Cost of Living Comparison Between Playa del Carmen and Tawau Cost of Living Comparison Between Playa del Carmen and Tawau

😐 Solo nomad: Playa del Carmen is 45.3% more expensive than Tawau without rent, and 45.1% more expensive with rent.

😐 Family of 3: Playa del Carmen is 10.4% more expensive than Tawau without rent, and 77.9% more expensive with rent.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$11.88 MX$210

$3.58 MYR 14.53

231.84%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$41.90 MX$740

$18.92 MYR 76.8

121.46%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$10.55 MX$186

$4.06 MYR 16.47

159.85%

Cappuccino

$3.60 MX$63.5

$2.31 MYR 9.37

55.84%

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

$1.50 MX$26.45

$0.74 MYR 3.00

102.70%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.91 MX$16.09

$0.40 MYR 1.61

127.50%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.08 MX$54.4

$2.42 MYR 9.82

27.27%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.47 MX$78.8

$3.38 MYR 13.74

32.25%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.39 MX$24.54

$1.60 MYR 6.51

-13.13%

White Bread (500g)

$1.90 MX$33.47

$1.30 MYR 5.28

46.15%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.60 MX$28.27

$1.68 MYR 6.83

-4.76%

Eggs

$2.60 MX$45.97

$2.06 MYR 8.38

26.21%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$8.36 MX$148

$15.03 MYR 61.0

-44.38%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$8.64 MX$152

$4.38 MYR 17.78

97.26%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$10.91 MX$192

$9.68 MYR 39.28

12.71%

Apples (1kg)

$2.61 MX$45.98

$2.87 MYR 11.64

-9.06%

Banana (1kg)

$1.44 MX$25.46

$1.46 MYR 5.92

-1.37%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.96 MX$34.55

$2.51 MYR 10.17

-21.91%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.12 MX$37.34

$1.37 MYR 5.56

54.74%

Potato (1kg)

$1.86 MX$32.87

$1.24 MYR 5.02

50.00%

Onion (1kg)

$2.22 MX$39.20

$1.27 MYR 5.14

74.80%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.02 MX$17.99

$1.04 MYR 4.23

-1.92%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.04 MX$18.36

$0.57 MYR 2.30

82.46%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.05 MX$71.5

$4.29 MYR 17.40

-5.59%

Wine (Bottle)

$10.18 MX$180

$17.83 MYR 72.4

-42.91%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.69 MX$29.79

$2.77 MYR 11.25

-38.99%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.62 MX$46.25

$2.90 MYR 11.78

-9.66%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.51 MX$9.09

$0.70 MYR 2.84

-27.14%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$26.52 MX$468

$11.94 MYR 48.47

122.11%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.15 MX$55.7

$1.19 MYR 4.85

164.71%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$2.46 MX$43.49

$1.02 MYR 4.16

141.18%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$3.26 MX$57.5

$5.74 MYR 23.30

-43.21%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.32 MX$23.36

$0.50 MYR 2.03

164.00%

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

$30.1K MX$531.0K

$35.9K MYR 146.0K

-16.32%

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

$23.8K MX$419.3K

$31.4K MYR 127.5K

-24.35%

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

$83.5 MX$1,474

$44.04 MYR 179

89.67%

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

$22.86 MX$404

$9.01 MYR 36.58

153.72%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$30.04 MX$530

$29.27 MYR 119

2.63%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$51.9 MX$916

$37.38 MYR 152

38.84%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$18.30 MX$323

$5.88 MYR 23.86

211.22%

Cinema Ticket

$5.12 MX$90.4

$2.75 MYR 11.15

86.18%

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

$201 MX$3,541

$190 MYR 771

5.61%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$5,318 MX$93.9K

$6,787 MYR 27.6K

-21.65%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$35.73 MX$631

$60.5 MYR 246

-40.95%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$40.27 MX$711

$27.72 MYR 113

45.27%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$79.2 MX$1,398

$73.6 MYR 299

7.58%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$89.3 MX$1,576

$50.8 MYR 206

75.73%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$947 MX$16.7K

$391 MYR 1,589

142.01%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$483 MX$8,525

$267 MYR 1,085

80.73%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,599 MX$28.2K

$655 MYR 2,658

144.23%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,211 MX$21.4K

$478 MYR 1,942

153.22%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,996 MX$70.5K

$1,706 MYR 6,928

134.19%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$6,402 MX$113.0K

$747 MYR 3,031

757.52%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$730 MX$12.9K

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

11.42

4.07

180.59%

CityCost data is based on AI and user input – minor inaccuracies may occur.

Last update for Playa del Carmen: January 13, 2026

Last update for Tawau: January 12, 2026

City Median Internet Speeds Comparison (Updated December 2025)

The chart highlights the Precision Threshold for mobile and fixed broadband internet speeds, updated quarterly.

Digital Nomad Cost of Living Index

Similar cities

Phuket

🇹🇭 Thailand

Cape Town

🇿🇦 South Africa

Bucharest

🇷🇴 Romania

Bali

🇮🇩 Indonesia

Kuta, Bali

🇮🇩 Indonesia

Ankara

🇹🇷 Turkey

Izmir

🇹🇷 Turkey

Chisinau

🇲🇩 Moldova