Last update: Nov 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Playa del Carmen and Tartus

For one person, living is cheaper in Tartus: $635 a month against $1,202 in Playa del Carmen, rent and utilities included – about $6,800 less a year. Other living expenses account for most of the difference.

57

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

Cost of Living Index in Tartus
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Tartus Living Index

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Playa del Carmen

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,202

/mo nomad

Tartus

🇸🇾 Syria

$635

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

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

A single person spends $1,202 per month in Playa del Carmen vs $635 in Tartus, rent included.

Playa del Carmen $1,202
Tartus $635

A couple spends around $2,082 per month in Playa del Carmen vs $988 in Tartus, rent included.

Playa del Carmen $2,082
Tartus $988

A family of three spends $2,962 per month in Playa del Carmen vs $1,340 in Tartus, rent included.

Playa del Carmen $2,962
Tartus $1,340

Playa del Carmen costs about 89% more than Tartus, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Both Playa del Carmen and Tartus are more affordable than the global median – Playa del Carmen 11% lower, Tartus 53% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$10.67 MX$199

$10.13 SYP 1,231

5.33%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$43.80 MX$815

$41.75 SYP 5,072

4.91%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.79 MX$219

$6.80 SYP 827

73.38%

Cappuccino

$3.79 MX$70.5

$3.79 SYP 461

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

$1.30 MX$24.14

$2.22 SYP 269

-41.44%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.83 MX$15.51

$0.83 SYP 101

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

$4.09 SYP 497

20.54%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.41 MX$26.22

$0.44 SYP 53.9

220.45%

White Bread (500g)

$2.20 MX$40.86

$0.44 SYP 53.9

400.00%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.47 MX$27.40

$0.74 SYP 90.3

98.65%

Eggs

$2.50 MX$46.46

$0.81 SYP 98.8

208.64%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$7.29 MX$136

$3.95 SYP 480

84.56%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$7.95 MX$148

$3.05 SYP 370

160.66%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$12.86 MX$239

$13.97 SYP 1,698

-7.95%

Apples (1kg)

$2.90 MX$53.9

$1.04 SYP 126

178.85%

Banana (1kg)

$1.38 MX$25.74

$1.37 SYP 166

0.73%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.49 MX$46.35

$1.15 SYP 140

116.52%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.03 MX$37.77

$0.22 SYP 26.66

822.73%

Potato (1kg)

$2.02 MX$37.68

$0.22 SYP 26.73

818.18%

Onion (1kg)

$1.90 MX$35.42

$0.29 SYP 35.82

555.17%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.14 MX$21.30

$0.43 SYP 52.7

165.12%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.24 MX$23.05

$0.61 SYP 74.7

103.28%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.27 MX$79.5

$2.65 SYP 322

61.13%

Wine (Bottle)

$9.81 MX$183

$4.93 SYP 599

98.99%

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

$2.86 SYP 347

-3.85%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.51 MX$9.58

$0.33 SYP 39.53

54.55%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$27.39 MX$510

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$4.76 MX$88.6

$1.01 SYP 123

371.29%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$3.25 MX$60.5

$1.49 SYP 182

118.12%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$5.39 MX$100

$7.85 SYP 954

-31.34%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.53 MX$28.44

$3.67 SYP 446

-58.31%

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

$21.2K MX$394.8K

$15.1K SYP 1.8M

40.62%

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

$23.3K MX$432.9K

$19.1K SYP 2.3M

21.64%

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

$83.5 MX$1,554

$139 SYP 16.9K

-40.14%

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

$23.19 MX$431

$9.52 SYP 1,157

143.59%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$27.61 MX$514

$20.33 SYP 2,470

35.81%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$56.4 MX$1,050

$5.64 SYP 685

900.53%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$28.19 MX$525

Cinema Ticket

$5.00 MX$93.1

$5.47 SYP 664

-8.59%

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

$207 MX$3,854

$9.54 SYP 1,160

2070.65%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$5,231 MX$97.3K

$1,756 SYP 213.3K

197.93%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$43.45 MX$809

$11.34 SYP 1,378

283.16%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$42.54 MX$792

$40.40 SYP 4,909

5.30%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$72.8 MX$1,354

$46.48 SYP 5,648

56.54%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$88.4 MX$1,645

$15.39 SYP 1,870

474.27%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$995 MX$18.5K

$117 SYP 14.2K

751.54%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$382 MX$7,116

$76.7 SYP 9,319

398.57%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,674 MX$31.2K

$232 SYP 28.2K

621.21%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,081 MX$20.1K

$113 SYP 13.8K

852.48%

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

$49.39 SYP 6,001

1585.12%

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 Tartus: October 31, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Playa del Carmen

$382 31.8%

Tartus

$77 12.1% 79.9% $306

Groceries & Markets

Playa del Carmen

$257 21.4%

Tartus

$135 21.2% 47.6% $123

Eating Out

Playa del Carmen

$200 16.7%

Tartus

$177 27.9% 11.6% $23

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Playa del Carmen

$134 11.2%

Tartus

$169 26.7% 26.1% $35

Clothing & Footwear

Playa del Carmen

$111 9.3%

Tartus

$51 8.1% 54% $60

Sport & Entertainment

Playa del Carmen

$66 5.5%

Tartus

$17 2.6% 75.1% $50

Getting Around

Playa del Carmen

$50 4.2%

Tartus

$9.8 * 1.5% 80.6% $41

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

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $995 in Playa del Carmen versus $117 in Tartus. 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 17 times higher. Purchasing power depends on which expenses matter most to you.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $44 in Playa del Carmen versus $42 in Tartus. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $257 vs $135 – making Tartus the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇲🇽 Playa del Carmen

🇸🇾 Tartus

🕒 Local time

03:51 3:51 AM

11:51 11:51 AM

8 h ahead of Playa del Carmen

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

149,923

115,769

💱 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 Tartus 11,400 km ≈ 15 h nonstop flight

From you

Playa del Carmen
Tartus

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 Tartus: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Yes – Playa del Carmen is pricier by about 89%, 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 $953 in Tartus. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

Rent is clearly cheaper in Tartus, especially for central apartments: a one-bedroom in the center costs $117 there versus $995 in Playa del Carmen.

Monthly expenses with rent come to $1,202 in Playa del Carmen and $635 in Tartus. That makes Tartus about 47% cheaper.

Kindergarten costs $207 per month in Playa del Carmen and $9.54 in Tartus. 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 Tartus, where all-in costs run around $635, than in Playa del Carmen at $1,202. In Tartus it covers expenses comfortably, while in Playa del Carmen it requires careful planning or may not stretch far enough.

Families tend to lean toward Tartus – 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 Tartus. 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.