Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Ulsteinvik and Playa del Carmen

For one person, living is cheaper in Playa del Carmen: $1,210 a month against $2,608 in Ulsteinvik, rent and utilities included – about $16,800 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

128

Cost of Living Index in Ulsteinvik
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Ulsteinvik Living Index
59

Cost of Living Index in Playa del Carmen
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Playa del Carmen Living Index

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Ulsteinvik

🇳🇴 Norway

$2,608

/mo nomad

Playa del Carmen

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,210

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Real prices from locals and on-the-ground checks – rent, groceries, transit and the daily extras. Here's what a month in Ulsteinvik and in Playa del Carmen actually costs, broken down by who's living it.

A single person spends $2,608 per month in Ulsteinvik vs $1,210 in Playa del Carmen, rent included.

Ulsteinvik $2,608
Playa del Carmen $1,210

A couple spends around $3,954 per month in Ulsteinvik vs $2,113 in Playa del Carmen, rent included.

Ulsteinvik $3,954
Playa del Carmen $2,113

A family of three spends $5,301 per month in Ulsteinvik vs $3,016 in Playa del Carmen, rent included.

Ulsteinvik $5,301
Playa del Carmen $3,016

Ulsteinvik costs about 115% more than Playa del Carmen, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Ulsteinvik sits 93% above the global median, while Playa del Carmen is 10% below – they fall on opposite sides of the world average.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$20.24 NOK 191

$10.76 MX$199

88.10%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$106 NOK 996

$43.03 MX$795

145.94%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$13.39 NOK 126

$11.79 MX$218

13.57%

Cappuccino

$4.68 NOK 44.06

$3.87 MX$71.4

20.93%

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

$4.17 NOK 39.26

$1.37 MX$25.29

204.38%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.84 NOK 26.77

$0.84 MX$15.44

238.10%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$13.40 NOK 126

$3.10 MX$57.3

332.26%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$9.98 NOK 93.9

$5.07 MX$93.6

96.84%

Milk (1 liter)

$2.50 NOK 23.54

$1.44 MX$26.55

73.61%

White Bread (500g)

$3.59 NOK 33.75

$2.23 MX$41.23

60.99%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$3.81 NOK 35.86

$1.47 MX$27.17

159.18%

Eggs

$4.92 NOK 46.35

$2.53 MX$46.71

94.47%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$13.40 NOK 126

$7.30 MX$135

83.56%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$15.42 NOK 145

$7.86 MX$145

96.18%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$31.06 NOK 292

$12.79 MX$236

142.85%

Apples (1kg)

$3.29 NOK 30.93

$2.90 MX$53.6

13.45%

Banana (1kg)

$2.70 NOK 25.44

$1.44 MX$26.53

87.50%

Oranges (1kg)

$3.44 NOK 32.39

$2.55 MX$47.07

34.90%

Tomato (1kg)

$4.77 NOK 44.87

$2.06 MX$38.03

131.55%

Potato (1kg)

$2.52 NOK 23.72

$2.00 MX$36.97

26.00%

Onion (1kg)

$2.93 NOK 27.55

$2.01 MX$37.07

45.77%

Lettuce (1 head)

$2.90 NOK 27.27

$1.19 MX$22.02

143.70%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$2.55 NOK 23.97

$1.26 MX$23.23

102.38%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$17.56 NOK 165

$4.40 MX$81.4

299.09%

Wine (Bottle)

$16.52 NOK 156

$9.59 MX$177

72.26%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$3.81 NOK 35.82

$1.59 MX$29.41

139.62%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.90 NOK 36.72

$2.81 MX$51.9

38.79%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$4.86 NOK 45.79

$0.57 MX$10.47

752.63%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$85.7 NOK 806

$27.82 MX$514

207.91%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$13.46 NOK 127

$4.98 MX$92.1

170.28%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.73 NOK 16.25

$3.50 MX$64.6

-50.57%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$69.0 NOK 649

$5.40 MX$99.8

1177.59%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$2.13 NOK 20.01

$1.47 MX$27.08

44.90%

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

$41.7K NOK 393.0K

$21.0K MX$387.8K

98.92%

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

$42.9K NOK 404.3K

$23.9K MX$441.8K

79.66%

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

$266 NOK 2,505

$84.2 MX$1,556

215.98%

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

$29.25 NOK 275

$23.99 MX$443

21.93%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$53.4 NOK 503

$29.02 MX$536

84.11%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$48.70 NOK 458

$63.0 MX$1,164

-22.67%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$34.49 NOK 325

$29.14 MX$539

18.36%

Cinema Ticket

$17.01 NOK 160

$4.94 MX$91.3

244.33%

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

$214 NOK 2,017

$204 MX$3,763

5.25%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$14.6K NOK 137.2K

$3,941 MX$72.8K

269.88%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$98.4 NOK 927

$43.60 MX$806

125.78%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$49.95 NOK 470

$43.12 MX$797

15.84%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$121 NOK 1,136

$75.8 MX$1,400

59.28%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$135 NOK 1,271

$88.6 MX$1,637

52.36%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,096 NOK 10.3K

$1,008 MX$18.6K

8.73%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,002 NOK 9,434

$374 MX$6,911

167.95%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,785 NOK 16.8K

$1,708 MX$31.6K

4.47%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,659 NOK 15.6K

$1,106 MX$20.4K

49.95%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$7,015 NOK 66.0K

$3,944 MX$72.9K

77.86%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$4,138 NOK 39.0K

$6,169 MX$114.0K

-32.93%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$754 MX$13.9K

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

4.94

11.45

-56.86%

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

Last update for Ulsteinvik: October 11, 2026

Last update for Playa del Carmen: October 10, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Ulsteinvik

$1K 38.4%

Playa del Carmen

$374 30.9% 62.7% $628

Groceries & Markets

Ulsteinvik

$492 18.9%

Playa del Carmen

$258 21.4% 47.5% $234

Eating Out

Ulsteinvik

$373 14.3%

Playa del Carmen

$202 16.7% 45.8% $171

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Ulsteinvik

$349 13.4%

Playa del Carmen

$137 11.3% 60.7% $212

Clothing & Footwear

Ulsteinvik

$182 7%

Playa del Carmen

$113 9.3% 37.9% $69

Getting Around

Ulsteinvik

$127 4.9%

Playa del Carmen

$53 4.3% 58.7% $75

Sport & Entertainment

Ulsteinvik

$83 3.2%

Playa del Carmen

$73 6% 11.9% $9.8

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $1,096 in Ulsteinvik versus $1,008 in Playa del Carmen. 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 $106 in Ulsteinvik versus $43.00 in Playa del Carmen. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $492 vs $258 – making Playa del Carmen the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇳🇴 Ulsteinvik

🇲🇽 Playa del Carmen

🕒 Local time

17:10 5:10 PM

10:10 10:10 AM

7 h behind Ulsteinvik

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

5,600

149,923

💱 Currency

Norwegian Krone NOK kr

Mexican Peso MXN $

📈 Exchange rate

100 NOK = 10.62 USD

100 NOK = 9.45 EUR

100 MXN = 5.41 USD

100 MXN = 4.81 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

MXN, USD, EUR to NOK – Norwegian Krone Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇳🇴 Norwegian Krone (kr)

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).

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).

USD to NOK in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Ulsteinvik Playa del Carmen 8,130 km ≈ 11 h nonstop flight

From you

Ulsteinvik
Playa del Carmen

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

Ulsteinvik vs Playa del Carmen: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Yes – Ulsteinvik is pricier by about 115%, and outside of rent the gap shows up most in groceries.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $3,912 per month in Ulsteinvik and $1,816 in Playa del Carmen. 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. Housing is actually the single biggest factor behind the overall cost gap between these two cities.

Monthly expenses with rent come to $2,608 in Ulsteinvik and $1,210 in Playa del Carmen. That's a gap of about 115%.

Public transport costs about 208% 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 $1,210, than in Ulsteinvik at $2,608. In Playa del Carmen it covers expenses comfortably, while in Ulsteinvik 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.

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.

If budget matters most, go with Playa del Carmen. If higher salaries, better infrastructure, or specific career opportunities are the priority, Ulsteinvik makes more sense. Both are solid long-term options with distinct trade-offs.