Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Imbituba and Mexico City

For one person, living is cheaper in Imbituba: $852 a month against $1,548 in Mexico City, rent and utilities included – about $8,400 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

41

Cost of Living Index in Imbituba
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Imbituba Living Index
75

Cost of Living Index in Mexico City
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Mexico City Living Index

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Imbituba

🇧🇷 Brazil

$852

/mo nomad

Mexico City

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,548

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $852 in Imbituba versus $1,548 in Mexico City.

Imbituba $852
Mexico City $1,548

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,353 in Imbituba versus $2,436 in Mexico City.

Imbituba $1,353
Mexico City $2,436

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $1,854 in Imbituba versus $3,323 in Mexico City.

Imbituba $1,854
Mexico City $3,323

Living in Imbituba costs roughly 45% less than in Mexico City, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

The two cities straddle the global median: Imbituba is 37% below, Mexico City is 14% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$4.96 R$25.13

$11.02 MX$204

-54.99%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$30.58 R$155

$48.68 MX$900

-37.18%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$6.93 R$35.11

$10.90 MX$201

-36.42%

Cappuccino

$2.01 R$10.18

$3.68 MX$68.1

-45.38%

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

$1.13 R$5.71

$1.63 MX$30.18

-30.67%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.49 R$2.48

$1.25 MX$23.07

-60.80%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.44 R$12.39

$3.25 MX$60.1

-24.92%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.38 R$12.07

$5.53 MX$102

-56.96%

Milk (1 liter)

$0.96 R$4.86

$1.70 MX$31.50

-43.53%

White Bread (500g)

$1.23 R$6.26

$3.02 MX$55.8

-59.27%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$0.86 R$4.37

$1.92 MX$35.53

-55.21%

Eggs

$2.23 R$11.33

$2.73 MX$50.5

-18.32%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$8.47 R$42.95

$11.77 MX$218

-28.04%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$3.16 R$16.00

$9.53 MX$176

-66.84%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$6.60 R$33.47

$14.41 MX$266

-54.20%

Apples (1kg)

$1.62 R$8.22

$3.02 MX$55.8

-46.36%

Banana (1kg)

$0.79 R$4.00

$1.89 MX$35.01

-58.20%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.23 R$6.25

$1.99 MX$36.70

-38.19%

Tomato (1kg)

$0.78 R$3.96

$2.19 MX$40.38

-64.38%

Potato (1kg)

$0.82 R$4.15

$1.92 MX$35.43

-57.29%

Onion (1kg)

$1.22 R$6.16

$1.87 MX$34.49

-34.76%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.53 R$7.77

$1.44 MX$26.62

6.25%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.94 R$4.79

$1.27 MX$23.39

-25.98%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$3.12 R$15.82

$5.22 MX$96.4

-40.23%

Wine (Bottle)

$9.76 R$49.48

$16.17 MX$299

-39.64%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.18 R$5.96

$1.90 MX$35.03

-37.89%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.18 R$16.10

$4.22 MX$78.0

-24.64%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.04 R$5.26

$0.34 MX$6.30

205.88%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$44.00 R$223

$19.65 MX$363

123.92%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$2.02 R$10.26

$2.00 MX$36.90

1.00%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.62 R$8.23

$0.52 MX$9.67

211.54%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$10.13 R$51.3

$5.34 MX$98.7

89.70%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.27 R$6.42

$1.52 MX$28.13

-16.45%

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

$25.3K R$128.4K

$22.1K MX$408.0K

14.72%

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

$34.1K R$173.0K

$24.5K MX$452.9K

39.24%

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

$61.5 R$312

$61.1 MX$1,129

0.74%

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

$11.31 R$57.4

$28.58 MX$528

-60.43%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$20.89 R$106

$34.47 MX$637

-39.40%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$26.13 R$132

$56.4 MX$1,042

-53.64%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$28.12 R$143

$24.88 MX$460

13.02%

Cinema Ticket

$8.68 R$43.98

$6.66 MX$123

30.33%

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

$318 R$1,614

$427 MX$7,891

-25.45%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$6,577 R$33.3K

$11.6K MX$215.0K

-43.48%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$45.74 R$232

$67.8 MX$1,253

-32.54%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$95.3 R$483

$52.0 MX$960

83.45%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$89.9 R$456

$106 MX$1,959

-15.18%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$70.1 R$355

$113 MX$2,080

-37.74%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$361 R$1,830

$1,025 MX$18.9K

-64.78%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$242 R$1,225

$654 MX$12.1K

-63.07%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$677 R$3,431

$2,308 MX$42.7K

-70.68%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$466 R$2,363

$1,242 MX$22.9K

-62.46%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$1,704 R$8,639

$3,613 MX$66.8K

-52.83%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,201 R$6,089

$1,936 MX$35.8K

-37.95%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$964 MX$17.8K

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

10.5

11.3

-7.08%

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

Last update for Imbituba: October 17, 2026

Last update for Mexico City: October 20, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Imbituba

$242 28.4%

Mexico City

$654 42.3% 171% $413

Groceries & Markets

Imbituba

$171 20.1%

Mexico City

$318 20.6% 85.9% $147

Clothing & Footwear

Imbituba

$135 15.9%

Mexico City

$152 9.8% 12.4% $17

Eating Out

Imbituba

$108 12.7%

Mexico City

$204 13.2% 88.8% $96

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Imbituba

$94 11%

Mexico City

$124 8% 32.4% $30

Getting Around

Imbituba

$58 6.8%

Mexico City

$26 1.7% 56% $33

Sport & Entertainment

Imbituba

$43 5.1%

Mexico City

$70 4.5% 60.3% $26

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $361 in Imbituba and $1,025 in Mexico City. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Dining out: $31.00 in Imbituba vs $49.00 in Mexico City for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $171 vs $318 per month, with Imbituba cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇧🇷 Imbituba

🇲🇽 Mexico City

🕒 Local time

13:09 1:09 PM

10:09 10:09 AM

3 h behind Imbituba

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

52,579

9,209,944 Capital

💱 Currency

Brazilian Real BRL R$

Mexican Peso MXN $

📈 Exchange rate

1 BRL = 0.197 USD

1 BRL = 0.175 EUR

100 MXN = 5.41 USD

100 MXN = 4.81 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

MXN, USD, EUR to BRL – Brazilian Real Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇧🇷 Brazilian Real (R$)

Brazilian Real exchange rates as of October 21, 2026: 1 USD = 5.07 BRL (1 BRL = 0.197 USD). 1 EUR = 5.7 BRL (1 BRL = 0.175 EUR).

Mexican Peso exchange rates as of October 21, 2026: 1 USD = 18.48 MXN (100 MXN = 5.41 USD). 1 EUR = 20.77 MXN (100 MXN = 4.81 EUR).

USD to BRL in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Imbituba Mexico City 7,580 km ≈ 10 h nonstop flight

From you

Imbituba
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

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

Imbituba is cheaper overall, especially in groceries, clothing, and eating out. The 82% gap adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

You'd need roughly $1,278 in Imbituba and $2,322 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: $361 in Imbituba versus $1,025 in Mexico City. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Supermarket bills run roughly 86% higher in Mexico City. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

Dining out is cheaper in Imbituba – a meal for two runs $31.00 versus $49.00 in Mexico City. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

At $852 in Imbituba versus $1,548 in Mexico City, a $1,500 budget is realistic in Imbituba but tight or insufficient in Mexico City. The gap between the two cities makes Imbituba the clear choice for anyone on this budget.

For families, Imbituba is more practical. Housing and childcare are both notably cheaper than in Mexico City, and the savings on those two alone free up budget for education, activities, and family trips.

Expats usually find Imbituba gentler on the wallet – expenses run 82% less than in Mexico City. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.