Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Rawang and Playa del Carmen

For one person, living is cheaper in Rawang: $735 a month against $1,204 in Playa del Carmen, rent and utilities included – about $5,600 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

35

Cost of Living Index in Rawang
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Rawang Living Index
58

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

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Rawang

🇲🇾 Malaysia

$735

/mo nomad

Playa del Carmen

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,204

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Real prices from locals and on-the-ground checks – rent, groceries, transit and the daily extras. Here's what a month in Rawang and in Playa del Carmen actually costs, broken down by who's living it.

A single person spends $735 per month in Rawang vs $1,204 in Playa del Carmen, rent included.

Rawang $735
Playa del Carmen $1,204

A couple spends around $1,173 per month in Rawang vs $2,082 in Playa del Carmen, rent included.

Rawang $1,173
Playa del Carmen $2,082

A family of three spends $1,611 per month in Rawang vs $2,959 in Playa del Carmen, rent included.

Rawang $1,611
Playa del Carmen $2,959

Rawang is about 39% cheaper than Playa del Carmen, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Both Rawang and Playa del Carmen are more affordable than the global median – Rawang 46% lower, Playa del Carmen 12% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$3.72 MYR 15.15

$10.92 MX$204

-65.93%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$19.66 MYR 80.1

$43.37 MX$808

-54.67%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$4.97 MYR 20.25

$11.78 MX$220

-57.81%

Cappuccino

$3.00 MYR 12.22

$3.81 MX$71.0

-21.26%

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

$0.82 MYR 3.35

$1.28 MX$23.90

-35.94%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.40 MYR 1.61

$0.78 MX$14.59

-48.72%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$4.23 MYR 17.23

$3.17 MX$59.0

33.44%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.42 MYR 18.01

$4.93 MX$92.0

-10.34%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.79 MYR 7.30

$1.41 MX$26.22

26.95%

White Bread (500g)

$1.04 MYR 4.23

$2.22 MX$41.33

-53.15%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.69 MYR 6.88

$1.42 MX$26.42

19.01%

Eggs

$2.14 MYR 8.72

$2.52 MX$47.03

-15.08%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$14.18 MYR 57.8

$7.26 MX$135

95.32%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$4.43 MYR 18.04

$7.70 MX$143

-42.47%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$10.17 MYR 41.42

$12.69 MX$237

-19.86%

Apples (1kg)

$2.92 MYR 11.88

$2.78 MX$51.9

5.04%

Banana (1kg)

$1.82 MYR 7.44

$1.37 MX$25.50

32.85%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.64 MYR 10.77

$2.55 MX$47.55

3.53%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.43 MYR 5.82

$2.12 MX$39.58

-32.55%

Potato (1kg)

$1.22 MYR 4.98

$1.94 MX$36.13

-37.11%

Onion (1kg)

$1.31 MYR 5.34

$1.89 MX$35.16

-30.69%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.12 MYR 4.58

$1.15 MX$21.37

-2.61%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.57 MYR 2.33

$1.18 MX$21.98

-51.69%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.49 MYR 18.31

$4.30 MX$80.1

4.42%

Wine (Bottle)

$19.06 MYR 77.7

$9.95 MX$185

91.56%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.85 MYR 11.62

$1.58 MX$29.52

80.38%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.94 MYR 20.13

$2.67 MX$49.79

85.02%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.77 MYR 3.12

$0.55 MX$10.31

40.00%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$12.26 MYR 49.97

$26.62 MX$496

-53.94%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.74 MYR 7.09

$4.97 MX$92.6

-64.99%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.37 MYR 1.52

$3.33 MX$62.1

-88.89%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$6.83 MYR 27.82

$5.36 MX$99.8

27.43%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$0.83 MYR 3.37

$1.44 MX$26.92

-42.36%

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

$43.5K MYR 177.1K

$20.7K MX$385.2K

110.28%

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

$35.0K MYR 142.7K

$23.5K MX$437.4K

49.21%

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

$36.97 MYR 151

$84.8 MX$1,581

-56.40%

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

$9.75 MYR 39.71

$23.41 MX$436

-58.35%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$28.46 MYR 116

$28.66 MX$534

-0.70%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$37.63 MYR 153

$57.1 MX$1,063

-34.04%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$6.70 MYR 27.31

$28.91 MX$539

-76.82%

Cinema Ticket

$4.87 MYR 19.85

$5.14 MX$95.8

-5.25%

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

$401 MYR 1,634

$207 MX$3,851

94.09%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$10.9K MYR 44.6K

$3,927 MX$73.2K

178.78%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$60.1 MYR 245

$43.35 MX$808

38.62%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$34.90 MYR 142

$41.44 MX$772

-15.78%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$82.4 MYR 336

$74.2 MX$1,383

11.09%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$71.1 MYR 290

$89.3 MX$1,664

-20.36%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$143 MYR 581

$980 MX$18.3K

-85.45%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$104 MYR 425

$381 MX$7,099

-72.58%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$576 MYR 2,347

$1,708 MX$31.8K

-66.27%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$234 MYR 955

$1,075 MX$20.0K

-78.19%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$1,963 MYR 7,998

$3,943 MX$73.5K

-50.22%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,197 MYR 4,877

$6,158 MX$114.8K

-80.56%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,012 MYR 4,122

$735 MX$13.7K

37.73%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

4.17

11.45

-63.58%

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

Last update for Rawang: October 26, 2026

Last update for Playa del Carmen: October 25, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Groceries & Markets

Rawang

$262 35.6%

Playa del Carmen

$255 21.2% 2.7% $7.2

Eating Out

Rawang

$115 15.7%

Playa del Carmen

$202 16.8% 75.2% $87

Clothing & Footwear

Rawang

$112 15.2%

Playa del Carmen

$112 9.3% 0.1% $0.1

Accommodation & Living

Rawang

$104 14.2%

Playa del Carmen

$381 31.6% 265% $276

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Rawang

$75 10.2%

Playa del Carmen

$137 11.4% 82% $62

Sport & Entertainment

Rawang

$47 6.4%

Playa del Carmen

$67 5.6% 42.1% $20

Getting Around

Rawang

$19 2.6%

Playa del Carmen

$50 4.2% 166% $32

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $143 in Rawang versus $980 in Playa del Carmen. 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 38% higher in Rawang, 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 $20 in Rawang versus $43 in Playa del Carmen. Groceries tell a different story – $262 in Rawang vs $255 in Playa del Carmen – so Playa del Carmen wins on supermarket bills even if dining out costs more.

Good to know

🇲🇾 Rawang

🇲🇽 Playa del Carmen

🕒 Local time

06:13 6:13 AM

17:13 5:13 PM

13 h behind Rawang

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

50,000

149,923

💱 Currency

Malaysian Ringgit MYR RM

Mexican Peso MXN $

📈 Exchange rate

1 MYR = 0.245 USD

1 MYR = 0.22 EUR

100 MXN = 5.36 USD

100 MXN = 4.82 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

MXN, USD, EUR to MYR – Malaysian Ringgit Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇲🇾 Malaysian Ringgit (RM)

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).

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).

USD to MYR in detail →

On the map

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Highest

Between locations

Rawang Playa del Carmen 17,190 km ≈ 22 h nonstop flight

From you

Rawang
Playa del Carmen

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

Rawang vs Playa del Carmen: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Yes – Playa del Carmen is pricier by about 64%, and outside of rent the gap shows up most in eating out.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $1,103 per month in Rawang and $1,806 in Playa del Carmen. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

Rent is clearly cheaper in Rawang, especially for central apartments: a one-bedroom in the center costs $143 there versus $980 in Playa del Carmen.

Monthly expenses with rent come to $735 in Rawang and $1,204 in Playa del Carmen. That makes Rawang about 39% cheaper.

Public transport costs about 54% less in Rawang. For daily commuters, that gap adds up to noticeable savings over a year.

It depends on your priorities. Playa del Carmen has an edge in some lifestyle areas, with costs from $735 in Rawang to $1,204 in Playa del Carmen. Climate, culture, job market, and personal taste all factor in.