Last update: Nov 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Mexico City and Bentota

For one person, living is cheaper in Bentota: $777 a month against $1,674 in Mexico City, rent and utilities included – about $10,800 less a year. Rent and utilities account for about half of the difference.

80

Cost of Living Index in Mexico City
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Mexico City Living Index
37

Cost of Living Index in Bentota
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Bentota Living Index

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Mexico City

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,674

/mo nomad

Bentota

🇱🇰 Sri Lanka

$777

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,674 in Mexico City versus $777 in Bentota.

Mexico City $1,674
Bentota $777

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,606 in Mexico City versus $896 in Bentota.

Mexico City $2,606
Bentota $896

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,537 in Mexico City versus $1,014 in Bentota.

Mexico City $3,537
Bentota $1,014

Living in Mexico City is roughly 115% more expensive than in Bentota, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

The two cities straddle the global median: Mexico City is 24% above, Bentota is 42% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$10.59 MX$197

$3.78 LKR 1,257

180.16%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$52.0 MX$967

$12.00 LKR 3,992

333.00%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$10.73 MX$200

$7.36 LKR 2,447

45.79%

Cappuccino

$3.80 MX$70.6

$2.47 LKR 822

53.85%

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

$1.61 MX$30.01

$0.71 LKR 236

126.76%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.21 MX$22.55

$0.25 LKR 83.1

384.00%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.18 MX$59.1

$2.19 LKR 728

45.21%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$5.44 MX$101

$3.10 LKR 1,031

75.48%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.72 MX$31.96

$1.57 LKR 523

9.55%

White Bread (500g)

$2.97 MX$55.2

$0.52 LKR 174

471.15%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.93 MX$35.84

$0.80 LKR 267

141.25%

Eggs

$2.77 MX$51.6

$1.65 LKR 549

67.88%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$11.67 MX$217

$15.18 LKR 5,049

-23.12%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.48 MX$176

$3.36 LKR 1,119

182.14%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$15.37 MX$286

$4.47 LKR 1,488

243.85%

Apples (1kg)

$3.10 MX$57.8

$6.76 LKR 2,247

-54.14%

Banana (1kg)

$1.96 MX$36.49

$0.76 LKR 254

157.89%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.98 MX$36.88

$4.08 LKR 1,356

-51.47%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.34 MX$43.46

$0.86 LKR 287

172.09%

Potato (1kg)

$2.02 MX$37.66

$1.07 LKR 357

88.79%

Onion (1kg)

$1.82 MX$33.95

$0.82 LKR 274

121.95%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.54 MX$28.74

$1.21 LKR 402

27.27%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.31 MX$24.42

$0.42 LKR 139

211.90%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$5.35 MX$99.6

$10.06 LKR 3,347

-46.82%

Wine (Bottle)

$16.19 MX$301

$13.69 LKR 4,554

18.26%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.96 MX$36.46

$1.90 LKR 631

3.16%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.35 MX$81.0

$2.87 LKR 956

51.57%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.30 MX$5.67

$0.19 LKR 62.4

57.89%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$19.49 MX$363

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.92 MX$35.68

$0.38 LKR 126

405.26%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.47 MX$8.80

$0.29 LKR 96.3

62.07%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$5.41 MX$101

$0.93 LKR 308

481.72%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.48 MX$27.61

$1.39 LKR 461

6.47%

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

$21.4K MX$397.7K

$44.0K LKR 14.7M

-51.48%

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

$23.8K MX$442.1K

$45.0K LKR 15.0M

-47.20%

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

$62.0 MX$1,154

$57.4 LKR 19.1K

8.09%

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

$28.47 MX$530

$2.32 LKR 770

1127.16%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$34.11 MX$635

$8.88 LKR 2,952

284.12%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$58.4 MX$1,087

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$24.50 MX$456

Cinema Ticket

$6.59 MX$123

$4.59 LKR 1,526

43.57%

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

$434 MX$8,081

$40.65 LKR 13.5K

968.24%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$14.0K MX$261.2K

$17.4K LKR 5.8M

-19.40%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$68.4 MX$1,272

$18.34 LKR 6,102

272.68%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$54.8 MX$1,020

$17.33 LKR 5,763

216.21%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$111 MX$2,063

$77.6 LKR 25.8K

42.94%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$116 MX$2,158

$41.51 LKR 13.8K

179.43%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,179 MX$21.9K

$546 LKR 181.7K

115.89%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$771 MX$14.3K

$302 LKR 100.4K

155.50%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,570 MX$47.8K

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,420 MX$26.4K

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,586 MX$66.7K

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$2,064 MX$38.4K

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,003 MX$18.7K

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

11.35

12.5

-9.20%

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

Last update for Mexico City: November 1, 2026

Last update for Bentota: October 31, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Mexico City

$771 46.1%

Bentota

$302 38.8% 60.9% $469

Groceries & Markets

Mexico City

$324 19.3%

Bentota

$223 28.7% 31.1% $101

Eating Out

Mexico City

$201 12%

Bentota

$103 13.2% 48.7% $98

Clothing & Footwear

Mexico City

$158 9.4%

Bentota

$70 9% 55.8% $88

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Mexico City

$125 7.4%

Bentota

$69 8.8% 45% $56

Sport & Entertainment

Mexico City

$72 4.3%

Bentota

$9.2 * 1.2% 87.2% $62

Getting Around

Mexico City

$25 1.5%

Bentota

$2.6 * 0.3% 89.7% $22

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 $1,179 in Mexico City and $546 in Bentota. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Dining out: $52 in Mexico City vs $12 in Bentota for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $324 vs $223 per month, with Bentota cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇲🇽 Mexico City

🇱🇰 Bentota

🕒 Local time

03:48 3:48 AM

15:18 3:18 PM

11 h 30 min ahead of Mexico City

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

9,209,944 Capital

37,000

💱 Currency

Mexican Peso MXN $

Sri Lankan Rupee LKR Rs

📈 Exchange rate

100 MXN = 5.37 USD

100 MXN = 4.78 EUR

1,000 LKR = 3.01 USD

1,000 LKR = 2.68 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

LKR, USD, EUR to MXN – Mexican Peso Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇲🇽 Mexican Peso ($)

Mexican Peso exchange rates as of November 5, 2026: 1 USD = 18.61 MXN (100 MXN = 5.37 USD). 1 EUR = 20.91 MXN (100 MXN = 4.78 EUR).

Sri Lankan Rupee exchange rates as of November 5, 2026: 1 USD = 333 LKR (1,000 LKR = 3.01 USD). 1 EUR = 374 LKR (1,000 LKR = 2.68 EUR).

USD to MXN in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Mexico City Bentota 17,140 km ≈ 22 h nonstop flight

From you

Mexico City
Bentota

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 Bentota: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Bentota is about 54% cheaper overall, especially in groceries, eating out, and clothing. That difference adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

You’d need roughly $2,510 in Mexico City and $1,166 in Bentota to live well. The gap comes down to housing and overall price levels. Both cities are liveable on less, but these numbers represent actual comfort.

Rent for a central apartment: $1,179 in Mexico City versus $546 in Bentota. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Supermarket bills run roughly 45% higher in Mexico City. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

All in, you’ll spend $1,674 per month in Mexico City versus $777 in Bentota – Bentota is about 54% cheaper, which adds up to real savings over time.

At $777 in Bentota versus $1,674 in Mexico City, a $1,000 budget is realistic in Bentota but tight or insufficient in Mexico City. The gap between the two cities makes Bentota 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.