Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Playa del Carmen and Subang Jaya

For one person, living is cheaper in Playa del Carmen: $1,204 a month against $1,288 in Subang Jaya, rent and utilities included – about $1,000 less a year. Higher rent and utilities in Subang Jaya outweigh lower spending on other living expenses.

58

Cost of Living Index in Playa del Carmen
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Playa del Carmen Living Index
63

Cost of Living Index in Subang Jaya
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Subang Jaya Living Index

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Playa del Carmen

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,204

/mo nomad

Subang Jaya

🇲🇾 Malaysia

$1,288

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Playa del Carmen and in Subang 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 Subang Jaya actually costs, broken down by who's living it.

A single person spends $1,204 per month in Playa del Carmen vs $1,288 in Subang Jaya, rent included.

Playa del Carmen $1,204
Subang Jaya $1,288

A couple spends around $2,082 per month in Playa del Carmen vs $1,775 in Subang Jaya, rent included.

Playa del Carmen $2,082
Subang Jaya $1,775

A family of three spends $2,959 per month in Playa del Carmen vs $2,262 in Subang Jaya, rent included.

Playa del Carmen $2,959
Subang Jaya $2,262

Playa del Carmen is about 6% cheaper than Subang Jaya.

Both Playa del Carmen and Subang Jaya are more affordable than the global median – Playa del Carmen 12% lower, Subang Jaya 5% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$10.92 MX$204

$3.63 MYR 14.81

200.83%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$43.37 MX$808

$19.42 MYR 79.2

123.33%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.78 MX$220

$4.60 MYR 18.75

156.09%

Cappuccino

$3.81 MX$71.0

$2.92 MYR 11.90

30.48%

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

$1.28 MX$23.90

$0.72 MYR 2.94

77.78%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.78 MX$14.59

$0.37 MYR 1.50

110.81%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.17 MX$59.0

$4.06 MYR 16.56

-21.92%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.93 MX$92.0

$4.43 MYR 18.05

11.29%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.41 MX$26.22

$1.80 MYR 7.32

-21.67%

White Bread (500g)

$2.22 MX$41.33

$1.06 MYR 4.32

109.43%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.42 MX$26.42

$1.77 MYR 7.19

-19.77%

Eggs

$2.52 MX$47.03

$2.25 MYR 9.19

12.00%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$7.26 MX$135

$13.84 MYR 56.4

-47.54%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$7.70 MX$143

$4.42 MYR 18.01

74.21%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$12.69 MX$237

$8.78 MYR 35.79

44.53%

Apples (1kg)

$2.78 MX$51.9

$3.08 MYR 12.53

-9.74%

Banana (1kg)

$1.37 MX$25.50

$1.83 MYR 7.45

-25.14%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.55 MX$47.55

$2.21 MYR 9.02

15.38%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.12 MX$39.58

$1.45 MYR 5.93

46.21%

Potato (1kg)

$1.94 MX$36.13

$1.07 MYR 4.35

81.31%

Onion (1kg)

$1.89 MX$35.16

$1.08 MYR 4.42

75.00%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.15 MX$21.37

$1.09 MYR 4.44

5.50%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.18 MX$21.98

$0.54 MYR 2.18

118.52%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.30 MX$80.1

$4.38 MYR 17.84

-1.83%

Wine (Bottle)

$9.95 MX$185

$18.79 MYR 76.6

-47.05%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.58 MX$29.52

$2.99 MYR 12.16

-47.16%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.67 MX$49.79

$4.87 MYR 19.84

-45.17%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.55 MX$10.31

$0.25 MYR 1.02

120.00%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$26.62 MX$496

$24.29 MYR 99.0

9.59%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$4.97 MX$92.6

$1.24 MYR 5.06

300.81%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$3.33 MX$62.1

$0.40 MYR 1.64

732.50%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$5.36 MX$99.8

$4.93 MYR 20.10

8.72%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.44 MX$26.92

$0.87 MYR 3.56

65.52%

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

$20.7K MX$385.2K

$44.0K MYR 179.5K

-53.08%

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

$23.5K MX$437.4K

$35.0K MYR 142.8K

-33.05%

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

$84.8 MX$1,581

$37.37 MYR 152

126.89%

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

$23.41 MX$436

$10.06 MYR 40.99

132.70%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$28.66 MX$534

$28.58 MYR 116

0.28%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$57.1 MX$1,063

$31.43 MYR 128

81.51%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$28.91 MX$539

$2.51 MYR 10.23

1051.79%

Cinema Ticket

$5.14 MX$95.8

$4.87 MYR 19.83

5.54%

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

$207 MX$3,851

$396 MYR 1,615

-47.87%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$3,927 MX$73.2K

$10.8K MYR 44.1K

-63.75%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$43.35 MX$808

$59.2 MYR 241

-26.72%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$41.44 MX$772

$35.42 MYR 144

17.00%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$74.2 MX$1,383

$84.0 MYR 342

-11.66%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$89.3 MX$1,664

$71.0 MYR 289

25.70%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$980 MX$18.3K

$851 MYR 3,469

15.06%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$381 MX$7,099

$663 MYR 2,701

-42.56%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,708 MX$31.8K

$1,068 MYR 4,350

59.96%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,075 MX$20.0K

$906 MYR 3,693

18.62%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,943 MX$73.5K

$2,344 MYR 9,551

68.21%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$6,158 MX$114.8K

$1,876 MYR 7,643

228.25%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$735 MX$13.7K

$933 MYR 3,800

-21.24%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

11.45

4.04

183.42%

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 Subang 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%

Subang Jaya

$663 51.5% 74.1% $282

Groceries & Markets

Playa del Carmen

$255 21.2%

Subang Jaya

$255 19.8% 0.3% $0.7

Eating Out

Playa del Carmen

$202 16.8%

Subang Jaya

$111 8.7% 44.9% $91

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Playa del Carmen

$137 11.4%

Subang Jaya

$76 5.9% 44.5% $61

Clothing & Footwear

Playa del Carmen

$112 9.3%

Subang Jaya

$112 8.7% 0.5% $0.6

Sport & Entertainment

Playa del Carmen

$67 5.6%

Subang Jaya

$41 3.2% 38.9% $26

Getting Around

Playa del Carmen

$50 4.2%

Subang Jaya

$29 2.2% 43.4% $22

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $980 in Playa del Carmen versus $851 in Subang Jaya. 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 27% higher in Subang Jaya. Purchasing power depends on which expenses matter most to you.

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

Good to know

🇲🇽 Playa del Carmen

🇲🇾 Subang Jaya

🕒 Local time

13:07 1:07 PM

02:07 2:07 AM

13 h ahead of Playa del Carmen

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

149,923

902,086

💱 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

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Playa del Carmen Subang Jaya 17,220 km ≈ 22 h nonstop flight

From you

Playa del Carmen
Subang 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 Subang Jaya: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Subang Jaya costs about 7% more than Playa del Carmen, and outside of rent the gap comes mainly from groceries. 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 $1,932 in Subang Jaya. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

Rent is clearly cheaper in Subang Jaya, especially for central apartments: a one-bedroom in the center costs $851 there versus $980 in Playa del Carmen.

Monthly expenses with rent come to $1,204 in Playa del Carmen and $1,288 in Subang Jaya. That’s a gap of about 7%.

Kindergarten costs $207 per month in Playa del Carmen and $396 in Subang Jaya. For families with young kids, this one expense can tip the scales when choosing between the two cities.

$1,500 covers both cities comfortably – all-in costs are $1,204 in Playa del Carmen and $1,288 in Subang Jaya, leaving budget for savings and extras in both cases.

It depends on your priorities. Playa del Carmen has an edge in some lifestyle areas, with costs from $1,204 in Playa del Carmen to $1,288 in Subang Jaya. Climate, culture, job market, and personal taste all factor in.

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