Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Tulum and Guanajuato

For one person, living is cheaper in Guanajuato: $1,036 a month against $1,238 in Tulum, rent and utilities included – about $2,400 less a year. Higher rent and utilities in Tulum outweigh lower spending on other living expenses.

59

Cost of Living Index in Tulum
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Tulum Living Index
50

Cost of Living Index in Guanajuato
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Guanajuato Living Index

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Tulum

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,238

/mo nomad

Guanajuato

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,036

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Tulum and in Guanajuato

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,238 in Tulum versus $1,036 in Guanajuato.

Tulum $1,238
Guanajuato $1,036

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,052 in Tulum versus $1,584 in Guanajuato.

Tulum $2,052
Guanajuato $1,584

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $2,866 in Tulum versus $2,131 in Guanajuato.

Tulum $2,866
Guanajuato $2,131

Living in Tulum is roughly 19% more expensive than in Guanajuato, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in leisure.

Both cities sit below the global median: Tulum 9% lower, Guanajuato 24% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$7.91 MX$148

$13.29 MX$249

-40.48%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$54.9 MX$1,028

$43.45 MX$814

26.28%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$8.28 MX$155

$7.12 MX$133

16.29%

Cappuccino

$3.76 MX$70.5

$3.61 MX$67.6

4.16%

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

$1.12 MX$21.02

$1.64 MX$30.78

-31.71%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.16 MX$21.73

$0.94 MX$17.66

23.40%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.90 MX$54.4

$2.63 MX$49.34

10.27%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.70 MX$69.4

$4.98 MX$93.2

-25.70%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.58 MX$29.62

$1.51 MX$28.25

4.64%

White Bread (500g)

$1.95 MX$36.49

$2.49 MX$46.70

-21.69%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.71 MX$32.13

$1.47 MX$27.60

16.33%

Eggs

$1.92 MX$36.01

$2.39 MX$44.85

-19.67%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$5.42 MX$102

$4.76 MX$89.1

13.87%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$7.57 MX$142

$9.33 MX$175

-18.86%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$8.70 MX$163

$11.63 MX$218

-25.19%

Apples (1kg)

$2.56 MX$48.07

$2.77 MX$51.9

-7.58%

Banana (1kg)

$1.36 MX$25.42

$1.55 MX$29.04

-12.26%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.43 MX$26.75

$1.87 MX$34.95

-23.53%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.52 MX$28.49

$1.50 MX$28.18

1.33%

Potato (1kg)

$2.18 MX$40.77

$2.01 MX$37.66

8.46%

Onion (1kg)

$1.82 MX$34.05

$1.85 MX$34.70

-1.62%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.47 MX$27.54

$1.53 MX$28.59

-3.92%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.81 MX$15.19

$1.07 MX$20.05

-24.30%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.32 MX$81.0

$4.85 MX$90.9

-10.93%

Wine (Bottle)

$7.90 MX$148

$10.04 MX$188

-21.31%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.35 MX$25.33

$1.84 MX$34.55

-26.63%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.31 MX$24.63

$3.25 MX$61.0

-59.69%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.33 MX$25.01

$0.60 MX$11.33

121.67%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$26.83 MX$503

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$2.66 MX$49.80

$2.11 MX$39.58

26.07%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$2.43 MX$45.55

$1.50 MX$28.10

62.00%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$5.27 MX$98.7

$8.59 MX$161

-38.65%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.43 MX$26.72

$1.46 MX$27.33

-2.05%

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

$21.5K MX$403.3K

$19.6K MX$367.3K

9.81%

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

$23.4K MX$438.6K

$23.0K MX$430.1K

1.96%

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

$102 MX$1,907

$48.45 MX$908

109.99%

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

$16.11 MX$302

$19.35 MX$363

-16.74%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$33.35 MX$625

$27.67 MX$518

20.53%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$33.19 MX$622

$30.04 MX$563

10.49%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$27.18 MX$509

Cinema Ticket

$6.56 MX$123

$5.98 MX$112

9.70%

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

$264 MX$4,938

$203 MX$3,804

29.82%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$2,955 MX$55.4K

$5,520 MX$103.4K

-46.47%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$41.07 MX$770

$56.2 MX$1,054

-26.96%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$32.83 MX$615

$36.12 MX$677

-9.11%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$93.6 MX$1,755

$76.8 MX$1,439

21.96%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$58.7 MX$1,100

$56.5 MX$1,058

3.95%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$599 MX$11.2K

$511 MX$9,580

17.15%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$539 MX$10.1K

$300 MX$5,628

79.57%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,511 MX$28.3K

$766 MX$14.3K

97.33%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,241 MX$23.3K

$383 MX$7,178

223.89%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,150 MX$59.0K

$1,317 MX$24.7K

139.22%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,783 MX$33.4K

$1,091 MX$20.4K

63.49%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$780 MX$14.6K

$704 MX$13.2K

10.84%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

10.8

11.3

-4.42%

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

Last update for Tulum: October 26, 2026

Last update for Guanajuato: October 25, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Tulum

$539 43.6%

Guanajuato

$300 29% 44.3% $239

Groceries & Markets

Tulum

$215 17.4%

Guanajuato

$254 24.5% 17.9% $39

Eating Out

Tulum

$164 13.3%

Guanajuato

$204 19.7% 24.4% $40

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Tulum

$151 12.2%

Guanajuato

$95 9.2% 36.9% $56

Clothing & Footwear

Tulum

$102 8.2%

Guanajuato

$102 9.8% 0.3% $0.3

Sport & Entertainment

Tulum

$46 3.7%

Guanajuato

$42 4.1% 9.3% $4.3

Getting Around

Tulum

$20 * 1.6%

Guanajuato

$39 3.8% 92.9% $19

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 $599 in Tulum and $511 in Guanajuato. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Tulum pays 11% more on average. The extra income cushions the higher costs, though housing choices and lifestyle decide how much of the gap is truly closed.

Dining out: $55 in Tulum vs $43 in Guanajuato. Groceries flip the comparison at $215 vs $254, with Tulum cheaper for home cooking.

Good to know

🇲🇽 Tulum

🇲🇽 Guanajuato

🕒 Local time

16:00 4:00 PM

15:00 3:00 PM

1 h behind Tulum

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

46,721

70,068

💱 Currency

Mexican Peso MXN $

📈 Exchange rate

100 MXN = 5.34 USD

100 MXN = 4.76 EUR

100 MXN = 5.34 USD

100 MXN = 4.76 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

On the map

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Between locations

Tulum Guanajuato 1,420 km ≈ 2 h 15 min nonstop flight

From you

Tulum
Guanajuato

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 Guanajuato: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Guanajuato wins on cost – living expenses run 16% lower than in Tulum. Housing and daily spending are where you’ll feel the difference most, making Guanajuato the obvious pick if budget is a priority.

Average pay runs 11% 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: $599 in Tulum versus $511 in Guanajuato. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Shoppers in Tulum pay roughly 15% less for everyday groceries. It’s an unusual reversal that partly offsets higher costs elsewhere.

All in, you’ll spend $1,238 per month in Tulum versus $1,036 in Guanajuato – Guanajuato is about 16% cheaper, which adds up to real savings over time.

Both cities are expensive relative to $1,000. Guanajuato is the more realistic option, but even there you’ll need to be disciplined with housing, food, and fun money.

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.

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