Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Mexico City and Benin

For one person, living is cheaper in Benin: $445 a month against $1,608 in Mexico City, rent and utilities included – about $14,000 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
21

Cost of Living Index in Benin
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Benin Living Index

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Mexico City

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,608

/mo nomad

Benin

🇳🇬 Nigeria

$445

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,608 in Mexico City versus $445 in Benin.

Mexico City $1,608
Benin $445

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,549 in Mexico City versus $753 in Benin.

Mexico City $2,549
Benin $753

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,490 in Mexico City versus $1,061 in Benin.

Mexico City $3,490
Benin $1,061

Living in Mexico City is roughly 261% more expensive than in Benin, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

The two cities straddle the global median: Mexico City is 18% above, Benin is 67% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$10.62 MX$198

$1.29 ₦1,727

723.26%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$48.35 MX$901

$49.53 ₦66.4K

-2.38%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$10.35 MX$193

$5.72 ₦7,661

80.94%

Cappuccino

$3.69 MX$68.8

$2.82 ₦3,786

30.85%

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

$1.67 MX$31.07

$0.29 ₦390

475.86%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.27 MX$23.59

$0.20 ₦264

535.00%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.19 MX$59.5

$0.93 ₦1,249

243.01%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$5.31 MX$98.9

$0.99 ₦1,333

436.36%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.72 MX$32.15

$3.05 ₦4,092

-43.61%

White Bread (500g)

$3.04 MX$56.7

$0.77 ₦1,026

294.81%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.94 MX$36.19

$1.24 ₦1,665

56.45%

Eggs

$2.89 MX$53.8

$2.19 ₦2,939

31.96%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$10.97 MX$205

$3.55 ₦4,764

209.01%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.25 MX$172

$3.93 ₦5,264

135.37%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$15.13 MX$282

$4.41 ₦5,908

243.08%

Apples (1kg)

$3.05 MX$56.8

$1.65 ₦2,206

84.85%

Banana (1kg)

$1.94 MX$36.19

$1.26 ₦1,688

53.97%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.03 MX$37.75

$1.08 ₦1,445

87.96%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.31 MX$43.15

$1.47 ₦1,970

57.14%

Potato (1kg)

$2.04 MX$37.94

$1.55 ₦2,074

31.61%

Onion (1kg)

$1.80 MX$33.55

$1.58 ₦2,120

13.92%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.48 MX$27.58

$0.89 ₦1,194

66.29%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.27 MX$23.63

$0.36 ₦487

252.78%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$5.30 MX$98.9

$0.54 ₦730

881.48%

Wine (Bottle)

$16.10 MX$300

$2.44 ₦3,267

559.84%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.98 MX$36.97

$0.51 ₦683

288.24%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.25 MX$79.3

$0.46 ₦614

823.91%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.31 MX$5.69

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$19.73 MX$368

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.84 MX$34.25

$0.68 ₦914

170.59%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.53 MX$9.94

$0.89 ₦1,189

-40.45%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$5.30 MX$98.7

$2.22 ₦2,982

138.74%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.51 MX$28.16

$0.73 ₦981

106.85%

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

$21.8K MX$405.5K

$11.2K ₦14.9M

95.08%

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

$24.0K MX$447.1K

$28.7K ₦38.4M

-16.33%

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

$63.0 MX$1,174

$111 ₦148.5K

-43.17%

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

$27.39 MX$511

$14.93 ₦20.0K

83.46%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$35.67 MX$665

$32.50 ₦43.6K

9.75%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$58.9 MX$1,099

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$23.64 MX$441

Cinema Ticket

$6.40 MX$119

$6.22 ₦8,332

2.89%

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

$432 MX$8,045

$668 ₦894.8K

-35.36%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$11.4K MX$212.9K

$19.6K ₦26.2M

-41.63%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$68.2 MX$1,272

$14.65 ₦19.6K

365.67%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$53.1 MX$990

$17.85 ₦23.9K

197.65%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$108 MX$2,009

$36.59 ₦49.0K

194.56%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$117 MX$2,186

$48.06 ₦64.4K

144.01%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,113 MX$20.8K

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$710 MX$13.2K

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,588 MX$48.2K

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,406 MX$26.2K

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

$113 ₦151.1K

739.15%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

11.35

18.39

-38.28%

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

Last update for Mexico City: October 25, 2026

Last update for Benin: October 27, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Mexico City

$710 44.2%

Benin

- * 0% 100%

Groceries & Markets

Mexico City

$320 19.9%

Benin

$147 33% 54% $173

Eating Out

Mexico City

$199 12.4%

Benin

$70 15.7% 64.8% $129

Clothing & Footwear

Mexico City

$156 9.7%

Benin

$53 11.8% 66.2% $103

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Mexico City

$126 7.8%

Benin

$158 35.5% 25.6% $32

Sport & Entertainment

Mexico City

$72 4.5%

Benin

$12 * 2.8% 82.7% $59

Getting Around

Mexico City

$25 1.6%

Benin

$5.1 * 1.2% 79.9% $20

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

Cost Breakdown

Mexico City pays about 8.4 times more on average. How far that income stretches comes down to housing choices and lifestyle.

Dining out: $48 in Mexico City vs $50 in Benin. Groceries flip the comparison at $320 vs $147, with Benin cheaper for home cooking.

Good to know

🇲🇽 Mexico City

🇳🇬 Benin

🕒 Local time

17:19 5:19 PM

00:19 12:19 AM

7 h ahead of Mexico City

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

9,209,944 Capital

1,147,188

💱 Currency

Mexican Peso MXN $

Nigerian Naira NGN ₦

📈 Exchange rate

100 MXN = 5.36 USD

100 MXN = 4.82 EUR

10,000 NGN = 7.46 USD

10,000 NGN = 6.7 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

NGN, 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).

Nigerian Naira exchange rates as of October 28, 2026: 1 USD = 1,340 NGN (10,000 NGN = 7.46 USD). 1 EUR = 1,492 NGN (10,000 NGN = 6.7 EUR).

USD to MXN in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Mexico City Benin 11,300 km ≈ 15 h nonstop flight

From you

Mexico City
Benin

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 Benin: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Total monthly costs including rent come to $1,608 in Mexico City and $445 in Benin, so Benin is about 72% cheaper – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

Average pay in Mexico City is about 8.4 times higher, which matters when comparing affordability. Whether that higher income actually nets you more depends on your spending habits and housing choices.

Childcare runs $432 in Mexico City versus $668 in Benin. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Dining out is cheaper in Mexico City – a meal for two runs $48 versus $50 in Benin. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

At $445 in Benin versus $1,608 in Mexico City, a $800 budget is realistic in Benin but tight or insufficient in Mexico City. The gap between the two cities makes Benin 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 – Benin wins on affordability, Mexico City on earning potential. Factor in climate, language, visa rules, and proximity to places that matter to you before deciding.