Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between El Calafate and Mexico City

For one person, living is cheaper in El Calafate: $961 a month against $1,567 in Mexico City, rent and utilities included – about $7,300 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

47

Cost of Living Index in El Calafate
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El Calafate Living Index
76

Cost of Living Index in Mexico City
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Mexico City Living Index

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El Calafate

🇦🇷 Argentina

$961

/mo nomad

Mexico City

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,567

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $961 in El Calafate versus $1,567 in Mexico City.

El Calafate $961
Mexico City $1,567

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,574 in El Calafate versus $2,450 in Mexico City.

El Calafate $1,574
Mexico City $2,450

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $2,187 in El Calafate versus $3,333 in Mexico City.

El Calafate $2,187
Mexico City $3,333

Living in El Calafate costs roughly 39% less than in Mexico City, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

The two cities straddle the global median: El Calafate is 29% below, Mexico City is 16% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$10.66 ARS 16.2K

$10.75 MX$199

-0.84%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$33.87 ARS 51.4K

$50.3 MX$929

-32.60%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$8.85 ARS 13.4K

$11.10 MX$205

-20.27%

Cappuccino

$2.77 ARS 4,198

$3.68 MX$68.1

-24.73%

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

$1.64 ARS 2,484

$1.65 MX$30.42

-0.61%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.49 ARS 2,268

$1.30 MX$24.08

14.62%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.08 ARS 3,157

$3.32 MX$61.3

-37.35%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.93 ARS 4,452

$5.54 MX$102

-47.11%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.24 ARS 1,887

$1.77 MX$32.68

-29.94%

White Bread (500g)

$1.61 ARS 2,446

$3.05 MX$56.4

-47.21%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.93 ARS 2,930

$2.01 MX$37.20

-3.98%

Eggs

$2.20 ARS 3,346

$2.77 MX$51.1

-20.58%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$10.29 ARS 15.6K

$11.91 MX$220

-13.60%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$6.07 ARS 9,209

$9.33 MX$172

-34.94%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$9.50 ARS 14.4K

$15.02 MX$278

-36.75%

Apples (1kg)

$1.95 ARS 2,963

$3.08 MX$56.8

-36.69%

Banana (1kg)

$2.11 ARS 3,205

$1.95 MX$35.97

8.21%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.33 ARS 2,015

$2.03 MX$37.54

-34.48%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.62 ARS 3,973

$2.21 MX$40.92

18.55%

Potato (1kg)

$1.19 ARS 1,808

$2.02 MX$37.41

-41.09%

Onion (1kg)

$1.20 ARS 1,821

$1.82 MX$33.67

-34.07%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.30 ARS 1,973

$1.52 MX$28.07

-14.47%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.48 ARS 2,245

$1.28 MX$23.65

15.62%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$3.16 ARS 4,800

$5.27 MX$97.4

-40.04%

Wine (Bottle)

$4.97 ARS 7,536

$16.12 MX$298

-69.17%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.06 ARS 3,133

$1.95 MX$36.05

5.64%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.16 ARS 4,799

$4.25 MX$78.6

-25.65%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.76 ARS 1,159

$0.31 MX$5.82

145.16%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$19.85 MX$367

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.51 ARS 2,293

$2.00 MX$36.93

-24.50%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.87 ARS 1,322

$0.53 MX$9.86

64.15%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$5.89 ARS 8,934

$5.62 MX$104

4.80%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.05 ARS 1,600

$1.52 MX$28.07

-30.92%

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

$27.4K ARS 41.6M

$21.0K MX$388.7K

30.44%

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

$30.2K ARS 45.9M

$25.2K MX$465.3K

20.04%

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

$66.5 ARS 100.9K

$62.5 MX$1,155

6.40%

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

$16.85 ARS 25.6K

$28.77 MX$532

-41.43%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$22.42 ARS 34.0K

$34.45 MX$637

-34.92%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$26.64 ARS 40.4K

$57.1 MX$1,055

-53.35%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$13.53 ARS 20.5K

$24.81 MX$458

-45.47%

Cinema Ticket

$6.34 ARS 9,617

$6.67 MX$123

-4.95%

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

$224 ARS 340.0K

$431 MX$7,964

-48.00%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$2,679 ARS 4.1M

$11.7K MX$216.9K

-77.18%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$72.7 ARS 110.3K

$70.8 MX$1,308

2.64%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$70.7 ARS 107.3K

$51.8 MX$958

36.47%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$114 ARS 173.7K

$109 MX$2,011

5.19%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$114 ARS 172.2K

$112 MX$2,076

1.06%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$342 ARS 518.6K

$1,051 MX$19.4K

-67.49%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$235 ARS 357.2K

$665 MX$12.3K

-64.60%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$695 ARS 1.1M

$2,346 MX$43.3K

-70.39%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$533 ARS 809.3K

$1,227 MX$22.7K

-56.52%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$1,858 ARS 2.8M

$3,554 MX$65.7K

-47.72%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,600 ARS 2.4M

$1,977 MX$36.5K

-19.07%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$975 MX$18.0K

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

58.5

11.3

417.70%

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

Last update for El Calafate: 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

El Calafate

$235 24.5%

Mexico City

$665 42.4% 183% $430

Groceries & Markets

El Calafate

$231 24%

Mexico City

$323 20.6% 39.6% $92

Eating Out

El Calafate

$174 18.1%

Mexico City

$203 13% 16.8% $29

Clothing & Footwear

El Calafate

$167 17.4%

Mexico City

$155 9.9% 7.4% $12

Monthly Utilities & Internet

El Calafate

$106 11%

Mexico City

$126 8% 18.9% $20

Sport & Entertainment

El Calafate

$39 4.1%

Mexico City

$70 4.5% 79.1% $31

Getting Around

El Calafate

$8.9 * 0.9%

Mexico City

$26 1.6% 189% $17

Categories marked with * are only partly priced – their share counts the items that do have prices.

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $342 in El Calafate and $1,051 in Mexico City. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Dining out: $34.00 in El Calafate vs $50.0 in Mexico City for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $231 vs $323 per month, with El Calafate cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇦🇷 El Calafate

🇲🇽 Mexico City

🕒 Local time

10:22 10:22 AM

07:22 7:22 AM

3 h behind El Calafate

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

22,844

9,209,944 Capital

💱 Currency

Argentine Peso ARS $

Mexican Peso MXN $

📈 Exchange rate

10,000 ARS = 6.59 USD

10,000 ARS = 5.86 EUR

100 MXN = 5.41 USD

100 MXN = 4.81 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

MXN, USD, EUR to ARS – Argentine Peso Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇦🇷 Argentine Peso ($)

Argentine Peso exchange rates as of October 19, 2026: 1 USD = 1,517 ARS (10,000 ARS = 6.59 USD). 1 EUR = 1,706 ARS (10,000 ARS = 5.86 EUR).

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 ARS in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

El Calafate Mexico City 8,190 km ≈ 11 h nonstop flight

From you

El Calafate
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

El Calafate vs Mexico City: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

El Calafate and Mexico City differ by about 63% in total monthly costs ($961 vs $1,567 including rent). El Calafate is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

You'd need roughly $1,442 in El Calafate and $2,351 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: $342 in El Calafate versus $1,051 in Mexico City. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $224 in El Calafate versus $431 in Mexico City. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Dining out is cheaper in El Calafate – a meal for two runs $34.00 versus $50.0 in Mexico City. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

At $961 in El Calafate versus $1,567 in Mexico City, a $2,000 budget is realistic in El Calafate but tight or insufficient in Mexico City. The gap between the two cities makes El Calafate 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 El Calafate gentler on the wallet – expenses run 63% less than in Mexico City. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.