Last update: Nov 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Tulum and Austin, TX

For one person, living is cheaper in Tulum: $1,226 a month against $2,689 in Austin, TX, rent and utilities included – about $17,600 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

59

Cost of Living Index in Tulum
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Tulum Living Index
128

Cost of Living Index in Austin, TX
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Austin, TX Living Index

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Tulum

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,226

/mo nomad

Austin, TX

🇺🇸 United States

$2,689

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Tulum and in Austin, TX

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,226 in Tulum versus $2,689 in Austin, TX.

Tulum $1,226
Austin, TX $2,689

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,058 in Tulum versus $4,112 in Austin, TX.

Tulum $2,058
Austin, TX $4,112

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $2,891 in Tulum versus $5,534 in Austin, TX.

Tulum $2,891
Austin, TX $5,534

Living in Tulum costs roughly 54% less than in Austin, TX, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Tulum is 9% below, Austin, TX is 99% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$8.14 MX$151

$21.34 $21.34

-61.86%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$54.4 MX$1,009

$87.9 $87.9

-38.15%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$7.89 MX$146

$12.44 $12.44

-36.58%

Cappuccino

$3.73 MX$69.1

$5.60 $5.60

-33.39%

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

$1.12 MX$20.77

$3.65 $3.65

-69.32%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.09 MX$20.22

$2.39 $2.39

-54.39%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.99 MX$55.6

$7.82 $7.82

-61.76%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.68 MX$68.3

$8.75 $8.75

-57.94%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.59 MX$29.43

$1.12 $1.12

41.96%

White Bread (500g)

$2.00 MX$37.18

$3.62 $3.62

-44.75%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.76 MX$32.74

$3.50 $3.50

-49.71%

Eggs

$1.84 MX$34.20

$4.45 $4.45

-58.65%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$5.48 MX$102

$13.18 $13.18

-58.42%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$7.52 MX$140

$13.94 $13.94

-46.05%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$8.90 MX$165

$16.46 $16.46

-45.93%

Apples (1kg)

$2.54 MX$47.15

$4.73 $4.73

-46.30%

Banana (1kg)

$1.42 MX$26.29

$1.50 $1.50

-5.33%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.43 MX$26.59

$4.64 $4.64

-69.18%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.47 MX$27.27

$4.52 $4.52

-67.48%

Potato (1kg)

$2.28 MX$42.39

$2.55 $2.55

-10.59%

Onion (1kg)

$1.71 MX$31.69

$2.39 $2.39

-28.45%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.45 MX$26.91

$1.84 $1.84

-21.20%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.87 MX$16.05

$2.13 $2.13

-59.15%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.46 MX$82.8

$10.05 $10.05

-55.62%

Wine (Bottle)

$8.28 MX$154

$14.88 $14.88

-44.35%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.29 MX$24.03

$2.82 $2.82

-54.26%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.26 MX$23.30

$3.29 $3.29

-61.70%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.31 MX$24.40

$1.23 $1.23

6.50%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$41.43 $41.43

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$2.77 MX$51.3

$2.68 $2.68

3.36%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$2.42 MX$44.85

$1.63 $1.63

48.47%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$5.22 MX$97.0

$35.20 $35.20

-85.17%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.47 MX$27.29

$0.98 $0.98

50.00%

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

$20.8K MX$385.9K

$34.4K $34.4K

-39.52%

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

$23.1K MX$428.3K

$26.8K $26.8K

-13.93%

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

$105 MX$1,949

$252 $252

-58.36%

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

$15.92 MX$295

$59.8 $59.8

-73.40%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$28.26 MX$524

$69.7 $69.7

-59.43%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$33.25 MX$617

$60.4 $60.4

-44.91%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$18.14 $18.14

Cinema Ticket

$6.59 MX$122

$13.75 $13.75

-52.07%

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

$263 MX$4,889

$1,458 $1,458

-81.93%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$2,922 MX$54.2K

$26.6K $26.6K

-89.01%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$39.86 MX$740

$52.6 $52.6

-24.28%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$31.81 MX$590

$45.76 $45.76

-30.49%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$94.6 MX$1,756

$85.5 $85.5

10.69%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$57.1 MX$1,059

$106 $106

-46.03%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$614 MX$11.4K

$2,195 $2,195

-72.01%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$528 MX$9,793

$1,269 $1,269

-58.41%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,497 MX$27.8K

$4,000 $4,000

-62.56%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,267 MX$23.5K

$2,406 $2,406

-47.35%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,103 MX$57.6K

$7,381 $7,381

-57.95%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,729 MX$32.1K

$2,964 $2,964

-41.66%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$763 MX$14.2K

$5,043 $5,043

-84.86%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

10.8

6.82

58.36%

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

Last update for Tulum: November 3, 2026

Last update for Austin, TX: November 2, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Tulum

$528 43%

Austin, TX

$1.3K 47.2% 141% $741

Groceries & Markets

Tulum

$217 17.7%

Austin, TX

$407 15.2% 87.4% $190

Eating Out

Tulum

$165 13.4%

Austin, TX

$356 13.2% 116% $191

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Tulum

$149 12.2%

Austin, TX

$382 14.2% 156% $233

Clothing & Footwear

Tulum

$101 8.2%

Austin, TX

$130 4.9% 29.7% $30

Sport & Entertainment

Tulum

$46 3.8%

Austin, TX

$88 3.3% 89.2% $41

Getting Around

Tulum

$20 * 1.6%

Austin, TX

$57 2.1% 184% $37

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 $614 in Tulum and $2,195 in Austin, TX. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Austin, TX pays about 6.6 times more on average. How far that income stretches comes down to housing choices and lifestyle.

Dining out: $54 in Tulum vs $88 in Austin, TX for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $217 vs $407 per month, with Tulum cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇲🇽 Tulum

🇺🇸 Austin, TX

🕒 Local time

14:12 2:12 PM

13:12 1:12 PM

1 h behind Tulum

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

46,721

974,447

💱 Currency

Mexican Peso MXN $

United States Dollar USD $

📈 Exchange rate

100 MXN = 5.39 USD

100 MXN = 4.8 EUR

1 USD = 0.89 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

USD, EUR to MXN – Mexican Peso Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇲🇽 Mexican Peso ($)

Mexican Peso exchange rates as of November 5, 2026: 1 USD = 18.56 MXN (100 MXN = 5.39 USD). 1 EUR = 20.85 MXN (100 MXN = 4.8 EUR).

United States Dollar exchange rates as of November 5, 2026: 1 EUR = 1.12 USD (1 USD = 0.89 EUR).

USD to MXN in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Tulum Austin, TX 1,490 km ≈ 2 h 15 min nonstop flight

From you

Tulum
Austin, TX

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

Tulum vs Austin, TX: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Tulum wins on cost – living expenses run 54% lower than in Austin, TX. Housing and daily spending are where you’ll feel the difference most, making Tulum the obvious pick if budget is a priority.

On paper, salaries run 85% lower in Tulum. That’s worth factoring in alongside costs, though remote workers earning in a stronger currency may not notice the difference at all.

Rent for a central apartment: $614 in Tulum versus $2,195 in Austin, TX. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $263 in Tulum versus $1,458 in Austin, TX. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Dining out is cheaper in Tulum – a meal for two runs $54 versus $88 in Austin, TX. 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.

For families, Tulum is more practical. Housing and childcare are both notably cheaper than in Austin, TX, and the savings on those two alone free up budget for education, activities, and family trips.

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