Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Mexico City and Cebu

For one person, living is cheaper in Cebu: $934 a month against $1,608 in Mexico City, rent and utilities included – about $8,100 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
45

Cost of Living Index in Cebu
Learn more

Cebu Living Index

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Mexico City

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,608

/mo nomad

Cebu

🇵🇭 Philippines

$934

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,608 in Mexico City versus $934 in Cebu.

Mexico City $1,608
Cebu $934

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,549 in Mexico City versus $1,423 in Cebu.

Mexico City $2,549
Cebu $1,423

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,490 in Mexico City versus $1,913 in Cebu.

Mexico City $3,490
Cebu $1,913

Living in Mexico City is roughly 72% more expensive than in Cebu, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

The two cities straddle the global median: Mexico City is 18% above, Cebu is 31% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$10.62 MX$198

$3.79 ₱243

180.21%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$48.35 MX$901

$23.33 ₱1,493

107.24%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$10.35 MX$193

$3.94 ₱252

162.69%

Cappuccino

$3.69 MX$68.7

$2.54 ₱163

45.28%

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

$1.67 MX$31.05

$1.57 ₱100

6.37%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.27 MX$23.58

$0.47 ₱29.87

170.21%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.19 MX$59.5

$1.77 ₱113

80.23%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$5.31 MX$98.9

$2.22 ₱142

139.19%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.72 MX$32.13

$1.90 ₱121

-9.47%

White Bread (500g)

$3.04 MX$56.6

$1.36 ₱87.3

123.53%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.94 MX$36.17

$0.94 ₱59.9

106.38%

Eggs

$2.89 MX$53.8

$1.99 ₱127

45.23%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$10.97 MX$204

$9.70 ₱621

13.09%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.25 MX$172

$4.32 ₱277

114.12%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$15.13 MX$282

$7.51 ₱481

101.46%

Apples (1kg)

$3.05 MX$56.8

$3.31 ₱212

-7.85%

Banana (1kg)

$1.94 MX$36.17

$1.37 ₱87.6

41.61%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.03 MX$37.73

$2.34 ₱150

-13.25%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.31 MX$43.12

$1.49 ₱95.5

55.03%

Potato (1kg)

$2.04 MX$37.91

$2.30 ₱147

-11.30%

Onion (1kg)

$1.80 MX$33.53

$1.87 ₱120

-3.74%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.48 MX$27.56

$1.10 ₱70.5

34.55%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.27 MX$23.62

$0.63 ₱40.42

101.59%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$5.30 MX$98.8

$2.86 ₱183

85.31%

Wine (Bottle)

$16.10 MX$300

$6.08 ₱389

164.80%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.98 MX$36.95

$1.27 ₱81.6

55.91%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.25 MX$79.2

$1.72 ₱110

147.09%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.31 MX$5.68

$0.22 ₱14.01

40.91%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$19.73 MX$368

$12.34 ₱790

59.89%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.84 MX$34.23

$0.74 ₱47.61

148.65%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.53 MX$9.94

$0.22 ₱14.11

140.91%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$5.30 MX$98.7

$4.28 ₱274

23.83%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.51 MX$28.14

$1.31 ₱83.8

15.27%

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

$21.8K MX$405.3K

$20.8K ₱1.3M

4.76%

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

$24.0K MX$446.9K

$19.0K ₱1.2M

25.93%

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

$63.0 MX$1,173

$118 ₱7,577

-46.81%

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

$27.39 MX$510

$15.76 ₱1,009

73.79%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$35.67 MX$664

$28.33 ₱1,813

25.91%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$58.9 MX$1,098

$32.94 ₱2,108

78.93%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$23.64 MX$441

$6.49 ₱415

264.25%

Cinema Ticket

$6.40 MX$119

$5.45 ₱349

17.43%

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

$432 MX$8,041

$276 ₱17.6K

56.52%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$11.4K MX$212.8K

$7,789 ₱498.5K

46.65%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$68.2 MX$1,271

$48.18 ₱3,083

41.59%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$53.1 MX$990

$24.47 ₱1,566

117.12%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$108 MX$2,008

$75.3 ₱4,818

43.17%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$117 MX$2,185

$58.0 ₱3,713

102.12%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,113 MX$20.7K

$477 ₱30.5K

133.28%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$710 MX$13.2K

$322 ₱20.6K

120.79%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,588 MX$48.2K

$963 ₱61.6K

168.72%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,406 MX$26.2K

$626 ₱40.0K

124.69%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,631 MX$67.6K

$4,551 ₱291.3K

-20.22%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$2,135 MX$39.8K

$3,028 ₱193.8K

-29.49%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$946 MX$17.6K

$333 ₱21.3K

183.78%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

11.35

7.2

57.64%

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

Last update for Mexico City: October 25, 2026

Last update for Cebu: October 26, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Mexico City

$710 44.2%

Cebu

$322 34.5% 54.7% $389

Groceries & Markets

Mexico City

$320 19.9%

Cebu

$204 21.8% 36.2% $116

Eating Out

Mexico City

$199 12.4%

Cebu

$94 10.1% 52.6% $105

Clothing & Footwear

Mexico City

$156 9.7%

Cebu

$93 9.9% 40.5% $63

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Mexico City

$126 7.8%

Cebu

$163 17.4% 28.9% $36

Sport & Entertainment

Mexico City

$72 4.5%

Cebu

$44 4.7% 38.9% $28

Getting Around

Mexico City

$25 1.6%

Cebu

$15 1.6% 40.8% $10

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,113 in Mexico City and $477 in Cebu. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Mexico City pays about 2.8 times more on average. How far that income stretches comes down to housing choices and lifestyle.

Dining out: $48 in Mexico City vs $23 in Cebu for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $320 vs $204 per month, with Cebu cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇲🇽 Mexico City

🇵🇭 Cebu

🕒 Local time

18:25 6:25 PM

08:25 8:25 AM

14 h ahead of Mexico City

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

9,209,944 Capital

964,169

💱 Currency

Mexican Peso MXN $

Philippine Peso PHP ₱

📈 Exchange rate

100 MXN = 5.37 USD

100 MXN = 4.82 EUR

100 PHP = 1.56 USD

100 PHP = 1.4 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 October 29, 2026: 1 USD = 18.63 MXN (100 MXN = 5.37 USD). 1 EUR = 20.74 MXN (100 MXN = 4.82 EUR).

Philippine Peso exchange rates as of October 29, 2026: 1 USD = 63.99 PHP (100 PHP = 1.56 USD). 1 EUR = 71.24 PHP (100 PHP = 1.4 EUR).

USD to MXN in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Mexico City Cebu 14,260 km ≈ 18 h nonstop flight

From you

Mexico City
Cebu

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 Cebu: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Cebu is about 42% cheaper overall, especially in groceries, eating out, and clothing. That difference adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

Average pay in Mexico City is about 2.8 times higher, which matters when comparing affordability. Whether that higher income actually nets you more depends on your spending habits and housing choices.

Rent for a central apartment: $1,113 in Mexico City versus $477 in Cebu. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

All in, you’ll spend $1,608 per month in Mexico City versus $934 in Cebu – Cebu is about 42% cheaper, which adds up to real savings over time.

A monthly transit pass in Cebu runs roughly 37% less than in Mexico City. The price difference matters if you commute daily and watch your budget.

For families, Cebu is more practical. Housing and childcare are both notably cheaper than in Mexico City, and the savings on those two alone free up budget for education, activities, and family trips.

Expats usually find Cebu gentler on the wallet – expenses run 42% less than in Mexico City. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.