Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Playa del Carmen and Kristiansand

For one person, living is cheaper in Playa del Carmen: $1,204 a month against $2,685 in Kristiansand, rent and utilities included – about $17,800 less a year. Rent and utilities account for about half of the difference.

59

Cost of Living Index in Playa del Carmen
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Playa del Carmen Living Index
129

Cost of Living Index in Kristiansand
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Kristiansand Living Index

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Playa del Carmen

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,204

/mo nomad

Kristiansand

🇳🇴 Norway

$2,685

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,204 in Playa del Carmen versus $2,685 in Kristiansand.

Playa del Carmen $1,204
Kristiansand $2,685

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,102 in Playa del Carmen versus $4,020 in Kristiansand.

Playa del Carmen $2,102
Kristiansand $4,020

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,000 in Playa del Carmen versus $5,355 in Kristiansand.

Playa del Carmen $3,000
Kristiansand $5,355

Living in Playa del Carmen costs roughly 55% less than in Kristiansand, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

The two cities straddle the global median: Playa del Carmen is 11% below, Kristiansand is 98% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$10.86 MX$201

$28.76 NOK 271

-62.24%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$44.21 MX$817

$84.8 NOK 798

-47.87%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.76 MX$217

$16.39 NOK 154

-28.25%

Cappuccino

$3.68 MX$68.0

$4.84 NOK 45.59

-23.97%

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

$1.34 MX$24.79

$3.31 NOK 31.18

-59.52%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.82 MX$15.24

$2.34 NOK 22.02

-64.96%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.06 MX$56.6

$12.69 NOK 119

-75.89%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.94 MX$91.2

$9.24 NOK 87.0

-46.54%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.47 MX$27.17

$2.32 NOK 21.81

-36.64%

White Bread (500g)

$2.22 MX$40.95

$4.19 NOK 39.43

-47.02%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.48 MX$27.32

$3.98 NOK 37.46

-62.81%

Eggs

$2.49 MX$45.99

$5.70 NOK 53.7

-56.32%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$7.52 MX$139

$12.88 NOK 121

-41.61%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$7.96 MX$147

$15.49 NOK 146

-48.61%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$12.57 MX$232

$43.89 NOK 413

-71.36%

Apples (1kg)

$2.78 MX$51.3

$4.41 NOK 41.52

-36.96%

Banana (1kg)

$1.43 MX$26.37

$2.49 NOK 23.45

-42.57%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.62 MX$48.37

$4.02 NOK 37.80

-34.83%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.14 MX$39.49

$4.65 NOK 43.77

-53.98%

Potato (1kg)

$2.02 MX$37.38

$2.55 NOK 24.00

-20.78%

Onion (1kg)

$1.99 MX$36.74

$2.43 NOK 22.85

-18.11%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.14 MX$21.01

$3.13 NOK 29.48

-63.58%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.20 MX$22.18

$2.22 NOK 20.94

-45.95%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.26 MX$78.7

$17.30 NOK 163

-75.38%

Wine (Bottle)

$10.02 MX$185

$15.80 NOK 149

-36.58%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.54 MX$28.41

$3.61 NOK 34.01

-57.34%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.66 MX$49.17

$3.99 NOK 37.54

-33.33%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.53 MX$9.73

$3.90 NOK 36.68

-86.41%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$27.51 MX$508

$72.2 NOK 680

-61.90%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$4.90 MX$90.6

$8.08 NOK 76.1

-39.36%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$3.43 MX$63.5

$1.70 NOK 15.96

101.76%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$5.38 MX$99.4

$56.8 NOK 535

-90.53%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.45 MX$26.76

$2.26 NOK 21.23

-35.84%

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

$21.2K MX$391.0K

$49.0K NOK 461.1K

-56.81%

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

$23.0K MX$425.3K

$45.1K NOK 424.5K

-48.96%

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

$85.4 MX$1,577

$217 NOK 2,045

-60.71%

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

$23.46 MX$434

$31.89 NOK 300

-26.43%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$28.43 MX$525

$61.0 NOK 574

-53.42%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$62.2 MX$1,149

$48.67 NOK 458

27.78%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$28.68 MX$530

$36.18 NOK 341

-20.73%

Cinema Ticket

$5.10 MX$94.3

$15.80 NOK 149

-67.72%

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

$201 MX$3,715

$309 NOK 2,908

-34.91%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$3,947 MX$72.9K

$2,680 NOK 25.2K

47.30%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$44.39 MX$820

$115 NOK 1,084

-61.46%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$41.35 MX$764

$56.4 NOK 531

-26.72%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$72.7 MX$1,344

$118 NOK 1,110

-38.33%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$89.6 MX$1,656

$160 NOK 1,503

-43.89%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$979 MX$18.1K

$1,194 NOK 11.2K

-17.97%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$373 MX$6,887

$1,009 NOK 9,499

-63.07%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,681 MX$31.1K

$1,889 NOK 17.8K

-11.01%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,095 MX$20.2K

$1,581 NOK 14.9K

-30.73%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,949 MX$73.0K

$4,916 NOK 46.3K

-19.67%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$6,137 MX$113.4K

$3,561 NOK 33.5K

72.34%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$738 MX$13.6K

$4,258 NOK 40.1K

-82.68%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

11.45

5.01

128.54%

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

Last update for Playa del Carmen: October 17, 2026

Last update for Kristiansand: October 20, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Playa del Carmen

$373 31%

Kristiansand

$1K 37.6% 171% $636

Groceries & Markets

Playa del Carmen

$258 21.5%

Kristiansand

$537 20% 108% $279

Eating Out

Playa del Carmen

$200 16.6%

Kristiansand

$442 16.5% 121% $242

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Playa del Carmen

$137 11.4%

Kristiansand

$310 11.6% 126% $173

Clothing & Footwear

Playa del Carmen

$112 9.3%

Kristiansand

$202 7.5% 81.1% $91

Sport & Entertainment

Playa del Carmen

$72 6%

Kristiansand

$80 3% 10.9% $7.9

Getting Around

Playa del Carmen

$52 4.3%

Kristiansand

$104 3.9% 102% $53

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $979 in Playa del Carmen and $1,194 in Kristiansand. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Kristiansand pays 477% 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: $44.00 in Playa del Carmen vs $85.0 in Kristiansand for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $258 vs $537 per month, with Playa del Carmen cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇲🇽 Playa del Carmen

🇳🇴 Kristiansand

🕒 Local time

06:41 6:41 AM

13:41 1:41 PM

7 h ahead of Playa del Carmen

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

149,923

117,213

💱 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 20, 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 20, 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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Between locations

Playa del Carmen Kristiansand 8,360 km ≈ 11 h nonstop flight

From you

Playa del Carmen
Kristiansand

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 Kristiansand: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Playa del Carmen is cheaper overall, especially in groceries, eating out, and clothing. The 123% gap adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

On paper, salaries run 477% lower in Kristiansand. 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: $979 in Playa del Carmen versus $1,194 in Kristiansand. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Supermarket bills run roughly 108% higher in Kristiansand. 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 $44.00 versus $85.0 in Kristiansand. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

At $1,204 in Playa del Carmen versus $2,685 in Kristiansand, a $1,500 budget is realistic in Playa del Carmen but tight or insufficient in Kristiansand. 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 Kristiansand, and the savings on those two alone free up budget for education, activities, and family trips.

Safety-wise, Playa del Carmen and Kristiansand 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 123% less than in Kristiansand. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.