Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Grimstad and Playa del Carmen

For one person, living is cheaper in Playa del Carmen: $1,204 a month against $2,179 in Grimstad, rent and utilities included – about $11,700 less a year. Other living expenses account for most of the difference.

104

Cost of Living Index in Grimstad
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Grimstad Living Index
58

Cost of Living Index in Playa del Carmen
Learn more

Playa del Carmen Living Index

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Grimstad

🇳🇴 Norway

$2,179

/mo nomad

Playa del Carmen

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,204

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,179 in Grimstad versus $1,204 in Playa del Carmen.

Grimstad $2,179
Playa del Carmen $1,204

Estimated couple costs with rent: $3,734 in Grimstad versus $2,082 in Playa del Carmen.

Grimstad $3,734
Playa del Carmen $2,082

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $5,290 in Grimstad versus $2,959 in Playa del Carmen.

Grimstad $5,290
Playa del Carmen $2,959

Living in Grimstad is roughly 81% more expensive than in Playa del Carmen, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

The two cities straddle the global median: Grimstad is 60% above, Playa del Carmen is 12% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$21.29 NOK 197

$10.92 MX$203

94.96%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$79.4 NOK 734

$43.37 MX$808

83.01%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$15.38 NOK 142

$11.78 MX$219

30.56%

Cappuccino

$4.87 NOK 45.06

$3.81 MX$71.0

27.82%

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

$4.20 NOK 38.82

$1.28 MX$23.89

228.13%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.41 NOK 31.51

$0.78 MX$14.58

337.18%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$11.76 NOK 109

$3.17 MX$59.0

270.98%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$10.54 NOK 97.5

$4.93 MX$91.9

113.79%

Milk (1 liter)

$2.65 NOK 24.48

$1.41 MX$26.20

87.94%

White Bread (500g)

$3.74 NOK 34.55

$2.22 MX$41.30

68.47%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$3.24 NOK 29.94

$1.42 MX$26.40

128.17%

Eggs

$3.60 NOK 33.27

$2.52 MX$47.00

42.86%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$12.94 NOK 120

$7.26 MX$135

78.24%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$14.43 NOK 133

$7.70 MX$143

87.40%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$24.57 NOK 227

$12.69 MX$236

93.62%

Apples (1kg)

$2.17 NOK 20.10

$2.78 MX$51.9

-21.94%

Banana (1kg)

$2.47 NOK 22.83

$1.37 MX$25.49

80.29%

Oranges (1kg)

$3.57 NOK 33.05

$2.55 MX$47.52

40.00%

Tomato (1kg)

$4.38 NOK 40.54

$2.12 MX$39.55

106.60%

Potato (1kg)

$2.73 NOK 25.26

$1.94 MX$36.11

40.72%

Onion (1kg)

$2.92 NOK 27.00

$1.89 MX$35.13

54.50%

Lettuce (1 head)

$3.25 NOK 30.05

$1.15 MX$21.36

182.61%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.86 NOK 17.18

$1.18 MX$21.96

57.63%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$19.23 NOK 178

$4.30 MX$80.0

347.21%

Wine (Bottle)

$16.29 NOK 151

$9.95 MX$185

63.72%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$3.52 NOK 32.57

$1.58 MX$29.50

122.78%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.28 NOK 39.60

$2.67 MX$49.76

60.30%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$5.27 NOK 48.74

$0.55 MX$10.31

858.18%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$92.6 NOK 856

$26.62 MX$496

247.78%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$12.16 NOK 112

$4.97 MX$92.6

144.67%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.84 NOK 17.01

$3.33 MX$62.1

-44.74%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$72.4 NOK 670

$5.36 MX$99.8

1250.75%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$2.36 NOK 21.79

$1.44 MX$26.90

63.89%

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

$50.2K NOK 464.2K

$20.7K MX$385.0K

142.81%

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

$45.0K NOK 416.7K

$23.5K MX$437.2K

91.95%

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

$314 NOK 2,900

$84.8 MX$1,580

269.78%

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

$34.50 NOK 319

$23.41 MX$436

47.37%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$55.8 NOK 516

$28.66 MX$534

94.70%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$43.72 NOK 404

$57.1 MX$1,063

-23.37%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$28.91 MX$539

Cinema Ticket

$16.41 NOK 152

$5.14 MX$95.7

219.26%

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

$242 NOK 2,242

$207 MX$3,848

17.32%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$15.9K NOK 147.5K

$3,927 MX$73.2K

305.92%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$94.8 NOK 877

$43.35 MX$808

118.75%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$53.1 NOK 491

$41.44 MX$772

28.19%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$106 NOK 981

$74.2 MX$1,382

42.87%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$163 NOK 1,504

$89.3 MX$1,663

82.14%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$902 NOK 8,346

$980 MX$18.2K

-7.89%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$545 NOK 5,041

$381 MX$7,095

43.09%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,988 NOK 18.4K

$1,708 MX$31.8K

16.39%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,825 NOK 16.9K

$1,075 MX$20.0K

69.73%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$4,724 NOK 43.7K

$3,943 MX$73.5K

19.82%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$3,502 NOK 32.4K

$6,158 MX$114.7K

-43.12%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$4,577 NOK 42.3K

$735 MX$13.7K

523.18%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

4.9

11.45

-57.21%

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

Last update for Grimstad: October 26, 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

Grimstad

$545 25%

Playa del Carmen

$381 31.6% 30.1% $164

Groceries & Markets

Grimstad

$446 20.5%

Playa del Carmen

$255 21.2% 42.8% $191

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Grimstad

$404 18.5%

Playa del Carmen

$137 11.4% 66.1% $267

Eating Out

Grimstad

$385 17.7%

Playa del Carmen

$202 16.8% 47.5% $183

Clothing & Footwear

Grimstad

$187 8.6%

Playa del Carmen

$112 9.3% 40.4% $76

Getting Around

Grimstad

$135 6.2%

Playa del Carmen

$50 4.2% 62.6% $85

Sport & Entertainment

Grimstad

$77 3.5%

Playa del Carmen

$67 5.6% 12.1% $9.2

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $902 in Grimstad and $980 in Playa del Carmen. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Grimstad pays about 6.2 times more on average. How far that income stretches comes down to housing choices and lifestyle.

Dining out: $79 in Grimstad vs $43 in Playa del Carmen for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $446 vs $255 per month, with Playa del Carmen cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇳🇴 Grimstad

🇲🇽 Playa del Carmen

🕒 Local time

09:18 9:18 AM

03:18 3:18 AM

6 h behind Grimstad

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

25,093

149,923

💱 Currency

Norwegian Krone NOK kr

Mexican Peso MXN $

📈 Exchange rate

100 NOK = 10.81 USD

100 NOK = 9.69 EUR

100 MXN = 5.37 USD

100 MXN = 4.81 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 October 29, 2026: 1 USD = 9.25 NOK (1 NOK = 0.108 USD). 1 EUR = 10.32 NOK (100 NOK = 9.69 EUR).

Mexican Peso exchange rates as of October 29, 2026: 1 USD = 18.63 MXN (100 MXN = 5.37 USD). 1 EUR = 20.79 MXN (100 MXN = 4.81 EUR).

USD to NOK in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Grimstad Playa del Carmen 8,390 km ≈ 11 h nonstop flight

From you

Grimstad
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

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

Playa del Carmen is about 45% cheaper overall, especially in groceries, eating out, and transport. That difference adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

Average pay in Grimstad is about 6.2 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: $902 in Grimstad versus $980 in Playa del Carmen. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

All in, you’ll spend $2,179 per month in Grimstad versus $1,204 in Playa del Carmen – Playa del Carmen is about 45% cheaper, which adds up to real savings over time.

A monthly transit pass in Playa del Carmen runs roughly 71% less than in Grimstad. The price difference matters if you commute daily and watch your budget.

At $1,204 in Playa del Carmen versus $2,179 in Grimstad, a $1,500 budget is realistic in Playa del Carmen but tight or insufficient in Grimstad. 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.

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