Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Playa del Carmen and Porsgrunn

For one person, living is cheaper in Playa del Carmen: $1,210 a month against $2,673 in Porsgrunn, rent and utilities included – about $17,600 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

Playa del Carmen
🇲🇽 Mexico
$1,210
/mo nomad
Porsgrunn
🇳🇴 Norway
$2,673
/mo nomad
Monthly Cost of Living

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

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

A single person spends $1,210 per month in Playa del Carmen vs $2,673 in Porsgrunn, rent included.

  • Playa del Carmen $1,210
  • Porsgrunn $2,673

A couple spends around $2,113 per month in Playa del Carmen vs $3,818 in Porsgrunn, rent included.

  • Playa del Carmen $2,113
  • Porsgrunn $3,818

A family of three spends $3,016 per month in Playa del Carmen vs $4,962 in Porsgrunn, rent included.

  • Playa del Carmen $3,016
  • Porsgrunn $4,962

Playa del Carmen is about 55% cheaper than Porsgrunn, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Playa del Carmen sits 10% below the global median, while Porsgrunn is 98% above – they fall on opposite sides of the world average.

Currency
🍽 Eating Out
Playa del Carmen
Porsgrunn
Difference
Meal at Budget Restaurant
$10.76 MX$199
$20.92 NOK 197
-48.57%
Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range
$43.03 MX$795
$105 NOK 990
-59.08%
Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)
$11.79 MX$218
$15.57 NOK 147
-24.28%
Cappuccino
$3.87 MX$71.4
$5.60 NOK 52.7
-30.89%
Coke/Pepsi/Fanta/Sprite (0.33 liter bottle)
$1.37 MX$25.29
$3.49 NOK 32.88
-60.74%
Water (0.33 liter bottle)
$0.84 MX$15.44
$3.04 NOK 28.58
-72.37%
Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)
$3.10 MX$57.3
$11.53 NOK 109
-73.11%
Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)
$5.07 MX$93.6
$10.41 NOK 98.0
-51.30%
🛒 Groceries & Markets
Playa del Carmen
Porsgrunn
Difference
Milk (1 liter)
$1.44 MX$26.55
$2.44 NOK 23.00
-40.98%
White Bread (500g)
$2.23 MX$41.23
$4.09 NOK 38.49
-45.48%
Rice (white) (1kg)
$1.47 MX$27.17
$4.53 NOK 42.62
-67.55%
Eggs
$2.53 MX$46.71
$5.79 NOK 54.5
-56.30%
Local Cheese (1kg)
$7.30 MX$135
$14.79 NOK 139
-50.64%
Chicken Fillets (1kg)
$7.86 MX$145
$15.68 NOK 148
-49.87%
Beef Round Steak (1kg)
$12.79 MX$236
$31.79 NOK 299
-59.77%
Apples (1kg)
$2.90 MX$53.6
$3.40 NOK 31.98
-14.71%
Banana (1kg)
$1.44 MX$26.53
$2.59 NOK 24.35
-44.40%
Oranges (1kg)
$2.55 MX$47.07
$3.50 NOK 32.97
-27.14%
Tomato (1kg)
$2.06 MX$38.03
$5.89 NOK 55.5
-65.03%
Potato (1kg)
$2.00 MX$36.97
$2.61 NOK 24.59
-23.37%
Onion (1kg)
$2.01 MX$37.07
$2.90 NOK 27.33
-30.69%
Lettuce (1 head)
$1.19 MX$22.02
$3.14 NOK 29.55
-62.10%
Water (1.5 liter bottle)
$1.26 MX$23.23
$2.39 NOK 22.50
-47.28%
Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)
$4.40 MX$81.4
$18.43 NOK 174
-76.13%
Wine (Bottle)
$9.59 MX$177
$16.49 NOK 155
-41.84%
Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)
$1.59 MX$29.41
$3.35 NOK 31.49
-52.54%
Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)
$2.81 MX$51.9
$4.13 NOK 38.90
-31.96%
🚌 Getting Around
Playa del Carmen
Porsgrunn
Difference
One-way Ticket (Public Transport)
$0.57 MX$10.47
$2.68 NOK 25.20
-78.73%
Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)
$27.82 MX$514
$47.08 NOK 443
-40.91%
Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)
$4.98 MX$92.1
$11.92 NOK 112
-58.22%
Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)
$3.50 MX$64.6
$1.87 NOK 17.65
87.17%
Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)
$5.40 MX$99.8
$69.5 NOK 654
-92.23%
Gasoline (1 liter)
$1.47 MX$27.08
$2.45 NOK 23.07
-40.00%
Midsize Hatchback 1.4l (Volkswagen Golf, Toyota Prius, Honda Civic, etc)
$21.0K MX$387.8K
$47.6K NOK 448.2K
-55.93%
Compact Sedan 1.6l (Toyota Corolla, Mazda3, Kia K4, Hyundai Elantra, etc)
$23.9K MX$441.8K
$44.1K NOK 414.9K
-45.76%
🧾 Monthly Utilities & Internet
Playa del Carmen
Porsgrunn
Difference
Utilities for 2 People in 2-bedroom Apartment (Heating, Electricity, Gas, Water, Garbage) (85m2)
$84.2 MX$1,556
$417 NOK 3,926
-79.81%
SIM Card Monthly Plan (Calls and 10GB+ Data)
$23.99 MX$443
$32.67 NOK 308
-26.57%
Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)
$29.02 MX$536
$52.9 NOK 498
-45.15%
🎉 Sport & Entertainment
Playa del Carmen
Porsgrunn
Difference
Gym Membership (Monthly)
$63.0 MX$1,164
-
-
Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)
$29.14 MX$539
-
-
Cinema Ticket
$4.94 MX$91.3
$20.21 NOK 190
-75.56%
🧸 Childcare & Education
Playa del Carmen
Porsgrunn
Difference
Preschool or Kindergarten, Full Day, Private, 1 Child (Monthly)
$204 MX$3,763
$236 NOK 2,221
-13.70%
International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)
$3,941 MX$72.8K
$15.5K NOK 146.1K
-74.62%
👕👟 Clothing & Footwear
Playa del Carmen
Porsgrunn
Difference
Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)
$43.60 MX$806
$98.6 NOK 928
-55.78%
Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)
$43.12 MX$797
$59.0 NOK 555
-26.89%
Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)
$75.8 MX$1,400
$131 NOK 1,238
-42.36%
Men's Leather Business Shoes
$88.6 MX$1,637
$158 NOK 1,487
-43.92%
🏠 Accommodation & Living
Playa del Carmen
Porsgrunn
Difference
1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)
$1,008 MX$18.6K
$824 NOK 7,752
22.43%
1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)
$374 MX$6,911
$950 NOK 8,946
-60.64%
3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)
$1,708 MX$31.6K
$1,563 NOK 14.7K
9.30%
3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)
$1,106 MX$20.4K
$1,259 NOK 11.9K
-12.15%
Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)
$3,944 MX$72.9K
-
-
Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)
$6,169 MX$114.0K
-
-
💵 Salaries & Financials
Playa del Carmen
Porsgrunn
Difference
Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)
$754 MX$13.9K
-
-
20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)
11.45
3.8
201.32%

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

Last update for Playa del Carmen: October 10, 2026

Last update for Porsgrunn: October 11, 2026

Monthly budget structure
Share of the monthly basket for one person, rent included.
Accommodation & Living
Playa del Carmen
$374
Porsgrunn
$950 154% $576
Groceries & Markets
Playa del Carmen
$258
Porsgrunn
$514 98.7% $255
Eating Out
Playa del Carmen
$202
Porsgrunn
$386 90.8% $184
Monthly Utilities & Internet
Playa del Carmen
$137
Porsgrunn
$503 266% $365
Clothing & Footwear
Playa del Carmen
$113
Porsgrunn
$201 78% $88
Sport & Entertainment
Playa del Carmen
$73
Porsgrunn
$40 * 44.5% $32
Getting Around
Playa del Carmen
$53
Porsgrunn
$79 50.5% $27

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

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $1,008 in Playa del Carmen versus $824 in Porsgrunn. Rent is usually the largest line item in a monthly budget, so the gap here sets the tone for the overall comparison.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $43.00 in Playa del Carmen versus $105 in Porsgrunn. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $258 vs $514 – making Playa del Carmen the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know
🇲🇽 Playa del Carmen
🇳🇴 Porsgrunn
🕒 Local time
10:43 10:43 AM
17:43 5:43 PM
7 h ahead of Playa del Carmen
🌤 Weather
👥 Population
149,923
37,144
💱 Currency
Exchange rates and currency converter

NOK, USD, EUR to MXN – Mexican Peso Converter

Mexican Peso exchange rates as of October 19, 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 19, 2026: 1 USD = 9.41 NOK (1 NOK = 0.106 USD). 1 EUR = 10.58 NOK (100 NOK = 9.45 EUR).

On the map
Between locations
  • Playa del Carmen Porsgrunn 8,430 km ≈ 11 h nonstop flight
From you
  • Playa del Carmen
  • Porsgrunn

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 Porsgrunn: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions
Is Porsgrunn cheaper than Playa del Carmen?
Yes – Porsgrunn is pricier by about 121%, and outside of rent the gap shows up most in groceries.
What income do you need for each city?
For a comfortable life, plan on about $1,816 per month in Playa del Carmen and $4,010 in Porsgrunn. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.
Which city has lower housing costs?
Rent is clearly cheaper in Playa del Carmen, especially for central apartments. Housing is actually the single biggest factor behind the overall cost gap between these two cities.
What are total monthly expenses in Playa del Carmen and in Porsgrunn?
Monthly expenses with rent come to $1,210 in Playa del Carmen and $2,673 in Porsgrunn. That's a gap of about 121%.
Which city has cheaper public transport?
Public transport costs about 69% less in Playa del Carmen. For daily commuters, that gap adds up to noticeable savings over a year.
Is $1,500 a realistic budget for living in Playa del Carmen or in Porsgrunn?
A $1,500 monthly budget goes further in Playa del Carmen, where all-in costs run around $1,210, than in Porsgrunn at $2,673. In Playa del Carmen it covers expenses comfortably, while in Porsgrunn it requires careful planning or may not stretch far enough.
Is Playa del Carmen or Porsgrunn more family-friendly?
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.
Which city is safer, Playa del Carmen or Porsgrunn?
Both have safer and rougher neighborhoods, but overall safety is comparable to other large cities. Neighborhood choice matters more than the city-level comparison – central, well-trafficked areas feel secure in both.
Which city is the better choice to relocate to?
If budget matters most, go with Playa del Carmen. If higher salaries, better infrastructure, or specific career opportunities are the priority, Porsgrunn makes more sense. Both are solid long-term options with distinct trade-offs.

Playa del Carmen vs other spots: cost of living compared

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