Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Tulum and Monterrey

For one person, living is cheaper in Tulum: $1,238 a month against $1,647 in Monterrey, rent and utilities included – about $4,900 less a year. Rent and utilities account for about half of the difference.

59

Cost of Living Index in Tulum
Learn more

Tulum Living Index
79

Cost of Living Index in Monterrey
Learn more

Monterrey Living Index

Jump to prices

Tulum

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,238

/mo nomad

Monterrey

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,647

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Tulum 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 Tulum and in Monterrey actually costs, broken down by who's living it.

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,238 in Tulum versus $1,647 in Monterrey.

Tulum $1,238
Monterrey $1,647

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,052 in Tulum versus $2,591 in Monterrey.

Tulum $2,052
Monterrey $2,591

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $2,866 in Tulum versus $3,536 in Monterrey.

Tulum $2,866
Monterrey $3,536

Living in Tulum costs roughly 25% less than in Monterrey, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

The two cities straddle the global median: Tulum is 9% below, Monterrey is 21% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$7.91 MX$148

$13.45 MX$253

-41.19%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$54.9 MX$1,030

$48.43 MX$909

13.30%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$8.28 MX$156

$10.90 MX$205

-24.04%

Cappuccino

$3.76 MX$70.6

$3.82 MX$71.7

-1.57%

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

$1.12 MX$21.06

$1.67 MX$31.28

-32.93%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.16 MX$21.77

$0.98 MX$18.45

18.37%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.90 MX$54.5

$2.35 MX$44.12

23.40%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.70 MX$69.5

$4.41 MX$82.8

-16.10%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.58 MX$29.67

$1.80 MX$33.82

-12.22%

White Bread (500g)

$1.95 MX$36.56

$2.79 MX$52.4

-30.11%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.71 MX$32.19

$1.82 MX$34.26

-6.04%

Eggs

$1.92 MX$36.07

$2.51 MX$47.17

-23.51%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$5.42 MX$102

$12.09 MX$227

-55.17%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$7.57 MX$142

$9.41 MX$177

-19.55%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$8.70 MX$163

$12.71 MX$239

-31.55%

Apples (1kg)

$2.56 MX$48.15

$3.21 MX$60.2

-20.25%

Banana (1kg)

$1.36 MX$25.47

$1.50 MX$28.12

-9.33%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.43 MX$26.80

$2.14 MX$40.26

-33.18%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.52 MX$28.54

$2.32 MX$43.58

-34.48%

Potato (1kg)

$2.18 MX$40.84

$2.20 MX$41.34

-0.91%

Onion (1kg)

$1.82 MX$34.11

$2.60 MX$48.78

-30.00%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.47 MX$27.59

$1.44 MX$27.04

2.08%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.81 MX$15.22

$1.17 MX$22.03

-30.77%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.32 MX$81.2

$4.79 MX$89.9

-9.81%

Wine (Bottle)

$7.90 MX$148

$13.22 MX$248

-40.24%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.35 MX$25.38

$1.94 MX$36.47

-30.41%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.31 MX$24.67

$2.89 MX$54.2

-54.67%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.33 MX$25.05

$0.87 MX$16.37

52.87%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$31.14 MX$585

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$2.66 MX$49.89

$1.66 MX$31.10

60.24%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$2.43 MX$45.63

$1.09 MX$20.53

122.94%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$5.27 MX$98.9

$10.67 MX$200

-50.61%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.43 MX$26.77

$1.47 MX$27.66

-2.72%

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

$21.5K MX$404.1K

$24.2K MX$455.2K

-11.22%

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

$23.4K MX$439.4K

$23.6K MX$442.2K

-0.64%

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

$102 MX$1,910

$118 MX$2,213

-13.68%

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

$16.11 MX$302

$25.55 MX$480

-36.95%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$33.35 MX$626

$26.43 MX$496

26.18%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$33.19 MX$623

$30.77 MX$578

7.86%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$21.07 MX$396

Cinema Ticket

$6.56 MX$123

$5.09 MX$95.6

28.88%

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

$264 MX$4,947

$694 MX$13.0K

-62.03%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$2,955 MX$55.5K

$11.3K MX$212.5K

-73.90%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$41.07 MX$771

$72.5 MX$1,360

-43.32%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$32.83 MX$616

$41.51 MX$779

-20.91%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$93.6 MX$1,758

$110 MX$2,060

-14.67%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$58.7 MX$1,102

$115 MX$2,158

-48.94%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$599 MX$11.2K

$1,056 MX$19.8K

-43.30%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$539 MX$10.1K

$721 MX$13.5K

-25.22%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,511 MX$28.4K

$1,999 MX$37.5K

-24.42%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,241 MX$23.3K

$1,435 MX$26.9K

-13.54%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,150 MX$59.1K

$4,219 MX$79.2K

-25.34%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,783 MX$33.5K

$2,731 MX$51.3K

-34.71%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$780 MX$14.6K

$1,149 MX$21.6K

-32.11%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

10.8

11.79

-8.40%

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

Last update for Tulum: October 26, 2026

Last update for Monterrey: October 25, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Tulum

$539 43.6%

Monterrey

$721 43.8% 33.7% $182

Groceries & Markets

Tulum

$215 17.4%

Monterrey

$303 18.4% 41% $88

Eating Out

Tulum

$164 13.3%

Monterrey

$217 13.2% 32.3% $53

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Tulum

$151 12.2%

Monterrey

$170 10.3% 12.3% $19

Clothing & Footwear

Tulum

$102 8.2%

Monterrey

$152 9.3% 49.7% $51

Sport & Entertainment

Tulum

$46 3.7%

Monterrey

$41 2.5% 11.6% $5.4

Getting Around

Tulum

$20 * 1.6%

Monterrey

$42 2.5% 107% $22

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 $1,056 in Monterrey. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Monterrey pays 47% more on average. How far that income stretches comes down to housing choices and lifestyle.

Dining out: $55 in Tulum vs $48 in Monterrey. Groceries flip the comparison at $215 vs $303, with Tulum cheaper for home cooking.

Good to know

🇲🇽 Tulum

🇲🇽 Monterrey

🕒 Local time

13:21 1:21 PM

12:21 12:21 PM

1 h behind Tulum

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

46,721

1,142,994

💱 Currency

Mexican Peso MXN $

📈 Exchange rate

100 MXN = 5.33 USD

100 MXN = 4.77 EUR

100 MXN = 5.33 USD

100 MXN = 4.77 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

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

From you

Tulum
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

Tulum vs Monterrey: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Total monthly costs including rent come to $1,238 in Tulum and $1,647 in Monterrey, so Tulum is about 25% cheaper – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

On paper, salaries run 32% 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: $599 in Tulum versus $1,056 in Monterrey. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $264 in Tulum versus $694 in Monterrey. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Dining out is cheaper in Monterrey – a meal for two runs $48 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. Tulum 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 – Tulum wins on affordability, Monterrey on earning potential. Factor in climate, language, visa rules, and proximity to places that matter to you before deciding.