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 42.8% more expensive than Kota Kinabalu without rent, and 46% more expensive with rent.

🙂 Family of 3: Playa del Carmen is 0.3% cheaper than Kota Kinabalu without rent, and 70.3% more expensive with rent.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$11.88 MX$210

$3.55 MYR 14.42

234.65%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$41.90 MX$740

$18.72 MYR 76.0

123.82%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$10.55 MX$186

$4.62 MYR 18.78

128.35%

Cappuccino

$3.60 MX$63.5

$2.60 MYR 10.55

38.46%

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

$1.50 MX$26.45

$0.64 MYR 2.58

134.38%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.91 MX$16.09

$0.40 MYR 1.61

127.50%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.08 MX$54.4

$2.40 MYR 9.72

28.33%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.47 MX$78.8

$3.44 MYR 13.95

29.94%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.39 MX$24.54

$1.69 MYR 6.85

-17.75%

White Bread (500g)

$1.90 MX$33.47

$1.20 MYR 4.87

58.33%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.60 MX$28.27

$1.68 MYR 6.83

-4.76%

Eggs

$2.60 MX$45.97

$2.92 MYR 11.84

-10.96%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$8.36 MX$148

$26.22 MYR 106

-68.12%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$8.64 MX$152

$3.57 MYR 14.51

142.02%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$10.91 MX$192

$7.21 MYR 29.29

51.32%

Apples (1kg)

$2.61 MX$45.98

$2.53 MYR 10.26

3.16%

Banana (1kg)

$1.44 MX$25.46

$1.16 MYR 4.72

24.14%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.96 MX$34.55

$3.16 MYR 12.81

-37.97%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.12 MX$37.34

$2.02 MYR 8.19

4.95%

Potato (1kg)

$1.86 MX$32.87

$1.51 MYR 6.12

23.18%

Onion (1kg)

$2.22 MX$39.20

$1.72 MYR 6.97

29.07%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.02 MX$17.99

$1.07 MYR 4.35

-4.67%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.04 MX$18.36

$0.48 MYR 1.93

116.67%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.05 MX$71.5

$4.10 MYR 16.66

-1.22%

Wine (Bottle)

$10.18 MX$180

$19.44 MYR 78.9

-47.63%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.69 MX$29.79

$1.86 MYR 7.56

-9.14%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.62 MX$46.25

$1.62 MYR 6.59

61.73%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.51 MX$9.09

$1.57 MYR 6.39

-67.52%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$26.52 MX$468

$40.90 MYR 166

-35.16%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.15 MX$55.7

$1.86 MYR 7.54

69.35%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$2.46 MX$43.49

$0.44 MYR 1.78

459.09%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$3.26 MX$57.5

$5.78 MYR 23.48

-43.60%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.32 MX$23.36

$0.47 MYR 1.89

180.85%

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

$30.1K MX$531.0K

$29.6K MYR 120.3K

1.54%

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

$23.8K MX$419.3K

$27.3K MYR 110.8K

-12.93%

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

$83.5 MX$1,474

$52.5 MYR 213

59.10%

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

$22.86 MX$404

$9.04 MYR 36.70

152.88%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$30.04 MX$530

$33.02 MYR 134

-9.02%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$51.9 MX$916

$42.82 MYR 174

21.21%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$18.30 MX$323

$2.99 MYR 12.14

512.04%

Cinema Ticket

$5.12 MX$90.4

$4.78 MYR 19.42

7.11%

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

$201 MX$3,541

$129 MYR 522

55.95%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$5,318 MX$93.9K

$4,463 MYR 18.1K

19.17%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$35.73 MX$631

$59.7 MYR 242

-40.10%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$40.27 MX$711

$22.57 MYR 91.6

78.42%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$79.2 MX$1,398

$71.7 MYR 291

10.43%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$89.3 MX$1,576

$94.7 MYR 385

-5.76%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$947 MX$16.7K

$376 MYR 1,526

151.86%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$483 MX$8,525

$165 MYR 669

193.29%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,599 MX$28.2K

$653 MYR 2,653

144.69%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,211 MX$21.4K

$372 MYR 1,509

225.78%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,996 MX$70.5K

$1,848 MYR 7,502

116.27%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$6,402 MX$113.0K

$1,092 MYR 4,434

486.25%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$730 MX$12.9K

$580 MYR 2,356

25.74%

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: January 13, 2026

Last update for Kota Kinabalu: January 11, 2026

City Median Internet Speeds Comparison (Updated December 2025)

The chart highlights the Precision Threshold for mobile and fixed broadband internet speeds, updated quarterly.

Digital Nomad Cost of Living Index

Similar cities

Phuket

🇹🇭 Thailand

Cape Town

🇿🇦 South Africa

Bucharest

🇷🇴 Romania

Bali

🇮🇩 Indonesia

Kuta, Bali

🇮🇩 Indonesia

Ankara

🇹🇷 Turkey

Izmir

🇹🇷 Turkey

Chisinau

🇲🇩 Moldova