Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Mexico City and Aracatuba

For one person, living is cheaper in Aracatuba: $793 a month against $1,608 in Mexico City, rent and utilities included – about $9,800 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

78

Cost of Living Index in Mexico City
Learn more

Mexico City Living Index
38

Cost of Living Index in Aracatuba
Learn more

Aracatuba Living Index

Jump to prices

Mexico City

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,608

/mo nomad

Aracatuba

🇧🇷 Brazil

$793

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Mexico City and in Aracatuba

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 Aracatuba actually costs, broken down by who's living it.

A single person spends $1,608 per month in Mexico City vs $793 in Aracatuba, rent included.

Mexico City $1,608
Aracatuba $793

A couple spends around $2,549 per month in Mexico City vs $1,265 in Aracatuba, rent included.

Mexico City $2,549
Aracatuba $1,265

A family of three spends $3,490 per month in Mexico City vs $1,737 in Aracatuba, rent included.

Mexico City $3,490
Aracatuba $1,737

Mexico City costs about 103% more than Aracatuba, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Mexico City sits 18% above the global median, while Aracatuba is 42% below – they fall on opposite sides of the world average.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$10.62 MX$198

$3.70 R$19.77

187.03%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$48.35 MX$901

$18.45 R$98.7

162.06%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$10.35 MX$193

$6.50 R$34.74

59.23%

Cappuccino

$3.69 MX$68.8

$1.28 R$6.83

188.28%

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

$1.67 MX$31.07

$0.93 R$4.99

79.57%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.27 MX$23.59

$0.68 R$3.61

86.76%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.19 MX$59.5

$1.09 R$5.83

192.66%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$5.31 MX$98.9

$1.90 R$10.18

179.47%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.72 MX$32.15

$0.89 R$4.75

93.26%

White Bread (500g)

$3.04 MX$56.7

$1.55 R$8.29

96.13%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.94 MX$36.19

$1.22 R$6.50

59.02%

Eggs

$2.89 MX$53.8

$2.19 R$11.73

31.96%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$10.97 MX$205

$9.28 R$49.64

18.21%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.25 MX$172

$4.22 R$22.56

119.19%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$15.13 MX$282

$8.36 R$44.72

80.98%

Apples (1kg)

$3.05 MX$56.8

$2.53 R$13.51

20.55%

Banana (1kg)

$1.94 MX$36.19

$1.26 R$6.74

53.97%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.03 MX$37.75

$1.48 R$7.92

37.16%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.31 MX$43.15

$1.87 R$10.02

23.53%

Potato (1kg)

$2.04 MX$37.94

$1.27 R$6.78

60.63%

Onion (1kg)

$1.80 MX$33.55

$0.97 R$5.21

85.57%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.48 MX$27.58

$1.06 R$5.68

39.62%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.27 MX$23.63

$0.88 R$4.72

44.32%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$5.30 MX$98.9

$2.30 R$12.30

130.43%

Wine (Bottle)

$16.10 MX$300

$8.61 R$46.01

86.99%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.98 MX$36.97

$1.19 R$6.39

66.39%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.25 MX$79.3

$1.82 R$9.73

133.52%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.31 MX$5.69

$0.98 R$5.23

-68.37%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$19.73 MX$368

$48.13 R$257

-59.01%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.84 MX$34.25

$1.34 R$7.15

37.31%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.53 MX$9.94

$1.28 R$6.86

-58.59%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$5.30 MX$98.7

$7.36 R$39.37

-27.99%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.51 MX$28.16

$1.16 R$6.19

30.17%

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

$21.8K MX$405.5K

$21.8K R$116.6K

-0.22%

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

$24.0K MX$447.1K

$29.5K R$157.5K

-18.58%

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

$63.0 MX$1,174

$76.6 R$410

-17.80%

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

$27.39 MX$511

$11.24 R$60.1

143.68%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$35.67 MX$665

$17.52 R$93.7

103.60%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$58.9 MX$1,099

$25.68 R$137

129.52%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$23.64 MX$441

$22.41 R$120

5.49%

Cinema Ticket

$6.40 MX$119

$5.70 R$30.46

12.28%

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

$432 MX$8,045

$194 R$1,037

122.60%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$11.4K MX$212.9K

$7,323 R$39.2K

56.00%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$68.2 MX$1,272

$46.76 R$250

45.89%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$53.1 MX$990

$38.00 R$203

39.82%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$108 MX$2,009

$79.9 R$427

34.83%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$117 MX$2,186

$51.2 R$273

129.27%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,113 MX$20.8K

$305 R$1,629

265.36%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$710 MX$13.2K

$218 R$1,167

225.44%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,588 MX$48.2K

$710 R$3,794

264.76%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,406 MX$26.2K

$492 R$2,631

185.69%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,631 MX$67.7K

$1,539 R$8,228

135.94%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$2,135 MX$39.8K

$1,226 R$6,555

74.14%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$946 MX$17.6K

$349 R$1,868

170.88%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

11.35

12.38

-8.32%

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

Last update for Mexico City: October 25, 2026

Last update for Aracatuba: October 27, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Mexico City

$710 44.2%

Aracatuba

$218 27.5% 69.3% $492

Groceries & Markets

Mexico City

$320 19.9%

Aracatuba

$195 24.6% 39% $125

Eating Out

Mexico City

$199 12.4%

Aracatuba

$80 10.1% 59.7% $119

Clothing & Footwear

Mexico City

$156 9.7%

Aracatuba

$97 12.3% 37.7% $59

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Mexico City

$126 7.8%

Aracatuba

$105 13.3% 16.4% $21

Sport & Entertainment

Mexico City

$72 4.5%

Aracatuba

$37 4.7% 48.3% $35

Getting Around

Mexico City

$25 1.6%

Aracatuba

$60 7.5% 135% $34

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $1,113 in Mexico City versus $305 in Aracatuba. Rent is usually the largest line item in a monthly budget, so the gap here sets the tone for the overall comparison.

Salaries in Mexico City are about 2.7 times higher. Purchasing power depends on which expenses matter most to you.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $48 in Mexico City versus $18 in Aracatuba. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $320 vs $195 – making Aracatuba the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇲🇽 Mexico City

🇧🇷 Aracatuba

🕒 Local time

16:20 4:20 PM

19:20 7:20 PM

3 h ahead of Mexico City

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

9,209,944 Capital

200,124

💱 Currency

Mexican Peso MXN $

Brazilian Real BRL R$

📈 Exchange rate

100 MXN = 5.36 USD

100 MXN = 4.82 EUR

1 BRL = 0.187 USD

1 BRL = 0.168 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

BRL, USD, EUR to MXN – Mexican Peso Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇲🇽 Mexican Peso ($)

Mexican Peso exchange rates as of October 28, 2026: 1 USD = 18.64 MXN (100 MXN = 5.36 USD). 1 EUR = 20.75 MXN (100 MXN = 4.82 EUR).

Brazilian Real exchange rates as of October 28, 2026: 1 USD = 5.35 BRL (1 BRL = 0.187 USD). 1 EUR = 5.95 BRL (1 BRL = 0.168 EUR).

USD to MXN in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Mexico City Aracatuba 6,960 km ≈ 9 h nonstop flight

From you

Mexico City
Aracatuba

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 Aracatuba: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Monthly costs with rent: $1,608 in Mexico City, $793 in Aracatuba – Aracatuba comes out roughly 51% cheaper. Outside of rent, the biggest gap is in groceries.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $2,412 per month in Mexico City and $1,189 in Aracatuba. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

Rent is clearly cheaper in Aracatuba, especially for central apartments: a one-bedroom in the center costs $305 there versus $1,113 in Mexico City.

Kindergarten costs $432 per month in Mexico City and $194 in Aracatuba. For families with young kids, this one expense can tip the scales when choosing between the two cities.

Groceries cost about 64% more in Mexico City, though the gap depends on what you buy.

A $1,200 monthly budget goes further in Aracatuba, where all-in costs run around $793, than in Mexico City at $1,608. In Aracatuba it covers expenses comfortably, while in Mexico City it requires careful planning or may not stretch far enough.

Families tend to lean toward Aracatuba – lower housing and cheaper childcare make a real difference, especially on a single income or when paying for private education.

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