Cost of Living Comparison Between Playa del Carmen and Kota Kinabalu Cost of Living Comparison Between Playa del Carmen and Kota Kinabalu

😐 Solo nomad: Playa del Carmen is 49.6% more expensive than Kota Kinabalu without rent, and 47.1% more expensive with rent.

🙂 Family of 3: Playa del Carmen is 4% cheaper than Kota Kinabalu without rent, and 64.6% more expensive with rent.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$11.99 MX$227

$3.47 MYR 14.62

245.53%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$42.47 MX$803

$19.14 MYR 80.7

121.89%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$10.47 MX$198

$4.79 MYR 20.2

118.58%

Cappuccino

$3.6 MX$68.2

$2.64 MYR 11.14

36.36%

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

$1.44 MX$27.16

$0.64 MYR 2.72

125.00%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.89 MX$16.79

$0.37 MYR 1.56

140.54%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.09 MX$58.5

$2.3 MYR 9.71

34.35%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.58 MX$86.6

$3.45 MYR 14.55

32.75%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.38 MX$26.04

$1.73 MYR 7.29

-20.23%

White Bread (500g)

$1.85 MX$34.9

$1.18 MYR 5

56.78%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.57 MX$29.68

$1.73 MYR 7.28

-9.25%

Eggs

$2.55 MX$48.3

$2.89 MYR 12.18

-11.76%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$8.61 MX$163

$26.25 MYR 111

-67.20%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$8.54 MX$161

$3.51 MYR 14.82

143.30%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$10.98 MX$208

$7.11 MYR 29.99

54.43%

Apples (1kg)

$2.72 MX$51.4

$2.55 MYR 10.75

6.67%

Banana (1kg)

$1.51 MX$28.57

$1.14 MYR 4.79

32.46%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.88 MX$35.63

$3.3 MYR 13.91

-43.03%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.19 MX$41.42

$2.01 MYR 8.5

8.96%

Potato (1kg)

$1.87 MX$35.3

$1.47 MYR 6.18

27.21%

Onion (1kg)

$2.19 MX$41.37

$1.77 MYR 7.45

23.73%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.07 MX$20.23

$1.11 MYR 4.7

-3.60%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.09 MX$20.64

$0.47 MYR 1.98

131.91%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$3.96 MX$74.9

$4.04 MYR 17.04

-1.98%

Wine (Bottle)

$8.86 MX$167

$18.72 MYR 79

-52.67%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.72 MX$32.53

$1.84 MYR 7.77

-6.52%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.61 MX$49.37

$1.61 MYR 6.78

62.11%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.52 MX$9.74

$1.49 MYR 6.27

-65.10%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$26.59 MX$503

$40.22 MYR 170

-33.89%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.24 MX$61.2

$1.92 MYR 8.09

68.75%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$2.38 MX$44.94

$0.43 MYR 1.82

453.49%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$3.11 MX$58.7

$5.79 MYR 24.43

-46.29%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.31 MX$24.85

$0.46 MYR 1.93

184.78%

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

$30.3K MX$573K

$29.6K MYR 124.7K

2.48%

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

$24K MX$453.6K

$27.7K MYR 116.9K

-13.43%

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

$84.2 MX$1,592

$51.2 MYR 216

64.63%

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

$22.14 MX$419

$8.97 MYR 37.84

146.82%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$30.14 MX$570

$33.43 MYR 141

-9.84%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$52 MX$983

$43.94 MYR 185

18.30%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$18.72 MX$354

$2.98 MYR 12.57

528.19%

Cinema Ticket

$5.07 MX$95.9

$4.58 MYR 19.33

10.70%

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

$200 MX$3,787

$129 MYR 544

55.15%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$5,333 MX$100.8K

$4,457 MYR 18.8K

19.65%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$35.74 MX$676

$60.6 MYR 255

-41.00%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$39.8 MX$753

$22.48 MYR 94.8

77.05%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$79 MX$1,493

$71.1 MYR 300

11.10%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$88.4 MX$1,671

$94 MYR 396

-6.00%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$965 MX$18.3K

$379 MYR 1,598

154.73%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$474 MX$8,968

$168 MYR 709

182.21%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,653 MX$31.2K

$648 MYR 2,735

154.87%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,202 MX$22.7K

$366 MYR 1,544

228.24%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,081 MX$58.3K

$1,364 MYR 5,754

125.83%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$7,529 MX$142.3K

$1,139 MYR 4,804

560.96%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$792 MX$15K

$551 MYR 2,325

43.59%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

11.42

3.8

200.53%

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

Last update for Playa del Carmen: October 28, 2025

Last update for Kota Kinabalu: October 27, 2025

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