Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Mexico City and Granada, Nicaragua

Name: Granada
Address: Granada, NI

For one person, living is cheaper in Granada: $916 a month against $1,608 in Mexico City, rent and utilities included – about $8,300 less a year. Other living expenses account for most of the difference.

78

Cost of Living Index in Mexico City
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Mexico City Living Index
44

Cost of Living Index in Granada
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Granada Living Index

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Mexico City

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,608

/mo nomad

Granada

🇳🇮 Nicaragua

$916

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

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

A single person spends $1,608 per month in Mexico City vs $916 in Granada, rent included.

Mexico City $1,608
Granada $916

A couple spends around $2,549 per month in Mexico City vs $1,281 in Granada, rent included.

Mexico City $2,549
Granada $1,281

A family of three spends $3,490 per month in Mexico City vs $1,645 in Granada, rent included.

Mexico City $3,490
Granada $1,645

Mexico City costs about 75% more than Granada, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Mexico City sits 18% above the global median, while Granada is 33% below – they fall on opposite sides of the world average.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$10.62 MX$198

$4.32 NIO 158

145.83%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$48.35 MX$901

$23.86 NIO 874

102.64%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$10.35 MX$193

$7.11 NIO 260

45.57%

Cappuccino

$3.69 MX$68.8

$1.70 NIO 62.3

117.06%

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

$1.67 MX$31.07

$0.87 NIO 31.74

91.95%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.27 MX$23.59

$0.63 NIO 23.10

101.59%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.19 MX$59.5

$1.33 NIO 48.60

139.85%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$5.31 MX$98.9

$1.98 NIO 72.7

168.18%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.72 MX$32.15

$1.25 NIO 45.96

37.60%

White Bread (500g)

$3.04 MX$56.7

$1.54 NIO 56.5

97.40%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.94 MX$36.19

$0.57 NIO 20.75

240.35%

Eggs

$2.89 MX$53.8

$1.23 NIO 44.87

134.96%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$10.97 MX$205

$4.82 NIO 176

127.59%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.25 MX$172

$5.08 NIO 186

82.09%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$15.13 MX$282

$7.89 NIO 289

91.76%

Apples (1kg)

$3.05 MX$56.8

$4.06 NIO 149

-24.88%

Banana (1kg)

$1.94 MX$36.19

$0.57 NIO 20.99

240.35%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.03 MX$37.75

$1.78 NIO 65.2

14.04%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.31 MX$43.15

$1.01 NIO 37.06

128.71%

Potato (1kg)

$2.04 MX$37.94

$2.78 NIO 102

-26.62%

Onion (1kg)

$1.80 MX$33.55

$1.02 NIO 37.42

76.47%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.48 MX$27.58

$1.01 NIO 37.08

46.53%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.27 MX$23.63

$1.06 NIO 38.76

19.81%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$5.30 MX$98.9

$2.70 NIO 98.7

96.30%

Wine (Bottle)

$16.10 MX$300

$10.07 NIO 369

59.88%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.98 MX$36.97

$1.47 NIO 53.8

34.69%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.25 MX$79.3

$1.72 NIO 63.0

147.09%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.31 MX$5.69

$0.09 NIO 3.47

244.44%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$19.73 MX$368

$4.11 NIO 150

380.05%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.84 MX$34.25

$0.58 NIO 21.18

217.24%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.53 MX$9.94

$1.67 NIO 61.1

-68.26%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$5.30 MX$98.7

$6.97 NIO 255

-23.96%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.51 MX$28.16

$1.27 NIO 46.58

18.90%

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

$21.8K MX$405.5K

$23.3K NIO 852.6K

-6.56%

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

$24.0K MX$447.1K

$26.4K NIO 968.5K

-9.30%

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

$63.0 MX$1,174

$152 NIO 5,566

-58.56%

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

$27.39 MX$511

$19.39 NIO 710

41.26%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$35.67 MX$665

$32.83 NIO 1,202

8.65%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$58.9 MX$1,099

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$23.64 MX$441

Cinema Ticket

$6.40 MX$119

$8.85 NIO 324

-27.68%

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

$432 MX$8,045

$233 NIO 8,547

84.94%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$11.4K MX$212.9K

$5,984 NIO 219.2K

90.90%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$68.2 MX$1,272

$15.06 NIO 552

352.99%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$53.1 MX$990

$30.58 NIO 1,120

73.74%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$108 MX$2,009

$34.76 NIO 1,273

210.07%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$117 MX$2,186

$35.08 NIO 1,285

234.29%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,113 MX$20.8K

$417 NIO 15.3K

166.95%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$710 MX$13.2K

$344 NIO 12.6K

106.82%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,588 MX$48.2K

$787 NIO 28.8K

228.66%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,406 MX$26.2K

$506 NIO 18.5K

177.76%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,631 MX$67.7K

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$2,135 MX$39.8K

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$946 MX$17.6K

$133 NIO 4,858

613.37%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

11.35

11.92

-4.78%

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

Last update for Mexico City: October 25, 2026

Last update for Granada: October 25, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Mexico City

$710 44.2%

Granada

$344 37.5% 51.7% $367

Groceries & Markets

Mexico City

$320 19.9%

Granada

$193 21% 39.7% $127

Eating Out

Mexico City

$199 12.4%

Granada

$93 10.1% 53.2% $106

Clothing & Footwear

Mexico City

$156 9.7%

Granada

$52 5.7% 66.7% $104

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Mexico City

$126 7.8%

Granada

$204 22.3% 62% $78

Sport & Entertainment

Mexico City

$72 4.5%

Granada

$18 * 1.9% 75.3% $54

Getting Around

Mexico City

$25 1.6%

Granada

$13 1.5% 47.3% $12

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

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $1,113 in Mexico City versus $417 in Granada. Rent is usually the largest line item in a monthly budget, so the gap here sets the tone for the overall comparison.

Salaries in Mexico City are about 7.1 times higher. Purchasing power depends on which expenses matter most to you.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $48 in Mexico City versus $24 in Granada. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $320 vs $193 – making Granada the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇲🇽 Mexico City

🇳🇮 Granada

🕒 Local time

16:19 4:19 PM

Same time as Mexico City

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

9,209,944 Capital

128,937

💱 Currency

Mexican Peso MXN $

Nicaraguan Córdoba NIO C$

📈 Exchange rate

100 MXN = 5.36 USD

100 MXN = 4.82 EUR

100 NIO = 2.73 USD

100 NIO = 2.45 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

NIO, USD, EUR to MXN – Mexican Peso Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇲🇽 Mexican Peso ($)

Mexican Peso exchange rates as of October 28, 2026: 1 USD = 18.64 MXN (100 MXN = 5.36 USD). 1 EUR = 20.75 MXN (100 MXN = 4.82 EUR).

Nicaraguan Córdoba exchange rates as of October 28, 2026: 1 USD = 36.62 NIO (100 NIO = 2.73 USD). 1 EUR = 40.77 NIO (100 NIO = 2.45 EUR).

USD to MXN in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Mexico City Granada 1,640 km ≈ 2 h 30 min nonstop flight

From you

Mexico City
Granada

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 Granada: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Monthly costs with rent: $1,608 in Mexico City, $916 in Granada – Granada comes out roughly 43% cheaper. Outside of rent, the biggest gap is in groceries.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $2,412 per month in Mexico City and $1,375 in Granada. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

Rent is clearly cheaper in Granada, especially for central apartments: a one-bedroom in the center costs $417 there versus $1,113 in Mexico City.

Public transport costs about 79% less in Granada. For daily commuters, that gap adds up to noticeable savings over a year.

Kindergarten costs $432 per month in Mexico City and $233 in Granada. For families with young kids, this one expense can tip the scales when choosing between the two cities.

A $1,200 monthly budget goes further in Granada, where all-in costs run around $916, than in Mexico City at $1,608. In Granada it covers expenses comfortably, while in Mexico City it requires careful planning or may not stretch far enough.

For digital nomads, it depends on budget. Granada costs $916 versus $1,608 in Mexico City. Both appeal to remote workers, and the cost gap matters when income varies month to month.

If budget matters most, go with Granada. If higher salaries or specific career opportunities are the priority, Mexico City makes more sense. Both are solid long-term options with distinct trade-offs.