Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Barcelos and Mexico City

For one person, living is cheaper in Barcelos: $1,190 a month against $1,567 in Mexico City, rent and utilities included – about $4,500 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

57

Cost of Living Index in Barcelos
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Barcelos Living Index
76

Cost of Living Index in Mexico City
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Mexico City Living Index

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Barcelos

🇵🇹 Portugal

$1,190

/mo nomad

Mexico City

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,567

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Barcelos and in Mexico City

Real prices from locals and on-the-ground checks – rent, groceries, transit and the daily extras. Here's what a month in Barcelos and in Mexico City actually costs, broken down by who's living it.

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,190 in Barcelos versus $1,567 in Mexico City.

Barcelos $1,190
Mexico City $1,567

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,885 in Barcelos versus $2,450 in Mexico City.

Barcelos $1,885
Mexico City $2,450

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $2,579 in Barcelos versus $3,333 in Mexico City.

Barcelos $2,579
Mexico City $3,333

Living in Barcelos costs roughly 24% less than in Mexico City, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

The two cities straddle the global median: Barcelos is 12% below, Mexico City is 16% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$11.09 €9.86

$10.75 MX$199

3.16%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$48.16 €42.84

$50.3 MX$929

-4.16%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$8.85 €7.87

$11.10 MX$205

-20.27%

Cappuccino

$1.84 €1.63

$3.68 MX$68.1

-50.00%

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

$1.93 €1.72

$1.65 MX$30.42

16.97%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.32 €1.18

$1.30 MX$24.08

1.54%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.37 €3.00

$3.32 MX$61.3

1.51%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.84 €2.52

$5.54 MX$102

-48.74%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.11 €0.99

$1.77 MX$32.68

-37.29%

White Bread (500g)

$1.85 €1.65

$3.05 MX$56.4

-39.34%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.79 €1.59

$2.01 MX$37.20

-10.95%

Eggs

$3.30 €2.94

$2.77 MX$51.1

19.13%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$11.93 €10.61

$11.91 MX$220

0.17%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$8.04 €7.15

$9.33 MX$172

-13.83%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$14.83 €13.19

$15.02 MX$278

-1.26%

Apples (1kg)

$1.98 €1.76

$3.08 MX$56.8

-35.71%

Banana (1kg)

$1.37 €1.22

$1.95 MX$35.97

-29.74%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.86 €1.65

$2.03 MX$37.54

-8.37%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.52 €2.25

$2.21 MX$40.92

14.03%

Potato (1kg)

$1.72 €1.53

$2.02 MX$37.41

-14.85%

Onion (1kg)

$1.84 €1.63

$1.82 MX$33.67

1.10%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.54 €1.37

$1.52 MX$28.07

1.32%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.97 €0.87

$1.28 MX$23.65

-24.22%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$6.56 €5.84

$5.27 MX$97.4

24.48%

Wine (Bottle)

$4.58 €4.08

$16.12 MX$298

-71.59%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.19 €1.05

$1.95 MX$36.05

-38.97%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.20 €1.95

$4.25 MX$78.6

-48.24%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$2.29 €2.03

$0.31 MX$5.82

638.71%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$22.15 €19.70

$19.85 MX$367

11.59%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$4.27 €3.80

$2.00 MX$36.93

113.50%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.43 €1.27

$0.53 MX$9.86

169.81%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$16.25 €14.46

$5.62 MX$104

189.15%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$2.15 €1.91

$1.52 MX$28.07

41.45%

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

$33.2K €29.5K

$21.0K MX$388.7K

57.81%

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

$37.8K €33.7K

$25.2K MX$465.3K

50.27%

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

$111 €98.8

$62.5 MX$1,155

77.71%

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

$17.73 €15.77

$28.77 MX$532

-38.37%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$44.28 €39.39

$34.45 MX$637

28.53%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$38.52 €34.27

$57.1 MX$1,055

-32.54%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$6.57 €5.84

$24.81 MX$458

-73.52%

Cinema Ticket

$9.12 €8.11

$6.67 MX$123

36.73%

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

$339 €302

$431 MX$7,964

-21.24%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$6,374 €5,670

$11.7K MX$216.9K

-45.71%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$72.5 €64.5

$70.8 MX$1,308

2.46%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$37.75 €33.58

$51.8 MX$958

-27.17%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$78.7 €70.0

$109 MX$2,011

-27.66%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$105 €93.4

$112 MX$2,076

-6.53%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$494 €439

$1,051 MX$19.4K

-53.05%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$357 €318

$665 MX$12.3K

-46.29%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$895 €796

$2,346 MX$43.3K

-61.84%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$696 €619

$1,227 MX$22.7K

-43.28%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,651 €2,358

$3,554 MX$65.7K

-25.39%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,510 €1,343

$1,977 MX$36.5K

-23.63%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,072 €954

$975 MX$18.0K

10.02%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

3.7

11.3

-67.26%

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

Last update for Barcelos: October 10, 2026

Last update for Mexico City: October 11, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Barcelos

$357 30%

Mexico City

$665 42.4% 86.2% $308

Groceries & Markets

Barcelos

$255 21.4%

Mexico City

$323 20.6% 26.7% $68

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Barcelos

$173 14.6%

Mexico City

$126 8% 27.4% $47

Eating Out

Barcelos

$173 14.5%

Mexico City

$203 13% 17.5% $30

Clothing & Footwear

Barcelos

$132 11.1%

Mexico City

$155 9.9% 16.9% $22

Sport & Entertainment

Barcelos

$57 4.8%

Mexico City

$70 4.5% 24.1% $14

Getting Around

Barcelos

$43 3.6%

Mexico City

$26 1.6% 39.6% $17

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $494 in Barcelos and $1,051 in Mexico City. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Barcelos pays 10% more on average while also being the cheaper of the two. The combined effect is a noticeably stronger local purchasing power.

Dining out: $48.00 in Barcelos vs $50.0 in Mexico City for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $255 vs $323 per month, with Barcelos cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇵🇹 Barcelos

🇲🇽 Mexico City

🕒 Local time

02:03 2:03 AM

19:03 7:03 PM

7 h behind Barcelos

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

116,766

9,209,944 Capital

💱 Currency

Euro EUR €

Mexican Peso MXN $

📈 Exchange rate

1 EUR = 1.12 USD

100 MXN = 5.41 USD

100 MXN = 4.81 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

MXN, USD to EUR – Euro Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇪🇺 Euro (€)

Euro exchange rates as of October 19, 2026: 1 USD = 0.889 EUR (1 EUR = 1.12 USD).

Mexican Peso exchange rates as of October 19, 2026: 1 USD = 18.48 MXN (100 MXN = 5.41 USD). 1 EUR = 20.77 MXN (100 MXN = 4.81 EUR).

USD to EUR in detail →

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Barcelos Mexico City 8,630 km ≈ 11 h nonstop flight

From you

Barcelos
Mexico City

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

Barcelos vs Mexico City: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Barcelos is cheaper overall, especially in groceries, eating out, and clothing. The 32% gap adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

Average pay runs 10% higher in Barcelos, 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: $494 in Barcelos versus $1,051 in Mexico City. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Supermarket bills run roughly 27% higher in Mexico City. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

Dining out is cheaper in Barcelos – a meal for two runs $48.00 versus $50.0 in Mexico City. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

At $1,190 in Barcelos versus $1,567 in Mexico City, a $1,500 budget is realistic in Barcelos but tight or insufficient in Mexico City. The gap between the two cities makes Barcelos the clear choice for anyone on this budget.

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

Safety-wise, Barcelos and Mexico City 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 Barcelos gentler on the wallet – expenses run 32% less than in Mexico City. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.