Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Hama and Playa del Carmen

For one person, living is cheaper in Hama: $557 a month against $1,204 in Playa del Carmen, rent and utilities included – about $7,800 less a year. Rent and utilities account for about half of the difference.

27

Cost of Living Index in Hama
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Hama Living Index
59

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

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Hama

🇸🇾 Syria

$557

/mo nomad

Playa del Carmen

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,204

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $557 in Hama versus $1,204 in Playa del Carmen.

Hama $557
Playa del Carmen $1,204

Estimated couple costs with rent: $868 in Hama versus $2,102 in Playa del Carmen.

Hama $868
Playa del Carmen $2,102

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $1,180 in Hama versus $3,000 in Playa del Carmen.

Hama $1,180
Playa del Carmen $3,000

Living in Hama costs roughly 54% less than in Playa del Carmen, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Both cities sit below the global median: Hama 59% lower, Playa del Carmen 11% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$7.62 SYP 926

$10.86 MX$201

-29.83%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$30.44 SYP 3,699

$44.21 MX$817

-31.15%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$2.70 SYP 329

$11.76 MX$217

-77.04%

Cappuccino

$1.16 SYP 141

$3.68 MX$68.0

-68.48%

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

$2.26 SYP 275

$1.34 MX$24.79

68.66%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.87 SYP 106

$0.82 MX$15.24

6.10%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$1.95 SYP 237

$3.06 MX$56.6

-36.27%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.79 SYP 218

$4.94 MX$91.2

-63.77%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.06 SYP 129

$1.47 MX$27.17

-27.89%

White Bread (500g)

$0.42 SYP 50.8

$2.22 MX$40.95

-81.08%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.57 SYP 191

$1.48 MX$27.32

6.08%

Eggs

$1.64 SYP 199

$2.49 MX$45.99

-34.14%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$3.84 SYP 467

$7.52 MX$139

-48.94%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$5.57 SYP 677

$7.96 MX$147

-30.03%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$13.90 SYP 1,689

$12.57 MX$232

10.58%

Apples (1kg)

$1.08 SYP 131

$2.78 MX$51.3

-61.15%

Banana (1kg)

$1.42 SYP 173

$1.43 MX$26.37

-0.70%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.11 SYP 135

$2.62 MX$48.37

-57.63%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.05 SYP 128

$2.14 MX$39.49

-50.93%

Potato (1kg)

$0.74 SYP 89.5

$2.02 MX$37.38

-63.37%

Onion (1kg)

$0.79 SYP 96.3

$1.99 MX$36.74

-60.30%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.40 SYP 48.65

$1.14 MX$21.01

-64.91%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.61 SYP 74.6

$1.20 MX$22.18

-49.17%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$2.74 SYP 333

$4.26 MX$78.7

-35.68%

Wine (Bottle)

$6.14 SYP 746

$10.02 MX$185

-38.72%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.10 SYP 134

$1.54 MX$28.41

-28.57%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.91 SYP 353

$2.66 MX$49.17

9.40%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.20 SYP 23.72

$0.53 MX$9.73

-62.26%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$27.51 MX$508

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.02 SYP 123

$4.90 MX$90.6

-79.18%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.49 SYP 181

$3.43 MX$63.5

-56.56%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$7.89 SYP 959

$5.38 MX$99.4

46.65%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$3.60 SYP 437

$1.45 MX$26.76

148.28%

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

$15.0K SYP 1.8M

$21.2K MX$391.0K

-29.26%

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

$19.5K SYP 2.4M

$23.0K MX$425.3K

-15.48%

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

$143 SYP 17.3K

$85.4 MX$1,577

67.21%

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

$9.32 SYP 1,132

$23.46 MX$434

-60.27%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$23.15 SYP 2,814

$28.43 MX$525

-18.57%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$62.2 MX$1,149

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$28.68 MX$530

Cinema Ticket

$5.39 SYP 655

$5.10 MX$94.3

5.69%

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

$67.9 SYP 8,249

$201 MX$3,715

-66.24%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$1,747 SYP 212.2K

$3,947 MX$72.9K

-55.75%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$28.42 SYP 3,454

$44.39 MX$820

-35.98%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$39.97 SYP 4,857

$41.35 MX$764

-3.34%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$59.9 SYP 7,277

$72.7 MX$1,344

-17.68%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$58.8 SYP 7,143

$89.6 MX$1,656

-34.40%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$979 MX$18.1K

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$373 MX$6,887

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,681 MX$31.1K

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,095 MX$20.2K

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,949 MX$73.0K

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$6,137 MX$113.4K

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$738 MX$13.6K

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

14.25

11.45

24.45%

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

Last update for Hama: October 19, 2026

Last update for Playa del Carmen: October 17, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Hama

$175 31.5%

Playa del Carmen

$137 11.4% 21.7% $38

Groceries & Markets

Hama

$169 30.3%

Playa del Carmen

$258 21.5% 53.2% $90

Eating Out

Hama

$109 19.6%

Playa del Carmen

$200 16.6% 83.9% $91

Clothing & Footwear

Hama

$84 15.1%

Playa del Carmen

$112 9.3% 32.6% $27

Sport & Entertainment

Hama

$11 * 1.9%

Playa del Carmen

$72 6% 571% $62

Getting Around

Hama

$9.2 * 1.7%

Playa del Carmen

$52 4.3% 460% $42

Accommodation & Living

Hama

- * 0%

Playa del Carmen

$373 31%

Categories marked with * are only partly priced – their share counts the items that do have prices.

Cost Breakdown

Dining out: $30.00 in Hama vs $44.00 in Playa del Carmen for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $169 vs $258 per month, with Hama cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇸🇾 Hama

🇲🇽 Playa del Carmen

🕒 Local time

14:39 2:39 PM

06:39 6:39 AM

8 h behind Hama

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

312,994

149,923

💱 Currency

Syrian Pound SYP £

Mexican Peso MXN $

📈 Exchange rate

1,000 SYP = 8.23 USD

1,000 SYP = 7.32 EUR

100 MXN = 5.41 USD

100 MXN = 4.81 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

MXN, USD, EUR to SYP – Syrian Pound Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇸🇾 Syrian Pound (£)

Syrian Pound exchange rates as of October 20, 2026: 1 USD = 122 SYP (1,000 SYP = 8.23 USD). 1 EUR = 137 SYP (1,000 SYP = 7.32 EUR).

Mexican Peso exchange rates as of October 20, 2026: 1 USD = 18.48 MXN (100 MXN = 5.41 USD). 1 EUR = 20.77 MXN (100 MXN = 4.81 EUR).

USD to SYP in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Hama Playa del Carmen 11,440 km ≈ 15 h nonstop flight

From you

Hama
Playa del Carmen

Distances are measured in a straight line. Your location is detected approximately.

City Median Internet Speeds Comparison (Updated March 2026)

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

Digital Nomad Cost of Living Index

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

Hama and Playa del Carmen differ by about 116% in total monthly costs ($557 vs $1,204 including rent). Hama is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

You'd need roughly $835 in Hama and $1,806 in Playa del Carmen to live well. The gap comes down to housing and overall price levels. Both cities are liveable on less, but these numbers represent actual comfort.

Supermarket bills run roughly 53% higher in Playa del Carmen. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

All in, you'll spend $557 per month in Hama versus $1,204 in Playa del Carmen – a 116% gap that adds up to real savings over time for anyone picking the cheaper option.

At $557 in Hama versus $1,204 in Playa del Carmen, a $2,000 budget is realistic in Hama but tight or insufficient in Playa del Carmen. The gap between the two cities makes Hama the clear choice for anyone on this budget.

Both cities offer a good standard of living with different trade-offs. Neither is objectively better – the right pick depends on what matters most: affordability, career, cultural scene, or climate.

Expats usually find Hama gentler on the wallet – expenses run 116% less than in Playa del Carmen. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.