Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Mexico City and Batangas

For one person, living is cheaper in Batangas: $610 a month against $1,608 in Mexico City, rent and utilities included – about $12,000 less a year. Rent and utilities account for about half of the difference.

78

Cost of Living Index in Mexico City
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Mexico City Living Index
29

Cost of Living Index in Batangas
Learn more

Batangas Living Index

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Mexico City

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,608

/mo nomad

Batangas

🇵🇭 Philippines

$610

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,608 in Mexico City versus $610 in Batangas.

Mexico City $1,608
Batangas $610

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,549 in Mexico City versus $887 in Batangas.

Mexico City $2,549
Batangas $887

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,490 in Mexico City versus $1,165 in Batangas.

Mexico City $3,490
Batangas $1,165

Living in Mexico City is roughly 164% more expensive than in Batangas, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Mexico City is 18% above, Batangas is 55% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$10.62 MX$200

$2.14 ₱136

396.26%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$48.35 MX$909

$19.00 ₱1,210

154.47%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$10.35 MX$194

$2.63 ₱168

293.54%

Cappuccino

$3.69 MX$69.4

$2.06 ₱131

79.13%

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

$1.67 MX$31.32

$0.37 ₱23.81

351.35%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.27 MX$23.78

$0.28 ₱17.92

353.57%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.19 MX$60.0

$1.05 ₱66.8

203.81%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$5.31 MX$99.7

$1.40 ₱88.9

279.29%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.72 MX$32.41

$1.71 ₱109

0.58%

White Bread (500g)

$3.04 MX$57.1

$1.16 ₱73.8

162.07%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.94 MX$36.48

$0.77 ₱49.20

151.95%

Eggs

$2.89 MX$54.3

$1.61 ₱103

79.50%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$10.97 MX$206

$5.49 ₱350

99.82%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.25 MX$174

$4.09 ₱261

126.16%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$15.13 MX$284

$6.99 ₱445

116.45%

Apples (1kg)

$3.05 MX$57.3

$2.29 ₱146

33.19%

Banana (1kg)

$1.94 MX$36.48

$1.35 ₱85.8

43.70%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.03 MX$38.06

$2.41 ₱153

-15.77%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.31 MX$43.50

$1.16 ₱73.8

99.14%

Potato (1kg)

$2.04 MX$38.25

$2.20 ₱140

-7.27%

Onion (1kg)

$1.80 MX$33.83

$3.24 ₱206

-44.44%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.48 MX$27.80

$1.29 ₱81.9

14.73%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.27 MX$23.82

$0.89 ₱56.4

42.70%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$5.30 MX$99.7

$2.52 ₱161

110.32%

Wine (Bottle)

$16.10 MX$303

$7.55 ₱481

113.25%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.98 MX$37.27

$1.27 ₱81.1

55.91%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.25 MX$79.9

$1.72 ₱110

147.09%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.31 MX$5.73

$0.63 ₱39.95

-50.79%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$19.73 MX$371

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.84 MX$34.53

$0.76 ₱48.46

142.11%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.53 MX$10.03

$0.21 ₱13.32

152.38%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$5.30 MX$99.5

$2.48 ₱158

113.71%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.51 MX$28.39

$1.01 ₱64.1

49.50%

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

$21.8K MX$408.8K

$20.9K ₱1.3M

4.10%

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

$24.0K MX$450.8K

$18.9K ₱1.2M

26.81%

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

$63.0 MX$1,184

$161 ₱10.3K

-61.00%

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

$27.39 MX$515

$14.33 ₱913

91.14%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$35.67 MX$670

$23.93 ₱1,524

49.06%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$58.9 MX$1,108

$18.53 ₱1,180

218.08%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$23.64 MX$444

$12.48 ₱795

89.42%

Cinema Ticket

$6.40 MX$120

$5.63 ₱358

13.68%

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

$432 MX$8,111

$71.9 ₱4,577

500.60%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$11.4K MX$214.7K

$1,239 ₱78.9K

822.21%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$68.2 MX$1,282

$15.94 ₱1,015

327.98%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$53.1 MX$999

$22.67 ₱1,444

134.36%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$108 MX$2,026

$53.8 ₱3,429

100.19%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$117 MX$2,204

$39.82 ₱2,536

194.50%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,113 MX$20.9K

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$710 MX$13.4K

$71.1 ₱4,530

898.96%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,588 MX$48.6K

$156 ₱9,963

1554.47%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,406 MX$26.4K

$93.3 ₱5,942

1406.89%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,631 MX$68.2K

$2,500 ₱159.2K

45.26%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$2,135 MX$40.1K

$1,573 ₱100.2K

35.77%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$946 MX$17.8K

$185 ₱11.8K

411.01%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

11.35

62.14%

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

Last update for Mexico City: October 25, 2026

Last update for Batangas: October 25, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Mexico City

$710 44.2%

Batangas

$71 11.7% 90% $639

Groceries & Markets

Mexico City

$320 19.9%

Batangas

$185 30.3% 42.1% $135

Eating Out

Mexico City

$199 12.4%

Batangas

$60 9.9% 69.6% $138

Clothing & Footwear

Mexico City

$156 9.7%

Batangas

$60 9.8% 61.8% $96

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Mexico City

$126 7.8%

Batangas

$200 32.8% 58.5% $74

Sport & Entertainment

Mexico City

$72 4.5%

Batangas

$30 4.9% 58.5% $42

Getting Around

Mexico City

$25 1.6%

Batangas

$4.3 * 0.7% 83% $21

Categories marked with * are only partly priced – their share counts the items that do have prices.

Cost Breakdown

Mexico City pays about 5.1 times more on average. How far that income stretches comes down to housing choices and lifestyle.

Dining out: $48 in Mexico City vs $19 in Batangas for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $320 vs $185 per month, with Batangas cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇲🇽 Mexico City

🇵🇭 Batangas

🕒 Local time

02:06 2:06 AM

16:06 4:06 PM

14 h ahead of Mexico City

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

9,209,944 Capital

329,874

💱 Currency

Mexican Peso MXN $

Philippine Peso PHP ₱

📈 Exchange rate

100 MXN = 5.32 USD

100 MXN = 4.77 EUR

100 PHP = 1.57 USD

100 PHP = 1.41 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

PHP, USD, EUR to MXN – Mexican Peso Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇲🇽 Mexican Peso ($)

Mexican Peso exchange rates as of November 2, 2026: 1 USD = 18.79 MXN (100 MXN = 5.32 USD). 1 EUR = 20.97 MXN (100 MXN = 4.77 EUR).

Philippine Peso exchange rates as of November 2, 2026: 1 USD = 63.69 PHP (100 PHP = 1.57 USD). 1 EUR = 71.08 PHP (100 PHP = 1.41 EUR).

USD to MXN in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Mexico City Batangas 14,270 km ≈ 18 h nonstop flight

From you

Mexico City
Batangas

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 Batangas: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Total monthly costs including rent come to $1,608 in Mexico City and $610 in Batangas, so Batangas is about 62% cheaper – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

Average pay in Mexico City is about 5.1 times higher, which matters when comparing affordability. Whether that higher income actually nets you more depends on your spending habits and housing choices.

Supermarket bills run roughly 73% higher in Mexico City. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

All in, you’ll spend $1,608 per month in Mexico City versus $610 in Batangas – Batangas is about 62% cheaper, which adds up to real savings over time.

At $610 in Batangas versus $1,608 in Mexico City, a $1,200 budget is realistic in Batangas but tight or insufficient in Mexico City. The gap between the two cities makes Batangas 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.

It comes down to priorities – Batangas wins on affordability, Mexico City on earning potential. Factor in climate, language, visa rules, and proximity to places that matter to you before deciding.