Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Mogadishu and Damascus

For one person, living is cheaper in Mogadishu: $610 a month against $869 in Damascus, rent and utilities included – about $3,100 less a year. Other living expenses account for most of the difference.

30

Cost of Living Index in Mogadishu
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Mogadishu Living Index
42

Cost of Living Index in Damascus
Learn more

Damascus Living Index

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Mogadishu

🇸🇴 Somalia

$610

/mo nomad

Damascus

🇸🇾 Syria

$869

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Mogadishu and in Damascus

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $610 in Mogadishu versus $869 in Damascus.

Mogadishu $610
Damascus $869

Estimated couple costs with rent: $940 in Mogadishu versus $1,412 in Damascus.

Mogadishu $940
Damascus $1,412

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $1,270 in Mogadishu versus $1,954 in Damascus.

Mogadishu $1,270
Damascus $1,954

Living in Mogadishu costs roughly 30% less than in Damascus, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Both cities sit below the global median: Mogadishu 55% lower, Damascus 36% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$2.93 SOS 1,664

$10.19 SYP 1,238

-71.25%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$34.88 SOS 19.8K

$42.87 SYP 5,208

-18.64%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$4.46 SOS 2,532

$6.87 SYP 835

-35.08%

Cappuccino

$1.97 SOS 1,121

$3.75 SYP 455

-47.47%

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

$1.15 SOS 652

$2.21 SYP 269

-47.96%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.50 SOS 282

$0.89 SYP 108

-43.82%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.05 SYP 249

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.03 SYP 489

Milk (1 liter)

$1.26 SOS 717

$1.06 SYP 128

18.87%

White Bread (500g)

$1.65 SOS 935

$0.41 SYP 50.1

302.44%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$0.76 SOS 431

$1.52 SYP 184

-50.00%

Eggs

$1.87 SOS 1,061

$1.62 SYP 197

15.43%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$5.02 SOS 2,852

$3.96 SYP 482

26.77%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$3.98 SOS 2,259

$5.60 SYP 680

-28.93%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$4.52 SOS 2,566

$13.69 SYP 1,663

-66.98%

Apples (1kg)

$3.80 SOS 2,160

$1.06 SYP 129

258.49%

Banana (1kg)

$1.03 SOS 583

$1.37 SYP 166

-24.82%

Oranges (1kg)

$3.04 SOS 1,730

$1.15 SYP 139

164.35%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.25 SOS 711

$1.05 SYP 128

19.05%

Potato (1kg)

$1.46 SOS 831

$0.79 SYP 96.2

84.81%

Onion (1kg)

$1.71 SOS 970

$0.79 SYP 96.5

116.46%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.48 SOS 842

$0.40 SYP 49.15

270.00%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.54 SOS 305

$0.62 SYP 75.2

-12.90%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$2.81 SYP 342

Wine (Bottle)

$6.09 SYP 740

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.97 SOS 1,118

$1.06 SYP 128

85.85%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.84 SYP 345

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.48 SOS 275

$0.23 SYP 28.01

108.70%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$9.85 SYP 1,197

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$0.99 SOS 562

$1.02 SYP 124

-2.94%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.53 SOS 302

$1.48 SYP 179

-64.19%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$3.03 SOS 1,720

$7.72 SYP 938

-60.75%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$0.85 SOS 480

$3.70 SYP 450

-77.03%

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

$14.8K SYP 1.8M

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

$6,440 SOS 3.7M

$19.5K SYP 2.4M

-66.98%

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

$158 SOS 89.7K

$138 SYP 16.8K

14.18%

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

$5.13 SOS 2,913

$9.86 SYP 1,198

-47.97%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$65.7 SOS 37.3K

$45.41 SYP 5,517

44.57%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$32.16 SOS 18.3K

$27.67 SYP 3,362

16.23%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$8.68 SYP 1,054

Cinema Ticket

$5.56 SYP 675

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

$79.2 SOS 45.0K

$66.4 SYP 8,067

19.22%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$775 SOS 440.3K

$1,758 SYP 213.5K

-55.90%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$14.05 SOS 7,982

$28.98 SYP 3,521

-51.52%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$13.92 SOS 7,907

$40.38 SYP 4,907

-65.53%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$25.37 SOS 14.4K

$59.4 SYP 7,214

-57.27%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$31.90 SOS 18.1K

$59.2 SYP 7,196

-46.14%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$194 SOS 110.2K

$525 SYP 63.8K

-63.07%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$76.4 SOS 43.4K

$188 SYP 22.8K

-59.29%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$477 SOS 270.9K

$834 SYP 101.3K

-42.81%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$186 SOS 105.4K

$471 SYP 57.3K

-60.63%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,219 SOS 1.8M

$1,700 SYP 206.5K

89.41%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$2,421 SOS 1.4M

$607 SYP 73.8K

298.56%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$271 SOS 154.0K

$72.9 SYP 8,854

272.13%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

14.25

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

Last update for Mogadishu: October 12, 2026

Last update for Damascus: October 11, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Mogadishu

$229 37.5%

Damascus

$194 22.3% 15.4% $35

Groceries & Markets

Mogadishu

$162 * 26.5%

Damascus

$168 19.3% 3.7% $5.9

Accommodation & Living

Mogadishu

$76 12.5%

Damascus

$188 21.6% 146% $111

Eating Out

Mogadishu

$67 * 11%

Damascus

$178 20.5% 165% $111

Clothing & Footwear

Mogadishu

$38 6.3%

Damascus

$85 9.7% 121% $46

Sport & Entertainment

Mogadishu

$32 * 5.3%

Damascus

$39 4.5% 20.6% $6.6

Getting Around

Mogadishu

$5.6 * 0.9%

Damascus

$19 2.2% 244% $14

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

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $194 in Mogadishu and $525 in Damascus. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Mogadishu pays 272% more on average while also being the cheaper of the two. The combined effect is a noticeably stronger local purchasing power.

Dining out: $35.00 in Mogadishu vs $43.00 in Damascus for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $162 vs $168 per month, with Mogadishu cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇸🇴 Mogadishu

🇸🇾 Damascus

🕒 Local time

13:49 1:49 PM

Same time as Mogadishu

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

2,610,000 Capital

1,414,913 Capital

💱 Currency

Somali Shilling SOS Sh

Syrian Pound SYP £

📈 Exchange rate

1,000 SOS = 1.76 USD

1,000 SOS = 1.57 EUR

1,000 SYP = 8.23 USD

1,000 SYP = 7.32 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

SYP, USD, EUR to SOS – Somali Shilling Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇸🇴 Somali Shilling (Sh)

Somali Shilling exchange rates as of October 17, 2026: 1 USD = 568 SOS (1,000 SOS = 1.76 USD). 1 EUR = 639 SOS (1,000 SOS = 1.57 EUR).

Syrian Pound exchange rates as of October 17, 2026: 1 USD = 122 SYP (1,000 SYP = 8.23 USD). 1 EUR = 137 SYP (1,000 SYP = 7.32 EUR).

USD to SOS in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Mogadishu Damascus 3,620 km ≈ 5 h nonstop flight

From you

Mogadishu
Damascus

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

Mogadishu vs Damascus: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Mogadishu and Damascus differ by about 43% in total monthly costs ($610 vs $869 including rent). Mogadishu is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

Average pay runs 272% higher in Mogadishu, which matters when comparing affordability. Whether that higher income actually nets you more depends on your spending habits and housing choices.

Rent for a central apartment: $194 in Mogadishu versus $525 in Damascus. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $79.2 in Mogadishu versus $66.4 in Damascus. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Dining out is cheaper in Mogadishu – a meal for two runs $35.00 versus $43.00 in Damascus. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

At $610 in Mogadishu versus $869 in Damascus, a $1,000 budget is realistic in Mogadishu but tight or insufficient in Damascus. The gap between the two cities makes Mogadishu 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 Mogadishu gentler on the wallet – expenses run 43% less than in Damascus. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.