Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Los Cabos and Quito

For one person, living is cheaper in Quito: $978 a month against $1,371 in Los Cabos, rent and utilities included – about $4,700 less a year. Other living expenses account for most of the difference.

66

Cost of Living Index in Los Cabos
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Los Cabos Living Index
48

Cost of Living Index in Quito
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Quito Living Index

Jump to prices

Los Cabos

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,371

/mo nomad

Quito

🇪🇨 Ecuador

$978

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Los Cabos and in Quito

Real prices from locals and on-the-ground checks – rent, groceries, transit and the daily extras. Here's what a month in Los Cabos and in Quito actually costs, broken down by who's living it.

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,371 in Los Cabos versus $978 in Quito.

Los Cabos $1,371
Quito $978

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,211 in Los Cabos versus $1,586 in Quito.

Los Cabos $2,211
Quito $1,586

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,051 in Los Cabos versus $2,194 in Quito.

Los Cabos $3,051
Quito $2,194

Living in Los Cabos is roughly 40% more expensive than in Quito, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Los Cabos is 2% above, Quito is 28% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$22.30 MX$412

$6.08 $6.08

266.78%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$43.70 MX$807

$55.5 $55.5

-21.20%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$13.76 MX$254

$7.61 $7.61

80.81%

Cappuccino

$5.22 MX$96.5

$3.40 $3.40

53.53%

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

$2.30 MX$42.51

$1.37 $1.37

67.88%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.06 MX$38.06

$1.09 $1.09

88.99%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$4.99 MX$92.2

$3.43 $3.43

45.48%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$8.36 MX$154

$6.06 $6.06

37.95%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.65 MX$30.46

$1.14 $1.14

44.74%

White Bread (500g)

$2.86 MX$52.8

$1.60 $1.60

78.75%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.38 MX$44.07

$1.58 $1.58

50.63%

Eggs

$2.41 MX$44.49

$2.12 $2.12

13.68%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$8.96 MX$166

$6.58 $6.58

36.17%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.56 MX$177

$5.51 $5.51

73.50%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$17.76 MX$328

$7.65 $7.65

132.16%

Apples (1kg)

$4.13 MX$76.4

$2.24 $2.24

84.37%

Banana (1kg)

$1.78 MX$32.89

$1.19 $1.19

49.58%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.93 MX$54.2

$1.33 $1.33

120.30%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.53 MX$46.70

$1.13 $1.13

123.89%

Potato (1kg)

$2.34 MX$43.16

$1.24 $1.24

88.71%

Onion (1kg)

$2.53 MX$46.73

$1.02 $1.02

148.04%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.24 MX$22.99

$0.92 $0.92

34.78%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.86 MX$15.94

$1.05 $1.05

-18.10%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.52 MX$83.6

$6.16 $6.16

-26.62%

Wine (Bottle)

$10.32 MX$191

$10.07 $10.07

2.48%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.61 MX$29.70

$1.58 $1.58

1.90%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.13 MX$57.8

$3.09 $3.09

1.29%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.41 MX$25.98

$0.36 $0.36

291.67%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$21.37 $21.37

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$2.66 MX$49.20

$1.53 $1.53

73.86%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.93 MX$35.59

$1.49 $1.49

29.53%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$11.63 MX$215

$9.84 $9.84

18.19%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.38 MX$25.43

$0.81 $0.81

70.37%

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

$21.0K MX$388.2K

$21.3K $21.3K

-1.16%

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

$24.3K MX$449.9K

$27.9K $27.9K

-12.73%

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

$58.6 MX$1,083

$28.75 $28.75

103.79%

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

$27.70 MX$512

$17.86 $17.86

55.10%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$24.59 MX$454

$28.20 $28.20

-12.80%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$34.48 MX$637

$46.08 $46.08

-25.17%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$20.05 MX$371

$17.76 $17.76

12.89%

Cinema Ticket

$4.28 MX$79.1

$6.34 $6.34

-32.49%

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

$215 MX$3,971

$739 $739

-70.92%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$4,652 MX$86.0K

$8,909 $8,909

-47.79%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$93.3 MX$1,724

$71.0 $71.0

31.48%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$40.63 MX$751

$50.4 $50.4

-19.45%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$124 MX$2,298

$114 $114

8.95%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$89.7 MX$1,657

$107 $107

-16.42%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$612 MX$11.3K

$491 $491

24.68%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$391 MX$7,226

$309 $309

26.61%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,044 MX$19.3K

$932 $932

12.00%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$781 MX$14.4K

$540 $540

44.47%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$1,933 MX$35.7K

$1,759 $1,759

9.90%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,131 MX$20.9K

$715 $715

58.25%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$811 MX$15.0K

$594 $594

36.52%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

11.3

10.12

11.66%

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

Last update for Los Cabos: October 12, 2026

Last update for Quito: October 10, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Los Cabos

$391 28.5%

Quito

$309 31.6% 21% $82

Eating Out

Los Cabos

$341 24.9%

Quito

$151 15.5% 55.6% $190

Groceries & Markets

Los Cabos

$310 22.6%

Quito

$198 20.3% 36.2% $112

Clothing & Footwear

Los Cabos

$157 11.4%

Quito

$154 15.8% 1.5% $2.3

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Los Cabos

$111 8.1%

Quito

$75 7.7% 32.5% $36

Sport & Entertainment

Los Cabos

$43 3.1%

Quito

$59 6% 36.5% $16

Getting Around

Los Cabos

$18 * 1.3%

Quito

$32 3.3% 77.3% $14

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 $612 in Los Cabos and $491 in Quito. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Los Cabos pays 37% more on average. The extra income cushions the higher costs, though housing choices and lifestyle decide how much of the gap is truly closed.

Dining out: $44.00 in Los Cabos vs $55.0 in Quito. Groceries flip the comparison at $310 vs $198, with Quito cheaper for home cooking.

Good to know

🇲🇽 Los Cabos

🇪🇨 Quito

🕒 Local time

05:18 5:18 AM

07:18 7:18 AM

2 h ahead of Los Cabos

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

202,694

2,671,191 Capital

💱 Currency

Mexican Peso MXN $

United States Dollar USD $

📈 Exchange rate

100 MXN = 5.41 USD

100 MXN = 4.81 EUR

1 USD = 0.89 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

USD, EUR to MXN – Mexican Peso Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇲🇽 Mexican Peso ($)

Mexican Peso exchange rates as of October 18, 2026: 1 USD = 18.48 MXN (100 MXN = 5.41 USD). 1 EUR = 20.77 MXN (100 MXN = 4.81 EUR).

United States Dollar exchange rates as of October 18, 2026: 1 EUR = 1.12 USD (1 USD = 0.89 EUR).

USD to MXN in detail →

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Between locations

Los Cabos Quito 4,260 km ≈ 6 h nonstop flight

From you

Los Cabos
Quito

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

Los Cabos vs Quito: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Quito is cheaper overall, especially in eating out, groceries, and clothing. The 40% gap adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

Average pay runs 37% higher in Los Cabos, which matters when comparing affordability. Whether that higher income actually nets you more depends on your spending habits and housing choices.

Rent for a central apartment: $612 in Los Cabos versus $491 in Quito. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Supermarket bills run roughly 57% higher in Los Cabos. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

All in, you'll spend $1,371 per month in Los Cabos versus $978 in Quito – a 40% gap that adds up to real savings over time for anyone picking the cheaper option.

At $978 in Quito versus $1,371 in Los Cabos, a $1,500 budget is realistic in Quito but tight or insufficient in Los Cabos. The gap between the two cities makes Quito the clear choice for anyone on this budget.

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

Expats usually find Quito gentler on the wallet – expenses run 40% less than in Los Cabos. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.