NavoyNostos

Sayulita vs Tulum

for digital nomads

Under balanced weights Tulum edges it, 63 to 62, winning 3 of the 9 factors. Sayulita is stronger on nothing outright; Tulum on nothing outright. Change the weights in the ranker to see which one wins for you.

Cost of living: 5.2 of 62 points (scores 47/100)Safety: 3.2 of 62 points (scores 28/100)Healthcare: 7.4 of 62 points (scores 67/100)Internet: 6.9 of 62 points (scores 62/100)Visa ease: 10.0 of 62 points (scores 90/100)Getting there & around: 6.0 of 62 points (scores 54/100)Climate: 7.4 of 62 points (scores 67/100)Air quality: 10.3 of 62 points (scores 93/100)Quality of life: 6.0 of 62 points (scores 54/100)62
Sayulita
out of 100

Pacific surf village with a boho nomad scene

Full Sayulita profile →Hotels in Mexico →
Cost of living: 5.0 of 63 points (scores 45/100)Safety: 3.2 of 63 points (scores 28/100)Healthcare: 7.4 of 63 points (scores 67/100)Internet: 6.4 of 63 points (scores 58/100)Visa ease: 10.0 of 63 points (scores 90/100)Getting there & around: 6.5 of 63 points (scores 59/100)Climate: 8.3 of 63 points (scores 75/100)Air quality: 10.4 of 63 points (scores 93/100)Quality of life: 6.0 of 63 points (scores 54/100)63
Tulum
out of 100

Caribbean beach and jungle, at a premium

Full Tulum profile →Plan a trip to Tulum →

Factor scores (0–100, balanced weights)

MetricSayulitaTulum
Cost of living47 ✓45
Safety2828
Healthcare6767
Internet62 ✓58
Visa ease9090
Getting there & around5459 ✓
Climate6775 ✓
Air quality9393 ✓
Quality of life5454

Cost

MetricSayulitaTulum
Monthly cost, one personcountry-level estimate for at least one city$1,400 ✓$1,467
Central one-bedroom rentno data$836

Safety and health (country-level)

MetricSayulitaTulum
Homicides per 100k25.6425.64
Political stability (0–100)5555
UHC service coverage (0–100)7979
Life expectancy70.8 yrs70.8 yrs

Internet (M-Lab measured medians)

MetricSayulitaTulum
Download25.2 Mbps ✓19.3 Mbps
Upload9 Mbps ✓8.8 Mbps

Visa

MetricSayulitaTulum
Nomad visanone listednone listed
Minimum income for the visano datano data
Entry, US passport180 days180 days
Entry, EU passport180 days180 days
Entry, UK passport180 days180 days

Getting there and around

MetricSayulitaTulum
Non-stop airport destinations50134 ✓
Walkability (1–5, editorial)4 ✓3
Transit (1–5, editorial)11

Climate and air

MetricSayulitaTulum
Comfortable months per year89 ✓
Annual mean PM2.58.2 µg/m³8 µg/m³ ✓

✓ marks the better value in each row; ties and missing data are left unmarked.

Frequently asked

Which is cheaper, Sayulita or Tulum?
Sayulita is cheaper: about $1,400 per month versus $1,467 for one person.
Is Sayulita or Tulum safer?
Sayulita scores higher on safety (28 vs 28), based on national homicide rates and World Bank political-stability scores.
Where is the internet faster, Sayulita or Tulum?
Sayulita: a measured median of 25.2 Mbps versus 19.3 Mbps (M-Lab, 2024).

More comparisons

Sources: Cost of Living Global 2026 (city rows); 2026 Cost of Living Index (country level); Worldwide Governance Indicators — Political Stability and Absence of Violence (score 0–100); Victims of intentional homicide per 100,000 population (national data, latest year); UHC service coverage index; Life expectancy at birth (years), both sexes; M-Lab NDT statistics (city aggregates, 2024); Airport destinations (Wikipedia airline and destination tables); NASA POWER climatology (2001–2020 monthly means); SatPM2.5 satellite-derived annual PM2.5 (V6.GL.02.04); Human Development Index (HDR 2025, HDI 2023); EF English Proficiency Index 2024 (band); Walkability and transit ratings (editorial); Passport Index dataset (visa requirements, 199 passports × 199 destinations); WhereNext city cost estimates 2026 (city pages); OpenStreetMap restaurants (Overpass API); Nostos long-stay visa guides; Starlink availability map. Dataset 2026.10.7. See each city page for per-metric footnotes and the methodology.