Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Tulcán and Mexico City

For one person, living is cheaper in Tulcán: $920 a month against $1,608 in Mexico City, rent and utilities included – about $8,300 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

43

Cost of Living Index in Tulcán
Learn more

Tulcán Living Index
78

Cost of Living Index in Mexico City
Learn more

Mexico City Living Index

Jump to prices

Tulcán

🇪🇨 Ecuador

$920

/mo nomad

Mexico City

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,608

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Tulcán and in Mexico City

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $920 in Tulcán versus $1,608 in Mexico City.

Tulcán $920
Mexico City $1,608

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,503 in Tulcán versus $2,549 in Mexico City.

Tulcán $1,503
Mexico City $2,549

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $2,086 in Tulcán versus $3,490 in Mexico City.

Tulcán $2,086
Mexico City $3,490

Living in Tulcán costs roughly 43% less than in Mexico City, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

The two cities straddle the global median: Tulcán is 32% below, Mexico City is 18% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$5.41 $5.41

$10.62 MX$199

-49.06%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$54.1 $54.1

$48.35 MX$906

11.98%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$7.44 $7.44

$10.35 MX$194

-28.12%

Cappuccino

$3.29 $3.29

$3.69 MX$69.2

-10.84%

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

$1.44 $1.44

$1.67 MX$31.23

-13.77%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.04 $1.04

$1.27 MX$23.71

-18.11%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.40 $3.40

$3.19 MX$59.8

6.58%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$6.14 $6.14

$5.31 MX$99.5

15.63%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.10 $1.10

$1.72 MX$32.32

-36.05%

White Bread (500g)

$1.56 $1.56

$3.04 MX$57.0

-48.68%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.51 $1.51

$1.94 MX$36.38

-22.16%

Eggs

$2.07 $2.07

$2.89 MX$54.1

-28.37%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$6.24 $6.24

$10.97 MX$206

-43.12%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$5.19 $5.19

$9.25 MX$173

-43.89%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$7.61 $7.61

$15.13 MX$283

-49.70%

Apples (1kg)

$2.26 $2.26

$3.05 MX$57.1

-25.90%

Banana (1kg)

$1.23 $1.23

$1.94 MX$36.38

-36.60%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.26 $1.26

$2.03 MX$37.95

-37.93%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.10 $1.10

$2.31 MX$43.38

-52.38%

Potato (1kg)

$1.24 $1.24

$2.04 MX$38.14

-39.22%

Onion (1kg)

$1.02 $1.02

$1.80 MX$33.73

-43.33%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.87 $0.87

$1.48 MX$27.72

-41.22%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.99 $0.99

$1.27 MX$23.75

-22.05%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$6.09 $6.09

$5.30 MX$99.4

14.91%

Wine (Bottle)

$8.41 $8.41

$16.10 MX$302

-47.76%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.52 $1.52

$1.98 MX$37.16

-23.23%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.18 $3.18

$4.25 MX$79.7

-25.18%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.39 $0.39

$0.31 MX$5.72

25.81%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$19.73 MX$370

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.54 $1.54

$1.84 MX$34.44

-16.30%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.54 $1.54

$0.53 MX$10.00

190.57%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$10.05 $10.05

$5.30 MX$99.2

89.62%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$0.87 $0.87

$1.51 MX$28.31

-42.38%

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

$23.1K $23.1K

$21.8K MX$407.7K

6.40%

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

$29.5K $29.5K

$24.0K MX$449.5K

22.88%

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

$28.27 $28.27

$63.0 MX$1,180

-55.11%

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

$17.94 $17.94

$27.39 MX$513

-34.50%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$28.72 $28.72

$35.67 MX$668

-19.48%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$31.61 $31.61

$58.9 MX$1,105

-46.37%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$14.41 $14.41

$23.64 MX$443

-39.04%

Cinema Ticket

$6.56 $6.56

$6.40 MX$120

2.50%

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

$750 $750

$432 MX$8,088

73.72%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$8,960 $8,960

$11.4K MX$214.1K

-21.56%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$70.7 $70.7

$68.2 MX$1,278

3.61%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$49.23 $49.23

$53.1 MX$996

-7.34%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$114 $114

$108 MX$2,020

5.31%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$107 $107

$117 MX$2,198

-8.50%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$483 $483

$1,113 MX$20.9K

-56.62%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$302 $302

$710 MX$13.3K

-57.43%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$786 $786

$2,588 MX$48.5K

-69.62%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$545 $545

$1,406 MX$26.3K

-61.21%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,631 MX$68.0K

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$2,135 MX$40.0K

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$946 MX$17.7K

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

10.12

11.35

-10.84%

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

Last update for Tulcán: October 26, 2026

Last update for Mexico City: October 25, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Tulcán

$302 32.9%

Mexico City

$710 44.2% 135% $408

Groceries & Markets

Tulcán

$189 20.6%

Mexico City

$320 19.9% 68.7% $130

Clothing & Footwear

Tulcán

$153 16.7%

Mexico City

$156 9.7% 1.7% $2.6

Eating Out

Tulcán

$144 15.7%

Mexico City

$199 12.4% 37.6% $54

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Tulcán

$75 8.2%

Mexico City

$126 7.8% 68.2% $51

Sport & Entertainment

Tulcán

$45 4.9%

Mexico City

$72 4.5% 60.4% $27

Getting Around

Tulcán

$11 * 1.2%

Mexico City

$25 1.6% 136% $15

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 $483 in Tulcán and $1,113 in Mexico City. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Dining out: $54 in Tulcán vs $48 in Mexico City. Groceries flip the comparison at $189 vs $320, with Tulcán cheaper for home cooking.

Good to know

🇪🇨 Tulcán

🇲🇽 Mexico City

🕒 Local time

00:01 12:01 AM

23:01 11:01 PM

1 h behind Tulcán

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

82,734

9,209,944 Capital

💱 Currency

United States Dollar USD $

Mexican Peso MXN $

📈 Exchange rate

1 USD = 0.892 EUR

100 MXN = 5.34 USD

100 MXN = 4.76 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

MXN, EUR to USD – United States Dollar Converter

🇲🇽 Mexican Peso ($)

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

United States Dollar exchange rates as of November 3, 2026: 1 EUR = 1.12 USD (1 USD = 0.892 EUR).

Mexican Peso exchange rates as of November 3, 2026: 1 USD = 18.74 MXN (100 MXN = 5.34 USD). 1 EUR = 21 MXN (100 MXN = 4.76 EUR).

MXN to USD in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Tulcán Mexico City 3,120 km ≈ 4 h 30 min nonstop flight

From you

Tulcán
Mexico City

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

Tulcán vs Mexico City: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Total monthly costs including rent come to $920 in Tulcán and $1,608 in Mexico City, so Tulcán is about 43% cheaper – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

You’d need roughly $1,380 in Tulcán and $2,412 in Mexico City to live well. The gap comes down to housing and overall price levels. Both cities are liveable on less, but these numbers represent actual comfort.

Rent for a central apartment: $483 in Tulcán versus $1,113 in Mexico City. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $750 in Tulcán versus $432 in Mexico City. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Dining out is cheaper in Mexico City – a meal for two runs $48 versus $54 in Tulcán. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

At $920 in Tulcán versus $1,608 in Mexico City, a $1,200 budget is realistic in Tulcán but tight or insufficient in Mexico City. The gap between the two cities makes Tulcán the clear choice for anyone on this budget.

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.