Last update: Nov 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Playa del Carmen and Stokke

For one person, living is cheaper in Playa del Carmen: $1,202 a month against $2,615 in Stokke, rent and utilities included – about $17,000 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

Playa del Carmen, Mexico
Stokke, Norway
Playa del Carmen
🇲🇽 Mexico
$1,202
/mo nomad
Stokke
🇳🇴 Norway
$2,615
/mo nomad
Monthly Cost of Living

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

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

A single person spends $1,202 per month in Playa del Carmen vs $2,615 in Stokke, rent included.

  • Playa del Carmen $1,202
  • Stokke $2,615

A couple spends around $2,082 per month in Playa del Carmen vs $3,962 in Stokke, rent included.

  • Playa del Carmen $2,082
  • Stokke $3,962

A family of three spends $2,962 per month in Playa del Carmen vs $5,309 in Stokke, rent included.

  • Playa del Carmen $2,962
  • Stokke $5,309

Playa del Carmen is about 54% cheaper than Stokke, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Playa del Carmen sits 11% below the global median, while Stokke is 93% above – they fall on opposite sides of the world average.

Currency
🍽 Eating Out
Playa del Carmen
Stokke
Difference
Meal at Budget Restaurant
$10.67 MX$199
$21.15 NOK 195
-49.55%
Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range
$43.80 MX$815
$127 NOK 1,171
-65.51%
Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)
$11.79 MX$219
$16.06 NOK 148
-26.59%
Cappuccino
$3.79 MX$70.5
$6.02 NOK 55.5
-37.04%
Coke/Pepsi/Fanta/Sprite (0.33 liter bottle)
$1.30 MX$24.14
$4.49 NOK 41.42
-71.05%
Water (0.33 liter bottle)
$0.83 MX$15.51
$3.37 NOK 31.09
-75.37%
Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)
$3.15 MX$58.6
$11.69 NOK 108
-73.05%
Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)
$4.93 MX$91.8
$12.79 NOK 118
-61.45%
🛒 Groceries & Markets
Playa del Carmen
Stokke
Difference
Milk (1 liter)
$1.41 MX$26.22
$2.16 NOK 19.96
-34.72%
White Bread (500g)
$2.20 MX$40.86
$2.21 NOK 20.37
-0.45%
Rice (white) (1kg)
$1.47 MX$27.40
$4.76 NOK 43.94
-69.12%
Eggs
$2.50 MX$46.47
$4.86 NOK 44.81
-48.56%
Local Cheese (1kg)
$7.29 MX$136
$10.77 NOK 99.3
-32.31%
Chicken Fillets (1kg)
$7.95 MX$148
$15.66 NOK 144
-49.23%
Beef Round Steak (1kg)
$12.86 MX$239
$31.92 NOK 294
-59.71%
Apples (1kg)
$2.90 MX$53.9
$3.18 NOK 29.35
-8.81%
Banana (1kg)
$1.38 MX$25.74
$2.64 NOK 24.31
-47.73%
Oranges (1kg)
$2.49 MX$46.36
$3.64 NOK 33.53
-31.59%
Tomato (1kg)
$2.03 MX$37.78
$6.08 NOK 56.1
-66.61%
Potato (1kg)
$2.02 MX$37.69
$2.40 NOK 22.10
-15.83%
Onion (1kg)
$1.90 MX$35.42
$2.96 NOK 27.34
-35.81%
Lettuce (1 head)
$1.14 MX$21.30
$2.50 NOK 23.05
-54.40%
Water (1.5 liter bottle)
$1.24 MX$23.06
$0.88 NOK 8.16
40.91%
Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)
$4.27 MX$79.5
$18.06 NOK 167
-76.36%
Wine (Bottle)
$9.81 MX$183
$15.00 NOK 138
-34.60%
Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)
$1.59 MX$29.51
$3.50 NOK 32.25
-54.57%
Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)
$2.75 MX$51.1
$4.09 NOK 37.75
-32.76%
🚌 Getting Around
Playa del Carmen
Stokke
Difference
One-way Ticket (Public Transport)
$0.51 MX$9.58
$4.58 NOK 42.24
-88.86%
Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)
$27.39 MX$510
$79.8 NOK 736
-65.69%
Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)
$4.76 MX$88.6
$12.10 NOK 112
-60.66%
Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)
$3.25 MX$60.5
$1.86 NOK 17.19
74.73%
Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)
$5.39 MX$100
$71.8 NOK 662
-92.49%
Gasoline (1 liter)
$1.53 MX$28.44
$2.49 NOK 22.98
-38.55%
Midsize Hatchback 1.4l (Volkswagen Golf, Toyota Prius, Honda Civic, etc)
$21.2K MX$394.8K
$49.9K NOK 460.0K
-57.47%
Compact Sedan 1.6l (Toyota Corolla, Mazda3, Kia K4, Hyundai Elantra, etc)
$23.3K MX$432.9K
$45.6K NOK 420.4K
-48.96%
🧾 Monthly Utilities & Internet
Playa del Carmen
Stokke
Difference
Utilities for 2 People in 2-bedroom Apartment (Heating, Electricity, Gas, Water, Garbage) (85m2)
$83.5 MX$1,554
$271 NOK 2,495
-69.14%
SIM Card Monthly Plan (Calls and 10GB+ Data)
$23.19 MX$431
$32.00 NOK 295
-27.53%
Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)
$27.61 MX$514
$55.5 NOK 511
-50.22%
🎉 Sport & Entertainment
Playa del Carmen
Stokke
Difference
Gym Membership (Monthly)
$56.4 MX$1,050
$57.4 NOK 529
-1.71%
Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)
$28.19 MX$525
$37.19 NOK 343
-24.20%
Cinema Ticket
$5.00 MX$93.1
$15.96 NOK 147
-68.67%
🧸 Childcare & Education
Playa del Carmen
Stokke
Difference
Preschool or Kindergarten, Full Day, Private, 1 Child (Monthly)
$207 MX$3,854
$246 NOK 2,271
-15.92%
International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)
$5,231 MX$97.4K
$16.2K NOK 148.9K
-67.61%
👕👟 Clothing & Footwear
Playa del Carmen
Stokke
Difference
Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)
$43.45 MX$809
$87.4 NOK 806
-50.27%
Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)
$42.54 MX$792
$21.71 NOK 200
95.95%
Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)
$72.8 MX$1,354
$53.0 NOK 489
37.21%
Men's Leather Business Shoes
$88.4 MX$1,645
$97.9 NOK 902
-9.68%
🏠 Accommodation & Living
Playa del Carmen
Stokke
Difference
1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)
$995 MX$18.5K
$1,262 NOK 11.6K
-21.16%
1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)
$382 MX$7,116
$1,071 NOK 9,880
-64.31%
3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)
$1,674 MX$31.2K
$2,081 NOK 19.2K
-19.53%
3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)
$1,081 MX$20.1K
$1,700 NOK 15.7K
-36.44%
Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)
$3,909 MX$72.7K
$6,492 NOK 59.9K
-39.79%
Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)
$6,138 MX$114.2K
$4,233 NOK 39.0K
44.99%
💵 Salaries & Financials
Playa del Carmen
Stokke
Difference
Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)
$832 MX$15.5K
$3,605 NOK 33.2K
-76.91%
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: November 2, 2026

Last update for Stokke: November 2, 2026

Monthly budget structure
Share of the monthly basket for one person, rent included.
Accommodation & Living
Playa del Carmen
$382
Stokke
$1.1K 180% $689
Groceries & Markets
Playa del Carmen
$257
Stokke
$455 76.6% $197
Eating Out
Playa del Carmen
$200
Stokke
$405 102% $205
Monthly Utilities & Internet
Playa del Carmen
$134
Stokke
$358 167% $224
Clothing & Footwear
Playa del Carmen
$111
Stokke
$117 5.2% $5.8
Sport & Entertainment
Playa del Carmen
$66
Stokke
$89 34.5% $23
Getting Around
Playa del Carmen
$50
Stokke
$120 137% $69

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $995 in Playa del Carmen versus $1,262 in Stokke. Rent is usually the largest line item in a monthly budget, so the gap here sets the tone for the overall comparison.

Salaries in Stokke are about 4.3 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 $127 in Stokke. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $257 vs $455 – making Playa del Carmen the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know
🇲🇽 Playa del Carmen
🇳🇴 Stokke
🕒 Local time
17:16 5:16 PM
23:16 11:16 PM
6 h ahead of Playa del Carmen
🌤 Weather
👥 Population
149,923
4,000
💱 Currency
Exchange rates and currency converter

NOK, USD, EUR to MXN – Mexican Peso Converter

Mexican Peso exchange rates as of November 4, 2026: 1 USD = 18.61 MXN (100 MXN = 5.37 USD). 1 EUR = 20.95 MXN (100 MXN = 4.77 EUR).

Norwegian Krone exchange rates as of November 4, 2026: 1 USD = 9.22 NOK (1 NOK = 0.108 USD). 1 EUR = 10.38 NOK (100 NOK = 9.63 EUR).

On the map
Between locations
  • Playa del Carmen Stokke 8,460 km ≈ 11 h nonstop flight
From you
  • Playa del Carmen
  • Stokke

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 Stokke: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions
Is Playa del Carmen cheaper than Stokke?
Yes – Stokke is pricier by about 117%, and outside of rent the gap shows up most in eating out.
What income do you need for each city?
For a comfortable life, plan on about $1,804 per month in Playa del Carmen and $3,922 in Stokke. 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: a one-bedroom in the center costs $995 there versus $1,262 in Stokke.
What are total monthly expenses in Playa del Carmen and in Stokke?
Monthly expenses with rent come to $1,202 in Playa del Carmen and $2,615 in Stokke. That makes Playa del Carmen about 54% cheaper.
Which city has cheaper public transport?
Public transport costs about 66% 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 Stokke?
A $1,500 monthly budget goes further in Playa del Carmen, where all-in costs run around $1,202, than in Stokke at $2,615. In Playa del Carmen it covers expenses comfortably, while in Stokke it requires careful planning or may not stretch far enough.
Is Playa del Carmen or Stokke 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 the better choice to relocate to?
If budget matters most, go with Playa del Carmen. If higher salaries or specific career opportunities are the priority, Stokke 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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