Last update: Nov 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Mexico City and Phu Quoc

For one person, living is cheaper in Phu Quoc: $730 a month against $1,674 in Mexico City, rent and utilities included – about $11,300 less a year. Rent and utilities account for about half of the difference.

80

Cost of Living Index in Mexico City
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Mexico City Living Index
35

Cost of Living Index in Phu Quoc
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Phu Quoc Living Index

Jump to prices

Mexico City

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,674

/mo nomad

Phu Quoc

🇻🇳 Vietnam

$730

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Mexico City and in Phu Quoc

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,674 in Mexico City versus $730 in Phu Quoc.

Mexico City $1,674
Phu Quoc $730

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,606 in Mexico City versus $1,170 in Phu Quoc.

Mexico City $2,606
Phu Quoc $1,170

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,537 in Mexico City versus $1,611 in Phu Quoc.

Mexico City $3,537
Phu Quoc $1,611

Living in Mexico City is roughly 129% more expensive than in Phu Quoc, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Mexico City is 24% above, Phu Quoc is 46% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$10.59 MX$197

$1.95 ₫50.1K

443.08%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$52.0 MX$967

$21.24 ₫547.2K

144.63%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$10.73 MX$200

$4.53 ₫116.6K

136.87%

Cappuccino

$3.80 MX$70.7

$1.78 ₫45.8K

113.48%

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

$1.61 MX$30.01

$0.51 ₫13.1K

215.69%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.21 MX$22.55

$0.28 ₫7,101

332.14%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.18 MX$59.1

$0.98 ₫25.2K

224.49%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$5.44 MX$101

$1.51 ₫39.0K

260.26%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.72 MX$31.96

$1.36 ₫35.1K

26.47%

White Bread (500g)

$2.97 MX$55.2

$0.99 ₫25.6K

200.00%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.93 MX$35.84

$0.96 ₫24.7K

101.04%

Eggs

$2.77 MX$51.6

$1.46 ₫37.6K

89.73%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$11.67 MX$217

$11.84 ₫304.9K

-1.44%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.48 MX$176

$3.79 ₫97.7K

150.13%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$15.37 MX$286

$9.68 ₫249.4K

58.78%

Apples (1kg)

$3.10 MX$57.8

$2.79 ₫71.9K

11.11%

Banana (1kg)

$1.96 MX$36.49

$1.05 ₫27.1K

86.67%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.98 MX$36.88

$1.34 ₫34.5K

47.76%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.34 MX$43.46

$1.08 ₫27.7K

116.67%

Potato (1kg)

$2.02 MX$37.66

$1.04 ₫26.7K

94.23%

Onion (1kg)

$1.82 MX$33.95

$1.06 ₫27.3K

71.70%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.54 MX$28.74

$0.70 ₫17.9K

120.00%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.31 MX$24.42

$0.48 ₫12.4K

172.92%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$5.35 MX$99.6

$1.36 ₫35.2K

293.38%

Wine (Bottle)

$16.19 MX$301

$11.44 ₫294.7K

41.52%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.96 MX$36.46

$0.80 ₫20.5K

145.00%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.35 MX$81.0

$1.64 ₫42.3K

165.24%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.30 MX$5.67

$0.34 ₫8,871

-11.76%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$19.49 MX$363

$6.69 ₫172.4K

191.33%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.92 MX$35.68

$0.67 ₫17.3K

186.57%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.47 MX$8.80

$0.67 ₫17.3K

-29.85%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$5.41 MX$101

$2.83 ₫72.9K

91.17%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.48 MX$27.61

$0.84 ₫21.7K

76.19%

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

$21.4K MX$397.7K

$35.7K ₫920.6M

-40.19%

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

$23.8K MX$442.1K

$31.8K ₫818.2M

-25.21%

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

$62.0 MX$1,154

$75.1 ₫1.9M

-17.49%

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

$28.47 MX$530

$5.81 ₫149.7K

390.02%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$34.11 MX$635

$8.77 ₫225.8K

288.94%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$58.4 MX$1,087

$22.06 ₫568.2K

164.69%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$24.50 MX$456

$7.89 ₫203.1K

210.52%

Cinema Ticket

$6.59 MX$123

$3.00 ₫77.2K

119.67%

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

$434 MX$8,081

$261 ₫6.7M

66.11%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$14.0K MX$261.2K

$11.6K ₫298.2M

21.23%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$68.4 MX$1,272

$40.55 ₫1.0M

68.56%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$54.8 MX$1,020

$23.13 ₫595.9K

136.92%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$111 MX$2,063

$87.0 ₫2.2M

27.44%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$116 MX$2,159

$73.5 ₫1.9M

57.72%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,179 MX$21.9K

$360 ₫9.3M

227.21%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$771 MX$14.3K

$246 ₫6.3M

213.45%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,570 MX$47.8K

$732 ₫18.9M

250.94%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,420 MX$26.4K

$536 ₫13.8M

164.71%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,586 MX$66.7K

$2,068 ₫53.3M

73.42%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$2,064 MX$38.4K

$1,251 ₫32.2M

64.97%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,003 MX$18.7K

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

11.35

9.1

24.73%

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

Last update for Mexico City: November 1, 2026

Last update for Phu Quoc: November 1, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Mexico City

$771 46.1%

Phu Quoc

$246 33.7% 68.1% $525

Groceries & Markets

Mexico City

$324 19.3%

Phu Quoc

$192 26.3% 40.8% $132

Eating Out

Mexico City

$201 12%

Phu Quoc

$62 8.4% 69.3% $139

Clothing & Footwear

Mexico City

$158 9.4%

Phu Quoc

$101 13.8% 35.9% $57

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Mexico City

$125 7.4%

Phu Quoc

$90 12.3% 28% $35

Sport & Entertainment

Mexico City

$72 4.3%

Phu Quoc

$28 3.8% 60.8% $44

Getting Around

Mexico City

$25 1.5%

Phu Quoc

$12 1.7% 51.6% $13

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,179 in Mexico City and $360 in Phu Quoc. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Dining out: $52 in Mexico City vs $21 in Phu Quoc for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $324 vs $192 per month, with Phu Quoc cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇲🇽 Mexico City

🇻🇳 Phu Quoc

🕒 Local time

16:16 4:16 PM

05:16 5:16 AM

13 h ahead of Mexico City

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

9,209,944 Capital

144,460

💱 Currency

Mexican Peso MXN $

Vietnamese Dong VND ₫

📈 Exchange rate

100 MXN = 5.37 USD

100 MXN = 4.77 EUR

100,000 VND = 3.88 USD

100,000 VND = 3.45 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

VND, USD, EUR to MXN – Mexican Peso Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇲🇽 Mexican Peso ($)

Mexican Peso exchange rates as of November 4, 2026: 1 USD = 18.61 MXN (100 MXN = 5.37 USD). 1 EUR = 20.95 MXN (100 MXN = 4.77 EUR).

Vietnamese Dong exchange rates as of November 4, 2026: 1 USD = 25,761 VND (100,000 VND = 3.88 USD). 1 EUR = 29,000 VND (100,000 VND = 3.45 EUR).

USD to MXN in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Mexico City Phu Quoc 15,860 km ≈ 20 h nonstop flight

From you

Mexico City
Phu Quoc

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 Phu Quoc: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Total monthly costs including rent come to $1,674 in Mexico City and $730 in Phu Quoc, so Phu Quoc is about 56% cheaper – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

You’d need roughly $2,510 in Mexico City and $1,095 in Phu Quoc 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: $1,179 in Mexico City versus $360 in Phu Quoc. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

A monthly transit pass in Phu Quoc runs roughly 66% less than in Mexico City. The price difference matters if you commute daily and watch your budget.

Childcare runs $434 in Mexico City versus $261 in Phu Quoc. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

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.

Expats usually find Phu Quoc gentler on the wallet – expenses run 56% less than in Mexico City. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.