Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Tulum and Kempton Park

For one person, living costs are similar in Tulum and in Kempton Park: $1,238 and $1,231 a month, rent and utilities included.

59

Cost of Living Index in Tulum
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Tulum Living Index
59

Cost of Living Index in Kempton Park
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Kempton Park Living Index

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Tulum

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,238

/mo nomad

Kempton Park

🇿🇦 South Africa

$1,231

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Tulum and in Kempton Park

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,238 in Tulum versus $1,231 in Kempton Park.

Tulum $1,238
Kempton Park $1,231

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,052 in Tulum versus $1,889 in Kempton Park.

Tulum $2,052
Kempton Park $1,889

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $2,866 in Tulum versus $2,547 in Kempton Park.

Tulum $2,866
Kempton Park $2,547

Monthly costs are close between Tulum and Kempton Park; which city is cheaper depends on the spending category.

Both cities sit below the global median: Tulum 9% lower, Kempton Park 10% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$7.91 MX$148

$9.01 R 151

-12.21%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$54.9 MX$1,030

$37.26 R 623

47.26%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$8.28 MX$156

$5.98 R 100.0

38.46%

Cappuccino

$3.76 MX$70.6

$2.42 R 40.46

55.37%

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

$1.12 MX$21.06

$1.04 R 17.30

7.69%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.16 MX$21.77

$0.81 R 13.61

43.21%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.90 MX$54.5

$2.47 R 41.24

17.41%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.70 MX$69.5

$2.82 R 47.14

31.21%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.58 MX$29.67

$1.36 R 22.79

16.18%

White Bread (500g)

$1.95 MX$36.56

$1.10 R 18.30

77.27%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.71 MX$32.19

$1.82 R 30.46

-6.04%

Eggs

$1.92 MX$36.07

$2.53 R 42.25

-24.11%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$5.42 MX$102

$8.51 R 142

-36.31%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$7.57 MX$142

$5.30 R 88.5

42.83%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$8.70 MX$163

$9.17 R 153

-5.13%

Apples (1kg)

$2.56 MX$48.15

$1.87 R 31.31

36.90%

Banana (1kg)

$1.36 MX$25.47

$1.73 R 28.98

-21.39%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.43 MX$26.80

$1.77 R 29.54

-19.21%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.52 MX$28.54

$1.98 R 33.08

-23.23%

Potato (1kg)

$2.18 MX$40.84

$1.74 R 29.03

25.29%

Onion (1kg)

$1.82 MX$34.11

$1.76 R 29.39

3.41%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.47 MX$27.59

$1.24 R 20.64

18.55%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.81 MX$15.22

$1.29 R 21.54

-37.21%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.32 MX$81.2

$3.38 R 56.4

27.81%

Wine (Bottle)

$7.90 MX$148

$5.30 R 88.6

49.06%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.35 MX$25.38

$1.66 R 27.71

-18.67%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.31 MX$24.67

$2.42 R 40.41

-45.87%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.33 MX$25.05

$1.56 R 26.11

-14.74%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$61.1 R 1,020

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$2.66 MX$49.89

$0.31 R 5.19

758.06%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$2.43 MX$45.63

$0.82 R 13.71

196.34%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$5.27 MX$98.9

$14.51 R 242

-63.68%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.43 MX$26.77

$1.55 R 25.91

-7.74%

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

$21.5K MX$404.1K

$36.3K R 606.5K

-40.71%

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

$23.4K MX$439.4K

$34.1K R 570.2K

-31.42%

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

$102 MX$1,910

$182 R 3,040

-44.09%

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

$16.11 MX$302

$39.32 R 657

-59.03%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$33.35 MX$626

$38.46 R 643

-13.29%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$33.19 MX$623

$38.63 R 645

-14.08%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$11.06 R 185

Cinema Ticket

$6.56 MX$123

$8.46 R 141

-22.46%

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

$264 MX$4,947

$263 R 4,396

0.16%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$2,955 MX$55.5K

$5,524 R 92.3K

-46.51%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$41.07 MX$771

$53.5 R 893

-23.16%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$32.83 MX$616

$33.01 R 552

-0.55%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$93.6 MX$1,758

$91.9 R 1,535

1.94%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$58.7 MX$1,102

$84.1 R 1,406

-30.25%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$599 MX$11.2K

$306 R 5,118

95.50%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$539 MX$10.1K

$370 R 6,189

45.60%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,511 MX$28.4K

$750 R 12.5K

101.45%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,241 MX$23.3K

$750 R 12.5K

65.42%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,150 MX$59.1K

$862 R 14.4K

265.30%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,783 MX$33.5K

$690 R 11.5K

158.58%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$780 MX$14.6K

$630 R 10.5K

23.78%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

10.8

11.25

-4.00%

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

Last update for Tulum: October 26, 2026

Last update for Kempton Park: October 26, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Tulum

$539 43.6%

Kempton Park

$370 30.1% 31.3% $169

Groceries & Markets

Tulum

$215 17.4%

Kempton Park

$211 17.2% 1.9% $4.1

Eating Out

Tulum

$164 13.3%

Kempton Park

$144 11.7% 12.1% $20

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Tulum

$151 12.2%

Kempton Park

$260 21.1% 71.8% $109

Clothing & Footwear

Tulum

$102 8.2%

Kempton Park

$118 9.6% 16% $16

Sport & Entertainment

Tulum

$46 3.7%

Kempton Park

$56 4.5% 19.9% $9.2

Getting Around

Tulum

$20 * 1.6%

Kempton Park

$72 5.8% 256% $52

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 $306 in Kempton Park. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Tulum pays 24% more on average. How far that income stretches comes down to housing choices and lifestyle.

Dining out: $55 in Tulum vs $37 in Kempton Park for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $215 vs $211 per month, with Kempton Park cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇲🇽 Tulum

🇿🇦 Kempton Park

🕒 Local time

17:06 5:06 PM

00:06 12:06 AM

7 h ahead of Tulum

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

46,721

💱 Currency

Mexican Peso MXN $

South African Rand ZAR R

📈 Exchange rate

100 MXN = 5.33 USD

100 MXN = 4.77 EUR

100 ZAR = 5.99 USD

100 ZAR = 5.36 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

ZAR, USD, EUR to MXN – Mexican Peso Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇲🇽 Mexican Peso ($)

Mexican Peso exchange rates as of October 31, 2026: 1 USD = 18.77 MXN (100 MXN = 5.33 USD). 1 EUR = 20.96 MXN (100 MXN = 4.77 EUR).

South African Rand exchange rates as of October 31, 2026: 1 USD = 16.71 ZAR (100 ZAR = 5.99 USD). 1 EUR = 18.66 ZAR (100 ZAR = 5.36 EUR).

USD to MXN in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Tulum Kempton Park 13,500 km ≈ 17 h nonstop flight

From you

Tulum
Kempton Park

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 Kempton Park: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Average pay runs 24% 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 $306 in Kempton Park. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $264 in Tulum versus $263 in Kempton Park. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Dining out is cheaper in Kempton Park – a meal for two runs $37 versus $55 in Tulum. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

Both cities are expensive relative to $1,000. Kempton Park 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 – Kempton Park wins on affordability, Tulum on earning potential. Factor in climate, language, visa rules, and proximity to places that matter to you before deciding.