Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Gafsa and Playa del Carmen

For one person, living is cheaper in Gafsa: $585 a month against $1,204 in Playa del Carmen, rent and utilities included – about $7,400 less a year. Rent and utilities account for about half of the difference.

28

Cost of Living Index in Gafsa
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Gafsa Living Index
58

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

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Gafsa

🇹🇳 Tunisia

$585

/mo nomad

Playa del Carmen

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,204

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

A single person spends $585 per month in Gafsa vs $1,204 in Playa del Carmen, rent included.

Gafsa $585
Playa del Carmen $1,204

A couple spends around $900 per month in Gafsa vs $2,082 in Playa del Carmen, rent included.

Gafsa $900
Playa del Carmen $2,082

A family of three spends $1,215 per month in Gafsa vs $2,959 in Playa del Carmen, rent included.

Gafsa $1,215
Playa del Carmen $2,959

Gafsa is about 51% cheaper than Playa del Carmen, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Both Gafsa and Playa del Carmen are more affordable than the global median – Gafsa 57% lower, Playa del Carmen 12% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$3.75 TND 11.29

$10.92 MX$204

-65.66%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$9.96 TND 30.01

$43.37 MX$808

-77.03%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$2.57 TND 7.73

$11.78 MX$220

-78.18%

Cappuccino

$0.61 TND 1.83

$3.81 MX$71.0

-83.99%

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

$0.52 TND 1.57

$1.28 MX$23.90

-59.38%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.24 TND 0.72

$0.78 MX$14.59

-69.23%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$1.71 TND 5.16

$3.17 MX$59.0

-46.06%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.64 TND 4.94

$4.93 MX$92.0

-66.73%

Milk (1 liter)

$0.44 TND 1.32

$1.41 MX$26.22

-68.79%

White Bread (500g)

$0.14 TND 0.42

$2.22 MX$41.33

-93.69%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.64 TND 4.95

$1.42 MX$26.42

15.49%

Eggs

$1.06 TND 3.19

$2.52 MX$47.03

-57.94%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$12.84 TND 38.67

$7.26 MX$135

76.86%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$6.03 TND 18.17

$7.70 MX$143

-21.69%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$11.62 TND 34.99

$12.69 MX$237

-8.43%

Apples (1kg)

$1.40 TND 4.21

$2.78 MX$51.9

-49.64%

Banana (1kg)

$3.12 TND 9.39

$1.37 MX$25.50

127.74%

Oranges (1kg)

$0.87 TND 2.62

$2.55 MX$47.55

-65.88%

Tomato (1kg)

$0.88 TND 2.64

$2.12 MX$39.58

-58.49%

Potato (1kg)

$0.74 TND 2.23

$1.94 MX$36.13

-61.86%

Onion (1kg)

$0.47 TND 1.42

$1.89 MX$35.16

-75.13%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.46 TND 1.38

$1.15 MX$21.37

-60.00%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.27 TND 0.81

$1.18 MX$21.98

-77.12%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$2.53 TND 7.63

$4.30 MX$80.1

-41.16%

Wine (Bottle)

$4.94 TND 14.88

$9.95 MX$185

-50.35%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.23 TND 3.69

$1.58 MX$29.52

-22.15%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.33 TND 4.00

$2.67 MX$49.79

-50.19%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.33 TND 0.98

$0.55 MX$10.31

-40.00%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$10.97 TND 33.03

$26.62 MX$496

-58.79%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$0.29 TND 0.87

$4.97 MX$92.6

-94.16%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.25 TND 0.76

$3.33 MX$62.1

-92.49%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$3.95 TND 11.89

$5.36 MX$99.8

-26.31%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$0.89 TND 2.67

$1.44 MX$26.92

-38.19%

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

$38.6K TND 116.2K

$20.7K MX$385.2K

86.65%

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

$31.4K TND 94.6K

$23.5K MX$437.4K

33.87%

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

$39.77 TND 120

$84.8 MX$1,581

-53.10%

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

$8.37 TND 25.20

$23.41 MX$436

-64.25%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$19.37 TND 58.4

$28.66 MX$534

-32.41%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$15.20 TND 45.79

$57.1 MX$1,063

-73.36%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$12.34 TND 37.19

$28.91 MX$539

-57.32%

Cinema Ticket

$3.33 TND 10.04

$5.14 MX$95.8

-35.21%

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

$61.2 TND 184

$207 MX$3,851

-70.40%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$987 TND 2,974

$3,927 MX$73.2K

-74.86%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$39.95 TND 120

$43.35 MX$808

-7.84%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$51.9 TND 156

$41.44 MX$772

25.12%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$104 TND 315

$74.2 MX$1,383

40.82%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$114 TND 344

$89.3 MX$1,664

27.94%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$143 TND 432

$980 MX$18.3K

-85.37%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$102 TND 306

$381 MX$7,099

-73.29%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$206 TND 621

$1,708 MX$31.8K

-87.93%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$149 TND 450

$1,075 MX$20.0K

-86.12%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$959 TND 2,888

$3,943 MX$73.5K

-75.68%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$348 TND 1,047

$6,158 MX$114.8K

-94.36%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$304 TND 916

$735 MX$13.7K

-58.62%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

8.88

11.45

-22.45%

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

Last update for Gafsa: October 25, 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

Gafsa

$181 30.9%

Playa del Carmen

$255 21.2% 41.1% $74

Clothing & Footwear

Gafsa

$140 23.9%

Playa del Carmen

$112 9.3% 20% $28

Accommodation & Living

Gafsa

$102 17.4%

Playa del Carmen

$381 31.6% 274% $279

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Gafsa

$68 11.5%

Playa del Carmen

$137 11.4% 103% $69

Eating Out

Gafsa

$60 10.2%

Playa del Carmen

$202 16.8% 238% $143

Sport & Entertainment

Gafsa

$22 3.7%

Playa del Carmen

$67 5.6% 208% $45

Getting Around

Gafsa

$14 2.4%

Playa del Carmen

$50 4.2% 265% $37

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $143 in Gafsa 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 in Playa del Carmen are about 2.4 times higher. Purchasing power depends on which expenses matter most to you.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $10 in Gafsa versus $43 in Playa del Carmen. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $181 vs $255 – making Gafsa the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇹🇳 Gafsa

🇲🇽 Playa del Carmen

🕒 Local time

23:13 11:13 PM

17:13 5:13 PM

6 h behind Gafsa

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

111,170

149,923

💱 Currency

Tunisian Dinar TND د.ت

Mexican Peso MXN $

📈 Exchange rate

1 TND = 0.332 USD

1 TND = 0.298 EUR

100 MXN = 5.36 USD

100 MXN = 4.82 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

MXN, USD, EUR to TND – Tunisian Dinar Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇹🇳 Tunisian Dinar (د.ت)

Tunisian Dinar exchange rates as of October 28, 2026: 1 USD = 3.01 TND (1 TND = 0.332 USD). 1 EUR = 3.35 TND (1 TND = 0.298 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 TND in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Gafsa Playa del Carmen 9,240 km ≈ 12 h nonstop flight

From you

Gafsa
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

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

Yes – Playa del Carmen is pricier by about 106%, and outside of rent the gap shows up most in eating out.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $878 per month in Gafsa 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 Gafsa, especially for central apartments: a one-bedroom in the center costs $143 there versus $980 in Playa del Carmen.

Kindergarten costs $61 per month in Gafsa and $207 in Playa del Carmen. For families with young kids, this one expense can tip the scales when choosing between the two cities.

Groceries cost about 41% more in Playa del Carmen, though the gap depends on what you buy.

A $1,000 monthly budget goes further in Gafsa, where all-in costs run around $585, than in Playa del Carmen at $1,204. In Gafsa it covers expenses comfortably, while in Playa del Carmen it requires careful planning or may not stretch far enough.

Families tend to lean toward Gafsa – lower housing and cheaper childcare make a real difference, especially on a single income or when paying for private education.

If budget matters most, go with Gafsa. 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.