Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Brighton and Mexico City

For one person, living is cheaper in Mexico City: $1,548 a month against $2,950 in Brighton, rent and utilities included – about $16,800 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

143

Cost of Living Index in Brighton
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Brighton Living Index
75

Cost of Living Index in Mexico City
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Mexico City Living Index

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Brighton

🇬🇧 United Kingdom

$2,950

/mo nomad

Mexico City

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,548

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Brighton 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 Brighton and in Mexico City actually costs, broken down by who's living it.

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,950 in Brighton versus $1,548 in Mexico City.

Brighton $2,950
Mexico City $1,548

Estimated couple costs with rent: $4,214 in Brighton versus $2,436 in Mexico City.

Brighton $4,214
Mexico City $2,436

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $5,479 in Brighton versus $3,323 in Mexico City.

Brighton $5,479
Mexico City $3,323

Living in Brighton is roughly 91% more expensive than in Mexico City, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Both cities are pricier than the global median: Brighton 118% above, Mexico City 14% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$25.54 £19.16

$11.02 MX$204

131.76%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$92.8 £69.6

$48.68 MX$900

90.61%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$9.77 £7.33

$10.90 MX$201

-10.37%

Cappuccino

$5.33 £4.00

$3.68 MX$68.1

44.84%

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

$3.93 £2.95

$1.63 MX$30.18

141.10%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.33 £2.50

$1.25 MX$23.07

166.40%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$8.96 £6.72

$3.25 MX$60.1

175.69%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$9.49 £7.12

$5.53 MX$102

71.61%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.95 £1.47

$1.70 MX$31.50

14.71%

White Bread (500g)

$2.06 £1.54

$3.02 MX$55.8

-31.79%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.12 £1.59

$1.92 MX$35.53

10.42%

Eggs

$4.53 £3.40

$2.73 MX$50.5

65.93%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$12.10 £9.08

$11.77 MX$218

2.80%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.40 £7.05

$9.53 MX$176

-1.36%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$15.08 £11.31

$14.41 MX$266

4.65%

Apples (1kg)

$2.95 £2.22

$3.02 MX$55.8

-2.32%

Banana (1kg)

$1.91 £1.43

$1.89 MX$35.01

1.06%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.90 £2.17

$1.99 MX$36.70

45.73%

Tomato (1kg)

$3.76 £2.82

$2.19 MX$40.38

71.69%

Potato (1kg)

$2.24 £1.68

$1.92 MX$35.43

16.67%

Onion (1kg)

$1.80 £1.35

$1.87 MX$34.49

-3.74%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.20 £0.90

$1.44 MX$26.62

-16.67%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.65 £1.24

$1.27 MX$23.39

29.92%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$23.98 £17.99

$5.22 MX$96.4

359.39%

Wine (Bottle)

$11.11 £8.33

$16.17 MX$299

-31.29%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$3.08 £2.31

$1.90 MX$35.03

62.11%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.24 £2.43

$4.22 MX$78.0

-23.22%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$3.94 £2.96

$0.34 MX$6.30

1058.82%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$128 £96.4

$19.65 MX$363

553.79%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$5.07 £3.81

$2.00 MX$36.90

153.50%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$2.62 £1.96

$0.52 MX$9.67

403.85%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$39.62 £29.72

$5.34 MX$98.7

641.95%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$2.09 £1.57

$1.52 MX$28.13

37.50%

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

$38.4K £28.8K

$22.1K MX$408.0K

73.97%

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

$41.1K £30.9K

$24.5K MX$452.9K

67.85%

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

$291 £218

$61.1 MX$1,129

376.62%

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

$16.90 £12.68

$28.58 MX$528

-40.87%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$44.87 £33.66

$34.47 MX$637

30.17%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$51.2 £38.38

$56.4 MX$1,042

-9.24%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$26.89 £20.17

$24.88 MX$460

8.08%

Cinema Ticket

$17.32 £12.99

$6.66 MX$123

160.06%

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

$2,062 £1,547

$427 MX$7,891

382.86%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$30.8K £23.1K

$11.6K MX$215.0K

164.30%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$89.9 £67.5

$67.8 MX$1,253

32.64%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$45.51 £34.14

$52.0 MX$960

-12.41%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$102 £76.8

$106 MX$1,959

-3.44%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$90.7 £68.1

$113 MX$2,080

-19.38%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,887 £1,416

$1,025 MX$18.9K

84.15%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,480 £1,110

$654 MX$12.1K

126.17%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,833 £2,125

$2,308 MX$42.7K

22.71%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$2,233 £1,675

$1,242 MX$22.9K

79.80%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$8,467 £6,352

$3,613 MX$66.8K

134.36%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$6,148 £4,612

$1,936 MX$35.8K

217.57%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$3,380 £2,536

$964 MX$17.8K

250.64%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

5.12

11.3

-54.69%

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

Last update for Brighton: October 18, 2026

Last update for Mexico City: October 20, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Brighton

$1.5K 50.2%

Mexico City

$654 42.3% 55.8% $825

Eating Out

Brighton

$390 13.2%

Mexico City

$204 13.2% 47.8% $187

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Brighton

$353 12%

Mexico City

$124 8% 64.8% $229

Groceries & Markets

Brighton

$331 11.2%

Mexico City

$318 20.6% 3.9% $13

Getting Around

Brighton

$162 5.5%

Mexico City

$26 1.7% 84.2% $137

Clothing & Footwear

Brighton

$148 5%

Mexico City

$152 9.8% 3% $4.4

Sport & Entertainment

Brighton

$86 2.9%

Mexico City

$70 4.5% 18.8% $16

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,887 in Brighton and $1,025 in Mexico City. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Brighton pays 251% 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: $93.0 in Brighton vs $49.00 in Mexico City for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $331 vs $318 per month, with Mexico City cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇬🇧 Brighton

🇲🇽 Mexico City

🕒 Local time

11:50 11:50 AM

04:50 4:50 AM

7 h behind Brighton

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

256,000

9,209,944 Capital

💱 Currency

British Pound GBP £

Mexican Peso MXN $

📈 Exchange rate

1 GBP = 1.33 USD

1 GBP = 1.19 EUR

100 MXN = 5.41 USD

100 MXN = 4.81 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

MXN, USD, EUR to GBP – British Pound Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇬🇧 British Pound (£)

British Pound exchange rates as of October 20, 2026: 1 USD = 0.75 GBP (1 GBP = 1.33 USD). 1 EUR = 0.843 GBP (1 GBP = 1.19 EUR).

Mexican Peso exchange rates as of October 20, 2026: 1 USD = 18.48 MXN (100 MXN = 5.41 USD). 1 EUR = 20.77 MXN (100 MXN = 4.81 EUR).

USD to GBP in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Brighton Mexico City 8,950 km ≈ 12 h nonstop flight

From you

Brighton
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

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

Brighton and Mexico City differ by about 91% in total monthly costs ($2,950 vs $1,548 including rent). Mexico City is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

Average pay runs 251% higher in Brighton, 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: $1,887 in Brighton versus $1,025 in Mexico City. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $2,062 in Brighton versus $427 in Mexico City. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Supermarket bills run roughly 4% higher in Brighton. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

At $1,548 in Mexico City versus $2,950 in Brighton, a $2,000 budget is realistic in Mexico City but tight or insufficient in Brighton. The gap between the two cities makes Mexico City the clear choice for anyone on this budget.

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.

Safety-wise, Brighton 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 Mexico City gentler on the wallet – expenses run 91% less than in Brighton. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.