Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Edinburgh and Mexico City

For one person, living is cheaper in Mexico City: $1,608 a month against $2,645 in Edinburgh, rent and utilities included – about $12,400 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

128

Cost of Living Index in Edinburgh
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Edinburgh Living Index
78

Cost of Living Index in Mexico City
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Mexico City Living Index

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Edinburgh

🇬🇧 United Kingdom

$2,645

/mo nomad

Mexico City

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,608

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

A single person spends $2,645 per month in Edinburgh vs $1,608 in Mexico City, rent included.

Edinburgh $2,645
Mexico City $1,608

A couple spends around $4,021 per month in Edinburgh vs $2,549 in Mexico City, rent included.

Edinburgh $4,021
Mexico City $2,549

A family of three spends $5,397 per month in Edinburgh vs $3,490 in Mexico City, rent included.

Edinburgh $5,397
Mexico City $3,490

Edinburgh costs about 65% more than Mexico City, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Both Edinburgh and Mexico City sit above the global median – Edinburgh by 94%, Mexico City by 18%.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$24.35 £18.18

$10.62 MX$199

129.28%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$105 £78.6

$48.35 MX$908

117.72%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$10.47 £7.81

$10.35 MX$194

1.16%

Cappuccino

$5.02 £3.75

$3.69 MX$69.3

36.04%

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

$2.41 £1.80

$1.67 MX$31.29

44.31%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.19 £1.64

$1.27 MX$23.76

72.44%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$8.04 £6.00

$3.19 MX$59.9

152.04%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$7.91 £5.91

$5.31 MX$99.6

48.96%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.75 £1.31

$1.72 MX$32.38

1.74%

White Bread (500g)

$2.33 £1.74

$3.04 MX$57.1

-23.36%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.35 £1.75

$1.94 MX$36.44

21.13%

Eggs

$5.13 £3.83

$2.89 MX$54.2

77.51%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$9.05 £6.76

$10.97 MX$206

-17.50%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.26 £6.92

$9.25 MX$174

0.11%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$16.17 £12.08

$15.13 MX$284

6.87%

Apples (1kg)

$3.05 £2.28

$3.05 MX$57.2

Banana (1kg)

$1.87 £1.40

$1.94 MX$36.45

-3.61%

Oranges (1kg)

$3.35 £2.50

$2.03 MX$38.02

65.02%

Tomato (1kg)

$3.75 £2.80

$2.31 MX$43.46

62.34%

Potato (1kg)

$2.05 £1.53

$2.04 MX$38.21

0.49%

Onion (1kg)

$1.53 £1.14

$1.80 MX$33.79

-15.00%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.33 £1.00

$1.48 MX$27.77

-10.14%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.89 £1.41

$1.27 MX$23.80

48.82%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$23.87 £17.82

$5.30 MX$99.6

350.38%

Wine (Bottle)

$10.96 £8.18

$16.10 MX$302

-31.93%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$3.16 £2.36

$1.98 MX$37.23

59.60%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.22 £2.40

$4.25 MX$79.8

-24.24%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$3.13 £2.34

$0.31 MX$5.73

909.68%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$99.8 £74.5

$19.73 MX$371

405.88%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$5.45 £4.07

$1.84 MX$34.50

196.20%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.90 £1.42

$0.53 MX$10.02

258.49%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$28.50 £21.28

$5.30 MX$99.4

437.74%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$2.06 £1.54

$1.51 MX$28.36

36.42%

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

$38.2K £28.5K

$21.8K MX$408.4K

75.76%

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

$39.7K £29.7K

$24.0K MX$450.3K

65.58%

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

$329 £246

$63.0 MX$1,182

422.75%

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

$16.81 £12.55

$27.39 MX$514

-38.63%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$43.13 £32.20

$35.67 MX$670

20.91%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$41.84 £31.24

$58.9 MX$1,107

-29.01%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$23.33 £17.42

$23.64 MX$444

-1.31%

Cinema Ticket

$14.67 £10.95

$6.40 MX$120

129.22%

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

$1,901 £1,419

$432 MX$8,103

340.36%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$25.8K £19.2K

$11.4K MX$214.5K

125.63%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$82.2 £61.4

$68.2 MX$1,281

20.45%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$50.0 £37.34

$53.1 MX$997

-5.89%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$106 £78.9

$108 MX$2,023

-1.93%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$115 £86.0

$117 MX$2,202

-1.75%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,691 £1,263

$1,113 MX$20.9K

51.87%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,205 £900

$710 MX$13.3K

69.61%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,959 £2,209

$2,588 MX$48.6K

14.33%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$2,184 £1,631

$1,406 MX$26.4K

55.37%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$6,388 £4,769

$3,631 MX$68.2K

75.92%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$4,514 £3,370

$2,135 MX$40.1K

111.41%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$3,632 £2,712

$946 MX$17.8K

283.87%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

4.77

11.35

-57.97%

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

Last update for Edinburgh: October 26, 2026

Last update for Mexico City: October 25, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Edinburgh

$1.2K 45.6%

Mexico City

$710 44.2% 41% $495

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Edinburgh

$389 14.7%

Mexico City

$126 7.8% 67.6% $263

Eating Out

Edinburgh

$361 13.6%

Mexico City

$199 12.4% 45% $162

Groceries & Markets

Edinburgh

$333 12.6%

Mexico City

$320 19.9% 4% $13

Clothing & Footwear

Edinburgh

$159 6%

Mexico City

$156 9.7% 1.9% $3

Getting Around

Edinburgh

$127 4.8%

Mexico City

$25 1.6% 80% $102

Sport & Entertainment

Edinburgh

$71 2.7%

Mexico City

$72 4.5% 0.8% $0.6

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $1,691 in Edinburgh versus $1,113 in Mexico City. Rent is usually the largest line item in a monthly budget, so the gap here sets the tone for the overall comparison.

Salaries in Edinburgh are about 3.8 times higher. Purchasing power depends on which expenses matter most to you.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $105 in Edinburgh versus $48 in Mexico City. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $333 vs $320 – making Mexico City the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇬🇧 Edinburgh

🇲🇽 Mexico City

🕒 Local time

08:48 8:48 AM

02:48 2:48 AM

6 h behind Edinburgh

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

488,050

9,209,944 Capital

💱 Currency

British Pound GBP £

Mexican Peso MXN $

📈 Exchange rate

1 GBP = 1.34 USD

1 GBP = 1.2 EUR

100 MXN = 5.33 USD

100 MXN = 4.77 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 November 1, 2026: 1 USD = 0.747 GBP (1 GBP = 1.34 USD). 1 EUR = 0.834 GBP (1 GBP = 1.2 EUR).

Mexican Peso exchange rates as of November 1, 2026: 1 USD = 18.77 MXN (100 MXN = 5.33 USD). 1 EUR = 20.96 MXN (100 MXN = 4.77 EUR).

USD to GBP in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Edinburgh Mexico City 8,590 km ≈ 11 h nonstop flight

From you

Edinburgh
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

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

Yes – Edinburgh is pricier by about 65%, and outside of rent the gap shows up most in eating out.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $3,968 per month in Edinburgh and $2,412 in Mexico City. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

Rent is clearly cheaper in Mexico City, especially for central apartments: a one-bedroom in the center costs $1,113 there versus $1,691 in Edinburgh.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $105 in Edinburgh and $48 in Mexico City. That’s a good indicator of the overall restaurant and café pricing gap between the two cities.

Monthly expenses with rent come to $2,645 in Edinburgh and $1,608 in Mexico City. That makes Mexico City about 39% cheaper.

$3,000 covers both cities comfortably – all-in costs are $2,645 in Edinburgh and $1,608 in Mexico City, leaving budget for savings and extras in both cases.

Families tend to lean toward Mexico City – lower housing and cheaper childcare make a real difference, especially on a single income or when paying for private education.

If budget matters most, go with Mexico City. If higher salaries or specific career opportunities are the priority, Edinburgh makes more sense. Both are solid long-term options with distinct trade-offs.