Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Playa del Carmen and Arendal

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.

58

Cost of Living Index in Playa del Carmen
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Playa del Carmen Living Index
133

Cost of Living Index in Arendal
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Arendal Living Index

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Playa del Carmen

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,204

/mo nomad

Arendal

🇳🇴 Norway

$2,750

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Living in Playa del Carmen costs roughly 56% less than in Arendal, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

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

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$10.92 MX$205

$20.71 NOK 191

-47.27%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$43.37 MX$815

$67.1 NOK 619

-35.37%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.78 MX$221

$16.06 NOK 148

-26.65%

Cappuccino

$3.81 MX$71.6

$5.51 NOK 50.8

-30.85%

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

$1.28 MX$24.10

$3.75 NOK 34.60

-65.87%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.78 MX$14.71

$3.42 NOK 31.51

-77.19%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.17 MX$59.5

$11.85 NOK 109

-73.25%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.93 MX$92.7

$10.58 NOK 97.6

-53.40%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.41 MX$26.43

$2.49 NOK 22.96

-43.37%

White Bread (500g)

$2.22 MX$41.66

$3.55 NOK 32.71

-37.46%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.42 MX$26.64

$4.01 NOK 36.94

-64.59%

Eggs

$2.52 MX$47.41

$4.76 NOK 43.88

-47.06%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$7.26 MX$137

$14.98 NOK 138

-51.54%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$7.70 MX$145

$14.93 NOK 138

-48.43%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$12.69 MX$239

$34.94 NOK 322

-63.68%

Apples (1kg)

$2.78 MX$52.3

$3.61 NOK 33.23

-22.99%

Banana (1kg)

$1.37 MX$25.71

$2.75 NOK 25.35

-50.18%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.55 MX$47.94

$3.49 NOK 32.13

-26.93%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.12 MX$39.90

$4.99 NOK 45.98

-57.52%

Potato (1kg)

$1.94 MX$36.43

$2.56 NOK 23.60

-24.22%

Onion (1kg)

$1.89 MX$35.44

$3.16 NOK 29.11

-40.19%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.15 MX$21.55

$2.90 NOK 26.75

-60.34%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.18 MX$22.16

$2.42 NOK 22.35

-51.24%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.30 MX$80.7

$18.37 NOK 169

-76.59%

Wine (Bottle)

$9.95 MX$187

$15.07 NOK 139

-33.97%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.58 MX$29.76

$3.74 NOK 34.50

-57.75%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.67 MX$50.2

$4.45 NOK 40.98

-40.00%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.55 MX$10.40

$3.78 NOK 34.85

-85.45%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$26.62 MX$500

$94.4 NOK 870

-71.80%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$4.97 MX$93.4

$6.36 NOK 58.6

-21.86%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$3.33 MX$62.6

$1.82 NOK 16.75

82.97%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$5.36 MX$101

$108 NOK 999

-95.05%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.44 MX$27.14

$2.33 NOK 21.50

-38.20%

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

$20.7K MX$388.4K

$49.6K NOK 457.5K

-58.37%

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

$23.5K MX$441.0K

$41.7K NOK 384.4K

-43.74%

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

$84.8 MX$1,594

$263 NOK 2,421

-67.72%

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

$23.41 MX$440

$34.00 NOK 313

-31.15%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$28.66 MX$539

$79.7 NOK 735

-64.06%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$57.1 MX$1,072

$37.05 NOK 341

53.98%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$28.91 MX$543

Cinema Ticket

$5.14 MX$96.6

$15.90 NOK 147

-67.67%

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

$207 MX$3,882

$335 NOK 3,083

-38.26%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$3,927 MX$73.8K

$14.5K NOK 133.9K

-72.96%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$43.35 MX$815

$131 NOK 1,203

-66.79%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$41.44 MX$779

$44.64 NOK 411

-7.17%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$74.2 MX$1,394

$130 NOK 1,200

-42.99%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$89.3 MX$1,677

$210 NOK 1,932

-57.43%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$980 MX$18.4K

$1,159 NOK 10.7K

-15.45%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$381 MX$7,157

$1,053 NOK 9,707

-63.84%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,708 MX$32.1K

$1,593 NOK 14.7K

7.23%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,075 MX$20.2K

$1,518 NOK 14.0K

-29.16%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,943 MX$74.1K

$4,347 NOK 40.1K

-9.29%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$6,158 MX$115.7K

$3,230 NOK 29.8K

90.67%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$735 MX$13.8K

$4,235 NOK 39.0K

-82.66%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

11.45

4.68

144.66%

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

Last update for Playa del Carmen: October 25, 2026

Last update for Arendal: October 27, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Playa del Carmen

$381 31.6%

Arendal

$1.1K 38.3% 177% $672

Groceries & Markets

Playa del Carmen

$255 21.2%

Arendal

$506 18.4% 98.5% $251

Eating Out

Playa del Carmen

$202 16.8%

Arendal

$389 14.2% 92.3% $187

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Playa del Carmen

$137 11.4%

Arendal

$376 13.7% 175% $240

Clothing & Footwear

Playa del Carmen

$112 9.3%

Arendal

$232 8.4% 107% $120

Sport & Entertainment

Playa del Carmen

$67 5.6%

Arendal

$69 2.5% 2.3% $1.5

Getting Around

Playa del Carmen

$50 4.2%

Arendal

$125 4.5% 148% $75

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $980 in Playa del Carmen and $1,159 in Arendal. 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: $43 in Playa del Carmen vs $67 in Arendal for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $255 vs $506 per month, with Playa del Carmen cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇲🇽 Playa del Carmen

🇳🇴 Arendal

🕒 Local time

03:33 3:33 AM

09:33 9:33 AM

6 h ahead of Playa del Carmen

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

149,923

46,406

💱 Currency

Mexican Peso MXN $

Norwegian Krone NOK kr

📈 Exchange rate

100 MXN = 5.32 USD

100 MXN = 4.77 EUR

100 NOK = 10.85 USD

100 NOK = 9.72 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 November 2, 2026: 1 USD = 18.79 MXN (100 MXN = 5.32 USD). 1 EUR = 20.97 MXN (100 MXN = 4.77 EUR).

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).

USD to MXN in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

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

From you

Playa del Carmen
Arendal

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 Arendal: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

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

On paper, salaries run 83% lower in Playa del Carmen. That’s worth factoring in alongside costs, though remote workers earning in a stronger currency may not notice the difference at all.

Rent for a central apartment: $980 in Playa del Carmen versus $1,159 in Arendal. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $207 in Playa del Carmen versus $335 in Arendal. 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.