Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Playa del Carmen and Petaling Jaya

For one person, living is cheaper in Petaling Jaya: $1,056 a month against $1,204 in Playa del Carmen, rent and utilities included – about $1,800 less a year. The total is higher in Playa del Carmen despite lower rent and utilities.

58

Cost of Living Index in Playa del Carmen
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Playa del Carmen Living Index
50

Cost of Living Index in Petaling Jaya
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Petaling Jaya Living Index

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Playa del Carmen

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,204

/mo nomad

Petaling Jaya

🇲🇾 Malaysia

$1,056

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Playa del Carmen and in Petaling Jaya

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

A single person spends $1,204 per month in Playa del Carmen vs $1,056 in Petaling Jaya, rent included.

Playa del Carmen $1,204
Petaling Jaya $1,056

A couple spends around $2,082 per month in Playa del Carmen vs $1,569 in Petaling Jaya, rent included.

Playa del Carmen $2,082
Petaling Jaya $1,569

A family of three spends $2,959 per month in Playa del Carmen vs $2,082 in Petaling Jaya, rent included.

Playa del Carmen $2,959
Petaling Jaya $2,082

Playa del Carmen costs about 14% more than Petaling Jaya, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Both Playa del Carmen and Petaling Jaya are more affordable than the global median – Playa del Carmen 12% lower, Petaling Jaya 22% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$10.92 MX$204

$3.57 MYR 14.54

205.88%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$43.37 MX$808

$24.39 MYR 99.4

77.82%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.78 MX$220

$4.85 MYR 19.75

142.89%

Cappuccino

$3.81 MX$71.0

$3.08 MYR 12.53

23.70%

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

$1.28 MX$23.90

$0.85 MYR 3.46

50.59%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.78 MX$14.59

$0.41 MYR 1.67

90.24%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.17 MX$59.0

$3.28 MYR 13.38

-3.35%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.93 MX$92.0

$5.69 MYR 23.19

-13.36%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.41 MX$26.22

$1.93 MYR 7.87

-26.94%

White Bread (500g)

$2.22 MX$41.33

$1.03 MYR 4.21

115.53%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.42 MX$26.42

$1.44 MYR 5.87

-1.39%

Eggs

$2.52 MX$47.03

$1.77 MYR 7.21

42.37%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$7.26 MX$135

$9.71 MYR 39.56

-25.23%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$7.70 MX$143

$3.28 MYR 13.36

134.76%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$12.69 MX$237

$9.73 MYR 39.65

30.42%

Apples (1kg)

$2.78 MX$51.9

$3.51 MYR 14.29

-20.80%

Banana (1kg)

$1.37 MX$25.50

$1.86 MYR 7.57

-26.34%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.55 MX$47.55

$2.73 MYR 11.13

-6.59%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.12 MX$39.58

$1.83 MYR 7.44

15.85%

Potato (1kg)

$1.94 MX$36.13

$2.15 MYR 8.75

-9.77%

Onion (1kg)

$1.89 MX$35.16

$2.02 MYR 8.23

-6.44%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.15 MX$21.37

$1.45 MYR 5.90

-20.69%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.18 MX$21.98

$0.52 MYR 2.14

126.92%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.30 MX$80.1

$4.56 MYR 18.59

-5.70%

Wine (Bottle)

$9.95 MX$185

$19.38 MYR 79.0

-48.66%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.58 MX$29.52

$2.64 MYR 10.75

-40.15%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.67 MX$49.79

$4.48 MYR 18.24

-40.40%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.55 MX$10.31

$1.25 MYR 5.10

-56.00%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$26.62 MX$496

$12.45 MYR 50.7

113.82%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$4.97 MX$92.6

$1.19 MYR 4.85

317.65%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$3.33 MX$62.1

$0.35 MYR 1.44

851.43%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$5.36 MX$99.8

$8.75 MYR 35.65

-38.74%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.44 MX$26.92

$0.87 MYR 3.55

65.52%

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

$20.7K MX$385.2K

$45.9K MYR 186.9K

-54.95%

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

$23.5K MX$437.4K

$35.3K MYR 143.9K

-33.57%

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

$84.8 MX$1,581

$49.61 MYR 202

70.91%

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

$23.41 MX$436

$8.18 MYR 33.33

186.19%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$28.66 MX$534

$27.36 MYR 111

4.75%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$57.1 MX$1,063

$40.42 MYR 165

41.14%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$28.91 MX$539

$3.03 MYR 12.34

854.13%

Cinema Ticket

$5.14 MX$95.8

$5.00 MYR 20.38

2.80%

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

$207 MX$3,851

$273 MYR 1,112

-24.28%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$3,927 MX$73.2K

$10.5K MYR 42.9K

-62.66%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$43.35 MX$808

$51.6 MYR 210

-16.00%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$41.44 MX$772

$29.45 MYR 120

40.71%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$74.2 MX$1,383

$78.0 MYR 318

-4.90%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$89.3 MX$1,664

$87.2 MYR 355

2.37%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$980 MX$18.3K

$511 MYR 2,084

91.53%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$381 MX$7,099

$426 MYR 1,738

-10.70%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,708 MX$31.8K

$961 MYR 3,914

77.81%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,075 MX$20.0K

$699 MYR 2,849

53.76%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,943 MX$73.5K

$3,144 MYR 12.8K

25.40%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$6,158 MX$114.8K

$976 MYR 3,978

530.66%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$735 MX$13.7K

$1,746 MYR 7,115

-57.94%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

11.45

4.51

153.88%

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 Petaling Jaya: October 25, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Playa del Carmen

$381 31.6%

Petaling Jaya

$426 40.4% 12% $46

Groceries & Markets

Playa del Carmen

$255 21.2%

Petaling Jaya

$249 23.6% 2.1% $5.4

Eating Out

Playa del Carmen

$202 16.8%

Petaling Jaya

$113 10.7% 44.2% $90

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Playa del Carmen

$137 11.4%

Petaling Jaya

$85 8.1% 37.8% $52

Clothing & Footwear

Playa del Carmen

$112 9.3%

Petaling Jaya

$111 10.5% 0.8% $0.9

Sport & Entertainment

Playa del Carmen

$67 5.6%

Petaling Jaya

$50 4.8% 25.1% $17

Getting Around

Playa del Carmen

$50 4.2%

Petaling Jaya

$20 1.9% 59.5% $30

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $980 in Playa del Carmen versus $511 in Petaling Jaya. Rent is usually the largest line item in a monthly budget, so the gap here sets the tone for the overall comparison.

Salaries in Petaling Jaya are about 2.4 times higher, which reinforces the cost advantage – you earn more and spend less. Purchasing power leans clearly in its favor.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $43 in Playa del Carmen versus $24 in Petaling Jaya. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $255 vs $249 – making Petaling Jaya the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇲🇽 Playa del Carmen

🇲🇾 Petaling Jaya

🕒 Local time

16:23 4:23 PM

05:23 5:23 AM

13 h ahead of Playa del Carmen

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

149,923

771,687

💱 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 = 0.22 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 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 = 4.54 MYR (1 MYR = 0.22 EUR).

USD to MXN in detail →

On the map

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Highest

Between locations

Playa del Carmen Petaling Jaya 17,210 km ≈ 22 h nonstop flight

From you

Playa del Carmen
Petaling Jaya

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 Petaling Jaya: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Playa del Carmen costs about 14% more than Petaling Jaya, 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 $1,583 in Petaling Jaya. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

Rent is clearly cheaper in Petaling Jaya, especially for central apartments: a one-bedroom in the center costs $511 there versus $980 in Playa del Carmen.

Monthly expenses with rent come to $1,204 in Playa del Carmen and $1,056 in Petaling Jaya. That makes Petaling Jaya about 12% cheaper.

Kindergarten costs $207 per month in Playa del Carmen and $273 in Petaling Jaya. For families with young kids, this one expense can tip the scales when choosing between the two cities.

$1,000 is a stretch for both – monthly costs hit $1,204 in Playa del Carmen and $1,056 in Petaling Jaya. You’ll need shared housing and careful budgeting no matter which city you pick.

For digital nomads, it depends on budget. Petaling Jaya costs $1,056 versus $1,204 in Playa del Carmen. Both appeal to remote workers, and the cost gap matters when income varies month to month.