Last update: Nov 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Playa del Carmen and Kuala Terengganu

For one person, living is cheaper in Kuala Terengganu: $918 a month against $1,202 in Playa del Carmen, rent and utilities included – about $3,400 less a year. Other living expenses account for most of the difference.

57

Cost of Living Index in Playa del Carmen
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Playa del Carmen Living Index
44

Cost of Living Index in Kuala Terengganu
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Kuala Terengganu Living Index

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Playa del Carmen

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,202

/mo nomad

Kuala Terengganu

🇲🇾 Malaysia

$918

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Playa del Carmen and in Kuala Terengganu

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,202 in Playa del Carmen versus $918 in Kuala Terengganu.

Playa del Carmen $1,202
Kuala Terengganu $918

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,082 in Playa del Carmen versus $1,412 in Kuala Terengganu.

Playa del Carmen $2,082
Kuala Terengganu $1,412

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $2,962 in Playa del Carmen versus $1,907 in Kuala Terengganu.

Playa del Carmen $2,962
Kuala Terengganu $1,907

Living in Playa del Carmen is roughly 31% more expensive than in Kuala Terengganu, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Both cities sit below the global median: Playa del Carmen 11% lower, Kuala Terengganu 32% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$10.67 MX$200

$2.51 MYR 10.14

325.10%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$43.80 MX$823

$23.19 MYR 93.8

88.87%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.79 MX$221

$4.79 MYR 19.35

146.14%

Cappuccino

$3.79 MX$71.1

$2.72 MYR 11.01

39.34%

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

$1.30 MX$24.36

$0.49 MYR 1.99

165.31%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.83 MX$15.65

$0.28 MYR 1.14

196.43%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.15 MX$59.1

$3.98 MYR 16.09

-20.85%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.93 MX$92.7

$4.59 MYR 18.56

7.41%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.41 MX$26.46

$1.71 MYR 6.92

-17.54%

White Bread (500g)

$2.20 MX$41.23

$1.08 MYR 4.38

103.70%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.47 MX$27.66

$1.47 MYR 5.95

Eggs

$2.50 MX$46.89

$2.15 MYR 8.68

16.28%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$7.29 MX$137

$13.52 MYR 54.7

-46.08%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$7.95 MX$149

$4.49 MYR 18.16

77.06%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$12.86 MX$242

$9.94 MYR 40.21

29.38%

Apples (1kg)

$2.90 MX$54.4

$3.29 MYR 13.29

-11.85%

Banana (1kg)

$1.38 MX$25.98

$1.66 MYR 6.71

-16.87%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.49 MX$46.78

$2.42 MYR 9.80

2.89%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.03 MX$38.12

$1.51 MYR 6.12

34.44%

Potato (1kg)

$2.02 MX$38.03

$1.27 MYR 5.13

59.06%

Onion (1kg)

$1.90 MX$35.74

$1.38 MYR 5.56

37.68%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.14 MX$21.49

$1.12 MYR 4.51

1.79%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.24 MX$23.27

$0.55 MYR 2.23

125.45%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.27 MX$80.2

$4.43 MYR 17.91

-3.61%

Wine (Bottle)

$9.81 MX$184

$18.83 MYR 76.2

-47.90%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.59 MX$29.78

$3.00 MYR 12.11

-47.00%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.75 MX$51.6

$4.44 MYR 17.94

-38.06%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.51 MX$9.67

$0.72 MYR 2.90

-29.17%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$27.39 MX$514

$12.03 MYR 48.65

127.68%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$4.76 MX$89.4

$1.19 MYR 4.80

300.00%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$3.25 MX$61.0

$0.56 MYR 2.28

480.36%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$5.39 MX$101

$7.41 MYR 29.98

-27.26%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.53 MX$28.70

$0.79 MYR 3.18

93.67%

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

$21.2K MX$398.4K

$44.8K MYR 181.0K

-52.61%

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

$23.3K MX$436.9K

$35.3K MYR 142.6K

-34.02%

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

$83.5 MX$1,568

$49.59 MYR 201

68.36%

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

$23.19 MX$435

$9.83 MYR 39.75

135.91%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$27.61 MX$519

$28.33 MYR 115

-2.54%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$56.4 MX$1,060

$37.05 MYR 150

52.31%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$28.19 MX$529

$6.47 MYR 26.16

335.70%

Cinema Ticket

$5.00 MX$93.9

$4.78 MYR 19.33

4.60%

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

$207 MX$3,889

$235 MYR 952

-12.02%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$5,231 MX$98.2K

$6,971 MYR 28.2K

-24.96%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$43.45 MX$816

$56.7 MYR 229

-23.33%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$42.54 MX$799

$34.64 MYR 140

22.81%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$72.8 MX$1,367

$79.9 MYR 323

-8.90%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$88.4 MX$1,660

$75.4 MYR 305

17.28%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$995 MX$18.7K

$407 MYR 1,646

144.48%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$382 MX$7,181

$296 MYR 1,198

29.11%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,674 MX$31.4K

$716 MYR 2,896

133.81%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,081 MX$20.3K

$545 MYR 2,205

98.16%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,909 MX$73.4K

$2,017 MYR 8,156

93.80%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$6,138 MX$115.3K

$1,175 MYR 4,753

422.20%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$832 MX$15.6K

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: November 2, 2026

Last update for Kuala Terengganu: November 3, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Playa del Carmen

$382 31.8%

Kuala Terengganu

$296 32.3% 22.5% $86

Groceries & Markets

Playa del Carmen

$257 21.4%

Kuala Terengganu

$258 28.1% 0.2% $0.6

Eating Out

Playa del Carmen

$200 16.7%

Kuala Terengganu

$99 10.8% 50.4% $101

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Playa del Carmen

$134 11.2%

Kuala Terengganu

$88 9.6% 34.7% $47

Clothing & Footwear

Playa del Carmen

$111 9.3%

Kuala Terengganu

$111 12.1% 0.2% $0.3

Sport & Entertainment

Playa del Carmen

$66 5.5%

Kuala Terengganu

$47 5.1% 29.8% $20

Getting Around

Playa del Carmen

$50 4.2%

Kuala Terengganu

$19 2.1% 62.5% $32

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $995 in Playa del Carmen and $407 in Kuala Terengganu. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Dining out: $44 in Playa del Carmen vs $23 in Kuala Terengganu. Groceries flip the comparison at $257 vs $258, with Playa del Carmen cheaper for home cooking.

Good to know

🇲🇽 Playa del Carmen

🇲🇾 Kuala Terengganu

🕒 Local time

23:47 11:47 PM

12:47 12:47 PM

13 h ahead of Playa del Carmen

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

149,923

375,424

💱 Currency

Mexican Peso MXN $

Malaysian Ringgit MYR RM

📈 Exchange rate

100 MXN = 5.32 USD

100 MXN = 4.74 EUR

1 MYR = 0.247 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 6, 2026: 1 USD = 18.78 MXN (100 MXN = 5.32 USD). 1 EUR = 21.08 MXN (100 MXN = 4.74 EUR).

Malaysian Ringgit exchange rates as of November 6, 2026: 1 USD = 4.04 MYR (1 MYR = 0.247 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 Kuala Terengganu 16,920 km ≈ 22 h nonstop flight

From you

Playa del Carmen
Kuala Terengganu

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 Kuala Terengganu: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Total monthly costs including rent come to $1,202 in Playa del Carmen and $918 in Kuala Terengganu, so Kuala Terengganu is about 24% cheaper – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

You’d need roughly $1,804 in Playa del Carmen and $1,377 in Kuala Terengganu to live well. The gap comes down to housing and overall price levels. Both cities are liveable on less, but these numbers represent actual comfort.

Rent for a central apartment: $995 in Playa del Carmen versus $407 in Kuala Terengganu. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

A monthly transit pass in Kuala Terengganu runs roughly 56% less than in Playa del Carmen. The price difference matters if you commute daily and watch your budget.

All in, you’ll spend $1,202 per month in Playa del Carmen versus $918 in Kuala Terengganu – Kuala Terengganu is about 24% cheaper, which adds up to real savings over time.

At $918 in Kuala Terengganu versus $1,202 in Playa del Carmen, a $1,200 budget is realistic in Kuala Terengganu but tight or insufficient in Playa del Carmen. The gap between the two cities makes Kuala Terengganu the clear choice for anyone on this budget.

Both cities offer a good standard of living with different trade-offs. Neither is objectively better – the right pick depends on what matters most: affordability, career, cultural scene, or climate.