Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Playa del Carmen and Mo i Rana

For one person, living is cheaper in Playa del Carmen: $1,204 a month against $2,594 in Mo i Rana, rent and utilities included – about $16,700 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

58

Cost of Living Index in Playa del Carmen
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Playa del Carmen Living Index
130

Cost of Living Index in Mo i Rana
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Mo i Rana Living Index

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Playa del Carmen

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,204

/mo nomad

Mo i Rana

🇳🇴 Norway

$2,594

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Playa del Carmen and in Mo i Rana

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 Mo i Rana actually costs, broken down by who's living it.

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,204 in Playa del Carmen versus $2,594 in Mo i Rana.

Playa del Carmen $1,204
Mo i Rana $2,594

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,082 in Playa del Carmen versus $3,931 in Mo i Rana.

Playa del Carmen $2,082
Mo i Rana $3,931

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $2,959 in Playa del Carmen versus $5,268 in Mo i Rana.

Playa del Carmen $2,959
Mo i Rana $5,268

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

The two cities straddle the global median: Playa del Carmen is 12% below, Mo i Rana is 91% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$10.92 MX$203

$15.85 NOK 147

-31.10%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$43.37 MX$808

$76.2 NOK 705

-43.11%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.78 MX$219

$14.93 NOK 138

-21.10%

Cappuccino

$3.81 MX$71.0

$5.02 NOK 46.45

-24.10%

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

$1.28 MX$23.89

$2.71 NOK 25.02

-52.77%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.78 MX$14.58

$1.74 NOK 16.09

-55.17%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.17 MX$59.0

$12.01 NOK 111

-73.61%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.93 MX$91.9

$9.34 NOK 86.4

-47.22%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.41 MX$26.20

$2.40 NOK 22.19

-41.25%

White Bread (500g)

$2.22 MX$41.30

$4.40 NOK 40.74

-49.55%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.42 MX$26.40

$4.16 NOK 38.52

-65.87%

Eggs

$2.52 MX$47.00

$4.85 NOK 44.84

-48.04%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$7.26 MX$135

$14.12 NOK 131

-48.58%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$7.70 MX$143

$18.97 NOK 175

-59.41%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$12.69 MX$236

$31.54 NOK 292

-59.77%

Apples (1kg)

$2.78 MX$51.9

$3.43 NOK 31.72

-18.95%

Banana (1kg)

$1.37 MX$25.49

$2.80 NOK 25.95

-51.07%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.55 MX$47.52

$3.61 NOK 33.36

-29.36%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.12 MX$39.55

$4.88 NOK 45.12

-56.56%

Potato (1kg)

$1.94 MX$36.11

$2.98 NOK 27.55

-34.90%

Onion (1kg)

$1.89 MX$35.13

$2.90 NOK 26.79

-34.83%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.15 MX$21.36

$3.02 NOK 27.92

-61.92%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.18 MX$21.96

$2.10 NOK 19.40

-43.81%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.30 MX$80.0

$17.25 NOK 160

-75.07%

Wine (Bottle)

$9.95 MX$185

$17.10 NOK 158

-41.81%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.58 MX$29.50

$3.60 NOK 33.27

-56.11%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.67 MX$49.76

$3.90 NOK 36.04

-31.54%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.55 MX$10.31

$4.82 NOK 44.57

-88.59%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$26.62 MX$496

$86.8 NOK 803

-69.35%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$4.97 MX$92.6

$13.47 NOK 125

-63.10%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$3.33 MX$62.1

$2.08 NOK 19.20

60.10%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$5.36 MX$99.8

$72.7 NOK 672

-92.62%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.44 MX$26.90

$2.32 NOK 21.49

-37.93%

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

$20.7K MX$385.0K

$49.0K NOK 453.3K

-57.82%

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

$23.5K MX$437.2K

$46.3K NOK 428.1K

-49.30%

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

$84.8 MX$1,580

$315 NOK 2,911

-73.05%

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

$23.41 MX$436

$34.27 NOK 317

-31.69%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$28.66 MX$534

$58.8 NOK 543

-51.22%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$57.1 MX$1,063

$50.5 NOK 468

12.88%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$28.91 MX$539

$33.47 NOK 310

-13.62%

Cinema Ticket

$5.14 MX$95.7

$16.59 NOK 153

-69.02%

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

$207 MX$3,848

$243 NOK 2,246

-14.92%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$3,927 MX$73.2K

$13.0K NOK 120.6K

-69.87%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$43.35 MX$808

$101 NOK 934

-57.05%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$41.44 MX$772

$54.6 NOK 505

-24.10%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$74.2 MX$1,382

$126 NOK 1,166

-41.13%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$89.3 MX$1,663

$157 NOK 1,455

-43.27%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$980 MX$18.2K

$1,260 NOK 11.7K

-22.27%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$381 MX$7,095

$927 NOK 8,572

-58.90%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,708 MX$31.8K

$2,046 NOK 18.9K

-16.54%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,075 MX$20.0K

$1,691 NOK 15.6K

-36.43%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,943 MX$73.5K

$7,298 NOK 67.5K

-45.97%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$6,158 MX$114.7K

$4,390 NOK 40.6K

40.25%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$735 MX$13.7K

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 25, 2026

Last update for Mo i Rana: October 25, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Playa del Carmen

$381 31.6%

Mo i Rana

$927 35.7% 143% $546

Groceries & Markets

Playa del Carmen

$255 21.2%

Mo i Rana

$521 20.1% 104% $266

Eating Out

Playa del Carmen

$202 16.8%

Mo i Rana

$328 12.7% 62.3% $126

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Playa del Carmen

$137 11.4%

Mo i Rana

$408 15.7% 198% $271

Clothing & Footwear

Playa del Carmen

$112 9.3%

Mo i Rana

$198 7.6% 76.8% $86

Sport & Entertainment

Playa del Carmen

$67 5.6%

Mo i Rana

$84 3.2% 24.4% $16

Getting Around

Playa del Carmen

$50 4.2%

Mo i Rana

$130 5% 158% $80

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $980 in Playa del Carmen and $1,260 in Mo i Rana. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Dining out: $43 in Playa del Carmen vs $76 in Mo i Rana for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $255 vs $521 per month, with Playa del Carmen cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇲🇽 Playa del Carmen

🇳🇴 Mo i Rana

🕒 Local time

23:29 11:29 PM

05:29 5:29 AM

6 h ahead of Playa del Carmen

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

149,923

18,755

💱 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 Mo i Rana 8,400 km ≈ 11 h nonstop flight

From you

Playa del Carmen
Mo i Rana

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 Mo i Rana: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

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

You’d need roughly $1,806 in Playa del Carmen and $3,892 in Mo i Rana 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: $980 in Playa del Carmen versus $1,260 in Mo i Rana. 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 69% less than in Mo i Rana. The price difference matters if you commute daily and watch your budget.

Childcare runs $207 in Playa del Carmen versus $243 in Mo i Rana. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

At $1,204 in Playa del Carmen versus $2,594 in Mo i Rana, a $1,500 budget is realistic in Playa del Carmen but tight or insufficient in Mo i Rana. 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 Mo i Rana. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.