Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Playa del Carmen and Oslo

For one person, living is cheaper in Playa del Carmen: $1,204 a month against $3,538 in Oslo, rent and utilities included – about $28,000 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
170

Cost of Living Index in Oslo
Learn more

Oslo Living Index

Jump to prices

Playa del Carmen

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,204

/mo nomad

Oslo

🇳🇴 Norway

$3,538

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,204 in Playa del Carmen versus $3,538 in Oslo.

Playa del Carmen $1,204
Oslo $3,538

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,082 in Playa del Carmen versus $5,096 in Oslo.

Playa del Carmen $2,082
Oslo $5,096

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $2,959 in Playa del Carmen versus $6,653 in Oslo.

Playa del Carmen $2,959
Oslo $6,653

Living in Playa del Carmen costs roughly 66% less than in Oslo, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

The two cities straddle the global median: Playa del Carmen is 12% below, Oslo is 160% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$10.92 MX$204

$21.75 NOK 202

-49.79%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$43.37 MX$808

$130 NOK 1,206

-66.59%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.78 MX$220

$16.04 NOK 149

-26.56%

Cappuccino

$3.81 MX$71.0

$5.84 NOK 54.3

-34.76%

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

$1.28 MX$23.90

$4.38 NOK 40.67

-70.78%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.78 MX$14.59

$3.35 NOK 31.10

-76.72%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.17 MX$59.0

$11.65 NOK 108

-72.79%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.93 MX$92.0

$12.81 NOK 119

-61.51%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.41 MX$26.22

$2.61 NOK 24.27

-45.98%

White Bread (500g)

$2.22 MX$41.33

$4.38 NOK 40.73

-49.32%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.42 MX$26.42

$4.70 NOK 43.68

-69.79%

Eggs

$2.52 MX$47.03

$6.25 NOK 58.1

-59.68%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$7.26 MX$135

$15.48 NOK 144

-53.10%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$7.70 MX$143

$15.84 NOK 147

-51.39%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$12.69 MX$237

$32.30 NOK 300

-60.71%

Apples (1kg)

$2.78 MX$51.9

$3.36 NOK 31.17

-17.26%

Banana (1kg)

$1.37 MX$25.50

$2.72 NOK 25.31

-49.63%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.55 MX$47.55

$3.65 NOK 33.92

-30.14%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.12 MX$39.58

$5.96 NOK 55.4

-64.43%

Potato (1kg)

$1.94 MX$36.13

$2.69 NOK 25.03

-27.88%

Onion (1kg)

$1.89 MX$35.16

$2.85 NOK 26.48

-33.68%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.15 MX$21.37

$3.26 NOK 30.30

-64.72%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.18 MX$21.98

$2.50 NOK 23.22

-52.80%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.30 MX$80.1

$19.21 NOK 178

-77.62%

Wine (Bottle)

$9.95 MX$185

$16.64 NOK 155

-40.20%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.58 MX$29.52

$3.60 NOK 33.45

-56.11%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.67 MX$49.79

$4.23 NOK 39.25

-36.88%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.55 MX$10.31

$5.02 NOK 46.65

-89.04%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$26.62 MX$496

$83.5 NOK 775

-68.10%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$4.97 MX$92.6

$12.39 NOK 115

-59.89%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$3.33 MX$62.1

$1.84 NOK 17.12

80.98%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$5.36 MX$99.8

$70.8 NOK 658

-92.43%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.44 MX$26.92

$2.48 NOK 23.05

-41.94%

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

$20.7K MX$385.2K

$49.9K NOK 463.6K

-58.59%

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

$23.5K MX$437.4K

$44.7K NOK 415.1K

-47.49%

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

$84.8 MX$1,581

$433 NOK 4,027

-80.44%

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

$23.41 MX$436

$34.50 NOK 321

-32.14%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$28.66 MX$534

$55.7 NOK 517

-48.53%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$57.1 MX$1,063

$58.1 NOK 540

-1.79%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$28.91 MX$539

$29.79 NOK 277

-2.95%

Cinema Ticket

$5.14 MX$95.8

$20.78 NOK 193

-75.26%

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

$207 MX$3,851

$240 NOK 2,226

-13.78%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$3,927 MX$73.2K

$16.2K NOK 150.2K

-75.70%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$43.35 MX$808

$104 NOK 969

-58.43%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$41.44 MX$772

$61.8 NOK 574

-32.89%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$74.2 MX$1,383

$135 NOK 1,253

-44.99%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$89.3 MX$1,664

$160 NOK 1,487

-44.24%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$980 MX$18.3K

$2,133 NOK 19.8K

-54.08%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$381 MX$7,099

$1,645 NOK 15.3K

-76.85%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,708 MX$31.8K

$3,270 NOK 30.4K

-47.77%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,075 MX$20.0K

$2,466 NOK 22.9K

-56.40%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,943 MX$73.5K

$12.4K NOK 114.9K

-68.11%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$6,158 MX$114.8K

$7,462 NOK 69.3K

-17.48%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$735 MX$13.7K

$4,703 NOK 43.7K

-84.38%

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 Oslo: October 25, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Playa del Carmen

$381 31.6%

Oslo

$1.6K 46.5% 332% $1.3K

Groceries & Markets

Playa del Carmen

$255 21.2%

Oslo

$530 15% 108% $276

Eating Out

Playa del Carmen

$202 16.8%

Oslo

$407 11.5% 101% $205

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Playa del Carmen

$137 11.4%

Oslo

$524 14.8% 283% $387

Clothing & Footwear

Playa del Carmen

$112 9.3%

Oslo

$207 5.9% 85.7% $96

Sport & Entertainment

Playa del Carmen

$67 5.6%

Oslo

$100 2.8% 48% $32

Getting Around

Playa del Carmen

$50 4.2%

Oslo

$125 3.5% 148% $75

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $980 in Playa del Carmen and $2,133 in Oslo. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Oslo pays about 6.4 times more on average. How far that income stretches comes down to housing choices and lifestyle.

Dining out: $43 in Playa del Carmen vs $130 in Oslo for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $255 vs $530 per month, with Playa del Carmen cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇲🇽 Playa del Carmen

🇳🇴 Oslo

🕒 Local time

13:50 1:50 PM

19:50 7:50 PM

6 h ahead of Playa del Carmen

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

149,923

1,098,061 Capital

💱 Currency

Mexican Peso MXN $

Norwegian Krone NOK kr

📈 Exchange rate

100 MXN = 5.36 USD

100 MXN = 4.82 EUR

100 NOK = 10.76 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 October 28, 2026: 1 USD = 18.64 MXN (100 MXN = 5.36 USD). 1 EUR = 20.75 MXN (100 MXN = 4.82 EUR).

Norwegian Krone exchange rates as of October 28, 2026: 1 USD = 9.29 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 Oslo 8,460 km ≈ 11 h nonstop flight

From you

Playa del Carmen
Oslo

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 Oslo: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Playa del Carmen is cheaper overall, especially in groceries, eating out, and clothing. The 194% gap adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

On paper, salaries run 84% lower in Playa del Carmen. 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: $980 in Playa del Carmen versus $2,133 in Oslo. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

All in, you’ll spend $1,204 per month in Playa del Carmen versus $3,538 in Oslo – a 194% gap that adds up to real savings over time for anyone picking the cheaper option.

A monthly transit pass in Playa del Carmen runs roughly 68% less than in Oslo. Both cities have functional networks, but the price difference matters if you’re watching your budget.

At $1,204 in Playa del Carmen versus $3,538 in Oslo, a $1,500 budget is realistic in Playa del Carmen but tight or insufficient in Oslo. 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 Oslo, and the savings on those two alone free up budget for education, activities, and family trips.

Expats usually find Playa del Carmen gentler on the wallet – expenses run 66% less than in Oslo. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.