Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Playa del Carmen and Fredrikstad

For one person, living is cheaper in Playa del Carmen: $1,210 a month against $2,983 in Fredrikstad, rent and utilities included – about $21,300 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

59

Cost of Living Index in Playa del Carmen
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Playa del Carmen Living Index
144

Cost of Living Index in Fredrikstad
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Fredrikstad Living Index

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Playa del Carmen

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,210

/mo nomad

Fredrikstad

🇳🇴 Norway

$2,983

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,210 in Playa del Carmen versus $2,983 in Fredrikstad.

Playa del Carmen $1,210
Fredrikstad $2,983

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,113 in Playa del Carmen versus $4,345 in Fredrikstad.

Playa del Carmen $2,113
Fredrikstad $4,345

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,016 in Playa del Carmen versus $5,707 in Fredrikstad.

Playa del Carmen $3,016
Fredrikstad $5,707

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

The two cities straddle the global median: Playa del Carmen is 10% below, Fredrikstad is 121% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$10.76 MX$199

$26.28 NOK 247

-59.06%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$43.03 MX$795

$124 NOK 1,170

-65.37%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.79 MX$218

$12.65 NOK 119

-6.80%

Cappuccino

$3.87 MX$71.4

$6.77 NOK 63.7

-42.84%

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

$1.37 MX$25.29

$5.55 NOK 52.3

-75.32%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.84 MX$15.44

$4.39 NOK 41.36

-80.87%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.10 MX$57.3

$11.55 NOK 109

-73.16%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$5.07 MX$93.6

$9.57 NOK 90.1

-47.02%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.44 MX$26.55

$2.34 NOK 22.00

-38.46%

White Bread (500g)

$2.23 MX$41.23

$4.31 NOK 40.56

-48.26%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.47 MX$27.17

$3.43 NOK 32.31

-57.14%

Eggs

$2.53 MX$46.71

$5.82 NOK 54.8

-56.53%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$7.30 MX$135

$13.06 NOK 123

-44.10%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$7.86 MX$145

$17.96 NOK 169

-56.24%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$12.79 MX$236

$34.38 NOK 324

-62.80%

Apples (1kg)

$2.90 MX$53.6

$3.37 NOK 31.71

-13.95%

Banana (1kg)

$1.44 MX$26.53

$3.64 NOK 34.24

-60.44%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.55 MX$47.07

$4.30 NOK 40.49

-40.70%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.06 MX$38.03

$5.00 NOK 47.06

-58.80%

Potato (1kg)

$2.00 MX$36.97

$2.63 NOK 24.74

-23.95%

Onion (1kg)

$2.01 MX$37.07

$2.71 NOK 25.53

-25.83%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.19 MX$22.02

$2.82 NOK 26.50

-57.80%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.26 MX$23.23

$2.33 NOK 21.95

-45.92%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.40 MX$81.4

$15.51 NOK 146

-71.63%

Wine (Bottle)

$9.59 MX$177

$22.16 NOK 209

-56.72%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.59 MX$29.41

$3.49 NOK 32.81

-54.44%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.81 MX$51.9

$4.39 NOK 41.34

-35.99%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.57 MX$10.47

$4.11 NOK 38.71

-86.13%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$27.82 MX$514

$64.5 NOK 607

-56.83%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$4.98 MX$92.1

$12.56 NOK 118

-60.35%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$3.50 MX$64.6

$2.00 NOK 18.79

75.00%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$5.40 MX$99.8

$70.1 NOK 660

-92.30%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.47 MX$27.08

$2.30 NOK 21.64

-36.09%

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

$21.0K MX$387.8K

$49.8K NOK 468.4K

-57.82%

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

$23.9K MX$441.8K

$46.9K NOK 441.1K

-48.98%

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

$84.2 MX$1,556

$331 NOK 3,118

-74.58%

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

$23.99 MX$443

$45.60 NOK 429

-47.39%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$29.02 MX$536

$66.9 NOK 630

-56.64%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$63.0 MX$1,164

$58.3 NOK 549

8.01%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$29.14 MX$539

$40.86 NOK 385

-28.68%

Cinema Ticket

$4.94 MX$91.3

$20.19 NOK 190

-75.53%

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

$204 MX$3,763

$168 NOK 1,579

21.39%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$3,941 MX$72.8K

$12.5K NOK 117.8K

-68.51%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$43.60 MX$806

$155 NOK 1,459

-71.87%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$43.12 MX$797

$78.7 NOK 741

-45.20%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$75.8 MX$1,400

$144 NOK 1,358

-47.49%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$88.6 MX$1,637

$112 NOK 1,051

-20.64%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,008 MX$18.6K

$1,329 NOK 12.5K

-24.12%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$374 MX$6,911

$1,131 NOK 10.6K

-66.93%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,708 MX$31.6K

$1,822 NOK 17.1K

-6.22%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,106 MX$20.4K

$1,516 NOK 14.3K

-27.06%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,944 MX$72.9K

$6,022 NOK 56.7K

-34.50%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$6,169 MX$114.0K

$4,131 NOK 38.9K

49.33%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$754 MX$13.9K

$3,372 NOK 31.7K

-77.63%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

11.45

4.95

131.31%

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 Fredrikstad: October 11, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Playa del Carmen

$374 30.9%

Fredrikstad

$1.1K 37.9% 202% $757

Groceries & Markets

Playa del Carmen

$258 21.4%

Fredrikstad

$540 18.1% 109% $281

Eating Out

Playa del Carmen

$202 16.7%

Fredrikstad

$446 15% 121% $244

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Playa del Carmen

$137 11.3%

Fredrikstad

$444 14.9% 223% $307

Clothing & Footwear

Playa del Carmen

$113 9.3%

Fredrikstad

$220 7.4% 95% $107

Sport & Entertainment

Playa del Carmen

$73 6%

Fredrikstad

$99 3.3% 35.4% $26

Getting Around

Playa del Carmen

$53 4.3%

Fredrikstad

$103 3.5% 96.8% $51

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,008 in Playa del Carmen and $1,329 in Fredrikstad. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Fredrikstad pays 347% more on average. The extra income cushions the higher costs, though housing choices and lifestyle decide how much of the gap is truly closed.

Dining out: $43.00 in Playa del Carmen vs $124 in Fredrikstad for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $258 vs $540 per month, with Playa del Carmen cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇲🇽 Playa del Carmen

🇳🇴 Fredrikstad

🕒 Local time

23:20 11:20 PM

06:20 6:20 AM

7 h ahead of Playa del Carmen

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

149,923

85,267

💱 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 19, 2026: 1 USD = 18.48 MXN (100 MXN = 5.41 USD). 1 EUR = 20.77 MXN (100 MXN = 4.81 EUR).

Norwegian Krone exchange rates as of October 19, 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 Fredrikstad 8,490 km ≈ 11 h nonstop flight

From you

Playa del Carmen
Fredrikstad

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 Fredrikstad: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Playa del Carmen is cheaper overall, especially in groceries, eating out, and clothing. The 146% gap adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

On paper, salaries run 347% lower in Fredrikstad. 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: $1,008 in Playa del Carmen versus $1,329 in Fredrikstad. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $204 in Playa del Carmen versus $168 in Fredrikstad. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Supermarket bills run roughly 109% higher in Fredrikstad. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

At $1,210 in Playa del Carmen versus $2,983 in Fredrikstad, a $1,500 budget is realistic in Playa del Carmen but tight or insufficient in Fredrikstad. The gap between the two cities makes Playa del Carmen the clear choice for anyone on this budget.

For families, Playa del Carmen is more practical. Housing and childcare are both notably cheaper than in Fredrikstad, and the savings on those two alone free up budget for education, activities, and family trips.

Safety-wise, Playa del Carmen and Fredrikstad are on par. Petty crime is typical for cities this size, and most residents feel comfortable going about their daily routines in either place.

Expats usually find Playa del Carmen gentler on the wallet – expenses run 146% less than in Fredrikstad. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.