Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Tulum and Phuket

For one person, living is cheaper in Phuket: $1,190 a month against $1,252 in Tulum, rent and utilities included – about $740 less a year. Higher rent and utilities in Tulum outweigh lower spending on other living expenses.

61

Cost of Living Index in Tulum
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Tulum Living Index
59

Cost of Living Index in Phuket
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Phuket Living Index

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Tulum

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,252

/mo nomad

Phuket

🇹🇭 Thailand

$1,190

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Tulum and in Phuket

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,252 in Tulum versus $1,190 in Phuket.

Tulum $1,252
Phuket $1,190

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,131 in Tulum versus $2,006 in Phuket.

Tulum $2,131
Phuket $2,006

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,010 in Tulum versus $2,822 in Phuket.

Tulum $3,010
Phuket $2,822

Living in Tulum is roughly 5% more expensive than in Phuket, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Both cities sit below the global median: Tulum 7% lower, Phuket 11% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$8.26 MX$150

$4.35 ฿146

89.89%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$56.4 MX$1,026

$32.45 ฿1,091

73.78%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$8.13 MX$148

$8.42 ฿283

-3.44%

Cappuccino

$3.87 MX$70.4

$2.81 ฿94.4

37.72%

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

$1.14 MX$20.80

$0.87 ฿29.42

31.03%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.18 MX$21.42

$0.46 ฿15.46

156.52%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.94 MX$53.5

$2.59 ฿86.9

13.51%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.80 MX$69.1

$3.64 ฿123

4.40%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.58 MX$28.75

$1.71 ฿57.4

-7.60%

White Bread (500g)

$2.00 MX$36.31

$1.45 ฿48.62

37.93%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.74 MX$31.71

$1.56 ฿52.5

11.54%

Eggs

$1.89 MX$34.29

$2.10 ฿70.6

-10.00%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$5.55 MX$101

$19.53 ฿656

-71.58%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$7.93 MX$144

$3.40 ฿114

133.24%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$9.09 MX$165

$11.14 ฿375

-18.40%

Apples (1kg)

$2.66 MX$48.31

$2.83 ฿95.2

-6.01%

Banana (1kg)

$1.42 MX$25.75

$1.62 ฿54.6

-12.35%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.52 MX$27.67

$2.22 ฿74.8

-31.53%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.50 MX$27.34

$2.15 ฿72.2

-30.23%

Potato (1kg)

$2.28 MX$41.45

$1.49 ฿50.2

53.02%

Onion (1kg)

$1.86 MX$33.77

$1.33 ฿44.59

39.85%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.51 MX$27.40

$1.07 ฿35.87

41.12%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.83 MX$15.11

$0.51 ฿17.08

62.75%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.39 MX$79.9

$4.38 ฿147

0.23%

Wine (Bottle)

$8.35 MX$152

$18.77 ฿631

-55.51%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.39 MX$25.31

$1.74 ฿58.5

-20.11%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.32 MX$24.00

$2.78 ฿93.3

-52.52%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.40 MX$25.48

$2.17 ฿72.9

-35.48%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$22.28 ฿749

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$2.81 MX$51.2

$3.02 ฿101

-6.95%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$2.44 MX$44.47

$1.06 ฿35.57

130.19%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$5.58 MX$102

$3.71 ฿125

50.40%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.52 MX$27.71

$1.43 ฿48.08

6.29%

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

$21.4K MX$389.2K

$26.3K ฿885.8K

-18.78%

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

$23.8K MX$433.0K

$26.2K ฿881.0K

-9.16%

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

$106 MX$1,927

$96.7 ฿3,250

9.61%

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

$16.87 MX$307

$11.41 ฿384

47.85%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$34.97 MX$636

$17.11 ฿575

104.38%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$34.35 MX$625

$52.8 ฿1,775

-34.94%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$11.07 ฿372

Cinema Ticket

$6.45 MX$117

$7.65 ฿257

-15.69%

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

$263 MX$4,776

$555 ฿18.7K

-52.67%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$3,022 MX$55.0K

$11.3K ฿379.3K

-73.21%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$42.26 MX$769

$63.4 ฿2,132

-33.36%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$33.26 MX$605

$28.61 ฿962

16.25%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$97.4 MX$1,772

$96.7 ฿3,252

0.75%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$60.2 MX$1,095

$88.6 ฿2,979

-32.10%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$614 MX$11.2K

$735 ฿24.7K

-16.46%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$539 MX$9,808

$458 ฿15.4K

17.72%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,504 MX$27.4K

$2,102 ฿70.7K

-28.46%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,316 MX$23.9K

$1,187 ฿39.9K

10.85%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,162 MX$57.5K

$3,493 ฿117.4K

-9.45%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,818 MX$33.1K

$2,491 ฿83.8K

-27.01%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$784 MX$14.3K

$501 ฿16.8K

56.60%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

10.8

5.57

93.90%

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

Last update for Tulum: October 5, 2026

Last update for Phuket: October 4, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Tulum

$539 42.8%

Phuket

$458 38.1% 15.1% $81

Groceries & Markets

Tulum

$222 17.6%

Phuket

$268 22.3% 20.7% $46

Eating Out

Tulum

$169 13.4%

Phuket

$119 9.9% 29.2% $49

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Tulum

$158 12.5%

Phuket

$125 10.4% 20.7% $33

Clothing & Footwear

Tulum

$105 8.3%

Phuket

$125 10.4% 19% $20

Sport & Entertainment

Tulum

$47 3.8%

Phuket

$68 5.7% 44.2% $21

Getting Around

Tulum

$21 * 1.6%

Phuket

$39 3.3% 90.2% $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 $614 in Tulum and $735 in Phuket. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Tulum pays 57% 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: $56.0 in Tulum vs $32.00 in Phuket. Groceries flip the comparison at $222 vs $268, with Tulum cheaper for home cooking.

Good to know

🇲🇽 Tulum

🇹🇭 Phuket

🕒 Local time

00:21 12:21 AM

12:21 12:21 PM

12 h ahead of Tulum

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

46,721

79,308

💱 Currency

Mexican Peso MXN $

Thai Baht THB ฿

📈 Exchange rate

100 MXN = 5.5 USD

100 MXN = 4.9 EUR

100 THB = 2.97 USD

100 THB = 2.65 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

THB, USD, EUR to MXN – Mexican Peso Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇲🇽 Mexican Peso ($)

Mexican Peso exchange rates as of October 10, 2026: 1 USD = 18.19 MXN (100 MXN = 5.5 USD). 1 EUR = 20.4 MXN (100 MXN = 4.9 EUR).

Thai Baht exchange rates as of October 10, 2026: 1 USD = 33.62 THB (100 THB = 2.97 USD). 1 EUR = 37.71 THB (100 THB = 2.65 EUR).

USD to MXN in detail →

On the map

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Highest

Between locations

Tulum Phuket 16,800 km ≈ 21 h nonstop flight

From you

Tulum
Phuket

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 Phuket: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Phuket is cheaper overall, especially in eating out and utilities. The 5% gap adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

Average pay runs 57% 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: $614 in Tulum versus $735 in Phuket. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $263 in Tulum versus $555 in Phuket. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Dining out is cheaper in Phuket – a meal for two runs $32.00 versus $56.0 in Tulum. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

At $1,190 in Phuket versus $1,252 in Tulum, a $1,500 budget is realistic in Phuket but tight or insufficient in Tulum. The gap between the two cities makes Phuket the clear choice for anyone on this budget.

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

Safety-wise, Tulum and Phuket are on par. Petty crime is typical for cities this size, and most residents feel comfortable going about their daily routines in either place.

Expats usually find Phuket gentler on the wallet – expenses run 5% less than in Tulum. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.