Last update: Nov 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Playa del Carmen and Tawau

For one person, living is cheaper in Tawau: $920 a month against $1,202 in Playa del Carmen, rent and utilities included – about $3,400 less a year. Rent and utilities account for about half of the difference.

57

Cost of Living Index in Playa del Carmen
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Playa del Carmen Living Index
45

Cost of Living Index in Tawau
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Tawau Living Index

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Playa del Carmen

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,202

/mo nomad

Tawau

🇲🇾 Malaysia

$920

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

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

A single person spends $1,202 per month in Playa del Carmen vs $920 in Tawau, rent included.

Playa del Carmen $1,202
Tawau $920

A couple spends around $2,082 per month in Playa del Carmen vs $1,420 in Tawau, rent included.

Playa del Carmen $2,082
Tawau $1,420

A family of three spends $2,962 per month in Playa del Carmen vs $1,921 in Tawau, rent included.

Playa del Carmen $2,962
Tawau $1,921

Playa del Carmen costs about 31% more than Tawau, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Both Playa del Carmen and Tawau are more affordable than the global median – Playa del Carmen 11% lower, Tawau 32% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$10.67 MX$200

$3.26 MYR 13.24

227.30%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$43.80 MX$819

$20.02 MYR 81.2

118.78%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.79 MX$220

$4.20 MYR 17.02

180.71%

Cappuccino

$3.79 MX$70.8

$3.19 MYR 12.95

18.81%

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

$1.30 MX$24.26

$0.97 MYR 3.93

34.02%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.83 MX$15.59

$0.35 MYR 1.43

137.14%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.15 MX$58.9

$2.63 MYR 10.68

19.77%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.93 MX$92.3

$4.64 MYR 18.81

6.25%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.41 MX$26.35

$1.76 MYR 7.16

-19.89%

White Bread (500g)

$2.20 MX$41.07

$1.13 MYR 4.58

94.69%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.47 MX$27.54

$1.49 MYR 6.05

-1.34%

Eggs

$2.50 MX$46.70

$2.16 MYR 8.77

15.74%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$7.29 MX$136

$15.38 MYR 62.4

-52.60%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$7.95 MX$149

$4.49 MYR 18.21

77.06%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$12.86 MX$241

$9.43 MYR 38.26

36.37%

Apples (1kg)

$2.90 MX$54.2

$2.87 MYR 11.63

1.05%

Banana (1kg)

$1.38 MX$25.87

$1.60 MYR 6.51

-13.75%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.49 MX$46.59

$2.23 MYR 9.06

11.66%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.03 MX$37.97

$1.73 MYR 7.02

17.34%

Potato (1kg)

$2.02 MX$37.88

$1.40 MYR 5.69

44.29%

Onion (1kg)

$1.90 MX$35.60

$1.22 MYR 4.94

55.74%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.14 MX$21.41

$1.19 MYR 4.83

-4.20%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.24 MX$23.17

$0.51 MYR 2.09

143.14%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.27 MX$79.9

$4.51 MYR 18.30

-5.32%

Wine (Bottle)

$9.81 MX$184

$19.08 MYR 77.4

-48.58%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.59 MX$29.66

$2.89 MYR 11.73

-44.98%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.75 MX$51.3

$4.92 MYR 19.96

-44.11%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.51 MX$9.63

$0.77 MYR 3.13

-33.77%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$27.39 MX$512

$11.72 MYR 47.53

133.70%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$4.76 MX$89.1

$1.25 MYR 5.07

280.80%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$3.25 MX$60.8

$0.56 MYR 2.27

480.36%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$5.39 MX$101

$5.37 MYR 21.80

0.37%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.53 MX$28.58

$0.81 MYR 3.30

88.89%

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

$21.2K MX$396.8K

$45.3K MYR 183.6K

-53.12%

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

$23.3K MX$435.1K

$35.9K MYR 145.4K

-35.11%

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

$83.5 MX$1,562

$50.6 MYR 205

65.07%

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

$23.19 MX$434

$10.23 MYR 41.51

126.69%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$27.61 MX$516

$28.43 MYR 115

-2.88%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$56.4 MX$1,056

$42.70 MYR 173

32.15%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$28.19 MX$527

$6.07 MYR 24.64

364.42%

Cinema Ticket

$5.00 MX$93.5

$3.63 MYR 14.73

37.74%

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

$207 MX$3,873

$240 MYR 974

-13.78%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$5,231 MX$97.8K

$10.5K MYR 42.6K

-50.21%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$43.45 MX$813

$54.3 MYR 220

-20.04%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$42.54 MX$796

$40.23 MYR 163

5.74%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$72.8 MX$1,361

$90.8 MYR 368

-19.89%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$88.4 MX$1,653

$79.9 MYR 324

10.57%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$995 MX$18.6K

$433 MYR 1,757

129.61%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$382 MX$7,152

$275 MYR 1,117

38.88%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,674 MX$31.3K

$783 MYR 3,175

113.88%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,081 MX$20.2K

$526 MYR 2,135

105.35%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,909 MX$73.1K

$1,980 MYR 8,031

97.41%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$6,138 MX$114.8K

$1,030 MYR 4,178

495.95%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$832 MX$15.6K

$412 MYR 1,671

102.04%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

11.45

4.17

174.58%

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

Last update for Playa del Carmen: November 2, 2026

Last update for Tawau: November 3, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Playa del Carmen

$382 31.8%

Tawau

$275 30% 28% $107

Groceries & Markets

Playa del Carmen

$257 21.4%

Tawau

$262 28.5% 1.8% $4.6

Eating Out

Playa del Carmen

$200 16.7%

Tawau

$105 11.4% 47.7% $96

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Playa del Carmen

$134 11.2%

Tawau

$89 9.7% 33.5% $45

Clothing & Footwear

Playa del Carmen

$111 9.3%

Tawau

$119 13% 7.4% $8.2

Sport & Entertainment

Playa del Carmen

$66 5.5%

Tawau

$50 5.4% 24.8% $16

Getting Around

Playa del Carmen

$50 4.2%

Tawau

$19 2.1% 62.6% $32

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $995 in Playa del Carmen versus $433 in Tawau. 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 times higher. Purchasing power depends on which expenses matter most to you.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $44 in Playa del Carmen versus $20 in Tawau. Groceries tell a different story – $257 in Playa del Carmen vs $262 in Tawau – so Playa del Carmen wins on supermarket bills even if dining out costs more.

Good to know

🇲🇽 Playa del Carmen

🇲🇾 Tawau

🕒 Local time

10:22 10:22 AM

23:22 11:22 PM

13 h ahead of Playa del Carmen

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

149,923

420,806

💱 Currency

Mexican Peso MXN $

Malaysian Ringgit MYR RM

📈 Exchange rate

100 MXN = 5.35 USD

100 MXN = 4.76 EUR

1 MYR = 0.247 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 6, 2026: 1 USD = 18.7 MXN (100 MXN = 5.35 USD). 1 EUR = 21.01 MXN (100 MXN = 4.76 EUR).

Malaysian Ringgit exchange rates as of November 6, 2026: 1 USD = 4.06 MYR (1 MYR = 0.247 USD). 1 EUR = 4.56 MYR (1 MYR = 0.22 EUR).

USD to MXN in detail →

On the map

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Highest

Between locations

Playa del Carmen Tawau 16,130 km ≈ 21 h nonstop flight

From you

Playa del Carmen
Tawau

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 Tawau: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Yes – Playa del Carmen is pricier by about 31%, and outside of rent the gap shows up most in eating out.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $1,804 per month in Playa del Carmen and $1,379 in Tawau. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

Rent is clearly cheaper in Tawau, especially for central apartments: a one-bedroom in the center costs $433 there versus $995 in Playa del Carmen.

Monthly expenses with rent come to $1,202 in Playa del Carmen and $920 in Tawau. That makes Tawau about 24% cheaper.

Kindergarten costs $207 per month in Playa del Carmen and $240 in Tawau. For families with young kids, this one expense can tip the scales when choosing between the two cities.

$800 is a stretch for both – monthly costs hit $1,202 in Playa del Carmen and $920 in Tawau. You’ll need shared housing and careful budgeting no matter which city you pick.

It depends on your priorities. Playa del Carmen has an edge in some lifestyle areas, with costs from $920 in Tawau to $1,202 in Playa del Carmen. Climate, culture, job market, and personal taste all factor in.

If budget matters most, go with Tawau. 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.