Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Playa del Carmen and Sandvika

For one person, living is cheaper in Playa del Carmen: $1,204 a month against $2,692 in Sandvika, rent and utilities included – about $17,900 less a year. Rent and utilities account for about half 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 Sandvika
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Sandvika Living Index

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Playa del Carmen

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,204

/mo nomad

Sandvika

🇳🇴 Norway

$2,692

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

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

A single person spends $1,204 per month in Playa del Carmen vs $2,692 in Sandvika, rent included.

Playa del Carmen $1,204
Sandvika $2,692

A couple spends around $2,082 per month in Playa del Carmen vs $4,138 in Sandvika, rent included.

Playa del Carmen $2,082
Sandvika $4,138

A family of three spends $2,959 per month in Playa del Carmen vs $5,584 in Sandvika, rent included.

Playa del Carmen $2,959
Sandvika $5,584

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

Playa del Carmen sits 12% below the global median, while Sandvika is 98% above – they fall on opposite sides of the world average.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$10.92 MX$203

$17.04 NOK 158

-35.92%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$43.37 MX$808

$99.0 NOK 915

-56.17%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.78 MX$219

$21.69 NOK 201

-45.69%

Cappuccino

$3.81 MX$71.0

$4.21 NOK 38.94

-9.50%

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

$1.28 MX$23.89

$2.95 NOK 27.33

-56.61%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.78 MX$14.58

$2.40 NOK 22.16

-67.50%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.17 MX$59.0

$8.41 NOK 77.8

-62.31%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.93 MX$91.9

$10.90 NOK 101

-54.77%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.41 MX$26.20

$2.46 NOK 22.75

-42.68%

White Bread (500g)

$2.22 MX$41.30

$3.63 NOK 33.61

-38.84%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.42 MX$26.40

$4.02 NOK 37.14

-64.68%

Eggs

$2.52 MX$47.00

$4.93 NOK 45.58

-48.88%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$7.26 MX$135

$13.47 NOK 125

-46.10%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$7.70 MX$143

$27.98 NOK 259

-72.48%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$12.69 MX$236

$25.31 NOK 234

-49.86%

Apples (1kg)

$2.78 MX$51.9

$3.41 NOK 31.56

-18.48%

Banana (1kg)

$1.37 MX$25.49

$2.65 NOK 24.51

-48.30%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.55 MX$47.52

$3.66 NOK 33.89

-30.33%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.12 MX$39.55

$4.84 NOK 44.81

-56.20%

Potato (1kg)

$1.94 MX$36.11

$2.62 NOK 24.23

-25.95%

Onion (1kg)

$1.89 MX$35.13

$3.31 NOK 30.63

-42.90%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.15 MX$21.36

$2.47 NOK 22.87

-53.44%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.18 MX$21.96

$1.63 NOK 15.08

-27.61%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.30 MX$80.0

$15.95 NOK 148

-73.04%

Wine (Bottle)

$9.95 MX$185

$19.24 NOK 178

-48.28%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.58 MX$29.50

$3.85 NOK 35.59

-58.96%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.67 MX$49.76

$5.51 NOK 51.0

-51.54%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.55 MX$10.31

$4.13 NOK 38.25

-86.68%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$26.62 MX$496

$87.6 NOK 810

-69.62%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$4.97 MX$92.6

$8.53 NOK 78.9

-41.74%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$3.33 MX$62.1

$1.63 NOK 15.12

104.29%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$5.36 MX$99.8

$55.3 NOK 511

-90.31%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.44 MX$26.90

$2.44 NOK 22.55

-40.98%

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

$20.7K MX$385.0K

$44.7K NOK 413.9K

-53.82%

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

$23.5K MX$437.2K

$45.0K NOK 416.1K

-47.83%

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

$84.8 MX$1,580

$273 NOK 2,526

-68.95%

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

$23.41 MX$436

$31.94 NOK 295

-26.71%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$28.66 MX$534

$68.3 NOK 632

-58.03%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$57.1 MX$1,063

$66.3 NOK 613

-13.89%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$28.91 MX$539

$37.40 NOK 346

-22.70%

Cinema Ticket

$5.14 MX$95.7

$21.25 NOK 197

-75.81%

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

$207 MX$3,848

$307 NOK 2,842

-32.76%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$3,927 MX$73.2K

$13.1K NOK 121.0K

-69.97%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$43.35 MX$808

$148 NOK 1,366

-70.64%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$41.44 MX$772

$64.8 NOK 599

-36.04%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$74.2 MX$1,382

$134 NOK 1,237

-44.52%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$89.3 MX$1,663

$211 NOK 1,948

-57.62%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$980 MX$18.2K

$1,244 NOK 11.5K

-21.25%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$381 MX$7,095

$964 NOK 8,918

-60.50%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,708 MX$31.8K

$2,119 NOK 19.6K

-19.38%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,075 MX$20.0K

$1,722 NOK 15.9K

-37.58%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,943 MX$73.5K

$8,508 NOK 78.7K

-53.65%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$6,158 MX$114.7K

$4,631 NOK 42.8K

32.98%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$735 MX$13.7K

$5,470 NOK 50.6K

-86.57%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

11.45

5.03

127.63%

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 Sandvika: October 26, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Playa del Carmen

$381 31.6%

Sandvika

$964 35.8% 153% $583

Groceries & Markets

Playa del Carmen

$255 21.2%

Sandvika

$537 20% 111% $283

Eating Out

Playa del Carmen

$202 16.8%

Sandvika

$337 12.5% 66.6% $135

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Playa del Carmen

$137 11.4%

Sandvika

$373 13.9% 173% $236

Clothing & Footwear

Playa del Carmen

$112 9.3%

Sandvika

$251 9.3% 124% $139

Sport & Entertainment

Playa del Carmen

$67 5.6%

Sandvika

$109 4% 61.5% $41

Getting Around

Playa del Carmen

$50 4.2%

Sandvika

$121 4.5% 140% $70

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $980 in Playa del Carmen versus $1,244 in Sandvika. Rent is usually the largest line item in a monthly budget, so the gap here sets the tone for the overall comparison.

Salaries in Sandvika are about 7.4 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 $99 in Sandvika. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $255 vs $537 – making Playa del Carmen the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇲🇽 Playa del Carmen

🇳🇴 Sandvika

🕒 Local time

21:14 9:14 PM

03:14 3:14 AM

6 h ahead of Playa del Carmen

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

149,923

129,572

💱 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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Highest

Between locations

Playa del Carmen Sandvika 8,450 km ≈ 11 h nonstop flight

From you

Playa del Carmen
Sandvika

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 Sandvika: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Yes – Sandvika is pricier by about 124%, and outside of rent the gap shows up most in groceries.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $1,806 per month in Playa del Carmen and $4,038 in Sandvika. 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 $1,244 in Sandvika.

Monthly expenses with rent come to $1,204 in Playa del Carmen and $2,692 in Sandvika. That makes Playa del Carmen about 55% cheaper.

Public transport costs about 70% less in Playa del Carmen. For daily commuters, that gap adds up to noticeable savings over a year.

A $1,500 monthly budget goes further in Playa del Carmen, where all-in costs run around $1,204, than in Sandvika at $2,692. In Playa del Carmen it covers expenses comfortably, while in Sandvika 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, Sandvika makes more sense. Both are solid long-term options with distinct trade-offs.