Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Playa del Carmen and Harstad

For one person, living is cheaper in Playa del Carmen: $1,204 a month against $2,611 in Harstad, rent and utilities included – about $16,900 less a year. Rent and utilities account for about half of the difference.

58

Cost of Living Index in Playa del Carmen
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Playa del Carmen Living Index
127

Cost of Living Index in Harstad
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Harstad Living Index

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Playa del Carmen

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,204

/mo nomad

Harstad

🇳🇴 Norway

$2,611

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,204 in Playa del Carmen versus $2,611 in Harstad.

Playa del Carmen $1,204
Harstad $2,611

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,082 in Playa del Carmen versus $3,888 in Harstad.

Playa del Carmen $2,082
Harstad $3,888

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $2,959 in Playa del Carmen versus $5,164 in Harstad.

Playa del Carmen $2,959
Harstad $5,164

Living in Playa del Carmen costs roughly 54% less than in Harstad, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

The two cities straddle the global median: Playa del Carmen is 12% below, Harstad is 92% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$10.92 MX$205

$14.27 NOK 131

-23.48%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$43.37 MX$814

$106 NOK 971

-58.97%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.78 MX$221

$15.97 NOK 147

-26.24%

Cappuccino

$3.81 MX$71.5

$6.27 NOK 57.6

-39.23%

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

$1.28 MX$24.07

$3.70 NOK 34.03

-65.41%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.78 MX$14.70

$3.18 NOK 29.18

-75.47%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.17 MX$59.5

$12.77 NOK 117

-75.18%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.93 MX$92.7

$14.04 NOK 129

-64.89%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.41 MX$26.40

$2.54 NOK 23.33

-44.49%

White Bread (500g)

$2.22 MX$41.62

$3.39 NOK 31.10

-34.51%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.42 MX$26.61

$3.14 NOK 28.83

-54.78%

Eggs

$2.52 MX$47.36

$4.42 NOK 40.61

-42.99%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$7.26 MX$136

$11.37 NOK 104

-36.15%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$7.70 MX$144

$15.31 NOK 141

-49.71%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$12.69 MX$238

$41.97 NOK 386

-69.76%

Apples (1kg)

$2.78 MX$52.3

$4.28 NOK 39.30

-35.05%

Banana (1kg)

$1.37 MX$25.68

$2.87 NOK 26.38

-52.26%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.55 MX$47.89

$3.87 NOK 35.55

-34.11%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.12 MX$39.86

$4.79 NOK 43.97

-55.74%

Potato (1kg)

$1.94 MX$36.39

$2.21 NOK 20.33

-12.22%

Onion (1kg)

$1.89 MX$35.41

$2.18 NOK 20.03

-13.30%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.15 MX$21.53

$3.00 NOK 27.55

-61.67%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.18 MX$22.13

$2.34 NOK 21.49

-49.57%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.30 MX$80.6

$16.41 NOK 151

-73.80%

Wine (Bottle)

$9.95 MX$187

$15.93 NOK 146

-37.54%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.58 MX$29.73

$3.90 NOK 35.82

-59.49%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.67 MX$50.1

$4.89 NOK 44.90

-45.40%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.55 MX$10.39

$6.17 NOK 56.7

-91.09%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$26.62 MX$500

$84.1 NOK 772

-68.33%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$4.97 MX$93.3

$15.98 NOK 147

-68.90%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$3.33 MX$62.5

$1.91 NOK 17.52

74.35%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$5.36 MX$101

$58.0 NOK 533

-90.76%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.44 MX$27.11

$2.34 NOK 21.48

-38.46%

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

$20.7K MX$388.0K

$36.9K NOK 339.4K

-44.06%

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

$23.5K MX$440.5K

$31.6K NOK 290.4K

-25.77%

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

$84.8 MX$1,592

$173 NOK 1,587

-50.92%

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

$23.41 MX$439

$35.51 NOK 326

-34.07%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$28.66 MX$538

$79.5 NOK 731

-63.95%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$57.1 MX$1,071

$49.72 NOK 457

14.74%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$28.91 MX$543

$36.95 NOK 339

-21.76%

Cinema Ticket

$5.14 MX$96.5

$17.75 NOK 163

-71.04%

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

$207 MX$3,878

$325 NOK 2,985

-36.42%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$3,927 MX$73.7K

$5,295 NOK 48.6K

-25.83%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$43.35 MX$814

$68.8 NOK 632

-36.95%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$41.44 MX$778

$35.70 NOK 328

16.08%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$74.2 MX$1,393

$121 NOK 1,115

-38.89%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$89.3 MX$1,676

$170 NOK 1,563

-47.54%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$980 MX$18.4K

$1,411 NOK 13.0K

-30.55%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$381 MX$7,150

$1,053 NOK 9,673

-63.83%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,708 MX$32.1K

$2,352 NOK 21.6K

-27.37%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,075 MX$20.2K

$1,537 NOK 14.1K

-30.07%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,943 MX$74.0K

$6,396 NOK 58.8K

-38.35%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$6,158 MX$115.6K

$4,354 NOK 40.0K

41.44%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$735 MX$13.8K

$3,511 NOK 32.3K

-79.08%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

11.45

129.00%

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 Harstad: October 24, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Playa del Carmen

$381 31.6%

Harstad

$1.1K 40.3% 177% $672

Groceries & Markets

Playa del Carmen

$255 21.2%

Harstad

$516 19.8% 103% $262

Eating Out

Playa del Carmen

$202 16.8%

Harstad

$357 13.7% 76.3% $154

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Playa del Carmen

$137 11.4%

Harstad

$288 11% 110% $151

Clothing & Footwear

Playa del Carmen

$112 9.3%

Harstad

$178 6.8% 59.5% $66

Sport & Entertainment

Playa del Carmen

$67 5.6%

Harstad

$85 3.3% 26.6% $18

Getting Around

Playa del Carmen

$50 4.2%

Harstad

$134 5.1% 166% $84

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $980 in Playa del Carmen and $1,411 in Harstad. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Harstad pays about 4.8 times more on average. How far that income stretches comes down to housing choices and lifestyle.

Dining out: $43 in Playa del Carmen vs $106 in Harstad for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $255 vs $516 per month, with Playa del Carmen cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇲🇽 Playa del Carmen

🇳🇴 Harstad

🕒 Local time

16:15 4:15 PM

22:15 10:15 PM

6 h ahead of Playa del Carmen

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

149,923

25,119

💱 Currency

Mexican Peso MXN $

Norwegian Krone NOK kr

📈 Exchange rate

100 MXN = 5.33 USD

100 MXN = 4.77 EUR

100 NOK = 10.88 USD

100 NOK = 9.75 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 1, 2026: 1 USD = 18.77 MXN (100 MXN = 5.33 USD). 1 EUR = 20.96 MXN (100 MXN = 4.77 EUR).

Norwegian Krone exchange rates as of November 1, 2026: 1 USD = 9.19 NOK (1 NOK = 0.109 USD). 1 EUR = 10.26 NOK (100 NOK = 9.75 EUR).

USD to MXN in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Playa del Carmen Harstad 8,410 km ≈ 11 h nonstop flight

From you

Playa del Carmen
Harstad

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 Harstad: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Playa del Carmen is about 54% cheaper overall, especially in groceries, eating out, and transport. That difference adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

On paper, salaries run 79% 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 $1,411 in Harstad. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Supermarket bills run roughly 103% higher in Harstad. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

Dining out is cheaper in Playa del Carmen – a meal for two runs $43 versus $106 in Harstad. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

At $1,204 in Playa del Carmen versus $2,611 in Harstad, a $1,500 budget is realistic in Playa del Carmen but tight or insufficient in Harstad. 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 54% less than in Harstad. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.