Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Playa del Carmen and Lillehammer

For one person, living is cheaper in Playa del Carmen: $1,204 a month against $1,521 in Lillehammer, rent and utilities included – about $3,800 less a year. The total is higher in Lillehammer despite lower rent and utilities.

58

Cost of Living Index in Playa del Carmen
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Playa del Carmen Living Index
73

Cost of Living Index in Lillehammer
Learn more

Lillehammer Living Index

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Playa del Carmen

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,204

/mo nomad

Lillehammer

🇳🇴 Norway

$1,521

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

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

A single person spends $1,204 per month in Playa del Carmen vs $1,521 in Lillehammer, rent included.

Playa del Carmen $1,204
Lillehammer $1,521

A couple spends around $2,082 per month in Playa del Carmen vs $2,414 in Lillehammer, rent included.

Playa del Carmen $2,082
Lillehammer $2,414

A family of three spends $2,959 per month in Playa del Carmen vs $3,308 in Lillehammer, rent included.

Playa del Carmen $2,959
Lillehammer $3,308

Playa del Carmen is about 21% cheaper than Lillehammer, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Playa del Carmen sits 12% below the global median, while Lillehammer is 12% above – they fall on opposite sides of the world average.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$10.92 MX$203

$17.22 NOK 159

-36.59%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$43.37 MX$808

$86.6 NOK 801

-49.92%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.78 MX$219

$14.65 NOK 136

-19.59%

Cappuccino

$3.81 MX$71.0

$5.04 NOK 46.64

-24.40%

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

$1.28 MX$23.89

$3.58 NOK 33.14

-64.25%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.78 MX$14.58

$2.42 NOK 22.35

-67.77%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.17 MX$59.0

$10.94 NOK 101

-71.02%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.93 MX$91.9

$7.37 NOK 68.2

-33.11%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.41 MX$26.20

$2.49 NOK 23.02

-43.37%

White Bread (500g)

$2.22 MX$41.30

$3.50 NOK 32.34

-36.57%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.42 MX$26.40

$3.69 NOK 34.15

-61.52%

Eggs

$2.52 MX$47.00

$4.83 NOK 44.66

-47.83%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$7.26 MX$135

$13.57 NOK 126

-46.50%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$7.70 MX$143

$17.04 NOK 158

-54.81%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$12.69 MX$236

$32.03 NOK 296

-60.38%

Apples (1kg)

$2.78 MX$51.9

$4.08 NOK 37.72

-31.86%

Banana (1kg)

$1.37 MX$25.49

$3.05 NOK 28.18

-55.08%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.55 MX$47.52

$3.94 NOK 36.46

-35.28%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.12 MX$39.55

$5.69 NOK 52.7

-62.74%

Potato (1kg)

$1.94 MX$36.11

$2.99 NOK 27.64

-35.12%

Onion (1kg)

$1.89 MX$35.13

$3.04 NOK 28.08

-37.83%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.15 MX$21.36

$3.01 NOK 27.83

-61.79%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.18 MX$21.96

$2.27 NOK 21.02

-48.02%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.30 MX$80.0

$17.85 NOK 165

-75.91%

Wine (Bottle)

$9.95 MX$185

$19.12 NOK 177

-47.96%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.58 MX$29.50

$3.59 NOK 33.25

-55.99%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.67 MX$49.76

$4.79 NOK 44.35

-44.26%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.55 MX$10.31

$2.41 NOK 22.34

-77.18%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$26.62 MX$496

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$4.97 MX$92.6

$9.64 NOK 89.2

-48.44%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$3.33 MX$62.1

$1.64 NOK 15.18

103.05%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$5.36 MX$99.8

$60.9 NOK 563

-91.20%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.44 MX$26.90

$2.47 NOK 22.82

-41.70%

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

$20.7K MX$385.0K

$47.0K NOK 434.4K

-55.99%

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

$23.5K MX$437.2K

$46.9K NOK 433.9K

-49.97%

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

$84.8 MX$1,580

$281 NOK 2,602

-69.85%

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

$23.41 MX$436

$35.85 NOK 332

-34.70%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$28.66 MX$534

$82.3 NOK 761

-65.18%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$57.1 MX$1,063

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$28.91 MX$539

Cinema Ticket

$5.14 MX$95.7

$19.23 NOK 178

-73.27%

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

$207 MX$3,848

$303 NOK 2,806

-31.90%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$3,927 MX$73.2K

$4,579 NOK 42.4K

-14.23%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$43.35 MX$808

$110 NOK 1,017

-60.56%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$41.44 MX$772

$52.6 NOK 486

-21.17%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$74.2 MX$1,382

$125 NOK 1,154

-40.54%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$89.3 MX$1,663

$159 NOK 1,467

-43.72%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$980 MX$18.2K

$1,090 NOK 10.1K

-10.11%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$381 MX$7,095

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,708 MX$31.8K

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,075 MX$20.0K

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,943 MX$73.5K

$3,392 NOK 31.4K

16.26%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$6,158 MX$114.7K

$1,373 NOK 12.7K

348.61%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$735 MX$13.7K

$2,148 NOK 19.9K

-65.80%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

11.45

5.32

115.23%

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 Lillehammer: October 27, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Playa del Carmen

$381 31.6%

Lillehammer

- * 0% 100%

Groceries & Markets

Playa del Carmen

$255 21.2%

Lillehammer

$519 34.1% 104% $264

Eating Out

Playa del Carmen

$202 16.8%

Lillehammer

$336 22.1% 65.9% $133

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Playa del Carmen

$137 11.4%

Lillehammer

$399 26.3% 192% $263

Clothing & Footwear

Playa del Carmen

$112 9.3%

Lillehammer

$201 13.2% 79.6% $89

Sport & Entertainment

Playa del Carmen

$67 5.6%

Lillehammer

$38 * 2.5% 42.9% $29

Getting Around

Playa del Carmen

$50 4.2%

Lillehammer

$28 * 1.8% 45.5% $23

Categories marked with * are only partly priced – their share counts the items that do have prices.

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $980 in Playa del Carmen versus $1,090 in Lillehammer. Rent is usually the largest line item in a monthly budget, so the gap here sets the tone for the overall comparison.

Salaries in Lillehammer are about 2.9 times higher. Purchasing power depends on which expenses matter most to you.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $43 in Playa del Carmen versus $87 in Lillehammer. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $255 vs $519 – making Playa del Carmen the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇲🇽 Playa del Carmen

🇳🇴 Lillehammer

🕒 Local time

01:28 1:28 AM

07:28 7:28 AM

6 h ahead of Playa del Carmen

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

149,923

28,831

💱 Currency

Mexican Peso MXN $

Norwegian Krone NOK kr

📈 Exchange rate

100 MXN = 5.37 USD

100 MXN = 4.82 EUR

100 NOK = 10.81 USD

100 NOK = 9.71 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 29, 2026: 1 USD = 18.63 MXN (100 MXN = 5.37 USD). 1 EUR = 20.74 MXN (100 MXN = 4.82 EUR).

Norwegian Krone exchange rates as of October 29, 2026: 1 USD = 9.25 NOK (1 NOK = 0.108 USD). 1 EUR = 10.3 NOK (100 NOK = 9.71 EUR).

USD to MXN in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Playa del Carmen Lillehammer 8,400 km ≈ 11 h nonstop flight

From you

Playa del Carmen
Lillehammer

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 Lillehammer: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Lillehammer costs about 26% more than Playa del Carmen, and outside of rent the gap comes mainly from groceries. That’s enough to noticeably affect everyday spending and lifestyle for anyone choosing between the two.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $1,806 per month in Playa del Carmen and $2,281 in Lillehammer. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

Rent is clearly cheaper in Playa del Carmen, especially for central apartments: a one-bedroom in the center costs $980 there versus $1,090 in Lillehammer.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $43 in Playa del Carmen and $87 in Lillehammer. That’s a good indicator of the overall restaurant and café pricing gap between the two cities.

Groceries cost about 104% more in Lillehammer, though the gap depends on what you buy.

A $1,500 monthly budget goes further in Playa del Carmen, where all-in costs run around $1,204, than in Lillehammer at $1,521. In Playa del Carmen it covers expenses comfortably, while in Lillehammer it requires careful planning or may not stretch far enough.

Families tend to lean toward Playa del Carmen – lower housing and cheaper childcare make a real difference, especially on a single income or when paying for private education.

If budget matters most, go with Playa del Carmen. If higher salaries or specific career opportunities are the priority, Lillehammer makes more sense. Both are solid long-term options with distinct trade-offs.