Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Tulum and Playa del Carmen

For one person, living costs are similar in Tulum and in Playa del Carmen: $1,241 and $1,210 a month, rent and utilities included.

61

Cost of Living Index in Tulum
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Tulum Living Index
59

Cost of Living Index in Playa del Carmen
Learn more

Playa del Carmen Living Index

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Tulum

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,241

/mo nomad

Playa del Carmen

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,210

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Tulum and in Playa del Carmen

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 Playa del Carmen actually costs, broken down by who's living it.

A single person spends $1,241 per month in Tulum vs $1,210 in Playa del Carmen, rent included.

Tulum $1,241
Playa del Carmen $1,210

A couple spends around $2,085 per month in Tulum vs $2,113 in Playa del Carmen, rent included.

Tulum $2,085
Playa del Carmen $2,113

A family of three spends $2,929 per month in Tulum vs $3,016 in Playa del Carmen, rent included.

Tulum $2,929
Playa del Carmen $3,016

Tulum costs about 3% more than Playa del Carmen, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Both Tulum and Playa del Carmen are more affordable than the global median – Tulum 8% lower, Playa del Carmen 10% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$8.20 MX$152

$10.76 MX$199

-23.79%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$55.1 MX$1,018

$43.03 MX$795

28.00%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$8.25 MX$152

$11.79 MX$218

-30.03%

Cappuccino

$3.82 MX$70.5

$3.87 MX$71.4

-1.29%

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

$1.12 MX$20.74

$1.37 MX$25.29

-18.25%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.17 MX$21.59

$0.84 MX$15.44

39.29%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.94 MX$54.4

$3.10 MX$57.3

-5.16%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.87 MX$71.5

$5.07 MX$93.6

-23.67%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.54 MX$28.54

$1.44 MX$26.55

6.94%

White Bread (500g)

$2.05 MX$37.87

$2.23 MX$41.23

-8.07%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.71 MX$31.69

$1.47 MX$27.17

16.33%

Eggs

$1.92 MX$35.49

$2.53 MX$46.71

-24.11%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$5.37 MX$99.2

$7.30 MX$135

-26.44%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$7.53 MX$139

$7.86 MX$145

-4.20%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$9.09 MX$168

$12.79 MX$236

-28.93%

Apples (1kg)

$2.63 MX$48.60

$2.90 MX$53.6

-9.31%

Banana (1kg)

$1.37 MX$25.35

$1.44 MX$26.53

-4.86%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.51 MX$27.83

$2.55 MX$47.07

-40.78%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.48 MX$27.32

$2.06 MX$38.03

-28.16%

Potato (1kg)

$2.23 MX$41.12

$2.00 MX$36.97

11.50%

Onion (1kg)

$1.76 MX$32.43

$2.01 MX$37.07

-12.44%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.49 MX$27.58

$1.19 MX$22.02

25.21%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.85 MX$15.77

$1.26 MX$23.23

-32.54%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.49 MX$83.0

$4.40 MX$81.4

2.05%

Wine (Bottle)

$8.24 MX$152

$9.59 MX$177

-14.08%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.32 MX$24.39

$1.59 MX$29.41

-16.98%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.29 MX$23.76

$2.81 MX$51.9

-54.09%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.40 MX$25.80

$0.57 MX$10.47

145.61%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$27.82 MX$514

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$2.79 MX$51.6

$4.98 MX$92.1

-43.98%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$2.48 MX$45.88

$3.50 MX$64.6

-29.14%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$5.57 MX$103

$5.40 MX$99.8

3.15%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.45 MX$26.84

$1.47 MX$27.08

-1.36%

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

$21.1K MX$389.5K

$21.0K MX$387.8K

0.44%

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

$23.5K MX$434.7K

$23.9K MX$441.8K

-1.60%

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

$106 MX$1,967

$84.2 MX$1,556

26.43%

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

$16.36 MX$302

$23.99 MX$443

-31.80%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$34.32 MX$634

$29.02 MX$536

18.26%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$34.91 MX$645

$63.0 MX$1,164

-44.57%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$29.14 MX$539

Cinema Ticket

$6.71 MX$124

$4.94 MX$91.3

35.83%

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

$265 MX$4,900

$204 MX$3,763

30.23%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$2,902 MX$53.6K

$3,941 MX$72.8K

-26.35%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$41.88 MX$774

$43.60 MX$806

-3.94%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$32.57 MX$602

$43.12 MX$797

-24.47%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$97.1 MX$1,794

$75.8 MX$1,400

28.11%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$58.0 MX$1,072

$88.6 MX$1,637

-34.52%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$607 MX$11.2K

$1,008 MX$18.6K

-39.75%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$526 MX$9,714

$374 MX$6,911

40.54%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,498 MX$27.7K

$1,708 MX$31.6K

-12.32%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,273 MX$23.5K

$1,106 MX$20.4K

15.06%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,139 MX$58.0K

$3,944 MX$72.9K

-20.43%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,808 MX$33.4K

$6,169 MX$114.0K

-70.70%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$790 MX$14.6K

$754 MX$13.9K

4.70%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

10.8

11.45

-5.68%

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

Last update for Tulum: October 11, 2026

Last update for Playa del Carmen: October 10, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Tulum

$526 42.4%

Playa del Carmen

$374 30.9% 28.8% $152

Groceries & Markets

Tulum

$218 17.6%

Playa del Carmen

$258 21.4% 18.4% $40

Eating Out

Tulum

$168 13.5%

Playa del Carmen

$202 16.7% 20.6% $35

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Tulum

$157 12.7%

Playa del Carmen

$137 11.3% 12.7% $20

Clothing & Footwear

Tulum

$103 8.3%

Playa del Carmen

$113 9.3% 9.4% $9.7

Sport & Entertainment

Tulum

$48 3.9%

Playa del Carmen

$73 6% 50.7% $25

Getting Around

Tulum

$21 * 1.7%

Playa del Carmen

$53 4.3% 153% $32

Categories marked with * are only partly priced – their share counts the items that do have prices.

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $607 in Tulum versus $1,008 in Playa del Carmen. Rent is usually the largest line item in a monthly budget, so the gap here sets the tone for the overall comparison.

Salaries run about 5% higher in Tulum, which partly offsets the higher cost of living there. Purchasing power depends on which expenses matter most to you.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $55.0 in Tulum versus $43.00 in Playa del Carmen. Groceries tell a different story – $218 in Tulum vs $258 in Playa del Carmen – so Tulum wins on supermarket bills even if dining out costs more.

Good to know

🇲🇽 Tulum

🇲🇽 Playa del Carmen

🕒 Local time

08:50 8:50 AM

Same time as Tulum

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

46,721

149,923

💱 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

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Tulum Playa del Carmen 64 km

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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 Playa del Carmen: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Tulum costs about 3% more than Playa del Carmen, and outside of rent the gap comes mainly from groceries. That's enough to noticeably affect everyday spending and lifestyle for anyone choosing between the two.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $1,862 per month in Tulum and $1,816 in Playa del Carmen. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

Rent is clearly cheaper in Playa del Carmen, especially for central apartments. Housing is actually the single biggest factor behind the overall cost gap between these two cities.

Monthly expenses with rent come to $1,241 in Tulum and $1,210 in Playa del Carmen. That's a gap of about 3%.

Kindergarten costs $265 per month in Tulum and $204 in Playa del Carmen. For families with young kids, this one expense can tip the scales when choosing between the two cities.

A $1,500 monthly budget goes further in Playa del Carmen, where all-in costs run around $1,210, than in Tulum at $1,241. In Playa del Carmen it covers expenses comfortably, while in Tulum it requires careful planning or may not stretch far enough.

Families tend to lean toward Playa del Carmen – lower housing and cheaper childcare make a real difference, especially on a single income or when paying for private education.

If budget matters most, go with Playa del Carmen. If higher salaries, better infrastructure, or specific career opportunities are the priority, Tulum makes more sense. Both are solid long-term options with distinct trade-offs.