Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Mexico City and Caracas

For one person, living is cheaper in Caracas: $1,338 a month against $1,548 in Mexico City, rent and utilities included – about $2,500 less a year. Higher rent and utilities in Mexico City outweigh lower spending on other living expenses.

75

Cost of Living Index in Mexico City
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Mexico City Living Index
65

Cost of Living Index in Caracas
Learn more

Caracas Living Index

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Mexico City

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,548

/mo nomad

Caracas

🇻🇪 Venezuela

$1,338

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

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

A single person spends $1,548 per month in Mexico City vs $1,338 in Caracas, rent included.

Mexico City $1,548
Caracas $1,338

A couple spends around $2,436 per month in Mexico City vs $2,235 in Caracas, rent included.

Mexico City $2,436
Caracas $2,235

A family of three spends $3,323 per month in Mexico City vs $3,133 in Caracas, rent included.

Mexico City $3,323
Caracas $3,133

Mexico City costs about 16% more than Caracas, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in clothing.

Mexico City sits 14% above the global median, while Caracas is 1% below – they fall on opposite sides of the world average.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$11.02 MX$204

$10.98 VES 9,642

0.36%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$48.68 MX$900

$67.1 VES 58.9K

-27.41%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$10.90 MX$201

$11.16 VES 9,796

-2.33%

Cappuccino

$3.68 MX$68.1

$3.55 VES 3,114

3.66%

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

$1.63 MX$30.18

$1.52 VES 1,332

7.24%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.25 MX$23.07

$1.30 VES 1,144

-3.85%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.25 MX$60.1

$2.06 VES 1,805

57.77%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$5.53 MX$102

$3.05 VES 2,680

81.31%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.70 MX$31.50

$2.64 VES 2,313

-35.61%

White Bread (500g)

$3.02 MX$55.8

$2.31 VES 2,032

30.74%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.92 MX$35.53

$1.85 VES 1,624

3.78%

Eggs

$2.73 MX$50.5

$4.64 VES 4,076

-41.16%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$11.77 MX$218

$10.35 VES 9,083

13.72%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.53 MX$176

$9.20 VES 8,074

3.59%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$14.41 MX$266

$11.64 VES 10.2K

23.80%

Apples (1kg)

$3.02 MX$55.8

$7.43 VES 6,525

-59.35%

Banana (1kg)

$1.89 MX$35.01

$2.04 VES 1,794

-7.35%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.99 MX$36.70

$2.20 VES 1,931

-9.55%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.19 MX$40.38

$2.38 VES 2,087

-7.98%

Potato (1kg)

$1.92 MX$35.43

$2.24 VES 1,965

-14.29%

Onion (1kg)

$1.87 MX$34.49

$2.23 VES 1,958

-16.14%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.44 MX$26.62

$1.62 VES 1,424

-11.11%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.27 MX$23.39

$2.41 VES 2,119

-47.30%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$5.22 MX$96.4

$4.71 VES 4,132

10.83%

Wine (Bottle)

$16.17 MX$299

$11.84 VES 10.4K

36.57%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.90 MX$35.03

$1.42 VES 1,246

33.80%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.22 MX$78.0

$2.09 VES 1,839

101.91%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.34 MX$6.30

$0.51 VES 448

-33.33%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$19.65 MX$363

$30.43 VES 26.7K

-35.43%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$2.00 MX$36.90

$5.08 VES 4,459

-60.63%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.52 MX$9.67

$2.83 VES 2,483

-81.63%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$5.34 MX$98.7

$14.80 VES 13.0K

-63.92%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.52 MX$28.13

$0.88 VES 772

72.73%

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

$22.1K MX$408.0K

$24.7K VES 21.7M

-10.72%

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

$24.5K MX$452.9K

$39.7K VES 34.8M

-38.20%

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

$61.1 MX$1,129

$21.94 VES 19.3K

178.35%

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

$28.58 MX$528

$11.99 VES 10.5K

138.37%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$34.47 MX$637

$37.39 VES 32.8K

-7.81%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$56.4 MX$1,042

$65.9 VES 57.8K

-14.45%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$24.88 MX$460

$17.83 VES 15.7K

39.54%

Cinema Ticket

$6.66 MX$123

$6.53 VES 5,735

1.99%

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

$427 MX$7,891

$158 VES 138.4K

170.79%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$11.6K MX$215.0K

$6,066 VES 5.3M

91.84%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$67.8 MX$1,253

$81.6 VES 71.6K

-16.87%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$52.0 MX$960

$51.2 VES 45.0K

1.41%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$106 MX$1,959

$136 VES 119.2K

-21.88%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$113 MX$2,080

$131 VES 115.2K

-14.27%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,025 MX$18.9K

$604 VES 529.9K

69.77%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$654 MX$12.1K

$425 VES 373.1K

53.93%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,308 MX$42.7K

$1,103 VES 968.0K

109.36%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,242 MX$22.9K

$861 VES 755.7K

44.28%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,613 MX$66.8K

$1,464 VES 1.3M

146.70%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,936 MX$35.8K

$683 VES 599.8K

183.34%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$964 MX$17.8K

$303 VES 266.1K

218.06%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

11.3

-48.64%

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

Last update for Mexico City: October 20, 2026

Last update for Caracas: October 19, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Mexico City

$654 42.3%

Caracas

$425 31.8% 35% $229

Groceries & Markets

Mexico City

$318 20.6%

Caracas

$339 25.4% 6.6% $21

Eating Out

Mexico City

$204 13.2%

Caracas

$192 14.3% 6% $12

Clothing & Footwear

Mexico City

$152 9.8%

Caracas

$180 13.5% 18.2% $28

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Mexico City

$124 8%

Caracas

$71 5.3% 42.5% $53

Sport & Entertainment

Mexico City

$70 4.5%

Caracas

$79 5.9% 13.3% $9.3

Getting Around

Mexico City

$26 1.7%

Caracas

$52 3.9% 102% $26

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $1,025 in Mexico City versus $604 in Caracas. Rent is usually the largest line item in a monthly budget, so the gap here sets the tone for the overall comparison.

Salaries run about 218% higher in Mexico City, which partly offsets the higher cost of living there. Purchasing power depends on which expenses matter most to you.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $49.00 in Mexico City versus $67.0 in Caracas. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $318 vs $339 – making Mexico City the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇲🇽 Mexico City

🇻🇪 Caracas

🕒 Local time

02:47 2:47 AM

04:47 4:47 AM

2 h ahead of Mexico City

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

9,209,944 Capital

3,274,000 Capital

💱 Currency

Mexican Peso MXN $

Venezuelan Bolívar VES Bs.S

📈 Exchange rate

100 MXN = 5.41 USD

100 MXN = 4.81 EUR

1,000 VES = 1.14 USD

1,000 VES = 1.01 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

VES, USD, EUR to MXN – Mexican Peso Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇲🇽 Mexican Peso ($)

Mexican Peso exchange rates as of October 22, 2026: 1 USD = 18.48 MXN (100 MXN = 5.41 USD). 1 EUR = 20.77 MXN (100 MXN = 4.81 EUR).

Venezuelan Bolívar exchange rates as of October 22, 2026: 1 USD = 878 VES (1,000 VES = 1.14 USD). 1 EUR = 987 VES (1,000 VES = 1.01 EUR).

USD to MXN in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Mexico City Caracas 3,590 km ≈ 5 h nonstop flight

From you

Mexico City
Caracas

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 Caracas: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Yes – Mexico City is pricier by about 16%, and outside of rent the gap shows up most in clothing.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $2,322 per month in Mexico City and $2,006 in Caracas. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

Rent is clearly cheaper in Caracas, especially for central apartments. Housing is actually the single biggest factor behind the overall cost gap between these two cities.

Public transport costs about 55% less in Caracas. For daily commuters, that gap adds up to noticeable savings over a year.

Kindergarten costs $427 per month in Mexico City and $158 in Caracas. For families with young kids, this one expense can tip the scales when choosing between the two cities.

A $1,500 monthly budget goes further in Caracas, where all-in costs run around $1,338, than in Mexico City at $1,548. In Caracas it covers expenses comfortably, while in Mexico City it requires careful planning or may not stretch far enough.

Families tend to lean toward Caracas – 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 Caracas. If higher salaries, better infrastructure, or specific career opportunities are the priority, Mexico City makes more sense. Both are solid long-term options with distinct trade-offs.