Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Lisbon and Tulum

For one person, living is cheaper in Tulum: $1,238 a month against $2,210 in Lisbon, rent and utilities included – about $11,700 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

107

Cost of Living Index in Lisbon
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Lisbon Living Index
59

Cost of Living Index in Tulum
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Tulum Living Index

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Lisbon

🇵🇹 Portugal

$2,210

/mo nomad

Tulum

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,238

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Lisbon and in Tulum

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,210 in Lisbon versus $1,238 in Tulum.

Lisbon $2,210
Tulum $1,238

Estimated couple costs with rent: $3,275 in Lisbon versus $2,052 in Tulum.

Lisbon $3,275
Tulum $2,052

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $4,341 in Lisbon versus $2,866 in Tulum.

Lisbon $4,341
Tulum $2,866

Living in Lisbon is roughly 78% more expensive than in Tulum, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Lisbon is 62% above, Tulum is 9% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$16.65 €14.91

$7.91 MX$148

110.49%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$61.7 €55.3

$54.9 MX$1,030

12.52%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.36 €10.17

$8.28 MX$156

37.20%

Cappuccino

$2.97 €2.66

$3.76 MX$70.6

-21.01%

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

$2.29 €2.05

$1.12 MX$21.06

104.46%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.74 €1.56

$1.16 MX$21.77

50.00%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.40 €3.05

$2.90 MX$54.5

17.24%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.31 €2.96

$3.70 MX$69.5

-10.54%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.16 €1.04

$1.58 MX$29.67

-26.58%

White Bread (500g)

$1.91 €1.71

$1.95 MX$36.56

-2.05%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.51 €1.35

$1.71 MX$32.19

-11.70%

Eggs

$4.02 €3.60

$1.92 MX$36.07

109.37%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$12.94 €11.59

$5.42 MX$102

138.75%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$7.77 €6.96

$7.57 MX$142

2.64%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$17.76 €15.91

$8.70 MX$163

104.14%

Apples (1kg)

$2.30 €2.06

$2.56 MX$48.15

-10.16%

Banana (1kg)

$1.73 €1.55

$1.36 MX$25.47

27.21%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.86 €1.66

$1.43 MX$26.80

30.07%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.59 €2.32

$1.52 MX$28.54

70.39%

Potato (1kg)

$1.82 €1.63

$2.18 MX$40.84

-16.51%

Onion (1kg)

$1.97 €1.76

$1.82 MX$34.11

8.24%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.47 €1.32

$1.47 MX$27.59

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.72 €0.65

$0.81 MX$15.22

-11.11%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$6.58 €5.90

$4.32 MX$81.2

52.31%

Wine (Bottle)

$5.61 €5.02

$7.90 MX$148

-28.99%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.36 €1.22

$1.35 MX$25.38

0.74%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.14 €1.91

$1.31 MX$24.67

63.36%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$2.33 €2.09

$1.33 MX$25.05

75.19%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$44.68 €40.01

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.85 €3.45

$2.66 MX$49.89

44.74%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.07 €0.96

$2.43 MX$45.63

-55.97%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$16.46 €14.74

$5.27 MX$98.9

212.33%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$2.20 €1.97

$1.43 MX$26.77

53.85%

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

$34.2K €30.6K

$21.5K MX$404.1K

58.86%

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

$38.7K €34.7K

$23.4K MX$439.4K

65.47%

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

$161 €144

$102 MX$1,910

58.46%

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

$18.41 €16.49

$16.11 MX$302

14.28%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$32.74 €29.32

$33.35 MX$626

-1.83%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$44.55 €39.90

$33.19 MX$623

34.23%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$19.10 €17.10

Cinema Ticket

$9.60 €8.60

$6.56 MX$123

46.34%

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

$668 €598

$264 MX$4,947

153.36%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$17.6K €15.8K

$2,955 MX$55.5K

496.19%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$102 €91.4

$41.07 MX$771

148.41%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$44.46 €39.82

$32.83 MX$616

35.42%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$98.5 €88.2

$93.6 MX$1,758

5.21%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$124 €111

$58.7 MX$1,102

110.72%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,608 €1,440

$599 MX$11.2K

168.57%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,190 €1,066

$539 MX$10.1K

120.66%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,812 €2,519

$1,511 MX$28.4K

86.14%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$2,013 €1,803

$1,241 MX$23.3K

62.26%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$7,839 €7,021

$3,150 MX$59.1K

148.86%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$4,576 €4,098

$1,783 MX$33.5K

156.59%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,575 €1,411

$780 MX$14.6K

101.96%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

3.85

10.8

-64.35%

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

Last update for Lisbon: October 27, 2026

Last update for Tulum: October 26, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Lisbon

$1.2K 53.8%

Tulum

$539 43.6% 54.7% $651

Groceries & Markets

Lisbon

$272 12.3%

Tulum

$215 17.4% 21% $57

Eating Out

Lisbon

$243 11%

Tulum

$164 13.3% 32.3% $78

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Lisbon

$212 9.6%

Tulum

$151 12.2% 28.8% $61

Clothing & Footwear

Lisbon

$166 7.5%

Tulum

$102 8.2% 38.6% $64

Sport & Entertainment

Lisbon

$64 2.9%

Tulum

$46 3.7% 27.3% $17

Getting Around

Lisbon

$63 2.9%

Tulum

$20 * 1.6% 68.1% $43

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

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,608 in Lisbon and $599 in Tulum. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Lisbon pays about 2 times more on average. How far that income stretches comes down to housing choices and lifestyle.

Dining out: $62 in Lisbon vs $55 in Tulum for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $272 vs $215 per month, with Tulum cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇵🇹 Lisbon

🇲🇽 Tulum

🕒 Local time

18:21 6:21 PM

13:21 1:21 PM

5 h behind Lisbon

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

545,923 Capital

46,721

💱 Currency

Euro EUR €

Mexican Peso MXN $

📈 Exchange rate

1 EUR = 1.12 USD

100 MXN = 5.33 USD

100 MXN = 4.77 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

MXN, USD to EUR – Euro Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇪🇺 Euro (€)

Euro exchange rates as of November 1, 2026: 1 USD = 0.896 EUR (1 EUR = 1.12 USD).

Mexican Peso exchange rates as of November 1, 2026: 1 USD = 18.77 MXN (100 MXN = 5.33 USD). 1 EUR = 20.96 MXN (100 MXN = 4.77 EUR).

USD to EUR in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Lisbon Tulum 7,630 km ≈ 10 h nonstop flight

From you

Lisbon
Tulum

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

Lisbon vs Tulum: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Total monthly costs including rent come to $2,210 in Lisbon and $1,238 in Tulum, so Tulum is about 44% cheaper – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

Average pay in Lisbon is about 2 times higher, which matters when comparing affordability. Whether that higher income actually nets you more depends on your spending habits and housing choices.

Rent for a central apartment: $1,608 in Lisbon versus $599 in Tulum. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Supermarket bills run roughly 27% higher in Lisbon. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

All in, you’ll spend $2,210 per month in Lisbon versus $1,238 in Tulum – Tulum is about 44% cheaper, which adds up to real savings over time.

Both cities are expensive relative to $1,000. Tulum is the more realistic option, but even there you’ll need to be disciplined with housing, food, and fun money.

Both cities offer a good standard of living with different trade-offs. Neither is objectively better – the right pick depends on what matters most: affordability, career, cultural scene, or climate.

It comes down to priorities – Tulum wins on affordability, Lisbon on earning potential. Factor in climate, language, visa rules, and proximity to places that matter to you before deciding.