Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Playa del Carmen and Alesund

For one person, living is cheaper in Playa del Carmen: $1,210 a month against $2,329 in Alesund, rent and utilities included – about $13,400 less a year. Rent and utilities account for about half of the difference.

59

Cost of Living Index in Playa del Carmen
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Playa del Carmen Living Index
113

Cost of Living Index in Alesund
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Alesund Living Index

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Playa del Carmen

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,210

/mo nomad

Alesund

🇳🇴 Norway

$2,329

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

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

A single person spends $1,210 per month in Playa del Carmen vs $2,329 in Alesund, rent included.

Playa del Carmen $1,210
Alesund $2,329

A couple spends around $2,113 per month in Playa del Carmen vs $3,663 in Alesund, rent included.

Playa del Carmen $2,113
Alesund $3,663

A family of three spends $3,016 per month in Playa del Carmen vs $4,997 in Alesund, rent included.

Playa del Carmen $3,016
Alesund $4,997

Playa del Carmen is about 48% cheaper than Alesund, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Playa del Carmen sits 10% below the global median, while Alesund is 72% above – they fall on opposite sides of the world average.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$10.76 MX$199

$21.26 NOK 200

-49.39%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$43.03 MX$795

$88.8 NOK 836

-51.56%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.79 MX$218

$13.23 NOK 125

-10.88%

Cappuccino

$3.87 MX$71.4

$4.07 NOK 38.31

-4.91%

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

$1.37 MX$25.29

$2.08 NOK 19.55

-34.13%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.84 MX$15.44

$2.35 NOK 22.12

-64.26%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.10 MX$57.3

$11.33 NOK 107

-72.64%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$5.07 MX$93.6

$9.62 NOK 90.6

-47.30%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.44 MX$26.55

$2.21 NOK 20.78

-34.84%

White Bread (500g)

$2.23 MX$41.23

$3.04 NOK 28.64

-26.64%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.47 MX$27.17

$3.08 NOK 28.99

-52.27%

Eggs

$2.53 MX$46.71

$4.38 NOK 41.27

-42.24%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$7.30 MX$135

$14.88 NOK 140

-50.94%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$7.86 MX$145

$13.80 NOK 130

-43.04%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$12.79 MX$236

$20.84 NOK 196

-38.63%

Apples (1kg)

$2.90 MX$53.6

$2.63 NOK 24.72

10.27%

Banana (1kg)

$1.44 MX$26.53

$2.27 NOK 21.34

-36.56%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.55 MX$47.07

$2.26 NOK 21.28

12.83%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.06 MX$38.03

$3.66 NOK 34.46

-43.72%

Potato (1kg)

$2.00 MX$36.97

$2.45 NOK 23.10

-18.37%

Onion (1kg)

$2.01 MX$37.07

$1.54 NOK 14.45

30.52%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.19 MX$22.02

$3.00 NOK 28.19

-60.33%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.26 MX$23.23

$1.82 NOK 17.11

-30.77%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.40 MX$81.4

$14.98 NOK 141

-70.63%

Wine (Bottle)

$9.59 MX$177

$18.89 NOK 178

-49.23%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.59 MX$29.41

$3.48 NOK 32.73

-54.31%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.81 MX$51.9

$3.93 NOK 36.99

-28.50%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.57 MX$10.47

$5.07 NOK 47.76

-88.76%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$27.82 MX$514

$87.3 NOK 822

-68.14%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$4.98 MX$92.1

$12.15 NOK 114

-59.01%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$3.50 MX$64.6

$1.91 NOK 18.03

83.25%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$5.40 MX$99.8

$73.0 NOK 687

-92.60%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.47 MX$27.08

$2.19 NOK 20.59

-32.88%

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

$21.0K MX$387.8K

$48.5K NOK 456.6K

-56.73%

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

$23.9K MX$441.8K

$42.8K NOK 402.5K

-44.09%

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

$84.2 MX$1,556

$285 NOK 2,683

-70.46%

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

$23.99 MX$443

$32.82 NOK 309

-26.90%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$29.02 MX$536

$59.2 NOK 557

-50.98%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$63.0 MX$1,164

$58.6 NOK 552

7.49%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$29.14 MX$539

$31.12 NOK 293

-6.36%

Cinema Ticket

$4.94 MX$91.3

$17.43 NOK 164

-71.66%

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

$204 MX$3,763

$235 NOK 2,209

-13.25%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$3,941 MX$72.8K

$2,542 NOK 23.9K

55.03%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$43.60 MX$806

$86.7 NOK 816

-49.69%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$43.12 MX$797

$45.43 NOK 428

-5.08%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$75.8 MX$1,400

$115 NOK 1,082

-34.10%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$88.6 MX$1,637

$139 NOK 1,312

-36.43%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,008 MX$18.6K

$1,090 NOK 10.3K

-7.52%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$374 MX$6,911

$783 NOK 7,368

-52.22%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,708 MX$31.6K

$1,159 NOK 10.9K

47.46%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,106 MX$20.4K

$1,615 NOK 15.2K

-31.53%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,944 MX$72.9K

$4,476 NOK 42.1K

-11.88%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$6,169 MX$114.0K

$2,399 NOK 22.6K

157.17%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$754 MX$13.9K

$4,224 NOK 39.8K

-82.14%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

11.45

4.22

171.33%

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

Last update for Playa del Carmen: October 10, 2026

Last update for Alesund: October 12, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Playa del Carmen

$374 30.9%

Alesund

$783 33.6% 109% $409

Groceries & Markets

Playa del Carmen

$258 21.4%

Alesund

$420 18% 62.4% $161

Eating Out

Playa del Carmen

$202 16.7%

Alesund

$352 15.1% 74.2% $150

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Playa del Carmen

$137 11.3%

Alesund

$377 16.2% 175% $240

Clothing & Footwear

Playa del Carmen

$113 9.3%

Alesund

$174 7.5% 53.9% $61

Sport & Entertainment

Playa del Carmen

$73 6%

Alesund

$93 4% 28.2% $21

Getting Around

Playa del Carmen

$53 4.3%

Alesund

$129 5.6% 146% $77

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $1,008 in Playa del Carmen versus $1,090 in Alesund. Rent is usually the largest line item in a monthly budget, so the gap here sets the tone for the overall comparison.

Salaries run about 460% higher in Alesund, which partly offsets the higher cost of living there. Purchasing power depends on which expenses matter most to you.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $43.00 in Playa del Carmen versus $89.0 in Alesund. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $258 vs $420 – making Playa del Carmen the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇲🇽 Playa del Carmen

🇳🇴 Alesund

🕒 Local time

08:41 8:41 AM

15:41 3:41 PM

7 h ahead of Playa del Carmen

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

149,923

58,683

💱 Currency

Mexican Peso MXN $

Norwegian Krone NOK kr

📈 Exchange rate

100 MXN = 5.41 USD

100 MXN = 4.81 EUR

100 NOK = 10.62 USD

100 NOK = 9.45 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

NOK, USD, EUR to MXN – Mexican Peso Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇲🇽 Mexican Peso ($)

Mexican Peso exchange rates as of October 17, 2026: 1 USD = 18.48 MXN (100 MXN = 5.41 USD). 1 EUR = 20.78 MXN (100 MXN = 4.81 EUR).

Norwegian Krone exchange rates as of October 17, 2026: 1 USD = 9.41 NOK (1 NOK = 0.106 USD). 1 EUR = 10.58 NOK (100 NOK = 9.45 EUR).

USD to MXN in detail →

On the map

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Highest

Between locations

Playa del Carmen Alesund 8,170 km ≈ 11 h nonstop flight

From you

Playa del Carmen
Alesund

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 Alesund: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Monthly costs with rent: $1,210 in Playa del Carmen, $2,329 in Alesund – roughly 92% apart. Outside of rent, the biggest gap is in groceries.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $1,816 per month in Playa del Carmen and $3,493 in Alesund. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

Rent is clearly cheaper in Playa del Carmen, especially for central apartments. Housing is actually the single biggest factor behind the overall cost gap between these two cities.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $43.00 in Playa del Carmen and $89.0 in Alesund. That's a good indicator of the overall restaurant and café pricing gap between the two cities.

Monthly expenses with rent come to $1,210 in Playa del Carmen and $2,329 in Alesund. That's a gap of about 92%.

A $1,500 monthly budget goes further in Playa del Carmen, where all-in costs run around $1,210, than in Alesund at $2,329. In Playa del Carmen it covers expenses comfortably, while in Alesund it requires careful planning or may not stretch far enough.

It depends on your priorities. Playa del Carmen has an edge in some lifestyle areas, with costs from $1,210 in Playa del Carmen to $2,329 in Alesund. Climate, culture, job market, and personal taste all factor in.

Both have safer and rougher neighborhoods, but overall safety is comparable to other large cities. Neighborhood choice matters more than the city-level comparison – central, well-trafficked areas feel secure in both.

If budget matters most, go with Playa del Carmen. If higher salaries, better infrastructure, or specific career opportunities are the priority, Alesund makes more sense. Both are solid long-term options with distinct trade-offs.