Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Playa del Carmen and Askim

For one person, living is cheaper in Playa del Carmen: $1,204 a month against $2,938 in Askim, rent and utilities included – about $20,800 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
141

Cost of Living Index in Askim
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Askim Living Index

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Playa del Carmen

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,204

/mo nomad

Askim

🇳🇴 Norway

$2,938

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,204 in Playa del Carmen versus $2,938 in Askim.

Playa del Carmen $1,204
Askim $2,938

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,082 in Playa del Carmen versus $4,407 in Askim.

Playa del Carmen $2,082
Askim $4,407

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $2,959 in Playa del Carmen versus $5,876 in Askim.

Playa del Carmen $2,959
Askim $5,876

Living in Playa del Carmen costs roughly 59% less than in Askim, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

The two cities straddle the global median: Playa del Carmen is 12% below, Askim is 116% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$10.92 MX$204

$21.58 NOK 200

-49.40%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$43.37 MX$808

$127 NOK 1,178

-65.81%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.78 MX$220

$16.17 NOK 150

-27.15%

Cappuccino

$3.81 MX$71.0

$6.13 NOK 56.9

-37.85%

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

$1.28 MX$23.90

$4.39 NOK 40.81

-70.84%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.78 MX$14.59

$3.50 NOK 32.50

-77.71%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.17 MX$59.0

$11.75 NOK 109

-73.02%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.93 MX$92.0

$13.12 NOK 122

-62.42%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.41 MX$26.22

$2.51 NOK 23.29

-43.82%

White Bread (500g)

$2.22 MX$41.33

$4.21 NOK 39.14

-47.27%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.42 MX$26.42

$4.76 NOK 44.19

-70.17%

Eggs

$2.52 MX$47.03

$6.00 NOK 55.8

-58.00%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$7.26 MX$135

$15.38 NOK 143

-52.80%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$7.70 MX$143

$15.88 NOK 148

-51.51%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$12.69 MX$237

$31.79 NOK 295

-60.08%

Apples (1kg)

$2.78 MX$51.9

$3.32 NOK 30.81

-16.27%

Banana (1kg)

$1.37 MX$25.50

$2.65 NOK 24.58

-48.30%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.55 MX$47.55

$3.64 NOK 33.82

-29.95%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.12 MX$39.58

$6.05 NOK 56.2

-64.96%

Potato (1kg)

$1.94 MX$36.13

$2.69 NOK 24.98

-27.88%

Onion (1kg)

$1.89 MX$35.16

$2.89 NOK 26.85

-34.60%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.15 MX$21.37

$3.26 NOK 30.32

-64.72%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.18 MX$21.98

$2.50 NOK 23.20

-52.80%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.30 MX$80.1

$19.42 NOK 180

-77.86%

Wine (Bottle)

$9.95 MX$185

$17.19 NOK 160

-42.12%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.58 MX$29.52

$3.55 NOK 32.99

-55.49%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.67 MX$49.79

$4.42 NOK 41.07

-39.59%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.55 MX$10.31

$4.86 NOK 45.12

-88.68%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$26.62 MX$496

$87.0 NOK 808

-69.39%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$4.97 MX$92.6

$12.03 NOK 112

-58.69%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$3.33 MX$62.1

$1.91 NOK 17.79

74.35%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$5.36 MX$99.8

$72.2 NOK 671

-92.58%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.44 MX$26.92

$2.40 NOK 22.28

-40.00%

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

$20.7K MX$385.2K

$49.0K NOK 455.2K

-57.82%

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

$23.5K MX$437.4K

$39.1K NOK 363.7K

-40.06%

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

$84.8 MX$1,581

$437 NOK 4,056

-80.58%

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

$23.41 MX$436

$33.80 NOK 314

-30.74%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$28.66 MX$534

$54.8 NOK 509

-47.71%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$57.1 MX$1,063

$50.2 NOK 466

13.71%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$28.91 MX$539

$37.37 NOK 347

-22.64%

Cinema Ticket

$5.14 MX$95.8

$16.12 NOK 150

-68.11%

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

$207 MX$3,851

$245 NOK 2,275

-15.63%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$3,927 MX$73.2K

$15.7K NOK 146.1K

-75.02%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$43.35 MX$808

$104 NOK 962

-58.14%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$41.44 MX$772

$60.5 NOK 562

-31.48%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$74.2 MX$1,383

$138 NOK 1,278

-46.06%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$89.3 MX$1,664

$160 NOK 1,489

-44.30%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$980 MX$18.3K

$1,265 NOK 11.8K

-22.57%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$381 MX$7,099

$1,057 NOK 9,820

-63.97%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,708 MX$31.8K

$2,100 NOK 19.5K

-18.68%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,075 MX$20.0K

$1,728 NOK 16.1K

-37.80%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,943 MX$73.5K

$6,481 NOK 60.2K

-39.16%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$6,158 MX$114.8K

$4,234 NOK 39.3K

45.43%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$735 MX$13.7K

$4,219 NOK 39.2K

-82.59%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

11.45

4.94

131.78%

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 Askim: October 24, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Playa del Carmen

$381 31.6%

Askim

$1.1K 36% 178% $676

Groceries & Markets

Playa del Carmen

$255 21.2%

Askim

$526 17.9% 107% $271

Eating Out

Playa del Carmen

$202 16.8%

Askim

$411 14% 103% $209

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Playa del Carmen

$137 11.4%

Askim

$525 17.9% 284% $388

Clothing & Footwear

Playa del Carmen

$112 9.3%

Askim

$208 7.1% 86% $96

Sport & Entertainment

Playa del Carmen

$67 5.6%

Askim

$82 2.8% 22.4% $15

Getting Around

Playa del Carmen

$50 4.2%

Askim

$128 4.4% 154% $78

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $980 in Playa del Carmen and $1,265 in Askim. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Askim pays about 5.7 times more on average. How far that income stretches comes down to housing choices and lifestyle.

Dining out: $43 in Playa del Carmen vs $127 in Askim for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $255 vs $526 per month, with Playa del Carmen cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇲🇽 Playa del Carmen

🇳🇴 Askim

🕒 Local time

15:48 3:48 PM

21:48 9:48 PM

6 h ahead of Playa del Carmen

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

149,923

15,368

💱 Currency

Mexican Peso MXN $

Norwegian Krone NOK kr

📈 Exchange rate

100 MXN = 5.36 USD

100 MXN = 4.82 EUR

100 NOK = 10.76 USD

100 NOK = 9.67 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 28, 2026: 1 USD = 18.64 MXN (100 MXN = 5.36 USD). 1 EUR = 20.75 MXN (100 MXN = 4.82 EUR).

Norwegian Krone exchange rates as of October 28, 2026: 1 USD = 9.29 NOK (1 NOK = 0.108 USD). 1 EUR = 10.34 NOK (100 NOK = 9.67 EUR).

USD to MXN in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Playa del Carmen Askim 8,490 km ≈ 11 h nonstop flight

From you

Playa del Carmen
Askim

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 Askim: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Total monthly costs including rent come to $1,204 in Playa del Carmen and $2,938 in Askim, so Playa del Carmen is about 59% 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 $1,265 in Askim. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Dining out is cheaper in Playa del Carmen – a meal for two runs $43 versus $127 in Askim. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

All in, you’ll spend $1,204 per month in Playa del Carmen versus $2,938 in Askim – Playa del Carmen is about 59% cheaper, which adds up to real savings over time.

At $1,204 in Playa del Carmen versus $2,938 in Askim, a $1,500 budget is realistic in Playa del Carmen but tight or insufficient in Askim. 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 59% less than in Askim. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.