Last update: Nov 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Playa del Carmen and Sarpsborg

For one person, living is cheaper in Playa del Carmen: $1,202 a month against $2,872 in Sarpsborg, rent and utilities included – about $20,000 less a year. Rent and utilities account for about half of the difference.

57

Cost of Living Index in Playa del Carmen
Learn more

Playa del Carmen Living Index
138

Cost of Living Index in Sarpsborg
Learn more

Sarpsborg Living Index

Jump to prices

Playa del Carmen

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,202

/mo nomad

Sarpsborg

🇳🇴 Norway

$2,872

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

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

A single person spends $1,202 per month in Playa del Carmen vs $2,872 in Sarpsborg, rent included.

Playa del Carmen $1,202
Sarpsborg $2,872

A couple spends around $2,082 per month in Playa del Carmen vs $4,169 in Sarpsborg, rent included.

Playa del Carmen $2,082
Sarpsborg $4,169

A family of three spends $2,962 per month in Playa del Carmen vs $5,466 in Sarpsborg, rent included.

Playa del Carmen $2,962
Sarpsborg $5,466

Playa del Carmen is about 58% cheaper than Sarpsborg, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Playa del Carmen sits 11% below the global median, while Sarpsborg is 112% above – they fall on opposite sides of the world average.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$10.67 MX$200

$40.81 NOK 380

-73.85%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$43.80 MX$823

$99.3 NOK 923

-55.87%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.79 MX$221

$19.17 NOK 178

-38.50%

Cappuccino

$3.79 MX$71.1

$5.74 NOK 53.4

-33.97%

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

$1.30 MX$24.36

$2.88 NOK 26.81

-54.86%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.83 MX$15.65

$2.67 NOK 24.82

-68.91%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.15 MX$59.1

$6.60 NOK 61.4

-52.27%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.93 MX$92.7

$8.19 NOK 76.2

-39.80%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.41 MX$26.46

$2.32 NOK 21.54

-39.22%

White Bread (500g)

$2.20 MX$41.23

$3.49 NOK 32.50

-36.96%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.47 MX$27.66

$4.01 NOK 37.30

-63.34%

Eggs

$2.50 MX$46.89

$4.56 NOK 42.40

-45.18%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$7.29 MX$137

$12.54 NOK 117

-41.87%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$7.95 MX$149

$17.04 NOK 158

-53.35%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$12.86 MX$242

$34.26 NOK 319

-62.46%

Apples (1kg)

$2.90 MX$54.4

$3.85 NOK 35.82

-24.68%

Banana (1kg)

$1.38 MX$25.98

$2.67 NOK 24.86

-48.31%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.49 MX$46.78

$3.49 NOK 32.51

-28.65%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.03 MX$38.12

$6.04 NOK 56.2

-66.39%

Potato (1kg)

$2.02 MX$38.03

$2.84 NOK 26.45

-28.87%

Onion (1kg)

$1.90 MX$35.74

$3.18 NOK 29.56

-40.25%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.14 MX$21.49

$2.65 NOK 24.67

-56.98%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.24 MX$23.27

$2.59 NOK 24.05

-52.12%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.27 MX$80.2

$15.56 NOK 145

-72.56%

Wine (Bottle)

$9.81 MX$184

$13.73 NOK 128

-28.55%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.59 MX$29.78

$3.34 NOK 31.04

-52.40%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.75 MX$51.6

$4.71 NOK 43.79

-41.61%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.51 MX$9.67

$2.62 NOK 24.41

-80.53%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$27.39 MX$514

$87.2 NOK 811

-68.60%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$4.76 MX$89.4

$12.01 NOK 112

-60.37%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$3.25 MX$61.0

$1.97 NOK 18.30

64.97%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$5.39 MX$101

$63.8 NOK 593

-91.55%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.53 MX$28.70

$2.27 NOK 21.12

-32.60%

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

$21.2K MX$398.4K

$55.3K NOK 514.6K

-61.66%

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

$23.3K MX$436.9K

$47.2K NOK 438.7K

-50.68%

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

$83.5 MX$1,568

$238 NOK 2,212

-64.90%

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

$23.19 MX$435

$36.62 NOK 341

-36.67%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$27.61 MX$519

$47.03 NOK 437

-41.29%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$56.4 MX$1,060

$50.1 NOK 466

12.72%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$28.19 MX$529

$38.46 NOK 358

-26.70%

Cinema Ticket

$5.00 MX$93.9

$19.49 NOK 181

-74.35%

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

$207 MX$3,889

$239 NOK 2,222

-13.32%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$5,231 MX$98.2K

$11.6K NOK 108.0K

-54.94%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$43.45 MX$816

$111 NOK 1,036

-60.99%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$42.54 MX$799

$66.9 NOK 622

-36.38%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$72.8 MX$1,367

$125 NOK 1,160

-41.68%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$88.4 MX$1,660

$180 NOK 1,674

-50.89%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$995 MX$18.7K

$1,224 NOK 11.4K

-18.72%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$382 MX$7,181

$1,093 NOK 10.2K

-65.00%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,674 MX$31.4K

$1,606 NOK 14.9K

4.23%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,081 MX$20.3K

$1,399 NOK 13.0K

-22.74%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,909 MX$73.4K

$6,415 NOK 59.7K

-39.07%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$6,138 MX$115.3K

$4,241 NOK 39.4K

44.72%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$832 MX$15.6K

$2,714 NOK 25.2K

-69.34%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

11.45

5.18

121.04%

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

Last update for Playa del Carmen: November 2, 2026

Last update for Sarpsborg: November 1, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Playa del Carmen

$382 31.8%

Sarpsborg

$1.1K 38.1% 186% $710

Groceries & Markets

Playa del Carmen

$257 21.4%

Sarpsborg

$508 17.7% 97.1% $250

Eating Out

Playa del Carmen

$200 16.7%

Sarpsborg

$524 18.3% 162% $324

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Playa del Carmen

$134 11.2%

Sarpsborg

$321 11.2% 139% $187

Clothing & Footwear

Playa del Carmen

$111 9.3%

Sarpsborg

$217 7.6% 95.4% $106

Sport & Entertainment

Playa del Carmen

$66 5.5%

Sarpsborg

$89 3.1% 34% $23

Getting Around

Playa del Carmen

$50 4.2%

Sarpsborg

$120 4.2% 137% $69

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $995 in Playa del Carmen versus $1,224 in Sarpsborg. Rent is usually the largest line item in a monthly budget, so the gap here sets the tone for the overall comparison.

Salaries in Sarpsborg are about 3.3 times higher. Purchasing power depends on which expenses matter most to you.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $44 in Playa del Carmen versus $99 in Sarpsborg. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $257 vs $508 – making Playa del Carmen the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇲🇽 Playa del Carmen

🇳🇴 Sarpsborg

🕒 Local time

19:43 7:43 PM

01:43 1:43 AM

6 h ahead of Playa del Carmen

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

149,923

59,906

💱 Currency

Mexican Peso MXN $

Norwegian Krone NOK kr

📈 Exchange rate

100 MXN = 5.32 USD

100 MXN = 4.74 EUR

100 NOK = 10.75 USD

100 NOK = 9.58 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 November 6, 2026: 1 USD = 18.78 MXN (100 MXN = 5.32 USD). 1 EUR = 21.08 MXN (100 MXN = 4.74 EUR).

Norwegian Krone exchange rates as of November 6, 2026: 1 USD = 9.3 NOK (1 NOK = 0.108 USD). 1 EUR = 10.44 NOK (100 NOK = 9.58 EUR).

USD to MXN in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Playa del Carmen Sarpsborg 8,500 km ≈ 11 h nonstop flight

From you

Playa del Carmen
Sarpsborg

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 Sarpsborg: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Yes – Sarpsborg is pricier by about 139%, and outside of rent the gap shows up most in eating out.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $1,804 per month in Playa del Carmen and $4,308 in Sarpsborg. 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 $995 there versus $1,224 in Sarpsborg.

Monthly expenses with rent come to $1,202 in Playa del Carmen and $2,872 in Sarpsborg. That makes Playa del Carmen about 58% cheaper.

Public transport costs about 69% 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 $1,202, than in Sarpsborg at $2,872. In Playa del Carmen it covers expenses comfortably, while in Sarpsborg 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, Sarpsborg makes more sense. Both are solid long-term options with distinct trade-offs.