Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Harstad and Playa del Carmen

For one person, living is cheaper in Playa del Carmen: $1,204 a month against $2,611 in Harstad, rent and utilities included – about $16,900 less a year. Rent and utilities account for about half of the difference.

127

Cost of Living Index in Harstad
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Harstad Living Index
58

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

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Harstad

🇳🇴 Norway

$2,611

/mo nomad

Playa del Carmen

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,204

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,611 in Harstad versus $1,204 in Playa del Carmen.

Harstad $2,611
Playa del Carmen $1,204

Estimated couple costs with rent: $3,888 in Harstad versus $2,082 in Playa del Carmen.

Harstad $3,888
Playa del Carmen $2,082

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $5,164 in Harstad versus $2,959 in Playa del Carmen.

Harstad $5,164
Playa del Carmen $2,959

Living in Harstad is roughly 117% more expensive than in Playa del Carmen, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

The two cities straddle the global median: Harstad is 92% above, Playa del Carmen is 12% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$14.27 NOK 131

$10.92 MX$205

30.68%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$106 NOK 971

$43.37 MX$814

143.74%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$15.97 NOK 147

$11.78 MX$221

35.57%

Cappuccino

$6.27 NOK 57.6

$3.81 MX$71.5

64.57%

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

$3.70 NOK 34.03

$1.28 MX$24.07

189.06%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.18 NOK 29.18

$0.78 MX$14.70

307.69%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$12.77 NOK 117

$3.17 MX$59.5

302.84%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$14.04 NOK 129

$4.93 MX$92.7

184.79%

Milk (1 liter)

$2.54 NOK 23.33

$1.41 MX$26.40

80.14%

White Bread (500g)

$3.39 NOK 31.10

$2.22 MX$41.62

52.70%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$3.14 NOK 28.83

$1.42 MX$26.61

121.13%

Eggs

$4.42 NOK 40.61

$2.52 MX$47.36

75.40%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$11.37 NOK 104

$7.26 MX$136

56.61%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$15.31 NOK 141

$7.70 MX$144

98.83%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$41.97 NOK 386

$12.69 MX$238

230.73%

Apples (1kg)

$4.28 NOK 39.30

$2.78 MX$52.3

53.96%

Banana (1kg)

$2.87 NOK 26.38

$1.37 MX$25.68

109.49%

Oranges (1kg)

$3.87 NOK 35.55

$2.55 MX$47.89

51.76%

Tomato (1kg)

$4.79 NOK 43.97

$2.12 MX$39.86

125.94%

Potato (1kg)

$2.21 NOK 20.33

$1.94 MX$36.39

13.92%

Onion (1kg)

$2.18 NOK 20.03

$1.89 MX$35.41

15.34%

Lettuce (1 head)

$3.00 NOK 27.55

$1.15 MX$21.53

160.87%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$2.34 NOK 21.49

$1.18 MX$22.13

98.31%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$16.41 NOK 151

$4.30 MX$80.6

281.63%

Wine (Bottle)

$15.93 NOK 146

$9.95 MX$187

60.10%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$3.90 NOK 35.82

$1.58 MX$29.73

146.84%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.89 NOK 44.90

$2.67 MX$50.1

83.15%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$6.17 NOK 56.7

$0.55 MX$10.39

1021.82%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$84.1 NOK 772

$26.62 MX$500

215.78%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$15.98 NOK 147

$4.97 MX$93.3

221.53%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.91 NOK 17.52

$3.33 MX$62.5

-42.64%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$58.0 NOK 533

$5.36 MX$101

982.46%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$2.34 NOK 21.48

$1.44 MX$27.11

62.50%

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

$36.9K NOK 339.4K

$20.7K MX$388.0K

78.78%

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

$31.6K NOK 290.4K

$23.5K MX$440.5K

34.71%

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

$173 NOK 1,587

$84.8 MX$1,592

103.74%

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

$35.51 NOK 326

$23.41 MX$439

51.69%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$79.5 NOK 731

$28.66 MX$538

177.42%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$49.72 NOK 457

$57.1 MX$1,071

-12.85%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$36.95 NOK 339

$28.91 MX$543

27.81%

Cinema Ticket

$17.75 NOK 163

$5.14 MX$96.5

245.33%

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

$325 NOK 2,985

$207 MX$3,878

57.28%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$5,295 NOK 48.6K

$3,927 MX$73.7K

34.83%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$68.8 NOK 632

$43.35 MX$814

58.59%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$35.70 NOK 328

$41.44 MX$778

-13.85%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$121 NOK 1,115

$74.2 MX$1,393

63.64%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$170 NOK 1,563

$89.3 MX$1,676

90.61%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,411 NOK 13.0K

$980 MX$18.4K

43.99%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,053 NOK 9,673

$381 MX$7,150

176.47%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,352 NOK 21.6K

$1,708 MX$32.1K

37.68%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,537 NOK 14.1K

$1,075 MX$20.2K

43.00%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$6,396 NOK 58.8K

$3,943 MX$74.0K

62.22%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$4,354 NOK 40.0K

$6,158 MX$115.6K

-29.30%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$3,511 NOK 32.3K

$735 MX$13.8K

377.97%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

11.45

-56.33%

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

Last update for Harstad: October 24, 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

Harstad

$1.1K 40.3%

Playa del Carmen

$381 31.6% 63.8% $672

Groceries & Markets

Harstad

$516 19.8%

Playa del Carmen

$255 21.2% 50.7% $262

Eating Out

Harstad

$357 13.7%

Playa del Carmen

$202 16.8% 43.3% $154

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Harstad

$288 11%

Playa del Carmen

$137 11.4% 52.4% $151

Clothing & Footwear

Harstad

$178 6.8%

Playa del Carmen

$112 9.3% 37.3% $66

Getting Around

Harstad

$134 5.1%

Playa del Carmen

$50 4.2% 62.4% $84

Sport & Entertainment

Harstad

$85 3.3%

Playa del Carmen

$67 5.6% 21% $18

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,411 in Harstad and $980 in Playa del Carmen. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Harstad pays about 4.8 times more on average. How far that income stretches comes down to housing choices and lifestyle.

Dining out: $106 in Harstad vs $43 in Playa del Carmen for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $516 vs $255 per month, with Playa del Carmen cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇳🇴 Harstad

🇲🇽 Playa del Carmen

🕒 Local time

21:21 9:21 PM

15:21 3:21 PM

6 h behind Harstad

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

25,119

149,923

💱 Currency

Norwegian Krone NOK kr

Mexican Peso MXN $

📈 Exchange rate

100 NOK = 10.88 USD

100 NOK = 9.75 EUR

100 MXN = 5.33 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 1, 2026: 1 USD = 9.19 NOK (1 NOK = 0.109 USD). 1 EUR = 10.26 NOK (100 NOK = 9.75 EUR).

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).

USD to NOK in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Harstad Playa del Carmen 8,410 km ≈ 11 h nonstop flight

From you

Harstad
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

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

Playa del Carmen is about 54% 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 Harstad is about 4.8 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: $1,411 in Harstad versus $980 in Playa del Carmen. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Supermarket bills run roughly 103% higher in Harstad. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

Dining out is cheaper in Playa del Carmen – a meal for two runs $43 versus $106 in Harstad. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

At $1,204 in Playa del Carmen versus $2,611 in Harstad, a $1,500 budget is realistic in Playa del Carmen but tight or insufficient in Harstad. 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 54% less than in Harstad. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.