Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Mexico City and Harlow

For one person, living is cheaper in Mexico City: $1,548 a month against $2,330 in Harlow, rent and utilities included – about $9,400 less a year. Higher rent and utilities in Harlow outweigh lower spending on other living expenses.

75

Cost of Living Index in Mexico City
Learn more

Mexico City Living Index
113

Cost of Living Index in Harlow
Learn more

Harlow Living Index

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Mexico City

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,548

/mo nomad

Harlow

🇬🇧 United Kingdom

$2,330

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,548 in Mexico City versus $2,330 in Harlow.

Mexico City $1,548
Harlow $2,330

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,436 in Mexico City versus $3,407 in Harlow.

Mexico City $2,436
Harlow $3,407

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,323 in Mexico City versus $4,483 in Harlow.

Mexico City $3,323
Harlow $4,483

Living in Mexico City costs roughly 34% less than in Harlow, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Both cities are pricier than the global median: Mexico City 14% above, Harlow 72% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$11.02 MX$204

$21.01 £15.76

-47.55%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$48.68 MX$900

$91.7 £68.8

-46.92%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$10.90 MX$201

$10.47 £7.86

4.11%

Cappuccino

$3.68 MX$68.1

$5.47 £4.11

-32.72%

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

$1.63 MX$30.18

$2.63 £1.97

-38.02%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.25 MX$23.07

$1.85 £1.39

-32.43%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.25 MX$60.1

$6.81 £5.11

-52.28%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$5.53 MX$102

$6.87 £5.15

-19.51%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.70 MX$31.50

$1.30 £0.98

30.77%

White Bread (500g)

$3.02 MX$55.8

$1.41 £1.06

114.18%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.92 MX$35.53

$1.11 £0.84

72.97%

Eggs

$2.73 MX$50.5

$2.38 £1.79

14.71%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$11.77 MX$218

$6.83 £5.12

72.33%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.53 MX$176

$6.05 £4.54

57.52%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$14.41 MX$266

$6.45 £4.84

123.41%

Apples (1kg)

$3.02 MX$55.8

$2.05 £1.54

47.32%

Banana (1kg)

$1.89 MX$35.01

$1.23 £0.92

53.66%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.99 MX$36.70

$1.15 £0.87

73.04%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.19 MX$40.38

$2.02 £1.52

8.42%

Potato (1kg)

$1.92 MX$35.43

$1.63 £1.22

17.79%

Onion (1kg)

$1.87 MX$34.49

$1.34 £1.01

39.55%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.44 MX$26.62

$1.34 £1.01

7.46%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.27 MX$23.39

$1.43 £1.07

-11.19%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$5.22 MX$96.4

$21.29 £15.97

-75.48%

Wine (Bottle)

$16.17 MX$299

$9.33 £7.00

73.31%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.90 MX$35.03

$2.70 £2.02

-29.63%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.22 MX$78.0

$2.04 £1.53

106.86%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.34 MX$6.30

$2.73 £2.04

-87.55%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$19.65 MX$363

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$2.00 MX$36.90

$5.84 £4.38

-65.75%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.52 MX$9.67

$1.68 £1.26

-69.05%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$5.34 MX$98.7

$21.15 £15.87

-74.75%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.52 MX$28.13

$1.92 £1.44

-20.83%

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

$22.1K MX$408.0K

$39.0K £29.2K

-43.37%

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

$24.5K MX$452.9K

$40.1K £30.1K

-38.94%

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

$61.1 MX$1,129

$226 £169

-72.97%

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

$28.58 MX$528

$11.95 £8.97

139.16%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$34.47 MX$637

$28.54 £21.41

20.78%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$56.4 MX$1,042

$47.10 £35.34

19.66%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$24.88 MX$460

$8.06 £6.05

208.68%

Cinema Ticket

$6.66 MX$123

$12.56 £9.42

-46.97%

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

$427 MX$7,891

$1,061 £796

-59.74%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$11.6K MX$215.0K

$19.7K £14.8K

-41.02%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$67.8 MX$1,253

$68.8 £51.6

-1.50%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$52.0 MX$960

$32.19 £24.15

61.42%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$106 MX$1,959

$77.0 £57.8

37.74%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$113 MX$2,080

$39.33 £29.51

186.14%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,025 MX$18.9K

$1,403 £1,053

-26.97%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$654 MX$12.1K

$1,328 £996

-50.72%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,308 MX$42.7K

$2,276 £1,708

1.42%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,242 MX$22.9K

$2,182 £1,637

-43.08%

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

$3,013 £2,260

-68.00%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

11.3

4.91

130.14%

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

Last update for Mexico City: October 20, 2026

Last update for Harlow: October 18, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Mexico City

$654 42.3%

Harlow

$1.3K 57% 103% $673

Groceries & Markets

Mexico City

$318 20.6%

Harlow

$210 9% 34% $108

Eating Out

Mexico City

$204 13.2%

Harlow

$331 14.2% 62.3% $127

Clothing & Footwear

Mexico City

$152 9.8%

Harlow

$98 4.2% 35.8% $54

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Mexico City

$124 8%

Harlow

$266 11.4% 115% $142

Sport & Entertainment

Mexico City

$70 4.5%

Harlow

$72 3.1% 3.6% $2.5

Getting Around

Mexico City

$26 1.7%

Harlow

$25 * 1.1% 1.8% $0.5

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 $1,025 in Mexico City and $1,403 in Harlow. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Harlow pays 213% more on average. The extra income cushions the higher costs, though housing choices and lifestyle decide how much of the gap is truly closed.

Dining out: $49.00 in Mexico City vs $92.0 in Harlow. Groceries flip the comparison at $318 vs $210, with Harlow cheaper for home cooking.

Good to know

🇲🇽 Mexico City

🇬🇧 Harlow

🕒 Local time

14:30 2:30 PM

21:30 9:30 PM

7 h ahead of Mexico City

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

9,209,944 Capital

86,191

💱 Currency

Mexican Peso MXN $

British Pound GBP £

📈 Exchange rate

100 MXN = 5.41 USD

100 MXN = 4.81 EUR

1 GBP = 1.33 USD

1 GBP = 1.19 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

GBP, USD, EUR to MXN – Mexican Peso Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇲🇽 Mexican Peso ($)

Mexican Peso exchange rates as of October 24, 2026: 1 USD = 18.48 MXN (100 MXN = 5.41 USD). 1 EUR = 20.77 MXN (100 MXN = 4.81 EUR).

British Pound exchange rates as of October 24, 2026: 1 USD = 0.75 GBP (1 GBP = 1.33 USD). 1 EUR = 0.843 GBP (1 GBP = 1.19 EUR).

USD to MXN in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Mexico City Harlow 8,930 km ≈ 12 h nonstop flight

From you

Mexico City
Harlow

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 Harlow: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Mexico City and Harlow differ by about 51% in total monthly costs ($1,548 vs $2,330 including rent). Mexico City is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

On paper, salaries run 213% lower in Harlow. That's worth factoring in alongside costs, though remote workers earning in a stronger currency may not notice the difference at all.

Rent for a central apartment: $1,025 in Mexico City versus $1,403 in Harlow. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Shoppers in Harlow pay roughly 52% less for everyday groceries. It's an unusual reversal that partly offsets higher costs elsewhere.

All in, you'll spend $1,548 per month in Mexico City versus $2,330 in Harlow – a 51% gap that adds up to real savings over time for anyone picking the cheaper option.

At $1,548 in Mexico City versus $2,330 in Harlow, a $2,000 budget is realistic in Mexico City but tight or insufficient in Harlow. The gap between the two cities makes Mexico City 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.

Safety-wise, Mexico City and Harlow 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 Mexico City gentler on the wallet – expenses run 51% less than in Harlow. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.