Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Monterrey and Tulum

For one person, living is cheaper in Tulum: $1,238 a month against $1,647 in Monterrey, rent and utilities included – about $4,900 less a year. Rent and utilities account for about half of the difference.

79

Cost of Living Index in Monterrey
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Monterrey Living Index
59

Cost of Living Index in Tulum
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Tulum Living Index

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Monterrey

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,647

/mo nomad

Tulum

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,238

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Monterrey 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 Monterrey and in Tulum actually costs, broken down by who's living it.

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,647 in Monterrey versus $1,238 in Tulum.

Monterrey $1,647
Tulum $1,238

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,591 in Monterrey versus $2,052 in Tulum.

Monterrey $2,591
Tulum $2,052

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,536 in Monterrey versus $2,866 in Tulum.

Monterrey $3,536
Tulum $2,866

Living in Monterrey is roughly 33% more expensive than in Tulum, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

The two cities straddle the global median: Monterrey is 21% above, Tulum is 9% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$13.45 MX$253

$7.91 MX$148

70.04%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$48.43 MX$909

$54.9 MX$1,030

-11.74%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$10.90 MX$205

$8.28 MX$156

31.64%

Cappuccino

$3.82 MX$71.7

$3.76 MX$70.6

1.60%

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

$1.67 MX$31.28

$1.12 MX$21.06

49.11%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.98 MX$18.45

$1.16 MX$21.77

-15.52%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.35 MX$44.12

$2.90 MX$54.5

-18.97%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.41 MX$82.8

$3.70 MX$69.5

19.19%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.80 MX$33.82

$1.58 MX$29.67

13.92%

White Bread (500g)

$2.79 MX$52.4

$1.95 MX$36.56

43.08%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.82 MX$34.26

$1.71 MX$32.19

6.43%

Eggs

$2.51 MX$47.17

$1.92 MX$36.07

30.73%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$12.09 MX$227

$5.42 MX$102

123.06%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.41 MX$177

$7.57 MX$142

24.31%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$12.71 MX$239

$8.70 MX$163

46.09%

Apples (1kg)

$3.21 MX$60.2

$2.56 MX$48.15

25.39%

Banana (1kg)

$1.50 MX$28.12

$1.36 MX$25.47

10.29%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.14 MX$40.26

$1.43 MX$26.80

49.65%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.32 MX$43.58

$1.52 MX$28.54

52.63%

Potato (1kg)

$2.20 MX$41.34

$2.18 MX$40.84

0.92%

Onion (1kg)

$2.60 MX$48.78

$1.82 MX$34.11

42.86%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.44 MX$27.04

$1.47 MX$27.59

-2.04%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.17 MX$22.03

$0.81 MX$15.22

44.44%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.79 MX$89.9

$4.32 MX$81.2

10.88%

Wine (Bottle)

$13.22 MX$248

$7.90 MX$148

67.34%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.94 MX$36.47

$1.35 MX$25.38

43.70%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.89 MX$54.2

$1.31 MX$24.67

120.61%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.87 MX$16.37

$1.33 MX$25.05

-34.59%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$31.14 MX$585

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.66 MX$31.10

$2.66 MX$49.89

-37.59%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.09 MX$20.53

$2.43 MX$45.63

-55.14%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$10.67 MX$200

$5.27 MX$98.9

102.47%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.47 MX$27.66

$1.43 MX$26.77

2.80%

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

$24.2K MX$455.2K

$21.5K MX$404.1K

12.64%

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

$23.6K MX$442.2K

$23.4K MX$439.4K

0.64%

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

$118 MX$2,213

$102 MX$1,910

15.85%

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

$25.55 MX$480

$16.11 MX$302

58.60%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$26.43 MX$496

$33.35 MX$626

-20.75%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$30.77 MX$578

$33.19 MX$623

-7.29%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$21.07 MX$396

Cinema Ticket

$5.09 MX$95.6

$6.56 MX$123

-22.41%

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

$694 MX$13.0K

$264 MX$4,947

163.35%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$11.3K MX$212.5K

$2,955 MX$55.5K

283.15%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$72.5 MX$1,360

$41.07 MX$771

76.43%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$41.51 MX$779

$32.83 MX$616

26.44%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$110 MX$2,060

$93.6 MX$1,758

17.20%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$115 MX$2,158

$58.7 MX$1,102

95.84%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,056 MX$19.8K

$599 MX$11.2K

76.35%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$721 MX$13.5K

$539 MX$10.1K

33.73%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,999 MX$37.5K

$1,511 MX$28.4K

32.32%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,435 MX$26.9K

$1,241 MX$23.3K

15.66%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$4,219 MX$79.2K

$3,150 MX$59.1K

33.95%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$2,731 MX$51.3K

$1,783 MX$33.5K

53.15%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,149 MX$21.6K

$780 MX$14.6K

47.30%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

11.79

10.8

9.17%

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

Last update for Monterrey: October 25, 2026

Last update for Tulum: October 26, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Monterrey

$721 43.8%

Tulum

$539 43.6% 25.2% $182

Groceries & Markets

Monterrey

$303 18.4%

Tulum

$215 17.4% 29.1% $88

Eating Out

Monterrey

$217 13.2%

Tulum

$164 13.3% 24.4% $53

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Monterrey

$170 10.3%

Tulum

$151 12.2% 11% $19

Clothing & Footwear

Monterrey

$152 9.3%

Tulum

$102 8.2% 33.2% $51

Getting Around

Monterrey

$42 2.5%

Tulum

$20 * 1.6% 51.7% $22

Sport & Entertainment

Monterrey

$41 2.5%

Tulum

$46 3.7% 13.1% $5.4

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 $1,056 in Monterrey and $599 in Tulum. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Monterrey pays 47% more on average. How far that income stretches comes down to housing choices and lifestyle.

Dining out: $48 in Monterrey vs $55 in Tulum. Groceries flip the comparison at $303 vs $215, with Tulum cheaper for home cooking.

Good to know

🇲🇽 Monterrey

🇲🇽 Tulum

🕒 Local time

12:21 12:21 PM

13:21 1:21 PM

1 h ahead of Monterrey

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

1,142,994

46,721

💱 Currency

Mexican Peso MXN $

📈 Exchange rate

100 MXN = 5.33 USD

100 MXN = 4.77 EUR

100 MXN = 5.33 USD

100 MXN = 4.77 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

On the map

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Between locations

Monterrey Tulum 1,420 km ≈ 2 h 15 min nonstop flight

From you

Monterrey
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

Monterrey vs Tulum: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Total monthly costs including rent come to $1,647 in Monterrey and $1,238 in Tulum, so Tulum is about 25% cheaper – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

Average pay runs 47% higher in Monterrey, 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: $1,056 in Monterrey versus $599 in Tulum. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $694 in Monterrey versus $264 in Tulum. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Dining out is cheaper in Monterrey – a meal for two runs $48 versus $55 in Tulum. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

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, Monterrey on earning potential. Factor in climate, language, visa rules, and proximity to places that matter to you before deciding.