Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Mexico City and Bristol

For one person, living is cheaper in Mexico City: $1,608 a month against $2,883 in Bristol, rent and utilities included – about $15,300 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

Mexico City, Mexico
Bristol, United Kingdom
Mexico City
🇲🇽 Mexico
$1,608
/mo nomad
Bristol
🇬🇧 United Kingdom
$2,883
/mo nomad
Monthly Cost of Living

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

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,608 in Mexico City versus $2,883 in Bristol.

  • Mexico City $1,608
  • Bristol $2,883

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,549 in Mexico City versus $4,161 in Bristol.

  • Mexico City $2,549
  • Bristol $4,161

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,490 in Mexico City versus $5,440 in Bristol.

  • Mexico City $3,490
  • Bristol $5,440

Living in Mexico City costs roughly 44% less than in Bristol, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Both cities are pricier than the global median: Mexico City 18% above, Bristol 112% above.

Currency
🍽 Eating Out
Mexico City
Bristol
Difference
Meal at Budget Restaurant
$10.62 MX$200
$23.78 £17.77
-55.34%
Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range
$48.35 MX$909
$114 £85.1
-57.54%
Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)
$10.35 MX$194
$10.82 £8.08
-4.34%
Cappuccino
$3.69 MX$69.4
$5.14 £3.84
-28.21%
Coke/Pepsi/Fanta/Sprite (0.33 liter bottle)
$1.67 MX$31.32
$2.69 £2.01
-37.92%
Water (0.33 liter bottle)
$1.27 MX$23.78
$1.84 £1.38
-30.98%
Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)
$3.19 MX$60.0
$7.83 £5.85
-59.26%
Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)
$5.31 MX$99.7
$6.74 £5.04
-21.22%
🛒 Groceries & Markets
Mexico City
Bristol
Difference
Milk (1 liter)
$1.72 MX$32.41
$1.52 £1.14
13.16%
White Bread (500g)
$3.04 MX$57.1
$1.71 £1.28
77.78%
Rice (white) (1kg)
$1.94 MX$36.48
$2.10 £1.57
-7.62%
Eggs
$2.89 MX$54.3
$4.25 £3.18
-32.00%
Local Cheese (1kg)
$10.97 MX$206
$8.15 £6.09
34.60%
Chicken Fillets (1kg)
$9.25 MX$174
$9.82 £7.34
-5.80%
Beef Round Steak (1kg)
$15.13 MX$284
$12.88 £9.62
17.47%
Apples (1kg)
$3.05 MX$57.3
$3.22 £2.40
-5.28%
Banana (1kg)
$1.94 MX$36.48
$1.76 £1.31
10.23%
Oranges (1kg)
$2.03 MX$38.06
$2.70 £2.02
-24.81%
Tomato (1kg)
$2.31 MX$43.50
$4.13 £3.08
-44.07%
Potato (1kg)
$2.04 MX$38.25
$2.07 £1.55
-1.45%
Onion (1kg)
$1.80 MX$33.83
$1.45 £1.08
24.14%
Lettuce (1 head)
$1.48 MX$27.80
$1.23 £0.92
20.33%
Water (1.5 liter bottle)
$1.27 MX$23.82
$2.02 £1.51
-37.13%
Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)
$5.30 MX$99.7
$23.31 £17.41
-77.26%
Wine (Bottle)
$16.10 MX$303
$10.57 £7.90
52.32%
Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)
$1.98 MX$37.27
$2.89 £2.16
-31.49%
Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)
$4.25 MX$79.9
$3.65 £2.73
16.44%
🚌 Getting Around
Mexico City
Bristol
Difference
One-way Ticket (Public Transport)
$0.31 MX$5.73
$3.40 £2.54
-90.88%
Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)
$19.73 MX$371
$125 £93.2
-84.18%
Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)
$1.84 MX$34.53
$3.50 £2.62
-47.43%
Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)
$0.53 MX$10.03
$1.62 £1.21
-67.28%
Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)
$5.30 MX$99.5
$26.41 £19.73
-79.93%
Gasoline (1 liter)
$1.51 MX$28.39
$2.17 £1.62
-30.41%
Midsize Hatchback 1.4l (Volkswagen Golf, Toyota Prius, Honda Civic, etc)
$21.8K MX$408.8K
$38.0K £28.4K
-42.69%
Compact Sedan 1.6l (Toyota Corolla, Mazda3, Kia K4, Hyundai Elantra, etc)
$24.0K MX$450.8K
$40.0K £29.9K
-40.04%
🧾 Monthly Utilities & Internet
Mexico City
Bristol
Difference
Utilities for 2 People in 2-bedroom Apartment (Heating, Electricity, Gas, Water, Garbage) (85m2)
$63.0 MX$1,184
$326 £244
-80.71%
SIM Card Monthly Plan (Calls and 10GB+ Data)
$27.39 MX$515
$17.56 £13.12
55.98%
Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)
$35.67 MX$670
$38.06 £28.44
-6.28%
🎉 Sport & Entertainment
Mexico City
Bristol
Difference
Gym Membership (Monthly)
$58.9 MX$1,108
$41.92 £31.31
40.60%
Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)
$23.64 MX$444
$11.75 £8.77
101.19%
Cinema Ticket
$6.40 MX$120
$15.58 £11.64
-58.92%
🧸 Childcare & Education
Mexico City
Bristol
Difference
Preschool or Kindergarten, Full Day, Private, 1 Child (Monthly)
$432 MX$8,111
$2,366 £1,767
-81.75%
International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)
$11.4K MX$214.7K
$25.2K £18.8K
-54.70%
👕👟 Clothing & Footwear
Mexico City
Bristol
Difference
Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)
$68.2 MX$1,282
$100 £74.9
-31.91%
Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)
$53.1 MX$999
$47.78 £35.69
11.20%
Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)
$108 MX$2,026
$108 £80.4
0.19%
Men's Leather Business Shoes
$117 MX$2,204
$96.6 £72.1
21.46%
🏠 Accommodation & Living
Mexico City
Bristol
Difference
1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)
$1,113 MX$20.9K
$1,963 £1,466
-43.27%
1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)
$710 MX$13.4K
$1,455 £1,087
-51.18%
3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)
$2,588 MX$48.6K
$3,048 £2,277
-15.09%
3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)
$1,406 MX$26.4K
$2,225 £1,662
-36.80%
Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)
$3,631 MX$68.2K
$7,040 £5,259
-48.42%
Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)
$2,135 MX$40.1K
$5,142 £3,841
-58.48%
💵 Salaries & Financials
Mexico City
Bristol
Difference
Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)
$946 MX$17.8K
$3,801 £2,839
-75.10%
20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)
11.35
4.87
133.06%

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

Last update for Mexico City: October 25, 2026

Last update for Bristol: October 26, 2026

Monthly budget structure
Share of the monthly basket for one person, rent included.
Accommodation & Living
Mexico City
$710
Bristol
$1.5K 105% $745
Groceries & Markets
Mexico City
$320
Bristol
$309 3.3% $10
Eating Out
Mexico City
$199
Bristol
$355 78.8% $157
Clothing & Footwear
Mexico City
$156
Bristol
$158 1.6% $2.6
Monthly Utilities & Internet
Mexico City
$126
Bristol
$382 203% $256
Sport & Entertainment
Mexico City
$72
Bristol
$73 1.9% $1.3
Getting Around
Mexico City
$25
Bristol
$150 489% $124

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,113 in Mexico City and $1,963 in Bristol. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Bristol pays about 4 times more on average. How far that income stretches comes down to housing choices and lifestyle.

Dining out: $48 in Mexico City vs $114 in Bristol. Groceries flip the comparison at $320 vs $309, with Bristol cheaper for home cooking.

Good to know
🇲🇽 Mexico City
🇬🇧 Bristol
🕒 Local time
23:43 11:43 PM
05:43 5:43 AM
6 h ahead of Mexico City
🌤 Weather
👥 Population
9,209,944 Capital
463,400
💱 Currency
Exchange rates and currency converter

GBP, USD, EUR to MXN – Mexican Peso Converter

Mexican Peso exchange rates as of November 2, 2026: 1 USD = 18.79 MXN (100 MXN = 5.32 USD). 1 EUR = 20.98 MXN (100 MXN = 4.77 EUR).

British Pound exchange rates as of November 2, 2026: 1 USD = 0.747 GBP (1 GBP = 1.34 USD). 1 EUR = 0.834 GBP (1 GBP = 1.2 EUR).

On the map
Between locations
  • Mexico City Bristol 8,770 km ≈ 11 h nonstop flight
From you
  • Mexico City
  • Bristol

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 Bristol: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions
What is the total cost difference between living in Mexico City and in Bristol?
Total monthly costs including rent come to $1,608 in Mexico City and $2,883 in Bristol, so Mexico City is about 44% cheaper – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.
Which city has better-paying jobs?
On paper, salaries run 75% lower in Mexico City. That’s worth factoring in alongside costs, though remote workers earning in a stronger currency may not notice the difference at all.
How do apartment prices compare in Mexico City and in Bristol?
Rent for a central apartment: $1,113 in Mexico City versus $1,963 in Bristol. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.
Which city has cheaper grocery shopping?
Shoppers in Bristol pay roughly 3% less for everyday groceries. It’s an unusual reversal that partly offsets higher costs elsewhere.
Which city has cheaper restaurants?
Dining out is cheaper in Mexico City – a meal for two runs $48 versus $114 in Bristol. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.
How does quality of life compare between Mexico City and Bristol?
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.
How do I decide between Mexico City and Bristol?
It comes down to priorities – Mexico City wins on affordability, Bristol on earning potential. Factor in climate, language, visa rules, and proximity to places that matter to you before deciding.

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