Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Mexico City and Antigua Guatemala

For one person, living is cheaper in Antigua Guatemala: $1,267 a month against $1,567 in Mexico City, rent and utilities included – about $3,600 less a year. Rent and utilities account for about half of the difference.

76

Cost of Living Index in Mexico City
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Mexico City Living Index
61

Cost of Living Index in Antigua Guatemala
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Antigua Guatemala Living Index

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Mexico City

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,567

/mo nomad

Antigua Guatemala

🇬🇹 Guatemala

$1,267

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Mexico City and in Antigua Guatemala

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,567 in Mexico City versus $1,267 in Antigua Guatemala.

Mexico City $1,567
Antigua Guatemala $1,267

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,450 in Mexico City versus $2,106 in Antigua Guatemala.

Mexico City $2,450
Antigua Guatemala $2,106

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,333 in Mexico City versus $2,945 in Antigua Guatemala.

Mexico City $3,333
Antigua Guatemala $2,945

Living in Mexico City is roughly 24% more expensive than in Antigua Guatemala, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

The two cities straddle the global median: Mexico City is 16% above, Antigua Guatemala is 6% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$10.75 MX$199

$6.60 Q 50.4

62.88%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$50.3 MX$929

$51.4 Q 393

-2.26%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.10 MX$205

$7.91 Q 60.5

40.33%

Cappuccino

$3.68 MX$68.1

$3.24 Q 24.80

13.58%

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

$1.65 MX$30.42

$1.16 Q 8.84

42.24%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.30 MX$24.08

$0.92 Q 7.00

41.30%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.32 MX$61.3

$3.18 Q 24.35

4.40%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$5.54 MX$102

$4.67 Q 35.68

18.63%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.77 MX$32.68

$2.10 Q 16.02

-15.71%

White Bread (500g)

$3.05 MX$56.4

$3.14 Q 24.00

-2.87%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.01 MX$37.20

$1.96 Q 15.00

2.55%

Eggs

$2.77 MX$51.1

$2.32 Q 17.74

19.40%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$11.91 MX$220

$5.42 Q 41.44

119.74%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.33 MX$172

$9.21 Q 70.4

1.30%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$15.02 MX$278

$10.21 Q 78.0

47.11%

Apples (1kg)

$3.08 MX$56.8

$3.86 Q 29.55

-20.21%

Banana (1kg)

$1.95 MX$35.97

$1.64 Q 12.57

18.90%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.03 MX$37.54

$2.81 Q 21.50

-27.76%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.21 MX$40.92

$1.66 Q 12.66

33.13%

Potato (1kg)

$2.02 MX$37.41

$1.47 Q 11.24

37.41%

Onion (1kg)

$1.82 MX$33.67

$1.73 Q 13.23

5.20%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.52 MX$28.07

$0.69 Q 5.31

120.29%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.28 MX$23.65

$1.21 Q 9.29

5.79%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$5.27 MX$97.4

$3.84 Q 29.36

37.24%

Wine (Bottle)

$16.12 MX$298

$7.69 Q 58.8

109.62%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.95 MX$36.05

$1.79 Q 13.67

8.94%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.25 MX$78.6

$2.71 Q 20.76

56.83%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.31 MX$5.82

$2.58 Q 19.76

-87.98%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$19.85 MX$367

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$2.00 MX$36.93

$4.69 Q 35.84

-57.36%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.53 MX$9.86

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$5.62 MX$104

$10.63 Q 81.2

-47.13%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.52 MX$28.07

$1.33 Q 10.16

14.29%

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

$21.0K MX$388.7K

$22.7K Q 173.6K

-7.39%

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

$25.2K MX$465.3K

$21.8K Q 166.8K

15.42%

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

$62.5 MX$1,155

$57.4 Q 439

8.89%

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

$28.77 MX$532

$29.74 Q 227

-3.26%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$34.45 MX$637

$45.70 Q 349

-24.62%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$57.1 MX$1,055

$41.50 Q 317

37.59%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$24.81 MX$458

$28.20 Q 216

-12.02%

Cinema Ticket

$6.67 MX$123

$6.39 Q 48.83

4.38%

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

$431 MX$7,964

$346 Q 2,645

24.56%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$11.7K MX$216.9K

$6,755 Q 51.6K

73.80%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$70.8 MX$1,308

$44.31 Q 339

59.76%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$51.8 MX$958

$48.03 Q 367

7.91%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$109 MX$2,011

$92.1 Q 704

18.23%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$112 MX$2,076

$80.0 Q 611

40.49%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,051 MX$19.4K

$865 Q 6,610

21.59%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$665 MX$12.3K

$531 Q 4,059

25.28%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,346 MX$43.3K

$1,864 Q 14.3K

25.81%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,227 MX$22.7K

$1,180 Q 9,024

3.91%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,554 MX$65.7K

$3,064 Q 23.4K

15.97%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,977 MX$36.5K

$1,227 Q 9,385

61.06%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$975 MX$18.0K

$626 Q 4,786

55.71%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

11.3

11.62

-2.75%

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

Last update for Mexico City: October 11, 2026

Last update for Antigua Guatemala: October 12, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Mexico City

$665 42.4%

Antigua Guatemala

$531 41.9% 20.2% $134

Groceries & Markets

Mexico City

$323 20.6%

Antigua Guatemala

$266 21% 17.5% $57

Eating Out

Mexico City

$203 13%

Antigua Guatemala

$149 11.8% 26.6% $54

Clothing & Footwear

Mexico City

$155 9.9%

Antigua Guatemala

$119 9.4% 23.1% $36

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Mexico City

$126 8%

Antigua Guatemala

$133 10.5% 5.7% $7.1

Sport & Entertainment

Mexico City

$70 4.5%

Antigua Guatemala

$54 4.3% 22.9% $16

Getting Around

Mexico City

$26 1.6%

Antigua Guatemala

$15 * 1.2% 41.7% $11

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 $1,051 in Mexico City and $865 in Antigua Guatemala. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Mexico City pays 56% 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: $50.0 in Mexico City vs $51.0 in Antigua Guatemala. Groceries flip the comparison at $323 vs $266, with Antigua Guatemala cheaper for home cooking.

Good to know

🇲🇽 Mexico City

🇬🇹 Antigua Guatemala

🕒 Local time

05:36 5:36 AM

Same time as Mexico City

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

9,209,944 Capital

46,054

💱 Currency

Mexican Peso MXN $

Guatemalan Quetzal GTQ Q

📈 Exchange rate

100 MXN = 5.41 USD

100 MXN = 4.81 EUR

1 GTQ = 0.131 USD

1 GTQ = 0.116 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

GTQ, USD, EUR to MXN – Mexican Peso Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇲🇽 Mexican Peso ($)

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).

Guatemalan Quetzal exchange rates as of October 19, 2026: 1 USD = 7.65 GTQ (1 GTQ = 0.131 USD). 1 EUR = 8.6 GTQ (1 GTQ = 0.116 EUR).

USD to MXN in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Mexico City Antigua Guatemala 1,040 km ≈ 1 h 45 min nonstop flight

From you

Mexico City
Antigua Guatemala

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

Mexico City vs Antigua Guatemala: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Mexico City and Antigua Guatemala differ by about 24% in total monthly costs ($1,567 vs $1,267 including rent). Antigua Guatemala is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

Average pay runs 56% higher in Mexico City, 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: $1,051 in Mexico City versus $865 in Antigua Guatemala. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $431 in Mexico City versus $346 in Antigua Guatemala. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Dining out is cheaper in Antigua Guatemala – a meal for two runs $51.0 versus $50.0 in Mexico City. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

At $1,267 in Antigua Guatemala versus $1,567 in Mexico City, a $2,000 budget is realistic in Antigua Guatemala but tight or insufficient in Mexico City. The gap between the two cities makes Antigua Guatemala 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.

Safety-wise, Mexico City and Antigua Guatemala 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 Antigua Guatemala gentler on the wallet – expenses run 24% less than in Mexico City. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.