Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Playa del Carmen and Damascus

For one person, living is cheaper in Damascus: $870 a month against $1,204 in Playa del Carmen, rent and utilities included – about $4,000 less a year. Other living expenses account for most of the difference.

58

Cost of Living Index in Playa del Carmen
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Playa del Carmen Living Index
42

Cost of Living Index in Damascus
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Damascus Living Index

Jump to prices

Playa del Carmen

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,204

/mo nomad

Damascus

🇸🇾 Syria

$870

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,204 in Playa del Carmen versus $870 in Damascus.

Playa del Carmen $1,204
Damascus $870

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,082 in Playa del Carmen versus $1,410 in Damascus.

Playa del Carmen $2,082
Damascus $1,410

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $2,959 in Playa del Carmen versus $1,951 in Damascus.

Playa del Carmen $2,959
Damascus $1,951

Living in Playa del Carmen is roughly 38% more expensive than in Damascus, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Both cities sit below the global median: Playa del Carmen 12% lower, Damascus 36% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$10.92 MX$205

$10.19 SYP 1,238

7.16%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$43.37 MX$814

$43.30 SYP 5,262

0.16%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.78 MX$221

$6.80 SYP 827

73.24%

Cappuccino

$3.81 MX$71.5

$3.79 SYP 461

0.53%

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

$1.28 MX$24.07

$2.28 SYP 277

-43.86%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.78 MX$14.70

$0.81 SYP 98.9

-3.70%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.17 MX$59.5

$1.93 SYP 235

64.25%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.93 MX$92.7

$4.05 SYP 493

21.73%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.41 MX$26.40

$1.10 SYP 134

28.18%

White Bread (500g)

$2.22 MX$41.62

$0.39 SYP 47.14

469.23%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.42 MX$26.61

$1.52 SYP 185

-6.58%

Eggs

$2.52 MX$47.36

$1.56 SYP 190

61.54%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$7.26 MX$136

$4.01 SYP 488

81.05%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$7.70 MX$144

$5.61 SYP 682

37.25%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$12.69 MX$238

$14.05 SYP 1,707

-9.68%

Apples (1kg)

$2.78 MX$52.3

$1.07 SYP 130

159.81%

Banana (1kg)

$1.37 MX$25.68

$1.41 SYP 171

-2.84%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.55 MX$47.89

$1.09 SYP 132

133.94%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.12 MX$39.86

$1.05 SYP 128

101.90%

Potato (1kg)

$1.94 MX$36.39

$0.80 SYP 97.0

142.50%

Onion (1kg)

$1.89 MX$35.41

$0.76 SYP 92.9

148.68%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.15 MX$21.53

$0.40 SYP 49.10

187.50%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.18 MX$22.13

$0.62 SYP 75.3

90.32%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.30 MX$80.6

$2.72 SYP 331

58.09%

Wine (Bottle)

$9.95 MX$187

$5.98 SYP 727

66.39%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.58 MX$29.73

$1.09 SYP 133

44.95%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.67 MX$50.1

$2.94 SYP 358

-9.18%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.55 MX$10.39

$0.21 SYP 25.46

161.90%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$26.62 MX$500

$10.15 SYP 1,233

162.27%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$4.97 MX$93.3

$1.02 SYP 124

387.25%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$3.33 MX$62.5

$1.53 SYP 186

117.65%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$5.36 MX$101

$7.90 SYP 961

-32.15%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.44 MX$27.11

$3.68 SYP 447

-60.87%

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

$20.7K MX$388.0K

$15.1K SYP 1.8M

36.74%

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

$23.5K MX$440.5K

$18.9K SYP 2.3M

24.34%

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

$84.8 MX$1,592

$140 SYP 17.0K

-39.34%

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

$23.41 MX$439

$9.39 SYP 1,141

149.31%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$28.66 MX$538

$45.50 SYP 5,529

-37.01%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$57.1 MX$1,071

$27.57 SYP 3,351

106.93%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$28.91 MX$543

$8.41 SYP 1,022

243.76%

Cinema Ticket

$5.14 MX$96.5

$5.46 SYP 663

-5.86%

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

$207 MX$3,878

$65.4 SYP 7,952

215.65%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$3,927 MX$73.7K

$1,770 SYP 215.1K

121.89%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$43.35 MX$814

$28.26 SYP 3,434

53.40%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$41.44 MX$778

$40.49 SYP 4,921

2.35%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$74.2 MX$1,393

$59.7 SYP 7,253

24.31%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$89.3 MX$1,676

$58.6 SYP 7,117

52.41%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$980 MX$18.4K

$516 SYP 62.7K

89.89%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$381 MX$7,150

$186 SYP 22.6K

104.65%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,708 MX$32.1K

$846 SYP 102.8K

101.94%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,075 MX$20.2K

$462 SYP 56.2K

132.58%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,943 MX$74.0K

$1,713 SYP 208.2K

130.12%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$6,158 MX$115.6K

$598 SYP 72.6K

930.27%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$735 MX$13.8K

$79.5 SYP 9,665

823.45%

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: October 25, 2026

Last update for Damascus: October 26, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Playa del Carmen

$381 31.6%

Damascus

$186 21.4% 51.1% $195

Groceries & Markets

Playa del Carmen

$255 21.2%

Damascus

$169 19.5% 33.6% $86

Eating Out

Playa del Carmen

$202 16.8%

Damascus

$178 20.4% 12.2% $25

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Playa del Carmen

$137 11.4%

Damascus

$195 22.4% 42.3% $58

Clothing & Footwear

Playa del Carmen

$112 9.3%

Damascus

$84 9.7% 24.7% $28

Sport & Entertainment

Playa del Carmen

$67 5.6%

Damascus

$38 4.4% 42.8% $29

Getting Around

Playa del Carmen

$50 4.2%

Damascus

$20 2.3% 61% $31

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $980 in Playa del Carmen and $516 in Damascus. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Playa del Carmen pays about 9.2 times more on average. How far that income stretches comes down to housing choices and lifestyle.

Dining out: $43 in Playa del Carmen vs $43 in Damascus. Groceries flip the comparison at $255 vs $169, with Damascus cheaper for home cooking.

Good to know

🇲🇽 Playa del Carmen

🇸🇾 Damascus

🕒 Local time

15:20 3:20 PM

23:20 11:20 PM

8 h ahead of Playa del Carmen

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

149,923

1,414,913 Capital

💱 Currency

Mexican Peso MXN $

Syrian Pound SYP £

📈 Exchange rate

100 MXN = 5.33 USD

100 MXN = 4.77 EUR

1,000 SYP = 8.23 USD

1,000 SYP = 7.37 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 1, 2026: 1 USD = 18.77 MXN (100 MXN = 5.33 USD). 1 EUR = 20.96 MXN (100 MXN = 4.77 EUR).

Syrian Pound exchange rates as of November 1, 2026: 1 USD = 122 SYP (1,000 SYP = 8.23 USD). 1 EUR = 136 SYP (1,000 SYP = 7.37 EUR).

USD to MXN in detail →

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Between locations

Playa del Carmen Damascus 11,520 km ≈ 15 h nonstop flight

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Playa del Carmen
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

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

Total monthly costs including rent come to $1,204 in Playa del Carmen and $870 in Damascus, so Damascus is about 28% cheaper – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

Average pay in Playa del Carmen is about 9.2 times higher, 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: $980 in Playa del Carmen versus $516 in Damascus. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $207 in Playa del Carmen versus $65 in Damascus. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

A monthly transit pass in Damascus runs roughly 62% less than in Playa del Carmen. The price difference matters if you commute daily and watch your budget.

At $870 in Damascus versus $1,204 in Playa del Carmen, a $1,200 budget is realistic in Damascus but tight or insufficient in Playa del Carmen. The gap between the two cities makes Damascus 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.

It comes down to priorities – Damascus wins on affordability, Playa del Carmen on earning potential. Factor in climate, language, visa rules, and proximity to places that matter to you before deciding.