Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Playa del Carmen and Sfax

For one person, living is cheaper in Sfax: $623 a month against $1,204 in Playa del Carmen, rent and utilities included – about $7,000 less a year. Rent and utilities account for about half of the difference.

58

Cost of Living Index in Playa del Carmen
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Playa del Carmen Living Index
30

Cost of Living Index in Sfax
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Sfax Living Index

Jump to prices

Playa del Carmen

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,204

/mo nomad

Sfax

🇹🇳 Tunisia

$623

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Playa del Carmen and in Sfax

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 Sfax actually costs, broken down by who's living it.

A single person spends $1,204 per month in Playa del Carmen vs $623 in Sfax, rent included.

Playa del Carmen $1,204
Sfax $623

A couple spends around $2,082 per month in Playa del Carmen vs $978 in Sfax, rent included.

Playa del Carmen $2,082
Sfax $978

A family of three spends $2,959 per month in Playa del Carmen vs $1,333 in Sfax, rent included.

Playa del Carmen $2,959
Sfax $1,333

Playa del Carmen costs about 93% more than Sfax, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Both Playa del Carmen and Sfax are more affordable than the global median – Playa del Carmen 12% lower, Sfax 54% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$10.92 MX$204

$3.31 TND 9.98

229.91%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$43.37 MX$808

$19.75 TND 59.5

119.59%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.78 MX$220

$4.90 TND 14.78

140.41%

Cappuccino

$3.81 MX$71.0

$0.68 TND 2.05

460.29%

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

$1.28 MX$23.90

$0.62 TND 1.87

106.45%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.78 MX$14.59

$0.27 TND 0.82

188.89%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.17 MX$59.0

$1.60 TND 4.83

98.12%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.93 MX$92.0

$1.94 TND 5.86

154.12%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.41 MX$26.22

$0.45 TND 1.37

213.33%

White Bread (500g)

$2.22 MX$41.33

$0.22 TND 0.66

909.09%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.42 MX$26.42

$1.30 TND 3.91

9.23%

Eggs

$2.52 MX$47.03

$1.57 TND 4.72

60.51%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$7.26 MX$135

$12.26 TND 36.93

-40.78%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$7.70 MX$143

$5.69 TND 17.14

35.33%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$12.69 MX$237

$13.72 TND 41.34

-7.51%

Apples (1kg)

$2.78 MX$51.9

$1.76 TND 5.31

57.95%

Banana (1kg)

$1.37 MX$25.50

$3.13 TND 9.44

-56.23%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.55 MX$47.55

$1.08 TND 3.26

136.11%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.12 MX$39.58

$0.69 TND 2.09

207.25%

Potato (1kg)

$1.94 MX$36.13

$0.82 TND 2.46

136.59%

Onion (1kg)

$1.89 MX$35.16

$0.82 TND 2.48

130.49%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.15 MX$21.37

$0.57 TND 1.71

101.75%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.18 MX$21.98

$0.31 TND 0.94

280.65%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.30 MX$80.1

$3.64 TND 10.97

18.13%

Wine (Bottle)

$9.95 MX$185

$6.82 TND 20.53

45.89%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.58 MX$29.52

$1.18 TND 3.54

33.90%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.67 MX$49.79

$1.04 TND 3.12

156.73%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.55 MX$10.31

$0.19 TND 0.57

189.47%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$26.62 MX$496

$9.76 TND 29.40

172.75%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$4.97 MX$92.6

$0.31 TND 0.93

1503.23%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$3.33 MX$62.1

$0.32 TND 0.96

940.63%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$5.36 MX$99.8

$7.22 TND 21.75

-25.76%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.44 MX$26.92

$0.86 TND 2.58

67.44%

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

$20.7K MX$385.2K

$36.9K TND 111.1K

-43.95%

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

$23.5K MX$437.4K

$35.1K TND 105.8K

-33.16%

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

$84.8 MX$1,581

$44.15 TND 133

92.05%

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

$23.41 MX$436

$9.56 TND 28.80

144.87%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$28.66 MX$534

$14.48 TND 43.63

97.93%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$57.1 MX$1,063

$27.22 TND 82.0

109.59%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$28.91 MX$539

$7.30 TND 22.00

296.03%

Cinema Ticket

$5.14 MX$95.8

$4.50 TND 13.56

14.22%

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

$207 MX$3,851

$95.6 TND 288

116.16%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$3,927 MX$73.2K

$2,459 TND 7,406

59.74%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$43.35 MX$808

$42.96 TND 129

0.91%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$41.44 MX$772

$35.66 TND 107

16.21%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$74.2 MX$1,383

$111 TND 335

-33.37%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$89.3 MX$1,664

$65.3 TND 197

36.66%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$980 MX$18.3K

$190 TND 573

414.61%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$381 MX$7,099

$135 TND 406

182.68%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,708 MX$31.8K

$330 TND 993

417.92%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,075 MX$20.0K

$216 TND 650

398.41%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,943 MX$73.5K

$986 TND 2,970

299.95%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$6,158 MX$114.8K

$741 TND 2,233

730.78%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$735 MX$13.7K

$330 TND 994

122.60%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

11.45

13.6

-15.81%

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 Sfax: October 26, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Playa del Carmen

$381 31.6%

Sfax

$135 21.6% 64.6% $246

Groceries & Markets

Playa del Carmen

$255 21.2%

Sfax

$192 30.8% 24.8% $63

Eating Out

Playa del Carmen

$202 16.8%

Sfax

$65 10.4% 68% $138

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Playa del Carmen

$137 11.4%

Sfax

$68 11% 50.2% $69

Clothing & Footwear

Playa del Carmen

$112 9.3%

Sfax

$115 18.4% 2.8% $3.2

Sport & Entertainment

Playa del Carmen

$67 5.6%

Sfax

$36 5.8% 46.2% $31

Getting Around

Playa del Carmen

$50 4.2%

Sfax

$12 2% 75.4% $38

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $980 in Playa del Carmen versus $190 in Sfax. 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 2.2 times higher. Purchasing power depends on which expenses matter most to you.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $43 in Playa del Carmen versus $20 in Sfax. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $255 vs $192 – making Sfax the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇲🇽 Playa del Carmen

🇹🇳 Sfax

🕒 Local time

17:14 5:14 PM

23:14 11:14 PM

6 h ahead of Playa del Carmen

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

149,923

955,421

💱 Currency

Mexican Peso MXN $

Tunisian Dinar TND د.ت

📈 Exchange rate

100 MXN = 5.36 USD

100 MXN = 4.82 EUR

1 TND = 0.332 USD

1 TND = 0.298 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

TND, USD, EUR to MXN – Mexican Peso Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇲🇽 Mexican Peso ($)

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).

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).

USD to MXN in detail →

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Between locations

Playa del Carmen Sfax 9,400 km ≈ 12 h nonstop flight

From you

Playa del Carmen
Sfax

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 Sfax: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Yes – Playa del Carmen is pricier by about 93%, and outside of rent the gap shows up most in eating out.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $1,806 per month in Playa del Carmen and $934 in Sfax. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

Rent is clearly cheaper in Sfax, especially for central apartments: a one-bedroom in the center costs $190 there versus $980 in Playa del Carmen.

Monthly expenses with rent come to $1,204 in Playa del Carmen and $623 in Sfax. That makes Sfax about 48% cheaper.

Public transport costs about 63% less in Sfax. For daily commuters, that gap adds up to noticeable savings over a year.

A $1,200 monthly budget goes further in Sfax, where all-in costs run around $623, than in Playa del Carmen at $1,204. In Sfax it covers expenses comfortably, while in Playa del Carmen it requires careful planning or may not stretch far enough.

Families tend to lean toward Sfax – 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 Sfax. 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.