$54.5

$3.07 MYR 12.52

-5.54%

Banana (1kg)

$1.38 MX$26.03

$1.45 MYR 5.89

-4.83%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.49 MX$46.88

$2.76 MYR 11.25

-9.78%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.03 MX$38.20

$1.12 MYR 4.58

81.25%

Potato (1kg)

$2.02 MX$38.11

$0.95 MYR 3.86

112.63%

Onion (1kg)

$1.90 MX$35.82

$1.10 MYR 4.46

72.73%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.14 MX$21.54

$1.10 MYR 4.48

3.64%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.24 MX$23.32

$0.45 MYR 1.83

175.56%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.27 MX$80.4

$3.35 MYR 13.66

27.46%

Wine (Bottle)

$9.81 MX$185

$19.31 MYR 78.7

-49.20%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.59 MX$29.85

$2.93 MYR 11.93

-45.73%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.75 MX$51.7

$5.45 MYR 22.19

-49.54%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.51 MX$9.69

$0.76 MYR 3.11

-32.89%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$27.39 MX$515

$12.22 MYR 49.79

124.14%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$4.76 MX$89.6

$1.77 MYR 7.20

168.93%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$3.25 MX$61.1

$0.41 MYR 1.65

692.68%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$5.39 MX$101

$3.75 MYR 15.29

43.73%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.53 MX$28.76

$0.48 MYR 1.96

218.75%

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

$21.2K MX$399.2K

$31.4K MYR 128.1K

-32.53%

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

$23.3K MX$437.8K

$29.5K MYR 120.3K

-21.21%

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

$83.5 MX$1,571

$37.70 MYR 154

121.46%

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

$23.19 MX$436

$8.53 MYR 34.74

171.86%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$27.61 MX$520

$26.29 MYR 107

5.02%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$56.4 MX$1,062

$48.85 MYR 199

15.52%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$28.19 MX$531

Cinema Ticket

$5.00 MX$94.1

$4.44 MYR 18.11

12.61%

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

$207 MX$3,897

$122 MYR 497

69.90%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$5,231 MX$98.4K

$11.6K MYR 47.3K

-54.92%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$43.45 MX$818

$54.7 MYR 223

-20.51%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$42.54 MX$801

$19.81 MYR 80.7

114.74%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$72.8 MX$1,369

$80.7 MYR 329

-9.79%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$88.4 MX$1,663

$69.8 MYR 284

26.67%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$995 MX$18.7K

$247 MYR 1,007

302.68%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$382 MX$7,197

$123 MYR 502

210.41%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,674 MX$31.5K

$676 MYR 2,753

147.86%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,081 MX$20.3K

$224 MYR 913

382.21%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,909 MX$73.6K

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$6,138 MX$115.5K

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$832 MX$15.7K

$296 MYR 1,205

181.52%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

11.45

4.24

170.05%

CityCost data is based on AI and user input – minor inaccuracies may occur.

Last update for Playa del Carmen: November 2, 2026

Last update for Kota Bharu: November 2, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Playa del Carmen

$382 31.8%

Kota Bharu

$123 17.7% 67.8% $259

Groceries & Markets

Playa del Carmen

$257 21.4%

Kota Bharu

$229 33% 11% $28

Eating Out

Playa del Carmen

$200 16.7%

Kota Bharu

$91 13.2% 54.4% $109

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Playa del Carmen

$134 11.2%

Kota Bharu

$73 10.5% 46% $62

Clothing & Footwear

Playa del Carmen

$111 9.3%

Kota Bharu

$101 14.6% 9% $10

Sport & Entertainment

Playa del Carmen

$66 5.5%

Kota Bharu

$58 8.3% 13.1% $8.7

Getting Around

Playa del Carmen

$50 4.2%

Kota Bharu

$19 2.8% 62.2% $31

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $995 in Playa del Carmen versus $247 in Kota Bharu. Rent is usually the largest line item in a monthly budget, so the gap here sets the tone for the overall comparison.

Salaries in Playa del Carmen are about 2.8 times higher. Purchasing power depends on which expenses matter most to you.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $44 in Playa del Carmen versus $19 in Kota Bharu. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $257 vs $229 – making Kota Bharu the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇲🇽 Playa del Carmen

🇲🇾 Kota Bharu

🕒 Local time

04:37 4:37 AM

17:37 5:37 PM

13 h ahead of Playa del Carmen

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

149,923

568,900

💱 Currency

Mexican Peso MXN $

Malaysian Ringgit MYR RM

📈 Exchange rate

100 MXN = 5.31 USD

100 MXN = 4.74 EUR

1 MYR = 0.245 USD

1 MYR = 0.219 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 4, 2026: 1 USD = 18.82 MXN (100 MXN = 5.31 USD). 1 EUR = 21.1 MXN (100 MXN = 4.74 EUR).

Malaysian Ringgit exchange rates as of November 4, 2026: 1 USD = 4.07 MYR (1 MYR = 0.245 USD). 1 EUR = 4.57 MYR (1 MYR = 0.219 EUR).

USD to MXN in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Playa del Carmen Kota Bharu 16,870 km ≈ 22 h nonstop flight

From you

Playa del Carmen
Kota Bharu

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 Kota Bharu: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Playa del Carmen costs about 73% more than Kota Bharu, and outside of rent the gap comes mainly from eating out. That’s enough to noticeably affect everyday spending and lifestyle for anyone choosing between the two.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $1,804 per month in Playa del Carmen and $1,041 in Kota Bharu. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

Rent is clearly cheaper in Kota Bharu, especially for central apartments: a one-bedroom in the center costs $247 there versus $995 in Playa del Carmen.

Public transport costs about 55% less in Kota Bharu. For daily commuters, that gap adds up to noticeable savings over a year.

Kindergarten costs $207 per month in Playa del Carmen and $122 in Kota Bharu. For families with young kids, this one expense can tip the scales when choosing between the two cities.

A $800 monthly budget goes further in Kota Bharu, where all-in costs run around $694, than in Playa del Carmen at $1,202. In Kota Bharu it covers expenses comfortably, while in Playa del Carmen it requires careful planning or may not stretch far enough.

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

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