Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Playa del Carmen and Putra Heights

For one person, living is cheaper in Putra Heights: $927 a month against $1,204 in Playa del Carmen, rent and utilities included – about $3,300 less a year. Other living expenses account for most 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 Putra Heights
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Putra Heights Living Index

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Playa del Carmen

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,204

/mo nomad

Putra Heights

🇲🇾 Malaysia

$927

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Playa del Carmen and in Putra Heights

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

A single person spends $1,204 per month in Playa del Carmen vs $927 in Putra Heights, rent included.

Playa del Carmen $1,204
Putra Heights $927

A couple spends around $2,082 per month in Playa del Carmen vs $1,421 in Putra Heights, rent included.

Playa del Carmen $2,082
Putra Heights $1,421

A family of three spends $2,959 per month in Playa del Carmen vs $1,915 in Putra Heights, rent included.

Playa del Carmen $2,959
Putra Heights $1,915

Playa del Carmen costs about 30% more than Putra Heights, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Both Playa del Carmen and Putra Heights are more affordable than the global median – Playa del Carmen 12% lower, Putra Heights 32% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$10.92 MX$205

$3.77 MYR 15.35

189.66%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$43.37 MX$813

$18.15 MYR 73.9

138.95%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.78 MX$221

$4.90 MYR 19.95

140.41%

Cappuccino

$3.81 MX$71.4

$2.83 MYR 11.51

34.63%

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

$1.28 MX$24.03

$0.78 MYR 3.18

64.10%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.78 MX$14.67

$0.42 MYR 1.71

85.71%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.17 MX$59.3

$4.51 MYR 18.34

-29.71%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.93 MX$92.5

$6.23 MYR 25.38

-20.87%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.41 MX$26.35

$1.67 MYR 6.78

-15.57%

White Bread (500g)

$2.22 MX$41.54

$1.07 MYR 4.34

107.48%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.42 MX$26.56

$1.43 MYR 5.84

-0.70%

Eggs

$2.52 MX$47.27

$1.75 MYR 7.12

44.00%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$7.26 MX$136

$14.08 MYR 57.3

-48.44%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$7.70 MX$144

$4.56 MYR 18.56

68.86%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$12.69 MX$238

$10.18 MYR 41.44

24.66%

Apples (1kg)

$2.78 MX$52.2

$3.31 MYR 13.49

-16.01%

Banana (1kg)

$1.37 MX$25.64

$1.73 MYR 7.06

-20.81%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.55 MX$47.80

$2.31 MYR 9.39

10.39%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.12 MX$39.78

$1.50 MYR 6.09

41.33%

Potato (1kg)

$1.94 MX$36.32

$1.23 MYR 5.00

57.72%

Onion (1kg)

$1.89 MX$35.34

$1.36 MYR 5.53

38.97%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.15 MX$21.49

$1.13 MYR 4.61

1.77%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.18 MX$22.09

$0.55 MYR 2.22

114.55%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.30 MX$80.5

$4.40 MYR 17.93

-2.27%

Wine (Bottle)

$9.95 MX$186

$14.20 MYR 57.8

-29.93%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.58 MX$29.67

$2.95 MYR 12.01

-46.44%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.67 MX$50.1

$3.02 MYR 12.30

-11.59%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.55 MX$10.37

$0.74 MYR 3.02

-25.68%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$26.62 MX$499

$12.19 MYR 49.61

118.38%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$4.97 MX$93.1

$0.95 MYR 3.86

423.16%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$3.33 MX$62.4

$0.71 MYR 2.87

369.01%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$5.36 MX$100

$4.99 MYR 20.33

7.41%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.44 MX$27.06

$0.87 MYR 3.54

65.52%

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

$20.7K MX$387.3K

$44.4K MYR 180.9K

-53.50%

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

$23.5K MX$439.7K

$34.7K MYR 141.1K

-32.30%

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

$84.8 MX$1,589

$62.9 MYR 256

34.80%

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

$23.41 MX$439

$8.99 MYR 36.61

160.40%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$28.66 MX$537

$25.85 MYR 105

10.87%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$57.1 MX$1,069

$37.32 MYR 152

52.87%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$28.91 MX$542

$5.72 MYR 23.29

405.42%

Cinema Ticket

$5.14 MX$96.3

$5.01 MYR 20.37

2.59%

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

$207 MX$3,871

$241 MYR 981

-14.33%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$3,927 MX$73.6K

$5,302 MYR 21.6K

-25.92%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$43.35 MX$812

$54.1 MYR 220

-19.87%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$41.44 MX$777

$16.45 MYR 67.0

151.91%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$74.2 MX$1,390

$79.9 MYR 325

-7.15%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$89.3 MX$1,672

$97.9 MYR 399

-8.85%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$980 MX$18.4K

$422 MYR 1,716

132.34%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$381 MX$7,136

$286 MYR 1,164

33.21%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,708 MX$32.0K

$707 MYR 2,878

141.54%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,075 MX$20.1K

$546 MYR 2,223

96.86%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,943 MX$73.9K

$1,818 MYR 7,400

116.87%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$6,158 MX$115.4K

$1,236 MYR 5,031

398.25%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$735 MX$13.8K

$1,102 MYR 4,486

-33.35%

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 Putra Heights: October 27, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Playa del Carmen

$381 31.6%

Putra Heights

$286 30.8% 24.9% $95

Groceries & Markets

Playa del Carmen

$255 21.2%

Putra Heights

$246 26.5% 3.4% $8.8

Eating Out

Playa del Carmen

$202 16.8%

Putra Heights

$119 12.8% 41.4% $84

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Playa del Carmen

$137 11.4%

Putra Heights

$98 10.5% 28.6% $39

Clothing & Footwear

Playa del Carmen

$112 9.3%

Putra Heights

$112 12.1% 0.1% $0.1

Sport & Entertainment

Playa del Carmen

$67 5.6%

Putra Heights

$47 5.1% 29.7% $20

Getting Around

Playa del Carmen

$50 4.2%

Putra Heights

$20 2.1% 61.1% $31

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $980 in Playa del Carmen versus $422 in Putra Heights. Rent is usually the largest line item in a monthly budget, so the gap here sets the tone for the overall comparison.

Salaries run about 50% higher in Putra Heights, 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 $18 in Putra Heights. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $255 vs $246 – making Putra Heights the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇲🇽 Playa del Carmen

🇲🇾 Putra Heights

🕒 Local time

12:34 12:34 PM

01:34 1:34 AM

13 h ahead of Playa del Carmen

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

149,923

60,000

💱 Currency

Mexican Peso MXN $

Malaysian Ringgit MYR RM

📈 Exchange rate

100 MXN = 5.34 USD

100 MXN = 4.78 EUR

1 MYR = 0.246 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 2, 2026: 1 USD = 18.74 MXN (100 MXN = 5.34 USD). 1 EUR = 20.91 MXN (100 MXN = 4.78 EUR).

Malaysian Ringgit exchange rates as of November 2, 2026: 1 USD = 4.07 MYR (1 MYR = 0.246 USD). 1 EUR = 4.54 MYR (1 MYR = 0.22 EUR).

USD to MXN in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Playa del Carmen Putra Heights 17,220 km ≈ 22 h nonstop flight

From you

Playa del Carmen
Putra Heights

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 Putra Heights: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Yes – Playa del Carmen is pricier by about 30%, and outside of rent the gap shows up most in eating out.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $1,806 per month in Playa del Carmen and $1,390 in Putra Heights. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

Rent is clearly cheaper in Putra Heights, especially for central apartments: a one-bedroom in the center costs $422 there versus $980 in Playa del Carmen.

Monthly expenses with rent come to $1,204 in Playa del Carmen and $927 in Putra Heights. That makes Putra Heights about 23% cheaper.

Public transport costs about 54% less in Putra Heights. For daily commuters, that gap adds up to noticeable savings over a year.

It depends on your priorities. Playa del Carmen has an edge in some lifestyle areas, with costs from $927 in Putra Heights to $1,204 in Playa del Carmen. Climate, culture, job market, and personal taste all factor in.

For expats, Putra Heights is the easier option financially – housing and daily costs are lower, and overall it costs about 23% less, which matters a lot on a fixed budget or early-career salary.