Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Playa del Carmen and Kristiansund

For one person, living is cheaper in Playa del Carmen: $1,204 a month against $2,340 in Kristiansund, rent and utilities included – about $13,600 less a year. Other living expenses account for most of the difference.

59

Cost of Living Index in Playa del Carmen
Learn more

Playa del Carmen Living Index
113

Cost of Living Index in Kristiansund
Learn more

Kristiansund Living Index

Jump to prices

Playa del Carmen

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,204

/mo nomad

Kristiansund

🇳🇴 Norway

$2,340

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,204 in Playa del Carmen versus $2,340 in Kristiansund.

Playa del Carmen $1,204
Kristiansund $2,340

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,102 in Playa del Carmen versus $3,549 in Kristiansund.

Playa del Carmen $2,102
Kristiansund $3,549

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,000 in Playa del Carmen versus $4,757 in Kristiansund.

Playa del Carmen $3,000
Kristiansund $4,757

Living in Playa del Carmen costs roughly 49% less than in Kristiansund, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

The two cities straddle the global median: Playa del Carmen is 11% below, Kristiansund is 73% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$10.86 MX$201

$20.85 NOK 196

-47.91%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$44.21 MX$817

$105 NOK 992

-58.04%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.76 MX$217

$15.89 NOK 150

-25.99%

Cappuccino

$3.68 MX$68.0

$5.56 NOK 52.3

-33.81%

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

$1.34 MX$24.79

$4.12 NOK 38.74

-67.48%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.82 MX$15.24

$3.05 NOK 28.70

-73.11%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.06 MX$56.6

$11.64 NOK 110

-73.71%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.94 MX$91.2

$10.27 NOK 96.7

-51.90%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.47 MX$27.17

$2.45 NOK 23.11

-40.00%

White Bread (500g)

$2.22 MX$40.95

$3.69 NOK 34.71

-39.84%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.48 MX$27.32

$3.75 NOK 35.32

-60.53%

Eggs

$2.49 MX$45.99

$4.88 NOK 45.91

-48.98%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$7.52 MX$139

$13.32 NOK 125

-43.54%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$7.96 MX$147

$15.21 NOK 143

-47.67%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$12.57 MX$232

$31.26 NOK 294

-59.79%

Apples (1kg)

$2.78 MX$51.3

$3.34 NOK 31.41

-16.77%

Banana (1kg)

$1.43 MX$26.37

$2.58 NOK 24.32

-44.57%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.62 MX$48.37

$3.37 NOK 31.71

-22.26%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.14 MX$39.49

$4.74 NOK 44.63

-54.85%

Potato (1kg)

$2.02 MX$37.38

$2.61 NOK 24.54

-22.61%

Onion (1kg)

$1.99 MX$36.74

$2.93 NOK 27.60

-32.08%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.14 MX$21.01

$3.05 NOK 28.68

-62.62%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.20 MX$22.18

$2.24 NOK 21.12

-46.43%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.26 MX$78.7

$17.16 NOK 162

-75.17%

Wine (Bottle)

$10.02 MX$185

$16.25 NOK 153

-38.34%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.54 MX$28.41

$3.51 NOK 33.03

-56.13%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.66 MX$49.17

$4.33 NOK 40.78

-38.57%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.53 MX$9.73

$4.58 NOK 43.08

-88.43%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$27.51 MX$508

$85.2 NOK 802

-67.71%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$4.90 MX$90.6

$11.99 NOK 113

-59.13%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$3.43 MX$63.5

$1.86 NOK 17.49

84.41%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$5.38 MX$99.4

$68.4 NOK 643

-92.13%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.45 MX$26.76

$2.49 NOK 23.46

-41.77%

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

$21.2K MX$391.0K

$47.1K NOK 443.8K

-55.12%

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

$23.0K MX$425.3K

$43.3K NOK 408.1K

-46.90%

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

$85.4 MX$1,577

$265 NOK 2,497

-67.82%

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

$23.46 MX$434

$33.19 NOK 312

-29.32%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$28.43 MX$525

$53.0 NOK 499

-46.37%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$62.2 MX$1,149

$39.18 NOK 369

58.73%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$28.68 MX$530

$28.93 NOK 272

-0.86%

Cinema Ticket

$5.10 MX$94.3

$25.69 NOK 242

-80.15%

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

$201 MX$3,715

$239 NOK 2,253

-15.98%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$3,947 MX$72.9K

$13.0K NOK 122.7K

-69.71%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$44.39 MX$820

$102 NOK 956

-56.28%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$41.35 MX$764

$55.5 NOK 523

-25.51%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$72.7 MX$1,344

$125 NOK 1,181

-42.03%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$89.6 MX$1,656

$157 NOK 1,473

-42.74%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$979 MX$18.1K

$777 NOK 7,310

26.12%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$373 MX$6,887

$700 NOK 6,592

-46.78%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,681 MX$31.1K

$1,239 NOK 11.7K

35.69%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,095 MX$20.2K

$1,048 NOK 9,864

4.52%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,949 MX$73.0K

$6,024 NOK 56.7K

-34.44%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$6,137 MX$113.4K

$4,115 NOK 38.7K

49.13%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$738 MX$13.6K

$3,708 NOK 34.9K

-80.11%

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 17, 2026

Last update for Kristiansund: October 19, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Playa del Carmen

$373 31%

Kristiansund

$700 29.9% 87.9% $328

Groceries & Markets

Playa del Carmen

$258 21.5%

Kristiansund

$487 20.8% 88.3% $228

Eating Out

Playa del Carmen

$200 16.6%

Kristiansund

$389 16.6% 94.1% $188

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Playa del Carmen

$137 11.4%

Kristiansund

$351 15% 156% $214

Clothing & Footwear

Playa del Carmen

$112 9.3%

Kristiansund

$198 8.4% 77% $86

Sport & Entertainment

Playa del Carmen

$72 6%

Kristiansund

$91 3.9% 25.1% $18

Getting Around

Playa del Carmen

$52 4.3%

Kristiansund

$125 5.3% 141% $73

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $979 in Playa del Carmen and $777 in Kristiansund. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Kristiansund pays 403% 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 $105 in Kristiansund for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $258 vs $487 per month, with Playa del Carmen cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇲🇽 Playa del Carmen

🇳🇴 Kristiansund

🕒 Local time

06:41 6:41 AM

13:41 1:41 PM

7 h ahead of Playa del Carmen

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

149,923

24,505

💱 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

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Playa del Carmen Kristiansund 8,210 km ≈ 11 h nonstop flight

From you

Playa del Carmen
Kristiansund

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 Kristiansund: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Playa del Carmen and Kristiansund differ by about 94% in total monthly costs ($1,204 vs $2,340 including rent). Playa del Carmen is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

On paper, salaries run 403% lower in Kristiansund. 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 $777 in Kristiansund. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Supermarket bills run roughly 88% higher in Kristiansund. 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 $105 in Kristiansund. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

At $1,204 in Playa del Carmen versus $2,340 in Kristiansund, a $1,500 budget is realistic in Playa del Carmen but tight or insufficient in Kristiansund. 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.

Safety-wise, Playa del Carmen and Kristiansund 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 94% less than in Kristiansund. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.