Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between General Santos and Mexico City

For one person, living is cheaper in General Santos: $628 a month against $1,567 in Mexico City, rent and utilities included – about $11,300 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

31

Cost of Living Index in General Santos
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General Santos Living Index
76

Cost of Living Index in Mexico City
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Mexico City Living Index

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General Santos

🇵🇭 Philippines

$628

/mo nomad

Mexico City

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,567

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $628 in General Santos versus $1,567 in Mexico City.

General Santos $628
Mexico City $1,567

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,009 in General Santos versus $2,450 in Mexico City.

General Santos $1,009
Mexico City $2,450

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $1,391 in General Santos versus $3,333 in Mexico City.

General Santos $1,391
Mexico City $3,333

Living in General Santos costs roughly 60% less than in Mexico City, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

The two cities straddle the global median: General Santos is 53% below, Mexico City is 16% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$3.38 ₱213

$10.75 MX$199

-68.56%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$27.40 ₱1,725

$50.3 MX$929

-45.47%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$2.72 ₱172

$11.10 MX$205

-75.50%

Cappuccino

$2.56 ₱161

$3.68 MX$68.1

-30.43%

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

$0.28 ₱17.41

$1.65 MX$30.42

-83.03%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.25 ₱15.83

$1.30 MX$24.08

-80.77%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$1.58 ₱99.3

$3.32 MX$61.3

-52.41%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.34 ₱147

$5.54 MX$102

-57.76%

Milk (1 liter)

$2.00 ₱126

$1.77 MX$32.68

12.99%

White Bread (500g)

$1.08 ₱68.2

$3.05 MX$56.4

-64.59%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$0.87 ₱54.7

$2.01 MX$37.20

-56.72%

Eggs

$1.86 ₱117

$2.77 MX$51.1

-32.85%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$6.38 ₱402

$11.91 MX$220

-46.43%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$4.77 ₱300

$9.33 MX$172

-48.87%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$9.25 ₱582

$15.02 MX$278

-38.42%

Apples (1kg)

$2.74 ₱172

$3.08 MX$56.8

-11.04%

Banana (1kg)

$1.07 ₱67.2

$1.95 MX$35.97

-45.13%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.45 ₱154

$2.03 MX$37.54

20.69%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.19 ₱74.6

$2.21 MX$40.92

-46.15%

Potato (1kg)

$1.98 ₱125

$2.02 MX$37.41

-1.98%

Onion (1kg)

$3.28 ₱207

$1.82 MX$33.67

80.22%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.24 ₱78.2

$1.52 MX$28.07

-18.42%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.68 ₱42.60

$1.28 MX$23.65

-46.88%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$2.46 ₱155

$5.27 MX$97.4

-53.32%

Wine (Bottle)

$7.76 ₱488

$16.12 MX$298

-51.86%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.25 ₱78.5

$1.95 MX$36.05

-35.90%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.68 ₱106

$4.25 MX$78.6

-60.47%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.39 ₱24.37

$0.31 MX$5.82

25.81%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$8.15 ₱513

$19.85 MX$367

-58.94%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$0.78 ₱49.25

$2.00 MX$36.93

-61.00%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.25 ₱15.79

$0.53 MX$9.86

-52.83%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$0.82 ₱51.4

$5.62 MX$104

-85.41%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.12 ₱70.7

$1.52 MX$28.07

-26.32%

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

$20.9K ₱1.3M

$21.0K MX$388.7K

-0.77%

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

$19.1K ₱1.2M

$25.2K MX$465.3K

-24.06%

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

$76.6 ₱4,825

$62.5 MX$1,155

22.64%

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

$6.53 ₱411

$28.77 MX$532

-77.30%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$31.67 ₱1,994

$34.45 MX$637

-8.07%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$57.1 MX$1,055

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$24.81 MX$458

Cinema Ticket

$4.91 ₱309

$6.67 MX$123

-26.39%

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

$109 ₱6,840

$431 MX$7,964

-74.79%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$7,532 ₱474.2K

$11.7K MX$216.9K

-35.84%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$59.8 ₱3,767

$70.8 MX$1,308

-15.48%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$30.67 ₱1,931

$51.8 MX$958

-40.83%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$70.3 ₱4,428

$109 MX$2,011

-35.39%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$60.7 ₱3,823

$112 MX$2,076

-45.94%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$174 ₱11.0K

$1,051 MX$19.4K

-83.40%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$112 ₱7,068

$665 MX$12.3K

-83.12%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$359 ₱22.6K

$2,346 MX$43.3K

-84.70%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$238 ₱15.0K

$1,227 MX$22.7K

-80.58%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,554 MX$65.7K

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,977 MX$36.5K

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$975 MX$18.0K

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

8.31

11.3

-26.46%

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

Last update for General Santos: October 11, 2026

Last update for Mexico City: October 11, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Groceries & Markets

General Santos

$199 31.7%

Mexico City

$323 20.6% 62.1% $124

Monthly Utilities & Internet

General Santos

$115 18.3%

Mexico City

$126 8% 9.5% $11

Accommodation & Living

General Santos

$112 17.9%

Mexico City

$665 42.4% 492% $553

Clothing & Footwear

General Santos

$100 15.9%

Mexico City

$155 9.9% 55.2% $55

Eating Out

General Santos

$81 12.8%

Mexico City

$203 13% 152% $122

Getting Around

General Santos

$12 1.9%

Mexico City

$26 1.6% 120% $14

Sport & Entertainment

General Santos

$9.8 * 1.6%

Mexico City

$70 4.5% 617% $61

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 $174 in General Santos and $1,051 in Mexico City. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Dining out: $27.00 in General Santos vs $50.0 in Mexico City for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $199 vs $323 per month, with General Santos cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇵🇭 General Santos

🇲🇽 Mexico City

🕒 Local time

11:10 11:10 AM

21:10 9:10 PM

14 h behind General Santos

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

697,315

9,209,944 Capital

💱 Currency

Philippine Peso PHP ₱

Mexican Peso MXN $

📈 Exchange rate

100 PHP = 1.59 USD

100 PHP = 1.41 EUR

100 MXN = 5.41 USD

100 MXN = 4.81 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

MXN, USD, EUR to PHP – Philippine Peso Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇵🇭 Philippine Peso (₱)

Philippine Peso exchange rates as of October 19, 2026: 1 USD = 62.96 PHP (100 PHP = 1.59 USD). 1 EUR = 70.78 PHP (100 PHP = 1.41 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 PHP in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

General Santos Mexico City 14,400 km ≈ 18 h nonstop flight

From you

General Santos
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

General Santos vs Mexico City: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

General Santos wins on cost – living expenses run 150% lower than in Mexico City. Housing and daily spending are where you'll feel the difference most, making General Santos the obvious pick if budget is a priority.

You'd need roughly $942 in General Santos 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: $174 in General Santos 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 General Santos – a meal for two runs $27.00 versus $50.0 in Mexico City. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

All in, you'll spend $628 per month in General Santos versus $1,567 in Mexico City – a 150% gap that adds up to real savings over time for anyone picking the cheaper option.

At $628 in General Santos versus $1,567 in Mexico City, a $1,000 budget is realistic in General Santos but tight or insufficient in Mexico City. The gap between the two cities makes General Santos the clear choice for anyone on this budget.

Both work as nomad bases, but General Santos delivers better value – similar infrastructure at $628 monthly. If stretching your runway or maximizing savings is the goal, the price difference makes General Santos hard to pass up.

Safety-wise, General Santos 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 General Santos gentler on the wallet – expenses run 150% less than in Mexico City. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.