Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between London and Mexico City

For one person, living is cheaper in Mexico City: $1,561 a month against $4,086 in London, rent and utilities included – about $30,300 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

196

Cost of Living Index in London
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London Living Index
77

Cost of Living Index in Mexico City
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Mexico City Living Index

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London

🇬🇧 United Kingdom

$4,086

/mo nomad

Mexico City

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,561

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

A single person spends $4,086 per month in London vs $1,561 in Mexico City, rent included.

London $4,086
Mexico City $1,561

A couple spends around $5,816 per month in London vs $2,440 in Mexico City, rent included.

London $5,816
Mexico City $2,440

A family of three spends $7,546 per month in London vs $3,319 in Mexico City, rent included.

London $7,546
Mexico City $3,319

London costs about 162% more than Mexico City, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in transport.

Both London and Mexico City sit above the global median – London by 205%, Mexico City by 16%.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$26.62 £20.12

$11.12 MX$202

139.39%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$108 £81.3

$48.99 MX$891

119.62%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$10.39 £7.86

$11.23 MX$204

-7.48%

Cappuccino

$5.79 £4.38

$3.76 MX$68.4

53.99%

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

$3.01 £2.27

$1.65 MX$30.05

82.42%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.15 £1.63

$1.28 MX$23.27

67.97%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$9.35 £7.07

$3.26 MX$59.2

186.81%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$7.84 £5.93

$5.66 MX$103

38.52%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.79 £1.35

$1.81 MX$32.92

-1.10%

White Bread (500g)

$2.06 £1.56

$2.94 MX$53.5

-29.93%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.31 £1.74

$2.05 MX$37.27

12.68%

Eggs

$5.05 £3.82

$2.93 MX$53.2

72.35%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$12.57 £9.50

$11.95 MX$217

5.19%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$10.66 £8.05

$9.51 MX$173

12.09%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$17.13 £12.95

$14.84 MX$270

15.43%

Apples (1kg)

$3.03 £2.29

$3.14 MX$57.2

-3.50%

Banana (1kg)

$1.41 £1.07

$2.01 MX$36.65

-29.85%

Oranges (1kg)

$3.05 £2.31

$2.08 MX$37.75

46.63%

Tomato (1kg)

$3.38 £2.56

$2.22 MX$40.35

52.25%

Potato (1kg)

$1.67 £1.26

$2.06 MX$37.47

-18.93%

Onion (1kg)

$1.73 £1.31

$1.88 MX$34.14

-7.98%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.41 £1.07

$1.48 MX$26.93

-4.73%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.79 £1.35

$1.35 MX$24.47

32.59%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$23.22 £17.55

$5.41 MX$98.4

329.21%

Wine (Bottle)

$12.99 £9.82

$16.86 MX$307

-22.95%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$3.18 £2.41

$1.98 MX$36.09

60.61%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.41 £3.34

$4.32 MX$78.7

2.08%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$3.87 £2.93

$0.34 MX$6.27

1038.24%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$250 £189

$20.23 MX$368

1136.04%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$5.71 £4.31

$2.10 MX$38.11

171.90%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$3.33 £2.51

$0.53 MX$9.65

528.30%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$57.9 £43.77

$5.41 MX$98.3

970.43%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$2.04 £1.54

$1.52 MX$27.65

34.21%

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

$37.5K £28.4K

$21.7K MX$395.3K

72.79%

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

$40.9K £30.9K

$24.8K MX$451.4K

64.82%

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

$376 £284

$63.0 MX$1,145

497.25%

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

$17.88 £13.51

$28.88 MX$525

-38.09%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$40.01 £30.25

$33.93 MX$617

17.92%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$61.2 £46.23

$55.8 MX$1,015

9.65%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$21.07 £15.93

$24.90 MX$453

-15.38%

Cinema Ticket

$17.95 £13.57

$6.77 MX$123

165.14%

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

$2,865 £2,166

$428 MX$7,781

569.82%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$35.3K £26.7K

$11.9K MX$216.0K

197.69%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$116 £87.7

$70.0 MX$1,274

65.64%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$54.1 £40.88

$53.7 MX$977

0.65%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$127 £95.7

$110 MX$1,997

15.34%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$159 £120

$115 MX$2,096

38.28%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,853 £2,157

$1,062 MX$19.3K

168.54%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$2,301 £1,740

$671 MX$12.2K

243.15%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$5,201 £3,932

$2,379 MX$43.3K

118.63%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$3,723 £2,814

$1,260 MX$22.9K

195.39%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$19.0K £14.4K

$3,716 MX$67.6K

411.59%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$7,881 £5,957

$1,976 MX$35.9K

298.82%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$4,818 £3,642

$997 MX$18.1K

383.28%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

4.65

11.3

-58.85%

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

Last update for London: October 4, 2026

Last update for Mexico City: October 6, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

London

$2.3K 56.5%

Mexico City

$671 42.4% 70.9% $1.6K

Monthly Utilities & Internet

London

$434 10.7%

Mexico City

$126 8% 71% $308

Eating Out

London

$397 9.7%

Mexico City

$207 13.1% 47.8% $190

Groceries & Markets

London

$349 8.6%

Mexico City

$327 20.7% 6.5% $23

Getting Around

London

$288 7.1%

Mexico City

$26 1.7% 90.8% $262

Clothing & Footwear

London

$205 5%

Mexico City

$157 9.9% 23.5% $48

Sport & Entertainment

London

$97 2.4%

Mexico City

$69 4.4% 28.6% $28

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $2,853 in London versus $1,062 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 run about 383% higher in London, which partly offsets the higher cost of living there. Purchasing power depends on which expenses matter most to you.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $108 in London versus $49.00 in Mexico City. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $349 vs $327 – making Mexico City the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇬🇧 London

🇲🇽 Mexico City

🕒 Local time

02:13 2:13 AM

19:13 7:13 PM

7 h behind London

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

8,908,083 Capital

9,209,944 Capital

💱 Currency

British Pound GBP £

Mexican Peso MXN $

📈 Exchange rate

1 GBP = 1.32 USD

1 GBP = 1.18 EUR

100 MXN = 5.5 USD

100 MXN = 4.9 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 October 10, 2026: 1 USD = 0.756 GBP (1 GBP = 1.32 USD). 1 EUR = 0.848 GBP (1 GBP = 1.18 EUR).

Mexican Peso exchange rates as of October 10, 2026: 1 USD = 18.19 MXN (100 MXN = 5.5 USD). 1 EUR = 20.4 MXN (100 MXN = 4.9 EUR).

USD to GBP in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

London Mexico City 8,930 km ≈ 12 h nonstop flight

From you

London
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

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

Monthly costs with rent: $4,086 in London, $1,561 in Mexico City – roughly 162% apart. Outside of rent, the biggest gap is in transport.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $6,129 per month in London and $2,341 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. Housing is actually the single biggest factor behind the overall cost gap between these two cities.

Groceries cost about 7% more in London, though it depends on what you buy. Local produce may be comparable; imported and premium items show the biggest price gap.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $108 in London and $49.00 in Mexico City. That's a good indicator of the overall restaurant and café pricing gap between the two cities.

A $2,000 monthly budget goes further in Mexico City, where all-in costs run around $1,561, than in London at $4,086. In Mexico City it covers expenses comfortably, while in London it requires careful planning or may not stretch far enough.

It depends on your priorities. London has an edge in some lifestyle areas, with costs from $1,561 in Mexico City to $4,086 in London. Climate, culture, job market, and personal taste all factor in.

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