Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Mexico City and Paso de los Libres

For one person, living is cheaper in Paso de los Libres: $1,268 a month against $1,548 in Mexico City, rent and utilities included – about $3,400 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

75

Cost of Living Index in Mexico City
Learn more

Mexico City Living Index
61

Cost of Living Index in Paso de los Libres
Learn more

Paso de los Libres Living Index

Jump to prices

Mexico City

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,548

/mo nomad

Paso de los Libres

🇦🇷 Argentina

$1,268

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Mexico City and in Paso de los Libres

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 Paso de los Libres actually costs, broken down by who's living it.

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,548 in Mexico City versus $1,268 in Paso de los Libres.

Mexico City $1,548
Paso de los Libres $1,268

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,436 in Mexico City versus $2,121 in Paso de los Libres.

Mexico City $2,436
Paso de los Libres $2,121

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,323 in Mexico City versus $2,974 in Paso de los Libres.

Mexico City $3,323
Paso de los Libres $2,974

Living in Mexico City is roughly 22% more expensive than in Paso de los Libres, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

The two cities straddle the global median: Mexico City is 14% above, Paso de los Libres is 6% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$11.02 MX$204

$16.10 ARS 24.4K

-31.55%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$48.68 MX$900

$57.5 ARS 87.3K

-15.40%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$10.90 MX$201

$12.84 ARS 19.5K

-15.11%

Cappuccino

$3.68 MX$68.1

$3.71 ARS 5,630

-0.81%

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

$1.63 MX$30.18

$2.22 ARS 3,370

-26.58%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.25 MX$23.07

$1.94 ARS 2,945

-35.57%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.25 MX$60.1

$3.83 ARS 5,816

-15.14%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$5.53 MX$102

$4.00 ARS 6,075

38.25%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.70 MX$31.50

$1.39 ARS 2,113

22.30%

White Bread (500g)

$3.02 MX$55.8

$2.26 ARS 3,434

33.63%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.92 MX$35.53

$1.90 ARS 2,890

1.05%

Eggs

$2.73 MX$50.5

$2.73 ARS 4,138

Local Cheese (1kg)

$11.77 MX$218

$10.30 ARS 15.6K

14.27%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.53 MX$176

$7.81 ARS 11.8K

22.02%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$14.41 MX$266

$11.58 ARS 17.6K

24.44%

Apples (1kg)

$3.02 MX$55.8

$2.39 ARS 3,624

26.36%

Banana (1kg)

$1.89 MX$35.01

$2.18 ARS 3,313

-13.30%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.99 MX$36.70

$1.57 ARS 2,389

26.75%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.19 MX$40.38

$2.66 ARS 4,033

-17.67%

Potato (1kg)

$1.92 MX$35.43

$1.10 ARS 1,669

74.55%

Onion (1kg)

$1.87 MX$34.49

$1.02 ARS 1,546

83.33%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.44 MX$26.62

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.27 MX$23.39

$1.72 ARS 2,610

-26.16%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$5.22 MX$96.4

$3.48 ARS 5,276

50.00%

Wine (Bottle)

$16.17 MX$299

$4.94 ARS 7,491

227.33%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.90 MX$35.03

$1.94 ARS 2,950

-2.06%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.22 MX$78.0

$3.40 ARS 5,152

24.12%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.34 MX$6.30

$1.03 ARS 1,570

-66.99%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$19.65 MX$363

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$2.00 MX$36.90

$1.50 ARS 2,271

33.33%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.52 MX$9.67

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$5.34 MX$98.7

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.52 MX$28.13

$1.23 ARS 1,861

23.58%

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

$22.1K MX$408.0K

$28.3K ARS 42.9M

-21.96%

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

$24.5K MX$452.9K

$34.4K ARS 52.2M

-28.76%

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

$61.1 MX$1,129

$124 ARS 188.0K

-50.70%

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

$28.58 MX$528

$17.51 ARS 26.6K

63.22%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$34.47 MX$637

$26.29 ARS 39.9K

31.11%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$56.4 MX$1,042

$31.47 ARS 47.8K

79.09%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$24.88 MX$460

Cinema Ticket

$6.66 MX$123

$9.48 ARS 14.4K

-29.75%

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

$427 MX$7,891

$278 ARS 422.5K

53.36%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$11.6K MX$215.0K

$4,884 ARS 7.4M

138.27%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$67.8 MX$1,253

$108 ARS 163.9K

-37.23%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$52.0 MX$960

$93.7 ARS 142.3K

-44.57%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$106 MX$1,959

$114 ARS 173.3K

-7.18%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$113 MX$2,080

$134 ARS 203.9K

-16.25%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,025 MX$18.9K

$510 ARS 774.7K

100.74%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$654 MX$12.1K

$329 ARS 499.2K

98.88%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,308 MX$42.7K

$965 ARS 1.5M

139.16%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,242 MX$22.9K

$826 ARS 1.3M

50.35%

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

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

11.3

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

Last update for Mexico City: October 20, 2026

Last update for Paso de los Libres: October 20, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Mexico City

$654 42.3%

Paso de los Libres

$329 25.9% 49.7% $325

Groceries & Markets

Mexico City

$318 20.6%

Paso de los Libres

$257 * 20.3% 19.3% $61

Eating Out

Mexico City

$204 13.2%

Paso de los Libres

$256 20.2% 25.4% $52

Clothing & Footwear

Mexico City

$152 9.8%

Paso de los Libres

$203 16% 33.1% $50

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Mexico City

$124 8%

Paso de los Libres

$168 13.2% 35.1% $44

Sport & Entertainment

Mexico City

$70 4.5%

Paso de los Libres

$50 4% 27.6% $19

Getting Around

Mexico City

$26 1.7%

Paso de los Libres

$5.6 * 0.4% 78% $20

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 $510 in Paso de los Libres. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Dining out: $49.00 in Mexico City vs $58.0 in Paso de los Libres. Groceries flip the comparison at $318 vs $257, with Paso de los Libres cheaper for home cooking.

Good to know

🇲🇽 Mexico City

🇦🇷 Paso de los Libres

🕒 Local time

06:34 6:34 AM

09:34 9:34 AM

3 h ahead of Mexico City

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

9,209,944 Capital

43,251

💱 Currency

Mexican Peso MXN $

Argentine Peso ARS $

📈 Exchange rate

100 MXN = 5.41 USD

100 MXN = 4.81 EUR

10,000 ARS = 6.59 USD

10,000 ARS = 5.86 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

ARS, USD, EUR to MXN – Mexican Peso Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇲🇽 Mexican Peso ($)

Mexican Peso exchange rates as of October 20, 2026: 1 USD = 18.48 MXN (100 MXN = 5.41 USD). 1 EUR = 20.77 MXN (100 MXN = 4.81 EUR).

Argentine Peso exchange rates as of October 20, 2026: 1 USD = 1,517 ARS (10,000 ARS = 6.59 USD). 1 EUR = 1,706 ARS (10,000 ARS = 5.86 EUR).

USD to MXN in detail →

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Mexico City Paso de los Libres 7,080 km ≈ 9 h nonstop flight

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Mexico City
Paso de los Libres

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 Paso de los Libres: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Mexico City and Paso de los Libres differ by about 22% in total monthly costs ($1,548 vs $1,268 including rent). Paso de los Libres is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

You'd need roughly $2,322 in Mexico City and $1,902 in Paso de los Libres 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: $1,025 in Mexico City versus $510 in Paso de los Libres. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $427 in Mexico City versus $278 in Paso de los Libres. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Dining out is cheaper in Paso de los Libres – a meal for two runs $58.0 versus $49.00 in Mexico City. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

At $1,268 in Paso de los Libres versus $1,548 in Mexico City, a $1,500 budget is realistic in Paso de los Libres but tight or insufficient in Mexico City. The gap between the two cities makes Paso de los Libres 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 Paso de los Libres 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 Paso de los Libres gentler on the wallet – expenses run 22% less than in Mexico City. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.