Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Tulum and Guadalajara

For one person, living costs are similar in Tulum and in Guadalajara: $1,241 and $1,297 a month, rent and utilities included.

61

Cost of Living Index in Tulum
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Tulum Living Index
63

Cost of Living Index in Guadalajara
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Guadalajara Living Index

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Tulum

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,241

/mo nomad

Guadalajara

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,297

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Tulum and in Guadalajara

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,241 in Tulum versus $1,297 in Guadalajara.

Tulum $1,241
Guadalajara $1,297

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,085 in Tulum versus $2,086 in Guadalajara.

Tulum $2,085
Guadalajara $2,086

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $2,929 in Tulum versus $2,875 in Guadalajara.

Tulum $2,929
Guadalajara $2,875

Living in Tulum costs roughly 4% less than in Guadalajara, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Both cities sit below the global median: Tulum 8% lower, Guadalajara 4% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$8.20 MX$152

$13.46 MX$249

-39.08%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$55.1 MX$1,018

$43.54 MX$805

26.50%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$8.25 MX$152

$9.11 MX$168

-9.44%

Cappuccino

$3.82 MX$70.5

$3.83 MX$70.9

-0.26%

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

$1.12 MX$20.74

$1.68 MX$31.01

-33.33%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.17 MX$21.59

$1.21 MX$22.44

-3.31%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.94 MX$54.4

$2.67 MX$49.40

10.11%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.87 MX$71.5

$4.90 MX$90.5

-21.02%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.54 MX$28.54

$1.80 MX$33.28

-14.44%

White Bread (500g)

$2.05 MX$37.87

$2.57 MX$47.53

-20.23%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.71 MX$31.69

$1.63 MX$30.17

4.91%

Eggs

$1.92 MX$35.49

$2.47 MX$45.72

-22.27%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$5.37 MX$99.2

$8.84 MX$163

-39.25%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$7.53 MX$139

$9.61 MX$178

-21.64%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$9.09 MX$168

$11.43 MX$211

-20.47%

Apples (1kg)

$2.63 MX$48.60

$2.77 MX$51.2

-5.05%

Banana (1kg)

$1.37 MX$25.35

$1.66 MX$30.71

-17.47%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.51 MX$27.83

$2.05 MX$37.89

-26.34%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.48 MX$27.32

$1.84 MX$34.01

-19.57%

Potato (1kg)

$2.23 MX$41.12

$1.99 MX$36.84

12.06%

Onion (1kg)

$1.76 MX$32.43

$1.78 MX$32.89

-1.12%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.49 MX$27.58

$1.51 MX$27.95

-1.32%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.85 MX$15.77

$1.08 MX$19.96

-21.30%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.49 MX$83.0

$4.68 MX$86.5

-4.06%

Wine (Bottle)

$8.24 MX$152

$10.63 MX$196

-22.48%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.32 MX$24.39

$1.93 MX$35.70

-31.61%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.29 MX$23.76

$3.31 MX$61.1

-61.03%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.40 MX$25.80

$0.63 MX$11.62

122.22%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$30.17 MX$558

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$2.79 MX$51.6

$2.23 MX$41.17

25.11%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$2.48 MX$45.88

$1.34 MX$24.77

85.07%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$5.57 MX$103

$12.26 MX$227

-54.57%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.45 MX$26.84

$1.51 MX$27.85

-3.97%

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

$21.1K MX$389.5K

$21.6K MX$399.2K

-2.43%

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

$23.5K MX$434.7K

$23.7K MX$437.2K

-0.58%

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

$106 MX$1,967

$48.89 MX$903

117.77%

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

$16.36 MX$302

$22.32 MX$413

-26.70%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$34.32 MX$634

$31.24 MX$577

9.86%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$34.91 MX$645

$28.26 MX$522

23.53%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$11.12 MX$205

Cinema Ticket

$6.71 MX$124

$6.73 MX$124

-0.30%

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

$265 MX$4,900

$258 MX$4,776

2.60%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$2,902 MX$53.6K

$10.9K MX$201.8K

-73.42%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$41.88 MX$774

$57.9 MX$1,070

-27.64%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$32.57 MX$602

$39.83 MX$736

-18.23%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$97.1 MX$1,794

$108 MX$1,989

-9.81%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$58.0 MX$1,072

$82.3 MX$1,521

-29.50%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$607 MX$11.2K

$848 MX$15.7K

-28.38%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$526 MX$9,714

$490 MX$9,049

7.35%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,498 MX$27.7K

$1,534 MX$28.3K

-2.36%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,273 MX$23.5K

$994 MX$18.4K

28.04%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,139 MX$58.0K

$3,068 MX$56.7K

2.29%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,808 MX$33.4K

$1,898 MX$35.1K

-4.76%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$790 MX$14.6K

$750 MX$13.9K

5.29%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

10.8

11.68

-7.53%

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

Last update for Tulum: October 11, 2026

Last update for Guadalajara: October 11, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Tulum

$526 42.4%

Guadalajara

$490 37.8% 6.8% $36

Groceries & Markets

Tulum

$218 17.6%

Guadalajara

$276 21.3% 26.6% $58

Eating Out

Tulum

$168 13.5%

Guadalajara

$216 16.6% 28.6% $48

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Tulum

$157 12.7%

Guadalajara

$102 7.9% 34.8% $55

Clothing & Footwear

Tulum

$103 8.3%

Guadalajara

$129 10% 25.3% $26

Sport & Entertainment

Tulum

$48 3.9%

Guadalajara

$42 3.2% 13.7% $6.6

Getting Around

Tulum

$21 * 1.7%

Guadalajara

$42 3.2% 100% $21

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 $607 in Tulum and $848 in Guadalajara. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Tulum pays 5% more on average while also being the cheaper of the two. The combined effect is a noticeably stronger local purchasing power.

Dining out: $55.0 in Tulum vs $44.00 in Guadalajara. Groceries flip the comparison at $218 vs $276, with Tulum cheaper for home cooking.

Good to know

🇲🇽 Tulum

🇲🇽 Guadalajara

🕒 Local time

22:24 10:24 PM

21:24 9:24 PM

1 h behind Tulum

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

46,721

1,385,629

💱 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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Between locations

Tulum Guadalajara 1,630 km ≈ 2 h 30 min nonstop flight

From you

Tulum
Guadalajara

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 Guadalajara: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Tulum wins on cost – living expenses run 4% lower than in Guadalajara. Housing and daily spending are where you'll feel the difference most, making Tulum the obvious pick if budget is a priority.

Average pay runs 5% higher in Tulum, 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: $607 in Tulum versus $848 in Guadalajara. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $265 in Tulum versus $258 in Guadalajara. 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 $55.0 versus $44.00 in Guadalajara. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

At $1,241 in Tulum versus $1,297 in Guadalajara, a $1,000 budget is realistic in Tulum but tight or insufficient in Guadalajara. The gap between the two cities makes Tulum the clear choice for anyone on this budget.

Both work as nomad bases, but Tulum delivers better value – similar infrastructure at $1,241 monthly. If stretching your runway or maximizing savings is the goal, the price difference makes Tulum hard to pass up.

Expats usually find Tulum gentler on the wallet – expenses run 4% less than in Guadalajara. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.