Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Mexico City and General Santos

For one person, living is cheaper in General Santos: $628 a month against $1,567 in Mexico City, rent and utilities included – about $11,300 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

76

Cost of Living Index in Mexico City
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Mexico City Living Index
31

Cost of Living Index in General Santos
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General Santos Living Index

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Mexico City

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,567

/mo nomad

General Santos

🇵🇭 Philippines

$628

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Mexico City and in General Santos

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,567 in Mexico City versus $628 in General Santos.

Mexico City $1,567
General Santos $628

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,450 in Mexico City versus $1,009 in General Santos.

Mexico City $2,450
General Santos $1,009

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,333 in Mexico City versus $1,391 in General Santos.

Mexico City $3,333
General Santos $1,391

Living in Mexico City is roughly 150% more expensive than in General Santos, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

The two cities straddle the global median: Mexico City is 16% above, General Santos is 53% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$10.75 MX$199

$3.38 ₱213

218.05%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$50.3 MX$929

$27.40 ₱1,725

83.39%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.10 MX$205

$2.72 ₱172

308.09%

Cappuccino

$3.68 MX$68.1

$2.56 ₱161

43.75%

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

$1.65 MX$30.42

$0.28 ₱17.41

489.29%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.30 MX$24.08

$0.25 ₱15.83

420.00%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.32 MX$61.3

$1.58 ₱99.3

110.13%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$5.54 MX$102

$2.34 ₱147

136.75%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.77 MX$32.68

$2.00 ₱126

-11.50%

White Bread (500g)

$3.05 MX$56.4

$1.08 ₱68.2

182.41%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.01 MX$37.20

$0.87 ₱54.7

131.03%

Eggs

$2.77 MX$51.1

$1.86 ₱117

48.92%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$11.91 MX$220

$6.38 ₱402

86.68%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.33 MX$172

$4.77 ₱300

95.60%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$15.02 MX$278

$9.25 ₱582

62.38%

Apples (1kg)

$3.08 MX$56.8

$2.74 ₱172

12.41%

Banana (1kg)

$1.95 MX$35.97

$1.07 ₱67.2

82.24%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.03 MX$37.54

$2.45 ₱154

-17.14%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.21 MX$40.92

$1.19 ₱74.6

85.71%

Potato (1kg)

$2.02 MX$37.41

$1.98 ₱125

2.02%

Onion (1kg)

$1.82 MX$33.67

$3.28 ₱207

-44.51%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.52 MX$28.07

$1.24 ₱78.2

22.58%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.28 MX$23.65

$0.68 ₱42.60

88.24%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$5.27 MX$97.4

$2.46 ₱155

114.23%

Wine (Bottle)

$16.12 MX$298

$7.76 ₱488

107.73%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.95 MX$36.05

$1.25 ₱78.5

56.00%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.25 MX$78.6

$1.68 ₱106

152.98%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.31 MX$5.82

$0.39 ₱24.37

-20.51%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$19.85 MX$367

$8.15 ₱513

143.56%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$2.00 MX$36.93

$0.78 ₱49.25

156.41%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.53 MX$9.86

$0.25 ₱15.79

112.00%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$5.62 MX$104

$0.82 ₱51.4

585.37%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.52 MX$28.07

$1.12 ₱70.7

35.71%

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

$21.0K MX$388.7K

$20.9K ₱1.3M

0.78%

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

$25.2K MX$465.3K

$19.1K ₱1.2M

31.69%

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

$62.5 MX$1,155

$76.6 ₱4,825

-18.46%

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

$28.77 MX$532

$6.53 ₱411

340.58%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$34.45 MX$637

$31.67 ₱1,994

8.78%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$57.1 MX$1,055

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$24.81 MX$458

Cinema Ticket

$6.67 MX$123

$4.91 ₱309

35.85%

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

$431 MX$7,964

$109 ₱6,840

296.64%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$11.7K MX$216.9K

$7,532 ₱474.2K

55.87%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$70.8 MX$1,308

$59.8 ₱3,767

18.32%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$51.8 MX$958

$30.67 ₱1,931

68.99%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$109 MX$2,011

$70.3 ₱4,428

54.78%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$112 MX$2,076

$60.7 ₱3,823

84.98%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,051 MX$19.4K

$174 ₱11.0K

502.59%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$665 MX$12.3K

$112 ₱7,068

492.40%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,346 MX$43.3K

$359 ₱22.6K

553.73%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,227 MX$22.7K

$238 ₱15.0K

414.82%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,554 MX$65.7K

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,977 MX$36.5K

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$975 MX$18.0K

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

11.3

8.31

35.98%

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

Last update for Mexico City: October 11, 2026

Last update for General Santos: October 11, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Mexico City

$665 42.4%

General Santos

$112 17.9% 83.1% $553

Groceries & Markets

Mexico City

$323 20.6%

General Santos

$199 31.7% 38.3% $124

Eating Out

Mexico City

$203 13%

General Santos

$81 12.8% 60.3% $122

Clothing & Footwear

Mexico City

$155 9.9%

General Santos

$100 15.9% 35.6% $55

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Mexico City

$126 8%

General Santos

$115 18.3% 8.6% $11

Sport & Entertainment

Mexico City

$70 4.5%

General Santos

$9.8 * 1.6% 86.1% $61

Getting Around

Mexico City

$26 1.6%

General Santos

$12 1.9% 54.5% $14

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 $1,051 in Mexico City and $174 in General Santos. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Dining out: $50.0 in Mexico City vs $27.00 in General Santos for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $323 vs $199 per month, with General Santos cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇲🇽 Mexico City

🇵🇭 General Santos

🕒 Local time

02:03 2:03 AM

16:03 4:03 PM

14 h ahead of Mexico City

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

9,209,944 Capital

697,315

💱 Currency

Mexican Peso MXN $

Philippine Peso PHP ₱

📈 Exchange rate

100 MXN = 5.41 USD

100 MXN = 4.81 EUR

100 PHP = 1.59 USD

100 PHP = 1.41 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 19, 2026: 1 USD = 18.48 MXN (100 MXN = 5.41 USD). 1 EUR = 20.77 MXN (100 MXN = 4.81 EUR).

Philippine Peso exchange rates as of October 19, 2026: 1 USD = 62.96 PHP (100 PHP = 1.59 USD). 1 EUR = 70.78 PHP (100 PHP = 1.41 EUR).

USD to MXN in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Mexico City General Santos 14,400 km ≈ 18 h nonstop flight

From you

Mexico City
General Santos

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 General Santos: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

General Santos wins on cost – living expenses run 150% lower than in Mexico City. Housing and daily spending are where you'll feel the difference most, making General Santos the obvious pick if budget is a priority.

You'd need roughly $2,351 in Mexico City and $942 in General Santos to live well. The gap comes down to housing and overall price levels. Both cities are liveable on less, but these numbers represent actual comfort.

Rent for a central apartment: $1,051 in Mexico City versus $174 in General Santos. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Dining out is cheaper in General Santos – a meal for two runs $27.00 versus $50.0 in Mexico City. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

All in, you'll spend $1,567 per month in Mexico City versus $628 in General Santos – a 150% gap that adds up to real savings over time for anyone picking the cheaper option.

At $628 in General Santos versus $1,567 in Mexico City, a $1,000 budget is realistic in General Santos but tight or insufficient in Mexico City. The gap between the two cities makes General Santos the clear choice for anyone on this budget.

Both work as nomad bases, but General Santos delivers better value – similar infrastructure at $628 monthly. If stretching your runway or maximizing savings is the goal, the price difference makes General Santos hard to pass up.

Safety-wise, Mexico City and General Santos are on par. Petty crime is typical for cities this size, and most residents feel comfortable going about their daily routines in either place.

Expats usually find General Santos gentler on the wallet – expenses run 150% less than in Mexico City. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.