Last update: Nov 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Playa del Carmen and Kolbotn

For one person, living is cheaper in Playa del Carmen: $1,202 a month against $2,540 in Kolbotn, rent and utilities included – about $16,100 less a year. Rent and utilities account for about half of the difference.

57

Cost of Living Index in Playa del Carmen
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Playa del Carmen Living Index
121

Cost of Living Index in Kolbotn
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Kolbotn Living Index

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Playa del Carmen

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,202

/mo nomad

Kolbotn

🇳🇴 Norway

$2,540

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,202 in Playa del Carmen versus $2,540 in Kolbotn.

Playa del Carmen $1,202
Kolbotn $2,540

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,082 in Playa del Carmen versus $3,974 in Kolbotn.

Playa del Carmen $2,082
Kolbotn $3,974

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $2,962 in Playa del Carmen versus $5,409 in Kolbotn.

Playa del Carmen $2,962
Kolbotn $5,409

Living in Playa del Carmen costs roughly 53% less than in Kolbotn, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Playa del Carmen is 11% below, Kolbotn is 88% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$10.67 MX$199

$21.65 NOK 200

-50.72%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$43.80 MX$815

$127 NOK 1,175

-65.63%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.79 MX$219

$16.04 NOK 148

-26.50%

Cappuccino

$3.79 MX$70.5

$6.12 NOK 56.5

-38.07%

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

$1.30 MX$24.14

$4.38 NOK 40.37

-70.32%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.83 MX$15.51

$3.35 NOK 30.86

-75.22%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.15 MX$58.6

$12.02 NOK 111

-73.79%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.93 MX$91.8

$12.99 NOK 120

-62.05%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.41 MX$26.22

$2.14 NOK 19.69

-34.11%

White Bread (500g)

$2.20 MX$40.86

$2.44 NOK 22.49

-9.84%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.47 MX$27.40

$2.36 NOK 21.72

-37.71%

Eggs

$2.50 MX$46.47

$4.96 NOK 45.73

-49.60%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$7.29 MX$136

$15.01 NOK 138

-51.43%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$7.95 MX$148

$16.17 NOK 149

-50.83%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$12.86 MX$239

$32.31 NOK 298

-60.20%

Apples (1kg)

$2.90 MX$53.9

$2.85 NOK 26.30

1.75%

Banana (1kg)

$1.38 MX$25.74

$2.03 NOK 18.72

-32.02%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.49 MX$46.36

$3.49 NOK 32.18

-28.65%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.03 MX$37.78

$4.94 NOK 45.59

-58.91%

Potato (1kg)

$2.02 MX$37.69

$2.17 NOK 20.03

-6.91%

Onion (1kg)

$1.90 MX$35.42

$2.34 NOK 21.58

-18.80%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.14 MX$21.30

$3.15 NOK 29.06

-63.81%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.24 MX$23.06

$1.58 NOK 14.53

-21.52%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.27 MX$79.5

$19.43 NOK 179

-78.02%

Wine (Bottle)

$9.81 MX$183

$16.85 NOK 155

-41.78%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.59 MX$29.51

$3.62 NOK 33.37

-56.08%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.75 MX$51.1

$4.41 NOK 40.68

-37.64%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.51 MX$9.58

$4.70 NOK 43.35

-89.15%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$27.39 MX$510

$85.4 NOK 787

-67.91%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$4.76 MX$88.6

$12.21 NOK 113

-61.02%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$3.25 MX$60.5

$1.86 NOK 17.14

74.73%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$5.39 MX$100

$71.3 NOK 657

-92.44%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.53 MX$28.44

$2.22 NOK 20.45

-31.08%

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

$21.2K MX$394.8K

$48.8K NOK 450.1K

-56.54%

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

$23.3K MX$432.9K

$45.0K NOK 415.1K

-48.32%

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

$83.5 MX$1,554

$111 NOK 1,020

-24.48%

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

$23.19 MX$431

$21.26 NOK 196

9.08%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$27.61 MX$514

$55.2 NOK 509

-50.00%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$56.4 MX$1,050

$50.5 NOK 465

11.83%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$28.19 MX$525

$37.41 NOK 345

-24.65%

Cinema Ticket

$5.00 MX$93.1

$15.51 NOK 143

-67.76%

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

$207 MX$3,854

$241 NOK 2,225

-14.16%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$5,231 MX$97.4K

$16.1K NOK 148.3K

-67.47%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$43.45 MX$809

$104 NOK 962

-58.33%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$42.54 MX$792

$62.2 NOK 573

-31.57%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$72.8 MX$1,354

$139 NOK 1,281

-47.63%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$88.4 MX$1,645

$163 NOK 1,502

-45.72%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$995 MX$18.5K

$1,239 NOK 11.4K

-19.70%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$382 MX$7,116

$1,057 NOK 9,745

-63.81%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,674 MX$31.2K

$2,072 NOK 19.1K

-19.21%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,081 MX$20.1K

$1,741 NOK 16.1K

-37.91%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,909 MX$72.7K

$6,488 NOK 59.8K

-39.75%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$6,138 MX$114.2K

$4,241 NOK 39.1K

44.71%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$832 MX$15.5K

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: November 2, 2026

Last update for Kolbotn: November 1, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Playa del Carmen

$382 31.8%

Kolbotn

$1.1K 41.6% 176% $674

Groceries & Markets

Playa del Carmen

$257 21.4%

Kolbotn

$466 18.4% 81.1% $209

Eating Out

Playa del Carmen

$200 16.7%

Kolbotn

$412 16.2% 106% $211

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Playa del Carmen

$134 11.2%

Kolbotn

$187 7.4% 39.3% $53

Clothing & Footwear

Playa del Carmen

$111 9.3%

Kolbotn

$211 8.3% 89.5% $99

Sport & Entertainment

Playa del Carmen

$66 5.5%

Kolbotn

$81 3.2% 22.6% $15

Getting Around

Playa del Carmen

$50 4.2%

Kolbotn

$126 5% 149% $75

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $995 in Playa del Carmen and $1,239 in Kolbotn. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Dining out: $44 in Playa del Carmen vs $127 in Kolbotn for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $257 vs $466 per month, with Playa del Carmen cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇲🇽 Playa del Carmen

🇳🇴 Kolbotn

🕒 Local time

11:49 11:49 AM

17:49 5:49 PM

6 h ahead of Playa del Carmen

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

149,923

4,500

💱 Currency

Mexican Peso MXN $

Norwegian Krone NOK kr

📈 Exchange rate

100 MXN = 5.37 USD

100 MXN = 4.79 EUR

100 NOK = 10.84 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 November 4, 2026: 1 USD = 18.61 MXN (100 MXN = 5.37 USD). 1 EUR = 20.86 MXN (100 MXN = 4.79 EUR).

Norwegian Krone exchange rates as of November 4, 2026: 1 USD = 9.22 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 Kolbotn 8,460 km ≈ 11 h nonstop flight

From you

Playa del Carmen
Kolbotn

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 Kolbotn: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Playa del Carmen wins on cost – living expenses run 53% lower than in Kolbotn. Housing and daily spending are where you’ll feel the difference most, making Playa del Carmen the obvious pick if budget is a priority.

You’d need roughly $1,804 in Playa del Carmen and $3,809 in Kolbotn to live well. The gap comes down to housing and overall price levels. Both cities are liveable on less, but these numbers represent actual comfort.

Rent for a central apartment: $995 in Playa del Carmen versus $1,239 in Kolbotn. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

A monthly transit pass in Playa del Carmen runs roughly 68% less than in Kolbotn. The price difference matters if you commute daily and watch your budget.

Childcare runs $207 in Playa del Carmen versus $241 in Kolbotn. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

At $1,202 in Playa del Carmen versus $2,540 in Kolbotn, a $1,500 budget is realistic in Playa del Carmen but tight or insufficient in Kolbotn. 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 53% less than in Kolbotn. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.