Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Mexico City and Essaouira

For one person, living is cheaper in Essaouira: $781 a month against $1,548 in Mexico City, rent and utilities included – about $9,200 less a year. Rent and utilities account for about half of the difference.

75

Cost of Living Index in Mexico City
Learn more

Mexico City Living Index
38

Cost of Living Index in Essaouira
Learn more

Essaouira Living Index

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Mexico City

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,548

/mo nomad

Essaouira

🇲🇦 Morocco

$781

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

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

A single person spends $1,548 per month in Mexico City vs $781 in Essaouira, rent included.

Mexico City $1,548
Essaouira $781

A couple spends around $2,436 per month in Mexico City vs $1,172 in Essaouira, rent included.

Mexico City $2,436
Essaouira $1,172

A family of three spends $3,323 per month in Mexico City vs $1,563 in Essaouira, rent included.

Mexico City $3,323
Essaouira $1,563

Mexico City costs about 98% more than Essaouira, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Mexico City sits 14% above the global median, while Essaouira is 42% below – they fall on opposite sides of the world average.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$11.02 MX$204

$4.52 MAD 44.11

143.81%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$48.68 MX$900

$18.78 MAD 183

159.21%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$10.90 MX$201

$7.36 MAD 71.8

48.10%

Cappuccino

$3.68 MX$68.1

$1.33 MAD 12.92

176.69%

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

$1.63 MX$30.18

$0.46 MAD 4.49

254.35%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.25 MX$23.07

$0.37 MAD 3.64

237.84%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.25 MX$60.1

$5.10 MAD 49.73

-36.27%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$5.53 MX$102

$4.39 MAD 42.83

25.97%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.70 MX$31.50

$0.91 MAD 8.87

86.81%

White Bread (500g)

$3.02 MX$55.8

$0.52 MAD 5.08

480.77%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.92 MX$35.53

$1.67 MAD 16.33

14.97%

Eggs

$2.73 MX$50.5

$1.62 MAD 15.76

68.52%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$11.77 MX$218

$8.12 MAD 79.1

44.95%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.53 MX$176

$5.92 MAD 57.8

60.98%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$14.41 MX$266

$10.67 MAD 104

35.05%

Apples (1kg)

$3.02 MX$55.8

$1.28 MAD 12.50

135.94%

Banana (1kg)

$1.89 MX$35.01

$1.17 MAD 11.45

61.54%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.99 MX$36.70

$0.66 MAD 6.45

201.52%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.19 MX$40.38

$0.77 MAD 7.48

184.42%

Potato (1kg)

$1.92 MX$35.43

$0.58 MAD 5.67

231.03%

Onion (1kg)

$1.87 MX$34.49

$0.70 MAD 6.79

167.14%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.44 MX$26.62

$0.35 MAD 3.41

311.43%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.27 MX$23.39

$0.59 MAD 5.72

115.25%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$5.22 MX$96.4

$3.85 MAD 37.58

35.58%

Wine (Bottle)

$16.17 MX$299

$5.98 MAD 58.3

170.40%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.90 MX$35.03

$1.70 MAD 16.58

11.76%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.22 MX$78.0

$2.09 MAD 20.34

101.91%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.34 MX$6.30

$0.85 MAD 8.32

-60.00%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$19.65 MX$363

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$2.00 MX$36.90

$0.62 MAD 6.09

222.58%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.52 MX$9.67

$0.64 MAD 6.23

-18.75%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$5.34 MX$98.7

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.52 MX$28.13

$1.48 MAD 14.46

2.70%

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

$22.1K MX$408.0K

$31.0K MAD 302.6K

-28.86%

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

$24.5K MX$452.9K

$32.1K MAD 313.0K

-23.65%

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

$61.1 MX$1,129

$24.14 MAD 235

152.98%

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

$28.58 MX$528

$16.96 MAD 165

68.51%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$34.47 MX$637

$29.95 MAD 292

15.09%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$56.4 MX$1,042

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$24.88 MX$460

Cinema Ticket

$6.66 MX$123

$5.10 MAD 49.70

30.59%

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

$427 MX$7,891

$67.8 MAD 661

529.85%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$11.6K MX$215.0K

$1,803 MAD 17.6K

545.24%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$67.8 MX$1,253

$29.33 MAD 286

131.16%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$52.0 MX$960

$42.93 MAD 419

21.03%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$106 MX$1,959

$59.1 MAD 576

79.50%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$113 MX$2,080

$40.42 MAD 394

178.43%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,025 MX$18.9K

$386 MAD 3,760

165.68%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$654 MX$12.1K

$334 MAD 3,259

95.71%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,308 MX$42.7K

$913 MAD 8,905

152.76%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,242 MX$22.9K

$569 MAD 5,547

118.30%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,613 MX$66.8K

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,936 MX$35.8K

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$964 MX$17.8K

$254 MAD 2,479

279.11%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

11.3

6.5

73.85%

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

Last update for Mexico City: October 20, 2026

Last update for Essaouira: October 18, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Mexico City

$654 42.3%

Essaouira

$334 42.8% 48.9% $320

Groceries & Markets

Mexico City

$318 20.6%

Essaouira

$170 21.7% 46.7% $149

Eating Out

Mexico City

$204 13.2%

Essaouira

$112 14.3% 45.2% $92

Clothing & Footwear

Mexico City

$152 9.8%

Essaouira

$77 9.9% 49.2% $75

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Mexico City

$124 8%

Essaouira

$71 9.1% 42.8% $53

Sport & Entertainment

Mexico City

$70 4.5%

Essaouira

$10 * 1.3% 85.4% $59

Getting Around

Mexico City

$26 1.7%

Essaouira

$7.2 * 0.9% 71.8% $18

Categories marked with * are only partly priced – their share counts the items that do have prices.

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $1,025 in Mexico City versus $386 in Essaouira. 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 279% 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 $19.00 in Essaouira. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $318 vs $170 – making Essaouira the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇲🇽 Mexico City

🇲🇦 Essaouira

🕒 Local time

02:18 2:18 AM

09:18 9:18 AM

7 h ahead of Mexico City

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

9,209,944 Capital

77,966

💱 Currency

Mexican Peso MXN $

Moroccan Dirham MAD د.م.

📈 Exchange rate

100 MXN = 5.41 USD

100 MXN = 4.81 EUR

100 MAD = 10.26 USD

100 MAD = 9.12 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

MAD, 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).

Moroccan Dirham exchange rates as of October 22, 2026: 1 USD = 9.75 MAD (1 MAD = 0.103 USD). 1 EUR = 10.96 MAD (100 MAD = 9.12 EUR).

USD to MXN in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Mexico City Essaouira 8,840 km ≈ 12 h nonstop flight

From you

Mexico City
Essaouira

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 Essaouira: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Yes – Mexico City is pricier by about 98%, and outside of rent the gap shows up most in groceries.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $2,322 per month in Mexico City and $1,172 in Essaouira. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

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

A mid-range dinner for two costs $49.00 in Mexico City and $19.00 in Essaouira. That's a good indicator of the overall restaurant and café pricing gap between the two cities.

Groceries cost about 88% more in Mexico City, though it depends on what you buy. Local produce may be comparable; imported and premium items show the biggest price gap.

A $1,500 monthly budget goes further in Essaouira, where all-in costs run around $781, than in Mexico City at $1,548. In Essaouira it covers expenses comfortably, while in Mexico City it requires careful planning or may not stretch far enough.

Families tend to lean toward Essaouira – lower housing and cheaper childcare make a real difference, especially on a single income or when paying for private education.

Both have safer and rougher neighborhoods, but overall safety is comparable to other large cities. Neighborhood choice matters more than the city-level comparison – central, well-trafficked areas feel secure in both.

If budget matters most, go with Essaouira. 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.