Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Cardiff and Mexico City

For one person, living is cheaper in Mexico City: $1,567 a month against $2,454 in Cardiff, rent and utilities included – about $10,600 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

119

Cost of Living Index in Cardiff
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Cardiff Living Index
76

Cost of Living Index in Mexico City
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Mexico City Living Index

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Cardiff

🇬🇧 United Kingdom

$2,454

/mo nomad

Mexico City

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,567

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,454 in Cardiff versus $1,567 in Mexico City.

Cardiff $2,454
Mexico City $1,567

Estimated couple costs with rent: $3,414 in Cardiff versus $2,450 in Mexico City.

Cardiff $3,414
Mexico City $2,450

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $4,373 in Cardiff versus $3,333 in Mexico City.

Cardiff $4,373
Mexico City $3,333

Living in Cardiff is roughly 57% 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: Cardiff 82% above, Mexico City 16% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$20.04 £15.04

$10.75 MX$199

86.42%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$83.4 £62.6

$50.3 MX$929

66.01%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$10.74 £8.06

$11.10 MX$205

-3.24%

Cappuccino

$4.45 £3.34

$3.68 MX$68.1

20.92%

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

$2.92 £2.19

$1.65 MX$30.42

76.97%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.00 £1.50

$1.30 MX$24.08

53.85%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$7.80 £5.85

$3.32 MX$61.3

134.94%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$6.32 £4.74

$5.54 MX$102

14.08%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.72 £1.29

$1.77 MX$32.68

-2.82%

White Bread (500g)

$1.43 £1.07

$3.05 MX$56.4

-53.11%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.15 £1.61

$2.01 MX$37.20

6.97%

Eggs

$3.62 £2.72

$2.77 MX$51.1

30.69%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$9.47 £7.11

$11.91 MX$220

-20.49%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$8.85 £6.64

$9.33 MX$172

-5.14%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$16.18 £12.14

$15.02 MX$278

7.72%

Apples (1kg)

$2.80 £2.10

$3.08 MX$56.8

-9.09%

Banana (1kg)

$1.55 £1.16

$1.95 MX$35.97

-20.51%

Oranges (1kg)

$3.03 £2.28

$2.03 MX$37.54

49.26%

Tomato (1kg)

$3.51 £2.63

$2.21 MX$40.92

58.82%

Potato (1kg)

$1.99 £1.50

$2.02 MX$37.41

-1.49%

Onion (1kg)

$1.54 £1.15

$1.82 MX$33.67

-15.38%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.09 £0.82

$1.52 MX$28.07

-28.29%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.64 £1.23

$1.28 MX$23.65

28.12%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$23.08 £17.31

$5.27 MX$97.4

337.95%

Wine (Bottle)

$11.07 £8.31

$16.12 MX$298

-31.33%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$3.05 £2.29

$1.95 MX$36.05

56.41%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.31 £2.48

$4.25 MX$78.6

-22.12%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$3.21 £2.41

$0.31 MX$5.82

935.48%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$79.1 £59.3

$19.85 MX$367

298.34%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$4.58 £3.44

$2.00 MX$36.93

129.00%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.66 £1.25

$0.53 MX$9.86

213.21%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$35.87 £26.91

$5.62 MX$104

538.26%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$2.06 £1.55

$1.52 MX$28.07

35.53%

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

$37.9K £28.4K

$21.0K MX$388.7K

79.96%

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

$40.9K £30.7K

$25.2K MX$465.3K

62.30%

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

$335 £252

$62.5 MX$1,155

436.74%

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

$25.35 £19.02

$28.77 MX$532

-11.89%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$43.54 £32.67

$34.45 MX$637

26.39%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$37.26 £27.95

$57.1 MX$1,055

-34.75%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$11.37 £8.53

$24.81 MX$458

-54.17%

Cinema Ticket

$10.36 £7.77

$6.67 MX$123

55.32%

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

$1,990 £1,493

$431 MX$7,964

361.68%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$32.5K £24.4K

$11.7K MX$216.9K

177.10%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$97.8 £73.4

$70.8 MX$1,308

38.13%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$48.54 £36.41

$51.8 MX$958

-6.35%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$116 £86.9

$109 MX$2,011

6.45%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$99.4 £74.6

$112 MX$2,076

-11.47%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,168 £876

$1,051 MX$19.4K

11.08%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,102 £826

$665 MX$12.3K

65.65%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,136 £1,602

$2,346 MX$43.3K

-8.96%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,482 £1,112

$1,227 MX$22.7K

20.81%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$5,255 £3,942

$3,554 MX$65.7K

47.88%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$3,432 £2,575

$1,977 MX$36.5K

73.58%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$3,179 £2,385

$975 MX$18.0K

226.13%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

5.11

11.3

-54.78%

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

Last update for Cardiff: October 12, 2026

Last update for Mexico City: October 11, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Cardiff

$1.1K 44.9%

Mexico City

$665 42.4% 39.6% $437

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Cardiff

$404 16.5%

Mexico City

$126 8% 68.9% $279

Eating Out

Cardiff

$317 12.9%

Mexico City

$203 13% 36% $114

Groceries & Markets

Cardiff

$306 12.5%

Mexico City

$323 20.6% 5.5% $17

Clothing & Footwear

Cardiff

$163 6.6%

Mexico City

$155 9.9% 4.9% $8

Getting Around

Cardiff

$105 4.3%

Mexico City

$26 1.6% 75.4% $79

Sport & Entertainment

Cardiff

$58 2.4%

Mexico City

$70 4.5% 21.5% $12

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,168 in Cardiff and $1,051 in Mexico City. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Cardiff pays 226% 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: $83.0 in Cardiff vs $50.0 in Mexico City. Groceries flip the comparison at $306 vs $323, with Cardiff cheaper for home cooking.

Good to know

🇬🇧 Cardiff

🇲🇽 Mexico City

🕒 Local time

20:37 8:37 PM

13:37 1:37 PM

7 h behind Cardiff

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

346,100

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 18, 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 18, 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

Cardiff Mexico City 8,730 km ≈ 11 h nonstop flight

From you

Cardiff
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

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

Cardiff and Mexico City differ by about 57% in total monthly costs ($2,454 vs $1,567 including rent). Mexico City is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

Average pay runs 226% higher in Cardiff, 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: $1,168 in Cardiff versus $1,051 in Mexico City. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Dining out is cheaper in Mexico City – a meal for two runs $50.0 versus $83.0 in Cardiff. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

All in, you'll spend $2,454 per month in Cardiff versus $1,567 in Mexico City – a 57% gap that adds up to real savings over time for anyone picking the cheaper option.

At $1,567 in Mexico City versus $2,454 in Cardiff, a $2,000 budget is realistic in Mexico City but tight or insufficient in Cardiff. 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, Cardiff 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 57% less than in Cardiff. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.