Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Narvik and Playa del Carmen

For one person, living is cheaper in Playa del Carmen: $1,204 a month against $2,530 in Narvik, rent and utilities included – about $15,900 less a year. Other living expenses account for most of the difference.

121

Cost of Living Index in Narvik
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Narvik Living Index
58

Cost of Living Index in Playa del Carmen
Learn more

Playa del Carmen Living Index

Jump to prices

Narvik

🇳🇴 Norway

$2,530

/mo nomad

Playa del Carmen

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,204

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,530 in Narvik versus $1,204 in Playa del Carmen.

Narvik $2,530
Playa del Carmen $1,204

Estimated couple costs with rent: $3,868 in Narvik versus $2,082 in Playa del Carmen.

Narvik $3,868
Playa del Carmen $2,082

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $5,205 in Narvik versus $2,959 in Playa del Carmen.

Narvik $5,205
Playa del Carmen $2,959

Living in Narvik is roughly 110% more expensive than in Playa del Carmen, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Narvik is 86% above, Playa del Carmen is 12% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$32.33 NOK 297

$10.92 MX$205

196.06%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$96.1 NOK 883

$43.37 MX$814

121.63%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$16.33 NOK 150

$11.78 MX$221

38.62%

Cappuccino

$4.91 NOK 45.08

$3.81 MX$71.5

28.87%

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

$3.00 NOK 27.53

$1.28 MX$24.07

134.38%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.87 NOK 26.36

$0.78 MX$14.70

267.95%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$11.76 NOK 108

$3.17 MX$59.5

270.98%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$12.36 NOK 114

$4.93 MX$92.7

150.71%

Milk (1 liter)

$2.59 NOK 23.83

$1.41 MX$26.40

83.69%

White Bread (500g)

$3.34 NOK 30.65

$2.22 MX$41.62

50.45%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.71 NOK 24.89

$1.42 MX$26.61

90.85%

Eggs

$5.24 NOK 48.17

$2.52 MX$47.36

107.94%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$12.24 NOK 113

$7.26 MX$136

68.60%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$14.93 NOK 137

$7.70 MX$144

93.90%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$23.20 NOK 213

$12.69 MX$238

82.82%

Apples (1kg)

$4.01 NOK 36.89

$2.78 MX$52.3

44.24%

Banana (1kg)

$2.20 NOK 20.19

$1.37 MX$25.68

60.58%

Oranges (1kg)

$4.86 NOK 44.62

$2.55 MX$47.89

90.59%

Tomato (1kg)

$4.49 NOK 41.21

$2.12 MX$39.86

111.79%

Potato (1kg)

$2.65 NOK 24.38

$1.94 MX$36.39

36.60%

Onion (1kg)

$5.00 NOK 45.92

$1.89 MX$35.41

164.55%

Lettuce (1 head)

$2.97 NOK 27.31

$1.15 MX$21.53

158.26%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$2.13 NOK 19.57

$1.18 MX$22.13

80.51%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$16.63 NOK 153

$4.30 MX$80.6

286.74%

Wine (Bottle)

$17.47 NOK 160

$9.95 MX$187

75.58%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$3.52 NOK 32.30

$1.58 MX$29.73

122.78%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.84 NOK 35.27

$2.67 MX$50.1

43.82%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$4.66 NOK 42.84

$0.55 MX$10.39

747.27%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$92.8 NOK 852

$26.62 MX$500

248.53%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$16.25 NOK 149

$4.97 MX$93.3

226.96%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$2.19 NOK 20.10

$3.33 MX$62.5

-34.23%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$54.6 NOK 501

$5.36 MX$101

917.72%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$2.43 NOK 22.35

$1.44 MX$27.11

68.75%

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

$41.5K NOK 381.2K

$20.7K MX$388.0K

100.77%

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

$38.0K NOK 348.9K

$23.5K MX$440.5K

61.86%

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

$267 NOK 2,451

$84.8 MX$1,592

214.66%

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

$50.6 NOK 465

$23.41 MX$439

116.10%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$86.3 NOK 793

$28.66 MX$538

201.05%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$56.6 NOK 520

$57.1 MX$1,071

-0.79%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$26.50 NOK 243

$28.91 MX$543

-8.34%

Cinema Ticket

$18.00 NOK 165

$5.14 MX$96.5

250.19%

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

$317 NOK 2,908

$207 MX$3,878

53.25%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$7,842 NOK 72.0K

$3,927 MX$73.7K

99.68%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$128 NOK 1,173

$43.35 MX$814

194.60%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$35.69 NOK 328

$41.44 MX$778

-13.88%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$143 NOK 1,315

$74.2 MX$1,393

92.92%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$170 NOK 1,565

$89.3 MX$1,676

90.90%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$942 NOK 8,659

$980 MX$18.4K

-3.79%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$745 NOK 6,841

$381 MX$7,150

95.52%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,668 NOK 15.3K

$1,708 MX$32.1K

-2.33%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,264 NOK 11.6K

$1,075 MX$20.2K

17.59%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$5,411 NOK 49.7K

$3,943 MX$74.0K

37.24%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$4,898 NOK 45.0K

$6,158 MX$115.6K

-20.46%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$3,630 NOK 33.4K

$735 MX$13.8K

394.25%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

5.01

11.45

-56.24%

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

Last update for Narvik: 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

Narvik

$745 29.4%

Playa del Carmen

$381 31.6% 48.9% $364

Eating Out

Narvik

$474 18.7%

Playa del Carmen

$202 16.8% 57.3% $271

Groceries & Markets

Narvik

$463 18.3%

Playa del Carmen

$255 21.2% 45% $208

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Narvik

$404 16%

Playa del Carmen

$137 11.4% 66.1% $267

Clothing & Footwear

Narvik

$215 8.5%

Playa del Carmen

$112 9.3% 47.9% $103

Getting Around

Narvik

$139 5.5%

Playa del Carmen

$50 4.2% 63.6% $88

Sport & Entertainment

Narvik

$93 3.7%

Playa del Carmen

$67 5.6% 27.3% $25

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $942 in Narvik and $980 in Playa del Carmen. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Narvik pays about 4.9 times more on average. How far that income stretches comes down to housing choices and lifestyle.

Dining out: $96 in Narvik vs $43 in Playa del Carmen for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $463 vs $255 per month, with Playa del Carmen cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇳🇴 Narvik

🇲🇽 Playa del Carmen

🕒 Local time

07:09 7:09 AM

01:09 1:09 AM

6 h behind Narvik

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

14,183

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 2, 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 2, 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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Narvik Playa del Carmen 8,450 km ≈ 11 h nonstop flight

From you

Narvik
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

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

Playa del Carmen is about 52% cheaper overall, especially in eating out, groceries, and clothing. That difference adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

Average pay in Narvik is about 4.9 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: $942 in Narvik 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 $2,530 per month in Narvik versus $1,204 in Playa del Carmen – Playa del Carmen is about 52% cheaper, which adds up to real savings over time.

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

At $1,204 in Playa del Carmen versus $2,530 in Narvik, a $1,500 budget is realistic in Playa del Carmen but tight or insufficient in Narvik. 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, Narvik on earning potential. Factor in climate, language, visa rules, and proximity to places that matter to you before deciding.