Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Playa del Carmen and Tulum

For one person, living costs are similar in Playa del Carmen and in Tulum: $1,210 and $1,241 a month, rent and utilities included.

59

Cost of Living Index in Playa del Carmen
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Playa del Carmen Living Index
61

Cost of Living Index in Tulum
Learn more

Tulum Living Index

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Playa del Carmen

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,210

/mo nomad

Tulum

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,241

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

A single person spends $1,210 per month in Playa del Carmen vs $1,241 in Tulum, rent included.

Playa del Carmen $1,210
Tulum $1,241

A couple spends around $2,113 per month in Playa del Carmen vs $2,085 in Tulum, rent included.

Playa del Carmen $2,113
Tulum $2,085

A family of three spends $3,016 per month in Playa del Carmen vs $2,929 in Tulum, rent included.

Playa del Carmen $3,016
Tulum $2,929

Playa del Carmen is about 2% cheaper than Tulum, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Both Playa del Carmen and Tulum are more affordable than the global median – Playa del Carmen 10% lower, Tulum 8% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$10.76 MX$199

$8.20 MX$152

31.22%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$43.03 MX$795

$55.1 MX$1,018

-21.88%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.79 MX$218

$8.25 MX$152

42.91%

Cappuccino

$3.87 MX$71.4

$3.82 MX$70.5

1.31%

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

$1.37 MX$25.29

$1.12 MX$20.74

22.32%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.84 MX$15.44

$1.17 MX$21.59

-28.21%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.10 MX$57.3

$2.94 MX$54.4

5.44%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$5.07 MX$93.6

$3.87 MX$71.5

31.01%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.44 MX$26.55

$1.54 MX$28.54

-6.49%

White Bread (500g)

$2.23 MX$41.23

$2.05 MX$37.87

8.78%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.47 MX$27.17

$1.71 MX$31.69

-14.04%

Eggs

$2.53 MX$46.71

$1.92 MX$35.49

31.77%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$7.30 MX$135

$5.37 MX$99.2

35.94%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$7.86 MX$145

$7.53 MX$139

4.38%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$12.79 MX$236

$9.09 MX$168

40.70%

Apples (1kg)

$2.90 MX$53.6

$2.63 MX$48.60

10.27%

Banana (1kg)

$1.44 MX$26.53

$1.37 MX$25.35

5.11%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.55 MX$47.07

$1.51 MX$27.83

68.87%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.06 MX$38.03

$1.48 MX$27.32

39.19%

Potato (1kg)

$2.00 MX$36.97

$2.23 MX$41.12

-10.31%

Onion (1kg)

$2.01 MX$37.07

$1.76 MX$32.43

14.20%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.19 MX$22.02

$1.49 MX$27.58

-20.13%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.26 MX$23.23

$0.85 MX$15.77

48.24%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.40 MX$81.4

$4.49 MX$83.0

-2.00%

Wine (Bottle)

$9.59 MX$177

$8.24 MX$152

16.38%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.59 MX$29.41

$1.32 MX$24.39

20.45%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.81 MX$51.9

$1.29 MX$23.76

117.83%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.57 MX$10.47

$1.40 MX$25.80

-59.29%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$27.82 MX$514

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$4.98 MX$92.1

$2.79 MX$51.6

78.49%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$3.50 MX$64.6

$2.48 MX$45.88

41.13%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$5.40 MX$99.8

$5.57 MX$103

-3.05%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.47 MX$27.08

$1.45 MX$26.84

1.38%

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

$21.0K MX$387.8K

$21.1K MX$389.5K

-0.44%

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

$23.9K MX$441.8K

$23.5K MX$434.7K

1.62%

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

$84.2 MX$1,556

$106 MX$1,967

-20.91%

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

$23.99 MX$443

$16.36 MX$302

46.64%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$29.02 MX$536

$34.32 MX$634

-15.44%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$63.0 MX$1,164

$34.91 MX$645

80.41%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$29.14 MX$539

Cinema Ticket

$4.94 MX$91.3

$6.71 MX$124

-26.38%

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

$204 MX$3,763

$265 MX$4,900

-23.21%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$3,941 MX$72.8K

$2,902 MX$53.6K

35.78%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$43.60 MX$806

$41.88 MX$774

4.11%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$43.12 MX$797

$32.57 MX$602

32.39%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$75.8 MX$1,400

$97.1 MX$1,794

-21.94%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$88.6 MX$1,637

$58.0 MX$1,072

52.72%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,008 MX$18.6K

$607 MX$11.2K

65.98%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$374 MX$6,911

$526 MX$9,714

-28.85%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,708 MX$31.6K

$1,498 MX$27.7K

14.06%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,106 MX$20.4K

$1,273 MX$23.5K

-13.09%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,944 MX$72.9K

$3,139 MX$58.0K

25.67%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$6,169 MX$114.0K

$1,808 MX$33.4K

241.28%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$754 MX$13.9K

$790 MX$14.6K

-4.49%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

11.45

10.8

6.02%

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

Last update for Playa del Carmen: October 10, 2026

Last update for Tulum: October 11, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Playa del Carmen

$374 30.9%

Tulum

$526 42.4% 40.5% $152

Groceries & Markets

Playa del Carmen

$258 21.4%

Tulum

$218 17.6% 15.5% $40

Eating Out

Playa del Carmen

$202 16.7%

Tulum

$168 13.5% 17.1% $35

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Playa del Carmen

$137 11.3%

Tulum

$157 12.7% 14.5% $20

Clothing & Footwear

Playa del Carmen

$113 9.3%

Tulum

$103 8.3% 8.6% $9.7

Sport & Entertainment

Playa del Carmen

$73 6%

Tulum

$48 3.9% 33.7% $25

Getting Around

Playa del Carmen

$53 4.3%

Tulum

$21 * 1.7% 60.4% $32

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

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $1,008 in Playa del Carmen versus $607 in Tulum. Rent is usually the largest line item in a monthly budget, so the gap here sets the tone for the overall comparison.

Salaries run about 5% higher in Tulum, which partly offsets the higher cost of living there. Purchasing power depends on which expenses matter most to you.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $43.00 in Playa del Carmen versus $55.0 in Tulum. Groceries tell a different story – $258 in Playa del Carmen vs $218 in Tulum – so Tulum wins on supermarket bills even if dining out costs more.

Good to know

🇲🇽 Playa del Carmen

🇲🇽 Tulum

🕒 Local time

23:16 11:16 PM

Same time as Playa del Carmen

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

149,923

46,721

💱 Currency

Mexican Peso MXN $

📈 Exchange rate

100 MXN = 5.41 USD

100 MXN = 4.81 EUR

100 MXN = 5.41 USD

100 MXN = 4.81 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

On the map

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Playa del Carmen Tulum 64 km

From you

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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 Tulum: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Tulum costs about 3% more than Playa del Carmen, and outside of rent the gap comes mainly from groceries. That's enough to noticeably affect everyday spending and lifestyle for anyone choosing between the two.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $1,816 per month in Playa del Carmen and $1,862 in Tulum. 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 $1,210 in Playa del Carmen and $1,241 in Tulum. That's a gap of about 3%.

Kindergarten costs $204 per month in Playa del Carmen and $265 in Tulum. For families with young kids, this one expense can tip the scales when choosing between the two cities.

A $1,500 monthly budget goes further in Playa del Carmen, where all-in costs run around $1,210, than in Tulum at $1,241. In Playa del Carmen it covers expenses comfortably, while in Tulum 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, better infrastructure, or specific career opportunities are the priority, Tulum makes more sense. Both are solid long-term options with distinct trade-offs.