Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Playa del Carmen and Sarawak

For one person, living is cheaper in Sarawak: $954 a month against $1,204 in Playa del Carmen, rent and utilities included – about $3,000 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 Sarawak
Learn more

Sarawak Living Index

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Playa del Carmen

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,204

/mo nomad

Sarawak

🇲🇾 Malaysia

$954

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

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

A single person spends $1,204 per month in Playa del Carmen vs $954 in Sarawak, rent included.

Playa del Carmen $1,204
Sarawak $954

A couple spends around $2,082 per month in Playa del Carmen vs $1,408 in Sarawak, rent included.

Playa del Carmen $2,082
Sarawak $1,408

A family of three spends $2,959 per month in Playa del Carmen vs $1,862 in Sarawak, rent included.

Playa del Carmen $2,959
Sarawak $1,862

Playa del Carmen costs about 26% more than Sarawak, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Both Playa del Carmen and Sarawak are more affordable than the global median – Playa del Carmen 12% lower, Sarawak 30% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$10.92 MX$204

$3.58 MYR 14.60

205.03%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$43.37 MX$808

$19.96 MYR 81.3

117.28%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.78 MX$220

$4.70 MYR 19.16

150.64%

Cappuccino

$3.81 MX$71.0

$2.96 MYR 12.06

28.72%

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

$1.28 MX$23.90

$0.77 MYR 3.13

66.23%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.78 MX$14.59

$0.39 MYR 1.59

100.00%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.17 MX$59.0

$3.95 MYR 16.08

-19.75%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.93 MX$92.0

$4.57 MYR 18.63

7.88%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.41 MX$26.22

$1.75 MYR 7.13

-19.43%

White Bread (500g)

$2.22 MX$41.33

$1.22 MYR 4.98

81.97%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.42 MX$26.42

$1.36 MYR 5.53

4.41%

Eggs

$2.52 MX$47.03

$2.26 MYR 9.20

11.50%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$7.26 MX$135

$14.46 MYR 58.9

-49.79%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$7.70 MX$143

$4.07 MYR 16.58

89.19%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$12.69 MX$237

$9.85 MYR 40.13

28.83%

Apples (1kg)

$2.78 MX$51.9

$2.90 MYR 11.81

-4.14%

Banana (1kg)

$1.37 MX$25.50

$1.45 MYR 5.89

-5.52%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.55 MX$47.55

$2.38 MYR 9.72

7.14%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.12 MX$39.58

$1.31 MYR 5.34

61.83%

Potato (1kg)

$1.94 MX$36.13

$1.23 MYR 5.02

57.72%

Onion (1kg)

$1.89 MX$35.16

$1.24 MYR 5.06

52.42%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.15 MX$21.37

$1.11 MYR 4.50

3.60%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.18 MX$21.98

$0.46 MYR 1.89

156.52%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.30 MX$80.1

$4.27 MYR 17.41

0.70%

Wine (Bottle)

$9.95 MX$185

$16.86 MYR 68.7

-40.98%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.58 MX$29.52

$2.93 MYR 11.94

-46.08%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.67 MX$49.79

$4.03 MYR 16.40

-33.75%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.55 MX$10.31

$0.75 MYR 3.05

-26.67%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$26.62 MX$496

$10.56 MYR 43.04

152.08%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$4.97 MX$92.6

$1.12 MYR 4.55

343.75%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$3.33 MX$62.1

$0.51 MYR 2.08

552.94%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$5.36 MX$99.8

$6.93 MYR 28.22

-22.66%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.44 MX$26.92

$0.77 MYR 3.15

87.01%

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

$20.7K MX$385.2K

$50.4K MYR 205.2K

-58.97%

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

$23.5K MX$437.4K

$39.9K MYR 162.5K

-41.15%

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

$84.8 MX$1,581

$52.9 MYR 216

60.19%

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

$23.41 MX$436

$10.66 MYR 43.43

119.61%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$28.66 MX$534

$29.13 MYR 119

-1.61%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$57.1 MX$1,063

$40.05 MYR 163

42.45%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$28.91 MX$539

$7.22 MYR 29.42

300.42%

Cinema Ticket

$5.14 MX$95.8

$5.60 MYR 22.83

-8.21%

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

$207 MX$3,851

$241 MYR 981

-14.25%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$3,927 MX$73.2K

$6,956 MYR 28.3K

-43.54%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$43.35 MX$808

$58.1 MYR 237

-25.32%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$41.44 MX$772

$29.97 MYR 122

38.27%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$74.2 MX$1,383

$87.0 MYR 354

-14.69%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$89.3 MX$1,664

$75.9 MYR 309

17.60%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$980 MX$18.3K

$410 MYR 1,669

139.09%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$381 MX$7,099

$318 MYR 1,297

19.63%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,708 MX$31.8K

$704 MYR 2,870

142.48%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,075 MX$20.0K

$491 MYR 2,000

118.99%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,943 MX$73.5K

$2,170 MYR 8,841

81.72%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$6,158 MX$114.8K

$1,323 MYR 5,393

365.26%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$735 MX$13.7K

$349 MYR 1,420

110.72%

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 Sarawak: October 24, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Playa del Carmen

$381 31.6%

Sarawak

$318 33.4% 16.4% $62

Groceries & Markets

Playa del Carmen

$255 21.2%

Sarawak

$249 26.1% 2.2% $5.5

Eating Out

Playa del Carmen

$202 16.8%

Sarawak

$112 11.7% 44.7% $91

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Playa del Carmen

$137 11.4%

Sarawak

$93 9.7% 32.2% $44

Clothing & Footwear

Playa del Carmen

$112 9.3%

Sarawak

$113 11.8% 1.1% $1.2

Sport & Entertainment

Playa del Carmen

$67 5.6%

Sarawak

$51 5.4% 23.9% $16

Getting Around

Playa del Carmen

$50 4.2%

Sarawak

$17 1.8% 65.8% $33

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $980 in Playa del Carmen versus $410 in Sarawak. Rent is usually the largest line item in a monthly budget, so the gap here sets the tone for the overall comparison.

Salaries in Playa del Carmen are about 2.1 times higher. Purchasing power depends on which expenses matter most to you.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $43 in Playa del Carmen versus $20 in Sarawak. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $255 vs $249 – making Sarawak the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇲🇽 Playa del Carmen

🇲🇾 Sarawak

🕒 Local time

16:22 4:22 PM

05:22 5:22 AM

13 h ahead of Playa del Carmen

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

149,923

💱 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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Between locations

Playa del Carmen Sarawak 16,900 km ≈ 22 h nonstop flight

From you

Playa del Carmen
Sarawak

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 Sarawak: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Yes – Playa del Carmen is pricier by about 26%, 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 $1,430 in Sarawak. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

Rent is clearly cheaper in Sarawak, especially for central apartments: a one-bedroom in the center costs $410 there versus $980 in Playa del Carmen.

Monthly expenses with rent come to $1,204 in Playa del Carmen and $954 in Sarawak. That makes Sarawak about 21% cheaper.

Kindergarten costs $207 per month in Playa del Carmen and $241 in Sarawak. For families with young kids, this one expense can tip the scales when choosing between the two cities.

A $1,200 monthly budget goes further in Sarawak, where all-in costs run around $954, than in Playa del Carmen at $1,204. In Sarawak it covers expenses comfortably, while in Playa del Carmen it requires careful planning or may not stretch far enough.

It depends on your priorities. Playa del Carmen has an edge in some lifestyle areas, with costs from $954 in Sarawak to $1,204 in Playa del Carmen. Climate, culture, job market, and personal taste all factor in.

If budget matters most, go with Sarawak. If higher salaries or specific career opportunities are the priority, Playa del Carmen makes more sense. Both are solid long-term options with distinct trade-offs.