Last update: Nov 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Playa del Carmen and Al-qardahah

For one person, living is cheaper in Al-qardahah: $642 a month against $1,202 in Playa del Carmen, rent and utilities included – about $6,700 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

57

Cost of Living Index in Playa del Carmen
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Playa del Carmen Living Index
31

Cost of Living Index in Al-qardahah
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Al-qardahah Living Index

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Playa del Carmen

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,202

/mo nomad

Al-qardahah

🇸🇾 Syria

$642

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Playa del Carmen and in Al-qardahah

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

A single person spends $1,202 per month in Playa del Carmen vs $642 in Al-qardahah, rent included.

Playa del Carmen $1,202
Al-qardahah $642

A couple spends around $2,082 per month in Playa del Carmen vs $1,016 in Al-qardahah, rent included.

Playa del Carmen $2,082
Al-qardahah $1,016

A family of three spends $2,962 per month in Playa del Carmen vs $1,390 in Al-qardahah, rent included.

Playa del Carmen $2,962
Al-qardahah $1,390

Playa del Carmen costs about 87% more than Al-qardahah, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Both Playa del Carmen and Al-qardahah are more affordable than the global median – Playa del Carmen 11% lower, Al-qardahah 52% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$10.67 MX$199

$10.06 SYP 1,222

6.06%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$43.80 MX$815

$42.56 SYP 5,171

2.91%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.79 MX$219

$6.89 SYP 837

71.12%

Cappuccino

$3.79 MX$70.5

$3.64 SYP 442

4.12%

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

$1.30 MX$24.14

$2.23 SYP 271

-41.70%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.83 MX$15.51

$0.86 SYP 105

-3.49%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.15 MX$58.6

$1.94 SYP 236

62.37%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.93 MX$91.8

$3.90 SYP 474

26.41%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.41 MX$26.22

$1.05 SYP 128

34.29%

White Bread (500g)

$2.20 MX$40.86

$0.45 SYP 54.3

388.89%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.47 MX$27.40

$1.61 SYP 196

-8.70%

Eggs

$2.50 MX$46.46

$1.57 SYP 191

59.24%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$7.29 MX$136

$3.98 SYP 484

83.17%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$7.95 MX$148

$5.56 SYP 675

42.99%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$12.86 MX$239

$13.71 SYP 1,665

-6.20%

Apples (1kg)

$2.90 MX$53.9

$1.03 SYP 126

181.55%

Banana (1kg)

$1.38 MX$25.74

$1.38 SYP 168

Oranges (1kg)

$2.49 MX$46.35

$1.14 SYP 138

118.42%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.03 MX$37.77

$1.07 SYP 130

89.72%

Potato (1kg)

$2.02 MX$37.68

$0.79 SYP 95.5

155.70%

Onion (1kg)

$1.90 MX$35.42

$0.76 SYP 91.9

150.00%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.14 MX$21.30

$0.44 SYP 53.5

159.09%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.24 MX$23.05

$0.66 SYP 80.1

87.88%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.27 MX$79.5

$2.71 SYP 329

57.56%

Wine (Bottle)

$9.81 MX$183

$4.94 SYP 600

98.58%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.59 MX$29.51

$1.15 SYP 140

38.26%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.75 MX$51.1

$2.81 SYP 342

-2.14%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.51 MX$9.58

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$27.39 MX$510

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$4.76 MX$88.6

$0.99 SYP 120

380.81%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$3.25 MX$60.5

$1.49 SYP 181

118.12%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$5.39 MX$100

$7.80 SYP 948

-30.90%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.53 MX$28.44

$3.63 SYP 441

-57.85%

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

$21.2K MX$394.8K

$15.0K SYP 1.8M

41.30%

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

$23.3K MX$432.9K

$19.3K SYP 2.3M

20.28%

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

$83.5 MX$1,554

$142 SYP 17.2K

-41.15%

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

$23.19 MX$431

$9.67 SYP 1,175

139.81%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$27.61 MX$514

$45.85 SYP 5,570

-39.78%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$56.4 MX$1,050

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$28.19 MX$525

Cinema Ticket

$5.00 MX$93.1

$5.56 SYP 675

-10.07%

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

$207 MX$3,854

$66.9 SYP 8,128

209.54%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$5,231 MX$97.3K

$1,770 SYP 215.1K

195.48%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$43.45 MX$809

$28.37 SYP 3,447

53.15%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$42.54 MX$792

$39.44 SYP 4,792

7.86%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$72.8 MX$1,354

$61.0 SYP 7,406

19.38%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$88.4 MX$1,645

$57.8 SYP 7,020

52.96%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$995 MX$18.5K

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$382 MX$7,116

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,674 MX$31.2K

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,081 MX$20.1K

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,909 MX$72.7K

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$6,138 MX$114.2K

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$832 MX$15.5K

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

11.45

14.25

-19.65%

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

Last update for Playa del Carmen: November 2, 2026

Last update for Al-qardahah: November 1, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Playa del Carmen

$382 31.8%

Al-qardahah

- * 0% 100%

Groceries & Markets

Playa del Carmen

$257 21.4%

Al-qardahah

$167 26% 35.2% $91

Eating Out

Playa del Carmen

$200 16.7%

Al-qardahah

$175 27.2% 12.8% $26

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Playa del Carmen

$134 11.2%

Al-qardahah

$197 30.7% 47% $63

Clothing & Footwear

Playa del Carmen

$111 9.3%

Al-qardahah

$84 13.1% 24.5% $27

Sport & Entertainment

Playa del Carmen

$66 5.5%

Al-qardahah

$11 * 1.7% 83.3% $55

Getting Around

Playa del Carmen

$50 4.2%

Al-qardahah

$8.4 * 1.3% 83.3% $42

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

Cost Breakdown

A mid-range dinner for two costs $44 in Playa del Carmen versus $43 in Al-qardahah. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $257 vs $167 – making Al-qardahah the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇲🇽 Playa del Carmen

🇸🇾 Al-qardahah

🕒 Local time

05:01 5:01 AM

13:01 1:01 PM

8 h ahead of Playa del Carmen

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

149,923

💱 Currency

Mexican Peso MXN $

Syrian Pound SYP £

📈 Exchange rate

100 MXN = 5.37 USD

100 MXN = 4.78 EUR

1,000 SYP = 8.23 USD

1,000 SYP = 7.32 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

SYP, USD, EUR to MXN – Mexican Peso Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇲🇽 Mexican Peso ($)

Mexican Peso exchange rates as of November 5, 2026: 1 USD = 18.61 MXN (100 MXN = 5.37 USD). 1 EUR = 20.91 MXN (100 MXN = 4.78 EUR).

Syrian Pound exchange rates as of November 5, 2026: 1 USD = 122 SYP (1,000 SYP = 8.23 USD). 1 EUR = 137 SYP (1,000 SYP = 7.32 EUR).

USD to MXN in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Playa del Carmen Al-qardahah 11,370 km ≈ 15 h nonstop flight

From you

Playa del Carmen
Al-qardahah

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

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

Yes – Playa del Carmen is pricier by about 87%, and outside of rent the gap shows up most in groceries.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $1,804 per month in Playa del Carmen and $963 in Al-qardahah. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

Groceries cost about 54% more in Playa del Carmen, though the gap depends on what you buy.

Kindergarten costs $207 per month in Playa del Carmen and $67 in Al-qardahah. For families with young kids, this one expense can tip the scales when choosing between the two cities.

A $1,000 monthly budget goes further in Al-qardahah, where all-in costs run around $642, than in Playa del Carmen at $1,202. In Al-qardahah it covers expenses comfortably, while in Playa del Carmen it requires careful planning or may not stretch far enough.

It depends on your priorities. Playa del Carmen has an edge in some lifestyle areas, with costs from $642 in Al-qardahah to $1,202 in Playa del Carmen. Climate, culture, job market, and personal taste all factor in.