Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Mexico City and Cotonou

For one person, living is cheaper in Cotonou: $897 a month against $1,608 in Mexico City, rent and utilities included – about $8,500 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

78

Cost of Living Index in Mexico City
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Mexico City Living Index
43

Cost of Living Index in Cotonou
Learn more

Cotonou Living Index

Jump to prices

Mexico City

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,608

/mo nomad

Cotonou

🇧🇯 Benin

$897

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,608 in Mexico City versus $897 in Cotonou.

Mexico City $1,608
Cotonou $897

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,549 in Mexico City versus $1,428 in Cotonou.

Mexico City $2,549
Cotonou $1,428

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,490 in Mexico City versus $1,958 in Cotonou.

Mexico City $3,490
Cotonou $1,958

Living in Mexico City is roughly 79% more expensive than in Cotonou, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in clothing.

The two cities straddle the global median: Mexico City is 18% above, Cotonou is 34% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$10.62 MX$200

$5.18 F CFA 3,042

105.02%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$48.35 MX$909

$35.68 F CFA 21.0K

35.51%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$10.35 MX$194

$9.39 F CFA 5,514

10.22%

Cappuccino

$3.69 MX$69.4

$5.25 F CFA 3,085

-29.71%

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

$1.67 MX$31.32

$1.00 F CFA 589

67.00%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.27 MX$23.78

$0.89 F CFA 521

42.70%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.19 MX$60.0

$0.87 F CFA 510

266.67%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$5.31 MX$99.7

$2.59 F CFA 1,522

105.02%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.72 MX$32.41

$3.10 F CFA 1,820

-44.52%

White Bread (500g)

$3.04 MX$57.1

$1.23 F CFA 724

147.15%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.94 MX$36.48

$1.88 F CFA 1,105

3.19%

Eggs

$2.89 MX$54.3

$2.74 F CFA 1,610

5.47%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$10.97 MX$206

$9.25 F CFA 5,436

18.59%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.25 MX$174

$5.43 F CFA 3,189

70.35%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$15.13 MX$284

$5.04 F CFA 2,959

200.20%

Apples (1kg)

$3.05 MX$57.3

$3.99 F CFA 2,345

-23.56%

Banana (1kg)

$1.94 MX$36.48

$1.78 F CFA 1,043

8.99%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.03 MX$38.06

$1.33 F CFA 779

52.63%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.31 MX$43.50

$2.71 F CFA 1,591

-14.76%

Potato (1kg)

$2.04 MX$38.25

$1.27 F CFA 745

60.63%

Onion (1kg)

$1.80 MX$33.83

$1.68 F CFA 987

7.14%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.48 MX$27.80

$0.43 F CFA 253

244.19%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.27 MX$23.82

$1.14 F CFA 670

11.40%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$5.30 MX$99.7

$3.37 F CFA 1,977

57.27%

Wine (Bottle)

$16.10 MX$303

$4.30 F CFA 2,524

274.42%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.98 MX$37.27

$1.17 F CFA 688

69.23%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.25 MX$79.9

$1.86 F CFA 1,092

128.49%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.31 MX$5.73

$1.30 F CFA 764

-76.15%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$19.73 MX$371

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.84 MX$34.53

$1.38 F CFA 808

33.33%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.53 MX$10.03

$1.32 F CFA 776

-59.85%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$5.30 MX$99.5

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.51 MX$28.39

$1.18 F CFA 695

27.97%

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

$21.8K MX$408.8K

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

$24.0K MX$450.8K

$23.5K F CFA 13.8M

2.03%

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

$63.0 MX$1,184

$145 F CFA 85.1K

-56.52%

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

$27.39 MX$515

$33.52 F CFA 19.7K

-18.29%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$35.67 MX$670

$49.06 F CFA 28.8K

-27.29%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$58.9 MX$1,108

$47.60 F CFA 28.0K

23.82%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$23.64 MX$444

$3.36 F CFA 1,973

603.57%

Cinema Ticket

$6.40 MX$120

$8.58 F CFA 5,043

-25.41%

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

$432 MX$8,111

$131 F CFA 76.9K

229.84%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$11.4K MX$214.7K

$5,544 F CFA 3.3M

106.06%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$68.2 MX$1,282

$25.39 F CFA 14.9K

168.69%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$53.1 MX$999

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$108 MX$2,026

$33.44 F CFA 19.6K

222.31%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$117 MX$2,204

$67.9 F CFA 39.9K

72.61%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,113 MX$20.9K

$176 F CFA 103.4K

532.82%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$710 MX$13.4K

$163 F CFA 95.7K

336.32%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,588 MX$48.6K

$600 F CFA 352.5K

331.29%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,406 MX$26.4K

$412 F CFA 242.3K

240.86%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,631 MX$68.2K

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$2,135 MX$40.1K

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$946 MX$17.8K

$251 F CFA 147.2K

277.69%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

11.35

183.75%

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

Last update for Mexico City: October 25, 2026

Last update for Cotonou: October 26, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Mexico City

$710 44.2%

Cotonou

$163 18.2% 77.1% $548

Groceries & Markets

Mexico City

$320 19.9%

Cotonou

$222 24.8% 30.5% $98

Eating Out

Mexico City

$199 12.4%

Cotonou

$150 16.7% 24.6% $49

Clothing & Footwear

Mexico City

$156 9.7%

Cotonou

$57 * 6.4% 63.4% $99

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Mexico City

$126 7.8%

Cotonou

$227 25.4% 80.4% $101

Sport & Entertainment

Mexico City

$72 4.5%

Cotonou

$65 7.2% 9.7% $7

Getting Around

Mexico City

$25 1.6%

Cotonou

$13 * 1.5% 48.2% $12

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 $1,113 in Mexico City and $176 in Cotonou. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Mexico City pays about 3.8 times more on average. How far that income stretches comes down to housing choices and lifestyle.

Dining out: $48 in Mexico City vs $36 in Cotonou for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $320 vs $222 per month, with Cotonou cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇲🇽 Mexico City

🇧🇯 Cotonou

🕒 Local time

02:31 2:31 AM

09:31 9:31 AM

7 h ahead of Mexico City

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

9,209,944 Capital

780,000

💱 Currency

Mexican Peso MXN $

West African CFA Franc XOF Fr

📈 Exchange rate

100 MXN = 5.32 USD

100 MXN = 4.77 EUR

1,000 XOF = 1.7 USD

1,000 XOF = 1.53 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

XOF, 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).

West African CFA Franc exchange rates as of November 2, 2026: 1 USD = 587 XOF (1,000 XOF = 1.7 USD). 1 EUR = 656 XOF (1,000 XOF = 1.53 EUR).

USD to MXN in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Mexico City Cotonou 10,970 km ≈ 14 h nonstop flight

From you

Mexico City
Cotonou

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 Cotonou: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Cotonou is about 44% cheaper overall, especially in clothing, groceries, and eating out. That difference adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

Average pay in Mexico City is about 3.8 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 $176 in Cotonou. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Supermarket bills run roughly 44% 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 $897 in Cotonou – Cotonou is about 44% cheaper, which adds up to real savings over time.

At $897 in Cotonou versus $1,608 in Mexico City, a $1,000 budget is realistic in Cotonou but tight or insufficient in Mexico City. The gap between the two cities makes Cotonou 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 – Cotonou wins on affordability, Mexico City on earning potential. Factor in climate, language, visa rules, and proximity to places that matter to you before deciding.