Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Dien Bien Phu and Mexico City

For one person, living is cheaper in Dien Bien Phu: $779 a month against $1,608 in Mexico City, rent and utilities included – about $9,900 less a year. Rent and utilities account for about half of the difference.

37

Cost of Living Index in Dien Bien Phu
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Dien Bien Phu Living Index
78

Cost of Living Index in Mexico City
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Mexico City Living Index

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Dien Bien Phu

🇻🇳 Vietnam

$779

/mo nomad

Mexico City

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,608

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $779 in Dien Bien Phu versus $1,608 in Mexico City.

Dien Bien Phu $779
Mexico City $1,608

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,255 in Dien Bien Phu versus $2,549 in Mexico City.

Dien Bien Phu $1,255
Mexico City $2,549

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $1,730 in Dien Bien Phu versus $3,490 in Mexico City.

Dien Bien Phu $1,730
Mexico City $3,490

Living in Dien Bien Phu costs roughly 52% less than in Mexico City, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Dien Bien Phu is 43% below, Mexico City is 18% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$2.08 ₫53.6K

$10.62 MX$198

-80.41%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$19.33 ₫499.5K

$48.35 MX$901

-60.02%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$4.37 ₫113.0K

$10.35 MX$193

-57.78%

Cappuccino

$1.67 ₫43.1K

$3.69 MX$68.8

-54.74%

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

$0.55 ₫14.2K

$1.67 MX$31.07

-67.07%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.31 ₫7,985

$1.27 MX$23.59

-75.59%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$0.93 ₫24.0K

$3.19 MX$59.5

-70.85%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.50 ₫38.8K

$5.31 MX$98.9

-71.75%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.47 ₫38.0K

$1.72 MX$32.15

-14.53%

White Bread (500g)

$1.11 ₫28.8K

$3.04 MX$56.7

-63.49%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$0.99 ₫25.7K

$1.94 MX$36.19

-48.97%

Eggs

$1.49 ₫38.4K

$2.89 MX$53.8

-48.44%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$12.30 ₫317.8K

$10.97 MX$205

12.12%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$3.64 ₫94.1K

$9.25 MX$172

-60.65%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$9.84 ₫254.1K

$15.13 MX$282

-34.96%

Apples (1kg)

$3.08 ₫79.6K

$3.05 MX$56.8

0.98%

Banana (1kg)

$1.11 ₫28.7K

$1.94 MX$36.19

-42.78%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.36 ₫35.2K

$2.03 MX$37.75

-33.00%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.24 ₫32.0K

$2.31 MX$43.15

-46.32%

Potato (1kg)

$0.92 ₫23.8K

$2.04 MX$37.94

-54.90%

Onion (1kg)

$1.10 ₫28.4K

$1.80 MX$33.55

-38.89%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.63 ₫16.2K

$1.48 MX$27.58

-57.43%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.55 ₫14.3K

$1.27 MX$23.63

-56.69%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$1.39 ₫35.8K

$5.30 MX$98.9

-73.77%

Wine (Bottle)

$11.46 ₫296.0K

$16.10 MX$300

-28.82%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$0.91 ₫23.5K

$1.98 MX$36.97

-54.04%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.74 ₫44.9K

$4.25 MX$79.3

-59.06%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.35 ₫8,933

$0.31 MX$5.69

12.90%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$6.71 ₫173.3K

$19.73 MX$368

-65.99%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$0.79 ₫20.3K

$1.84 MX$34.25

-57.07%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.59 ₫15.3K

$0.53 MX$9.94

11.32%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$2.53 ₫65.4K

$5.30 MX$98.7

-52.26%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$0.96 ₫24.8K

$1.51 MX$28.16

-36.42%

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

$30.5K ₫786.7M

$21.8K MX$405.5K

39.99%

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

$28.4K ₫733.5M

$24.0K MX$447.1K

18.37%

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

$77.5 ₫2.0M

$63.0 MX$1,174

22.98%

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

$5.84 ₫150.8K

$27.39 MX$511

-78.68%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$8.63 ₫223.0K

$35.67 MX$665

-75.81%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$23.13 ₫597.5K

$58.9 MX$1,099

-60.76%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$7.77 ₫200.8K

$23.64 MX$441

-67.13%

Cinema Ticket

$3.35 ₫86.5K

$6.40 MX$119

-47.66%

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

$187 ₫4.8M

$432 MX$8,045

-56.78%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$13.6K ₫351.0M

$11.4K MX$212.9K

18.93%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$46.55 ₫1.2M

$68.2 MX$1,272

-31.76%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$26.46 ₫683.6K

$53.1 MX$990

-50.20%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$83.4 ₫2.2M

$108 MX$2,009

-22.62%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$79.0 ₫2.0M

$117 MX$2,186

-32.64%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$403 ₫10.4M

$1,113 MX$20.8K

-63.85%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$280 ₫7.2M

$710 MX$13.2K

-60.60%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$819 ₫21.2M

$2,588 MX$48.2K

-68.34%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$632 ₫16.3M

$1,406 MX$26.2K

-55.06%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,205 ₫57.0M

$3,631 MX$67.7K

-39.28%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,208 ₫31.2M

$2,135 MX$39.8K

-43.40%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$946 MX$17.6K

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

8.28

11.35

-27.05%

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

Last update for Dien Bien Phu: October 27, 2026

Last update for Mexico City: October 25, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Dien Bien Phu

$280 35.9%

Mexico City

$710 44.2% 154% $431

Groceries & Markets

Dien Bien Phu

$199 25.6%

Mexico City

$320 19.9% 60.4% $120

Clothing & Footwear

Dien Bien Phu

$106 13.6%

Mexico City

$156 9.7% 47.2% $50

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Dien Bien Phu

$92 11.8%

Mexico City

$126 7.8% 37.1% $34

Eating Out

Dien Bien Phu

$61 7.8%

Mexico City

$199 12.4% 226% $138

Sport & Entertainment

Dien Bien Phu

$30 3.8%

Mexico City

$72 4.5% 141% $42

Getting Around

Dien Bien Phu

$12 1.5%

Mexico City

$25 1.6% 115% $14

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $403 in Dien Bien Phu and $1,113 in Mexico City. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Dining out: $19 in Dien Bien Phu vs $48 in Mexico City for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $199 vs $320 per month, with Dien Bien Phu cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇻🇳 Dien Bien Phu

🇲🇽 Mexico City

🕒 Local time

09:15 9:15 AM

20:15 8:15 PM

13 h behind Dien Bien Phu

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

80,366

9,209,944 Capital

💱 Currency

Vietnamese Dong VND ₫

Mexican Peso MXN $

📈 Exchange rate

100,000 VND = 3.87 USD

100,000 VND = 3.48 EUR

100 MXN = 5.36 USD

100 MXN = 4.82 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

MXN, USD, EUR to VND – Vietnamese Dong Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇻🇳 Vietnamese Dong (₫)

Vietnamese Dong exchange rates as of October 29, 2026: 1 USD = 25,832 VND (100,000 VND = 3.87 USD). 1 EUR = 28,757 VND (100,000 VND = 3.48 EUR).

Mexican Peso exchange rates as of October 29, 2026: 1 USD = 18.64 MXN (100 MXN = 5.36 USD). 1 EUR = 20.75 MXN (100 MXN = 4.82 EUR).

USD to VND in detail →

On the map

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Highest

Between locations

Dien Bien Phu Mexico City 14,880 km ≈ 19 h nonstop flight

From you

Dien Bien Phu
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

Dien Bien Phu vs Mexico City: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Dien Bien Phu is about 52% cheaper overall, especially in eating out, groceries, and clothing. That difference adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

You’d need roughly $1,169 in Dien Bien Phu and $2,412 in Mexico City to live well. The gap comes down to housing and overall price levels. Both cities are liveable on less, but these numbers represent actual comfort.

Rent for a central apartment: $403 in Dien Bien Phu versus $1,113 in Mexico City. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Dining out is cheaper in Dien Bien Phu – a meal for two runs $19 versus $48 in Mexico City. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

All in, you’ll spend $779 per month in Dien Bien Phu versus $1,608 in Mexico City – Dien Bien Phu is about 52% cheaper, which adds up to real savings over time.

At $779 in Dien Bien Phu versus $1,608 in Mexico City, a $1,000 budget is realistic in Dien Bien Phu but tight or insufficient in Mexico City. The gap between the two cities makes Dien Bien Phu 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.

Expats usually find Dien Bien Phu gentler on the wallet – expenses run 52% less than in Mexico City. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.