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

🙂 Solo nomad: Tawau is 40.4% cheaper than Playa del Carmen without rent, and 33.7% cheaper with rent.

🙂 Family of 3: Tawau is 8.6% cheaper than Playa del Carmen without rent, and 43.5% cheaper with rent.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$3.6 MYR 15.19

$11.99 MX$227

-69.97%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$19.17 MYR 80.9

$42.47 MX$803

-54.86%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$4.02 MYR 16.96

$10.47 MX$198

-61.60%

Cappuccino

$2.31 MYR 9.75

$3.6 MX$68.2

-35.83%

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

$0.74 MYR 3.11

$1.44 MX$27.16

-48.61%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.39 MYR 1.65

$0.89 MX$16.79

-56.18%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.41 MYR 10.16

$3.09 MX$58.5

-22.01%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.36 MYR 14.17

$4.58 MX$86.6

-26.64%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.56 MYR 6.56

$1.38 MX$26.04

13.04%

White Bread (500g)

$1.3 MYR 5.49

$1.85 MX$34.9

-29.73%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.73 MYR 7.3

$1.57 MX$29.68

10.19%

Eggs

$2.05 MYR 8.63

$2.55 MX$48.3

-19.61%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$15.13 MYR 63.8

$8.61 MX$163

75.73%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$4.48 MYR 18.91

$8.54 MX$161

-47.54%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$9.58 MYR 40.4

$10.98 MX$208

-12.75%

Apples (1kg)

$2.86 MYR 12.06

$2.72 MX$51.4

5.15%

Banana (1kg)

$1.48 MYR 6.22

$1.51 MX$28.57

-1.99%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.6 MYR 10.98

$1.88 MX$35.63

38.30%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.44 MYR 6.05

$2.19 MX$41.42

-34.25%

Potato (1kg)

$1.18 MYR 4.96

$1.87 MX$35.3

-36.90%

Onion (1kg)

$1.33 MYR 5.6

$2.19 MX$41.37

-39.27%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.04 MYR 4.4

$1.07 MX$20.23

-2.80%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.55 MYR 2.33

$1.09 MX$20.64

-49.54%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.3 MYR 18.13

$3.96 MX$74.9

8.59%

Wine (Bottle)

$14.44 MYR 60.9

$8.86 MX$167

62.98%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.88 MYR 12.13

$1.72 MX$32.53

67.44%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.94 MYR 12.39

$2.61 MX$49.37

12.64%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.68 MYR 2.85

$0.52 MX$9.74

30.77%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$11.97 MYR 50.5

$26.59 MX$503

-54.98%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.16 MYR 4.9

$3.24 MX$61.2

-64.20%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.98 MYR 4.15

$2.38 MX$44.94

-58.82%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$5.77 MYR 24.33

$3.11 MX$58.7

85.53%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$0.49 MYR 2.09

$1.31 MX$24.85

-62.60%

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

$35.7K MYR 150.5K

$30.3K MX$573K

17.77%

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

$31K MYR 130.6K

$24K MX$453.6K

29.05%

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

$43.49 MYR 183

$84.2 MX$1,592

-48.37%

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

$9.16 MYR 38.65

$22.14 MX$419

-58.63%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$28.84 MYR 122

$30.14 MX$570

-4.31%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$37.56 MYR 158

$52 MX$983

-27.74%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$5.93 MYR 24.99

$18.72 MX$354

-68.32%

Cinema Ticket

$2.91 MYR 12.27

$5.07 MX$95.9

-42.60%

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

$191 MYR 804

$200 MX$3,787

-4.84%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$7,045 MYR 29.7K

$5,333 MX$100.8K

32.11%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$59.8 MYR 252

$35.74 MX$676

67.43%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$27.2 MYR 115

$39.8 MX$753

-31.66%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$72.8 MYR 307

$79 MX$1,493

-7.76%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$50.5 MYR 213

$88.4 MX$1,671

-42.91%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$387 MYR 1,633

$965 MX$18.3K

-59.88%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$266 MYR 1,123

$474 MX$8,968

-43.85%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$646 MYR 2,724

$1,653 MX$31.2K

-60.92%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$478 MYR 2,015

$1,202 MX$22.7K

-60.24%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$1,845 MYR 7,781

$3,081 MX$58.3K

-40.12%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,106 MYR 4,664

$7,529 MX$142.3K

-85.31%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$792 MX$15K

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

4.07

11.42

-64.36%

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

Last update for Tawau: October 26, 2025

Last update for Playa del Carmen: October 28, 2025

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