Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Arendal and Playa del Carmen

For one person, living is cheaper in Playa del Carmen: $1,204 a month against $2,750 in Arendal, rent and utilities included – about $18,600 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

133

Cost of Living Index in Arendal
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Arendal Living Index
58

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

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Arendal

🇳🇴 Norway

$2,750

/mo nomad

Playa del Carmen

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,204

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,750 in Arendal versus $1,204 in Playa del Carmen.

Arendal $2,750
Playa del Carmen $1,204

Estimated couple costs with rent: $3,932 in Arendal versus $2,082 in Playa del Carmen.

Arendal $3,932
Playa del Carmen $2,082

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $5,113 in Arendal versus $2,959 in Playa del Carmen.

Arendal $5,113
Playa del Carmen $2,959

Living in Arendal is roughly 128% more expensive than in Playa del Carmen, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

The two cities straddle the global median: Arendal is 102% above, Playa del Carmen is 12% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$20.71 NOK 191

$10.92 MX$205

89.65%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$67.1 NOK 619

$43.37 MX$815

54.74%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$16.06 NOK 148

$11.78 MX$221

36.33%

Cappuccino

$5.51 NOK 50.8

$3.81 MX$71.6

44.62%

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

$3.75 NOK 34.60

$1.28 MX$24.10

192.97%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.42 NOK 31.51

$0.78 MX$14.71

338.46%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$11.85 NOK 109

$3.17 MX$59.5

273.82%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$10.58 NOK 97.6

$4.93 MX$92.7

114.60%

Milk (1 liter)

$2.49 NOK 22.96

$1.41 MX$26.43

76.60%

White Bread (500g)

$3.55 NOK 32.71

$2.22 MX$41.66

59.91%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$4.01 NOK 36.94

$1.42 MX$26.64

182.39%

Eggs

$4.76 NOK 43.88

$2.52 MX$47.41

88.89%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$14.98 NOK 138

$7.26 MX$137

106.34%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$14.93 NOK 138

$7.70 MX$145

93.90%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$34.94 NOK 322

$12.69 MX$239

175.33%

Apples (1kg)

$3.61 NOK 33.23

$2.78 MX$52.3

29.86%

Banana (1kg)

$2.75 NOK 25.35

$1.37 MX$25.71

100.73%

Oranges (1kg)

$3.49 NOK 32.13

$2.55 MX$47.94

36.86%

Tomato (1kg)

$4.99 NOK 45.98

$2.12 MX$39.90

135.38%

Potato (1kg)

$2.56 NOK 23.60

$1.94 MX$36.43

31.96%

Onion (1kg)

$3.16 NOK 29.11

$1.89 MX$35.44

67.20%

Lettuce (1 head)

$2.90 NOK 26.75

$1.15 MX$21.55

152.17%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$2.42 NOK 22.35

$1.18 MX$22.16

105.08%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$18.37 NOK 169

$4.30 MX$80.7

327.21%

Wine (Bottle)

$15.07 NOK 139

$9.95 MX$187

51.46%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$3.74 NOK 34.50

$1.58 MX$29.76

136.71%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.45 NOK 40.98

$2.67 MX$50.2

66.67%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$3.78 NOK 34.85

$0.55 MX$10.40

587.27%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$94.4 NOK 870

$26.62 MX$500

254.66%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$6.36 NOK 58.6

$4.97 MX$93.4

27.97%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.82 NOK 16.75

$3.33 MX$62.6

-45.35%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$108 NOK 999

$5.36 MX$101

1922.01%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$2.33 NOK 21.50

$1.44 MX$27.14

61.81%

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

$49.6K NOK 457.5K

$20.7K MX$388.4K

140.22%

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

$41.7K NOK 384.4K

$23.5K MX$441.0K

77.76%

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

$263 NOK 2,421

$84.8 MX$1,594

209.79%

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

$34.00 NOK 313

$23.41 MX$440

45.24%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$79.7 NOK 735

$28.66 MX$539

178.23%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$37.05 NOK 341

$57.1 MX$1,072

-35.06%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$28.91 MX$543

Cinema Ticket

$15.90 NOK 147

$5.14 MX$96.6

209.34%

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

$335 NOK 3,083

$207 MX$3,882

61.96%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$14.5K NOK 133.9K

$3,927 MX$73.8K

269.81%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$131 NOK 1,203

$43.35 MX$815

201.11%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$44.64 NOK 411

$41.44 MX$779

7.72%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$130 NOK 1,200

$74.2 MX$1,394

75.42%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$210 NOK 1,932

$89.3 MX$1,677

134.91%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,159 NOK 10.7K

$980 MX$18.4K

18.27%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,053 NOK 9,707

$381 MX$7,157

176.56%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,593 NOK 14.7K

$1,708 MX$32.1K

-6.74%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,518 NOK 14.0K

$1,075 MX$20.2K

41.17%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$4,347 NOK 40.1K

$3,943 MX$74.1K

10.24%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$3,230 NOK 29.8K

$6,158 MX$115.7K

-47.55%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$4,235 NOK 39.0K

$735 MX$13.8K

476.58%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

4.68

11.45

-59.13%

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

Last update for Arendal: October 27, 2026

Last update for Playa del Carmen: October 25, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Arendal

$1.1K 38.3%

Playa del Carmen

$381 31.6% 63.8% $672

Groceries & Markets

Arendal

$506 18.4%

Playa del Carmen

$255 21.2% 49.6% $251

Eating Out

Arendal

$389 14.2%

Playa del Carmen

$202 16.8% 48% $187

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Arendal

$376 13.7%

Playa del Carmen

$137 11.4% 63.6% $240

Clothing & Footwear

Arendal

$232 8.4%

Playa del Carmen

$112 9.3% 51.8% $120

Getting Around

Arendal

$125 4.5%

Playa del Carmen

$50 4.2% 59.6% $75

Sport & Entertainment

Arendal

$69 2.5%

Playa del Carmen

$67 5.6% 2.2% $1.5

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,159 in Arendal and $980 in Playa del Carmen. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Arendal pays about 5.8 times more on average. How far that income stretches comes down to housing choices and lifestyle.

Dining out: $67 in Arendal vs $43 in Playa del Carmen for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $506 vs $255 per month, with Playa del Carmen cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇳🇴 Arendal

🇲🇽 Playa del Carmen

🕒 Local time

09:33 9:33 AM

03:33 3:33 AM

6 h behind Arendal

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

46,406

149,923

💱 Currency

Norwegian Krone NOK kr

Mexican Peso MXN $

📈 Exchange rate

100 NOK = 10.85 USD

100 NOK = 9.72 EUR

100 MXN = 5.32 USD

100 MXN = 4.77 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

MXN, USD, EUR to NOK – Norwegian Krone Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇳🇴 Norwegian Krone (kr)

Norwegian Krone exchange rates as of November 2, 2026: 1 USD = 9.22 NOK (1 NOK = 0.108 USD). 1 EUR = 10.29 NOK (100 NOK = 9.72 EUR).

Mexican Peso exchange rates as of November 2, 2026: 1 USD = 18.79 MXN (100 MXN = 5.32 USD). 1 EUR = 20.97 MXN (100 MXN = 4.77 EUR).

USD to NOK in detail →

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Between locations

Arendal Playa del Carmen 8,400 km ≈ 11 h nonstop flight

From you

Arendal
Playa del Carmen

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

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

Total monthly costs including rent come to $2,750 in Arendal and $1,204 in Playa del Carmen, so Playa del Carmen is about 56% cheaper – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

Average pay in Arendal is about 5.8 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: $1,159 in Arendal versus $980 in Playa del Carmen. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $335 in Arendal versus $207 in Playa del Carmen. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Supermarket bills run roughly 99% higher in Arendal. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

At $1,204 in Playa del Carmen versus $2,750 in Arendal, a $1,500 budget is realistic in Playa del Carmen but tight or insufficient in Arendal. The gap between the two cities makes Playa del Carmen 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 Playa del Carmen gentler on the wallet – expenses run 56% less than in Arendal. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.