Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Playa del Carmen and Kulim

For one person, living is cheaper in Kulim: $891 a month against $1,204 in Playa del Carmen, rent and utilities included – about $3,800 less a year. Rent and utilities account for about half of the difference.

58

Cost of Living Index in Playa del Carmen
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Playa del Carmen Living Index
45

Cost of Living Index in Kulim
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Kulim Living Index

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Playa del Carmen

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,204

/mo nomad

Kulim

🇲🇾 Malaysia

$891

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

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

A single person spends $1,204 per month in Playa del Carmen vs $891 in Kulim, rent included.

Playa del Carmen $1,204
Kulim $891

A couple spends around $2,082 per month in Playa del Carmen vs $1,374 in Kulim, rent included.

Playa del Carmen $2,082
Kulim $1,374

A family of three spends $2,959 per month in Playa del Carmen vs $1,857 in Kulim, rent included.

Playa del Carmen $2,959
Kulim $1,857

Playa del Carmen costs about 35% more than Kulim, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Both Playa del Carmen and Kulim are more affordable than the global median – Playa del Carmen 12% lower, Kulim 35% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$10.92 MX$204

$3.72 MYR 15.17

193.55%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$43.37 MX$808

$19.45 MYR 79.3

122.98%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.78 MX$220

$4.53 MYR 18.45

160.04%

Cappuccino

$3.81 MX$71.0

$2.89 MYR 11.76

31.83%

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

$1.28 MX$23.90

$0.78 MYR 3.19

64.10%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.78 MX$14.59

$0.42 MYR 1.70

85.71%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.17 MX$59.0

$3.90 MYR 15.90

-18.72%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.93 MX$92.0

$4.61 MYR 18.76

6.94%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.41 MX$26.22

$1.96 MYR 7.97

-28.06%

White Bread (500g)

$2.22 MX$41.33

$1.23 MYR 5.00

80.49%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.42 MX$26.42

$1.30 MYR 5.29

9.23%

Eggs

$2.52 MX$47.03

$2.23 MYR 9.07

13.00%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$7.26 MX$135

$12.68 MYR 51.7

-42.74%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$7.70 MX$143

$3.85 MYR 15.70

100.00%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$12.69 MX$237

$10.72 MYR 43.69

18.38%

Apples (1kg)

$2.78 MX$51.9

$3.05 MYR 12.42

-8.85%

Banana (1kg)

$1.37 MX$25.50

$1.89 MYR 7.68

-27.51%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.55 MX$47.55

$2.55 MYR 10.37

Tomato (1kg)

$2.12 MX$39.58

$1.44 MYR 5.88

47.22%

Potato (1kg)

$1.94 MX$36.13

$1.19 MYR 4.83

63.03%

Onion (1kg)

$1.89 MX$35.16

$1.36 MYR 5.54

38.97%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.15 MX$21.37

$1.08 MYR 4.41

6.48%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.18 MX$21.98

$0.53 MYR 2.15

122.64%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.30 MX$80.1

$4.47 MYR 18.22

-3.80%

Wine (Bottle)

$9.95 MX$185

$21.05 MYR 85.8

-52.73%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.58 MX$29.52

$3.07 MYR 12.49

-48.53%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.67 MX$49.79

$3.90 MYR 15.90

-31.54%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.55 MX$10.31

$0.75 MYR 3.06

-26.67%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$26.62 MX$496

$12.64 MYR 51.5

110.60%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$4.97 MX$92.6

$1.04 MYR 4.23

377.88%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$3.33 MX$62.1

$0.56 MYR 2.28

494.64%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$5.36 MX$99.8

$8.26 MYR 33.64

-35.11%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.44 MX$26.92

$0.74 MYR 3.00

94.59%

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

$20.7K MX$385.2K

$48.9K MYR 199.1K

-57.72%

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

$23.5K MX$437.4K

$30.9K MYR 125.9K

-24.09%

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

$84.8 MX$1,581

$45.19 MYR 184

87.63%

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

$23.41 MX$436

$8.70 MYR 35.44

169.08%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$28.66 MX$534

$25.83 MYR 105

10.96%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$57.1 MX$1,063

$36.10 MYR 147

58.03%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$28.91 MX$539

$7.37 MYR 30.04

292.27%

Cinema Ticket

$5.14 MX$95.8

$4.46 MYR 18.16

15.25%

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

$207 MX$3,851

$268 MYR 1,091

-22.82%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$3,927 MX$73.2K

$7,096 MYR 28.9K

-44.66%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$43.35 MX$808

$62.2 MYR 253

-30.26%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$41.44 MX$772

$30.78 MYR 125

34.63%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$74.2 MX$1,383

$77.2 MYR 314

-3.86%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$89.3 MX$1,664

$70.8 MYR 289

25.99%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$980 MX$18.3K

$419 MYR 1,707

133.77%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$381 MX$7,099

$265 MYR 1,079

43.81%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,708 MX$31.8K

$763 MYR 3,110

123.77%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,075 MX$20.0K

$497 MYR 2,026

116.24%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,943 MX$73.5K

$2,141 MYR 8,723

84.18%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$6,158 MX$114.8K

$1,272 MYR 5,184

383.94%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$735 MX$13.7K

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 Kulim: October 26, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Playa del Carmen

$381 31.6%

Kulim

$265 29.7% 30.5% $116

Groceries & Markets

Playa del Carmen

$255 21.2%

Kulim

$262 29.4% 2.7% $6.8

Eating Out

Playa del Carmen

$202 16.8%

Kulim

$112 12.5% 44.9% $91

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Playa del Carmen

$137 11.4%

Kulim

$80 9% 41.7% $57

Clothing & Footwear

Playa del Carmen

$112 9.3%

Kulim

$108 12.2% 2.9% $3.3

Sport & Entertainment

Playa del Carmen

$67 5.6%

Kulim

$45 5.1% 33.1% $22

Getting Around

Playa del Carmen

$50 4.2%

Kulim

$19 2.2% 61.4% $31

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $980 in Playa del Carmen versus $419 in Kulim. Rent is usually the largest line item in a monthly budget, so the gap here sets the tone for the overall comparison.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $43 in Playa del Carmen versus $19 in Kulim. Groceries tell a different story – $255 in Playa del Carmen vs $262 in Kulim – so Playa del Carmen wins on supermarket bills even if dining out costs more.

Good to know

🇲🇽 Playa del Carmen

🇲🇾 Kulim

🕒 Local time

07:10 7:10 AM

20:10 8:10 PM

13 h ahead of Playa del Carmen

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

149,923

319,056

💱 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 = 0.221 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 = 4.53 MYR (1 MYR = 0.221 EUR).

USD to MXN in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Playa del Carmen Kulim 17,010 km ≈ 22 h nonstop flight

From you

Playa del Carmen
Kulim

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 Kulim: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Playa del Carmen costs about 35% more than Kulim, 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 $1,806 per month in Playa del Carmen and $1,336 in Kulim. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

Rent is clearly cheaper in Kulim, especially for central apartments: a one-bedroom in the center costs $419 there versus $980 in Playa del Carmen.

Interestingly, groceries are about 3% cheaper in Playa del Carmen – one category where the pricier city actually offers better value, probably thanks to stronger retail competition or local farming.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $43 in Playa del Carmen and $19 in Kulim. That’s a good indicator of the overall restaurant and café pricing gap between the two cities.

$800 is a stretch for both – monthly costs hit $1,204 in Playa del Carmen and $891 in Kulim. You’ll need shared housing and careful budgeting no matter which city you pick.

It depends on your priorities. Playa del Carmen has an edge in some lifestyle areas, with costs from $891 in Kulim to $1,204 in Playa del Carmen. Climate, culture, job market, and personal taste all factor in.