Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Playa del Carmen and Seremban

For one person, living is cheaper in Seremban: $793 a month against $1,204 in Playa del Carmen, rent and utilities included – about $4,900 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

59

Cost of Living Index in Playa del Carmen
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Playa del Carmen Living Index
38

Cost of Living Index in Seremban
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Seremban Living Index

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Playa del Carmen

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,204

/mo nomad

Seremban

🇲🇾 Malaysia

$793

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

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

A single person spends $1,204 per month in Playa del Carmen vs $793 in Seremban, rent included.

Playa del Carmen $1,204
Seremban $793

A couple spends around $2,102 per month in Playa del Carmen vs $1,246 in Seremban, rent included.

Playa del Carmen $2,102
Seremban $1,246

A family of three spends $3,000 per month in Playa del Carmen vs $1,700 in Seremban, rent included.

Playa del Carmen $3,000
Seremban $1,700

Playa del Carmen costs about 52% more than Seremban, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Both Playa del Carmen and Seremban are more affordable than the global median – Playa del Carmen 11% lower, Seremban 41% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$10.86 MX$201

$3.60 MYR 14.68

201.67%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$44.21 MX$817

$18.22 MYR 74.3

142.65%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.76 MX$217

$3.65 MYR 14.88

222.19%

Cappuccino

$3.68 MX$68.0

$2.85 MYR 11.65

29.12%

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

$1.34 MX$24.79

$0.79 MYR 3.23

69.62%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.82 MX$15.24

$0.42 MYR 1.71

95.24%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.06 MX$56.6

$3.70 MYR 15.08

-17.30%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.94 MX$91.2

$4.79 MYR 19.54

3.13%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.47 MX$27.17

$1.76 MYR 7.17

-16.48%

White Bread (500g)

$2.22 MX$40.95

$1.10 MYR 4.48

101.82%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.48 MX$27.32

$1.45 MYR 5.92

2.07%

Eggs

$2.49 MX$45.99

$1.75 MYR 7.13

42.29%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$7.52 MX$139

$17.99 MYR 73.4

-58.20%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$7.96 MX$147

$4.53 MYR 18.46

75.72%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$12.57 MX$232

$10.23 MYR 41.73

22.87%

Apples (1kg)

$2.78 MX$51.3

$3.29 MYR 13.41

-15.50%

Banana (1kg)

$1.43 MX$26.37

$1.33 MYR 5.43

7.52%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.62 MX$48.37

$4.80 MYR 19.57

-45.42%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.14 MX$39.49

$1.32 MYR 5.40

62.12%

Potato (1kg)

$2.02 MX$37.38

$1.09 MYR 4.44

85.32%

Onion (1kg)

$1.99 MX$36.74

$1.19 MYR 4.85

67.23%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.14 MX$21.01

$1.20 MYR 4.88

-5.00%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.20 MX$22.18

$0.55 MYR 2.23

118.18%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.26 MX$78.7

$4.20 MYR 17.13

1.43%

Wine (Bottle)

$10.02 MX$185

$14.14 MYR 57.7

-29.14%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.54 MX$28.41

$2.85 MYR 11.63

-45.96%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.66 MX$49.17

$3.01 MYR 12.27

-11.63%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.53 MX$9.73

$1.24 MYR 5.08

-57.26%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$27.51 MX$508

$24.21 MYR 98.8

13.63%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$4.90 MX$90.6

$0.75 MYR 3.05

553.33%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$3.43 MX$63.5

$0.74 MYR 3.03

363.51%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$5.38 MX$99.4

$9.89 MYR 40.36

-45.60%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.45 MX$26.76

$0.70 MYR 2.85

107.14%

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

$21.2K MX$391.0K

$43.5K MYR 177.4K

-51.35%

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

$23.0K MX$425.3K

$35.2K MYR 143.7K

-34.65%

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

$85.4 MX$1,577

$44.55 MYR 182

91.60%

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

$23.46 MX$434

$10.71 MYR 43.69

119.05%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$28.43 MX$525

$28.91 MYR 118

-1.66%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$62.2 MX$1,149

$67.0 MYR 273

-7.17%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$28.68 MX$530

Cinema Ticket

$5.10 MX$94.3

$4.34 MYR 17.70

17.51%

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

$201 MX$3,715

$180 MYR 735

11.61%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$3,947 MX$72.9K

$4,453 MYR 18.2K

-11.37%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$44.39 MX$820

$48.14 MYR 196

-7.79%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$41.35 MX$764

$16.82 MYR 68.6

145.84%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$72.7 MX$1,344

$81.3 MYR 332

-10.56%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$89.6 MX$1,656

$86.3 MYR 352

3.88%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$979 MX$18.1K

$181 MYR 738

441.69%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$373 MX$6,887

$123 MYR 503

202.08%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,681 MX$31.1K

$303 MYR 1,237

454.54%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,095 MX$20.2K

$255 MYR 1,042

328.86%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,949 MX$73.0K

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$6,137 MX$113.4K

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$738 MX$13.6K

$798 MYR 3,257

-7.62%

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 17, 2026

Last update for Seremban: October 19, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Playa del Carmen

$373 31%

Seremban

$123 15.6% 66.9% $249

Groceries & Markets

Playa del Carmen

$258 21.5%

Seremban

$264 33.4% 2.3% $6

Eating Out

Playa del Carmen

$200 16.6%

Seremban

$107 13.5% 46.6% $93

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Playa del Carmen

$137 11.4%

Seremban

$84 10.6% 38.7% $53

Clothing & Footwear

Playa del Carmen

$112 9.3%

Seremban

$105 13.2% 6.3% $7

Sport & Entertainment

Playa del Carmen

$72 6%

Seremban

$76 9.5% 4.5% $3.3

Getting Around

Playa del Carmen

$52 4.3%

Seremban

$34 4.2% 34.9% $18

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $979 in Playa del Carmen versus $181 in Seremban. 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 8% higher in Seremban, 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 $44.00 in Playa del Carmen versus $18.00 in Seremban. Groceries tell a different story – $258 in Playa del Carmen vs $264 in Seremban – so Playa del Carmen wins on supermarket bills even if dining out costs more.

Good to know

🇲🇽 Playa del Carmen

🇲🇾 Seremban

🕒 Local time

21:31 9:31 PM

10:31 10:31 AM

13 h ahead of Playa del Carmen

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

149,923

681,541

💱 Currency

Mexican Peso MXN $

Malaysian Ringgit MYR RM

📈 Exchange rate

100 MXN = 5.41 USD

100 MXN = 4.81 EUR

1 MYR = 0.245 USD

1 MYR = 0.218 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 21, 2026: 1 USD = 18.48 MXN (100 MXN = 5.41 USD). 1 EUR = 20.77 MXN (100 MXN = 4.81 EUR).

Malaysian Ringgit exchange rates as of October 21, 2026: 1 USD = 4.08 MYR (1 MYR = 0.245 USD). 1 EUR = 4.59 MYR (1 MYR = 0.218 EUR).

USD to MXN in detail →

On the map

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Highest

Between locations

Playa del Carmen Seremban 17,240 km ≈ 22 h nonstop flight

From you

Playa del Carmen
Seremban

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 Seremban: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Yes – Playa del Carmen is pricier by about 52%, 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 $1,189 in Seremban. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

Rent is clearly cheaper in Seremban, especially for central apartments. Housing is actually the single biggest factor behind the overall cost gap between these two cities.

Monthly expenses with rent come to $1,204 in Playa del Carmen and $793 in Seremban. That's a gap of about 52%.

Public transport costs about 14% less in Seremban. For daily commuters, that gap adds up to noticeable savings over a year.

A $1,000 monthly budget goes further in Seremban, where all-in costs run around $793, than in Playa del Carmen at $1,204. In Seremban it covers expenses comfortably, while in Playa del Carmen it requires careful planning or may not stretch far enough.

Families tend to lean toward Seremban – lower housing and cheaper childcare make a real difference, especially on a single income or when paying for private education.

Both have safer and rougher neighborhoods, but overall safety is comparable to other large cities. Neighborhood choice matters more than the city-level comparison – central, well-trafficked areas feel secure in both.

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