Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Tulcán and Monterrey

For one person, living is cheaper in Tulcán: $842 a month against $1,608 in Monterrey, rent and utilities included – about $9,200 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

41

Cost of Living Index in Tulcán
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Tulcán Living Index
79

Cost of Living Index in Monterrey
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Monterrey Living Index

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Tulcán

🇪🇨 Ecuador

$842

/mo nomad

Monterrey

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,608

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Tulcán and in Monterrey

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 Monterrey actually costs, broken down by who's living it.

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $842 in Tulcán versus $1,608 in Monterrey.

Tulcán $842
Monterrey $1,608

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,430 in Tulcán versus $2,521 in Monterrey.

Tulcán $1,430
Monterrey $2,521

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $2,018 in Tulcán versus $3,433 in Monterrey.

Tulcán $2,018
Monterrey $3,433

Living in Tulcán costs roughly 48% less than in Monterrey, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

The two cities straddle the global median: Tulcán is 38% below, Monterrey is 19% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$6.12 $6.12

$13.85 MX$256

-55.81%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$55.1 $55.1

$49.70 MX$918

10.76%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$7.63 $7.63

$11.05 MX$204

-30.95%

Cappuccino

$3.34 $3.34

$4.09 MX$75.6

-18.34%

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

$1.38 $1.38

$1.68 MX$30.97

-17.86%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.09 $1.09

$1.03 MX$18.98

5.83%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.54 $3.54

$2.40 MX$44.28

47.50%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$5.98 $5.98

$4.35 MX$80.3

37.47%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.14 $1.14

$1.92 MX$35.55

-40.63%

White Bread (500g)

$1.54 $1.54

$2.94 MX$54.2

-47.62%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.50 $1.50

$1.88 MX$34.66

-20.21%

Eggs

$2.10 $2.10

$2.55 MX$47.06

-17.65%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$6.50 $6.50

$11.84 MX$219

-45.10%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$5.74 $5.74

$9.36 MX$173

-38.68%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$7.79 $7.79

$13.10 MX$242

-40.53%

Apples (1kg)

$2.31 $2.31

$3.38 MX$62.5

-31.66%

Banana (1kg)

$1.19 $1.19

$1.52 MX$28.13

-21.71%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.29 $1.29

$2.19 MX$40.51

-41.10%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.08 $1.08

$2.36 MX$43.63

-54.24%

Potato (1kg)

$1.18 $1.18

$2.26 MX$41.76

-47.79%

Onion (1kg)

$1.03 $1.03

$2.73 MX$50.5

-62.27%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.85 $0.85

$1.52 MX$28.17

-44.08%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.07 $1.07

$1.24 MX$22.90

-13.71%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$6.02 $6.02

$4.75 MX$87.8

26.74%

Wine (Bottle)

$10.12 $10.12

$13.66 MX$252

-25.92%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.53 $1.53

$1.89 MX$34.95

-19.05%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.03 $3.03

$2.99 MX$55.2

1.34%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.32 $0.32

$0.85 MX$15.78

-62.35%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$19.15 $19.15

$30.95 MX$572

-38.13%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.46 $1.46

$1.68 MX$30.98

-13.10%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.52 $1.52

$1.13 MX$20.87

34.51%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$10.20 $10.20

$11.15 MX$206

-8.52%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$0.83 $0.83

$1.56 MX$28.91

-46.79%

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

$21.4K $21.4K

$21.4K MX$395.8K

-0.32%

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

$28.4K $28.4K

$25.1K MX$463.2K

13.50%

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

$28.71 $28.71

$119 MX$2,206

-75.95%

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

$18.06 $18.06

$26.21 MX$484

-31.10%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$28.53 $28.53

$26.78 MX$495

6.53%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$34.37 $34.37

$31.03 MX$573

10.76%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$17.79 $17.79

$21.43 MX$396

-16.99%

Cinema Ticket

$6.55 $6.55

$5.29 MX$97.7

23.82%

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

$229 $229

$691 MX$12.8K

-66.85%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$9,086 $9,086

$11.5K MX$212.1K

-20.83%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$70.4 $70.4

$72.3 MX$1,335

-2.63%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$48.99 $48.99

$42.72 MX$789

14.68%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$115 $115

$110 MX$2,024

5.10%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$107 $107

$117 MX$2,158

-8.37%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$343 $343

$970 MX$17.9K

-64.64%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$187 $187

$664 MX$12.3K

-71.84%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$829 $829

$1,857 MX$34.3K

-55.37%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$394 $394

$1,287 MX$23.8K

-69.40%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$1,153 $1,153

$4,162 MX$76.9K

-72.30%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$813 $813

$2,349 MX$43.4K

-65.39%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,146 MX$21.2K

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

10.12

11.79

-14.16%

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

Last update for Tulcán: October 10, 2026

Last update for Monterrey: October 10, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Groceries & Markets

Tulcán

$198 23.5%

Monterrey

$310 19.3% 57% $113

Accommodation & Living

Tulcán

$187 22.2%

Monterrey

$664 41.3% 255% $477

Clothing & Footwear

Tulcán

$154 18.3%

Monterrey

$154 9.6% 0.1% $0.1

Eating Out

Tulcán

$151 18%

Monterrey

$225 14% 48.2% $73

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Tulcán

$75 8.9%

Monterrey

$172 10.7% 129% $97

Sport & Entertainment

Tulcán

$47 5.6%

Monterrey

$42 2.6% 12.3% $5.9

Getting Around

Tulcán

$29 3.5%

Monterrey

$42 2.6% 41.4% $12

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $343 in Tulcán and $970 in Monterrey. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Dining out: $55.0 in Tulcán vs $50.0 in Monterrey. Groceries flip the comparison at $198 vs $310, with Tulcán cheaper for home cooking.

Good to know

🇪🇨 Tulcán

🇲🇽 Monterrey

🕒 Local time

00:49 12:49 AM

23:49 11:49 PM

1 h behind Tulcán

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

82,734

1,142,994

💱 Currency

United States Dollar USD $

Mexican Peso MXN $

📈 Exchange rate

1 USD = 0.89 EUR

100 MXN = 5.41 USD

100 MXN = 4.81 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 October 18, 2026: 1 EUR = 1.12 USD (1 USD = 0.89 EUR).

Mexican Peso exchange rates as of October 18, 2026: 1 USD = 18.48 MXN (100 MXN = 5.41 USD). 1 EUR = 20.77 MXN (100 MXN = 4.81 EUR).

MXN to USD in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Tulcán Monterrey 3,680 km ≈ 5 h nonstop flight

From you

Tulcán
Monterrey

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 Monterrey: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Tulcán and Monterrey differ by about 91% in total monthly costs ($842 vs $1,608 including rent). Tulcán is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

You'd need roughly $1,263 in Tulcán and $2,412 in Monterrey 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: $343 in Tulcán versus $970 in Monterrey. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Dining out is cheaper in Tulcán – a meal for two runs $55.0 versus $50.0 in Monterrey. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

All in, you'll spend $842 per month in Tulcán versus $1,608 in Monterrey – a 91% gap that adds up to real savings over time for anyone picking the cheaper option.

At $842 in Tulcán versus $1,608 in Monterrey, a $2,000 budget is realistic in Tulcán but tight or insufficient in Monterrey. 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.

Expats usually find Tulcán gentler on the wallet – expenses run 91% less than in Monterrey. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.