Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Mexico City and Portsmouth

For one person, living is cheaper in Mexico City: $1,567 a month against $2,763 in Portsmouth, rent and utilities included – about $14,400 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

76

Cost of Living Index in Mexico City
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Mexico City Living Index
134

Cost of Living Index in Portsmouth
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Portsmouth Living Index

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Mexico City

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,567

/mo nomad

Portsmouth

🇬🇧 United Kingdom

$2,763

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,567 in Mexico City versus $2,763 in Portsmouth.

Mexico City $1,567
Portsmouth $2,763

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,450 in Mexico City versus $3,798 in Portsmouth.

Mexico City $2,450
Portsmouth $3,798

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,333 in Mexico City versus $4,834 in Portsmouth.

Mexico City $3,333
Portsmouth $4,834

Living in Mexico City costs roughly 43% less than in Portsmouth, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Both cities are pricier than the global median: Mexico City 16% above, Portsmouth 105% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$10.75 MX$199

$19.81 £14.86

-45.73%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$50.3 MX$929

$66.4 £49.78

-24.27%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.10 MX$205

$10.34 £7.76

7.35%

Cappuccino

$3.68 MX$68.1

$4.79 £3.59

-23.17%

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

$1.65 MX$30.42

$2.66 £1.99

-37.97%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.30 MX$24.08

$2.27 £1.71

-42.73%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.32 MX$61.3

$6.18 £4.63

-46.28%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$5.54 MX$102

$5.83 £4.38

-4.97%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.77 MX$32.68

$1.41 £1.06

25.53%

White Bread (500g)

$3.05 MX$56.4

$1.58 £1.18

93.04%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.01 MX$37.20

$3.69 £2.77

-45.53%

Eggs

$2.77 MX$51.1

$3.39 £2.55

-18.29%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$11.91 MX$220

$13.26 £9.95

-10.18%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.33 MX$172

$8.32 £6.24

12.14%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$15.02 MX$278

$13.02 £9.77

15.36%

Apples (1kg)

$3.08 MX$56.8

$3.86 £2.90

-20.21%

Banana (1kg)

$1.95 MX$35.97

$1.91 £1.43

2.09%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.03 MX$37.54

$2.85 £2.14

-28.77%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.21 MX$40.92

$3.34 £2.51

-33.83%

Potato (1kg)

$2.02 MX$37.41

$1.65 £1.23

22.42%

Onion (1kg)

$1.82 MX$33.67

$1.63 £1.23

11.66%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.52 MX$28.07

$1.20 £0.90

26.67%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.28 MX$23.65

$1.52 £1.14

-15.79%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$5.27 MX$97.4

$23.07 £17.31

-77.16%

Wine (Bottle)

$16.12 MX$298

$11.29 £8.47

42.78%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.95 MX$36.05

$2.94 £2.21

-33.67%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.25 MX$78.6

$2.14 £1.60

98.60%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.31 MX$5.82

$4.08 £3.06

-92.40%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$19.85 MX$367

$88.0 £66.0

-77.45%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$2.00 MX$36.93

$5.16 £3.87

-61.24%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.53 MX$9.86

$1.60 £1.20

-66.88%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$5.62 MX$104

$20.02 £15.02

-71.93%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.52 MX$28.07

$2.08 £1.56

-26.92%

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

$21.0K MX$388.7K

$38.6K £29.0K

-45.55%

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

$25.2K MX$465.3K

$40.1K £30.1K

-37.27%

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

$62.5 MX$1,155

$654 £491

-90.45%

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

$28.77 MX$532

$14.83 £11.12

94.00%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$34.45 MX$637

$42.05 £31.55

-18.07%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$57.1 MX$1,055

$38.39 £28.80

48.74%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$24.81 MX$458

$17.15 £12.86

44.66%

Cinema Ticket

$6.67 MX$123

$10.65 £7.99

-37.37%

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

$431 MX$7,964

$1,249 £937

-65.50%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$11.7K MX$216.9K

$20.0K £15.0K

-41.42%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$70.8 MX$1,308

$90.5 £67.9

-21.77%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$51.8 MX$958

$39.83 £29.88

30.13%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$109 MX$2,011

$98.6 £74.0

10.39%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$112 MX$2,076

$120 £89.8

-6.20%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,051 MX$19.4K

$1,457 £1,093

-27.84%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$665 MX$12.3K

$1,098 £824

-39.43%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,346 MX$43.3K

$2,091 £1,569

12.16%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,227 MX$22.7K

$1,714 £1,286

-28.46%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,554 MX$65.7K

$4,504 £3,378

-21.09%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,977 MX$36.5K

$3,703 £2,778

-46.61%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$975 MX$18.0K

$3,350 £2,513

-70.91%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

11.3

5.16

118.99%

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

Last update for Mexico City: October 11, 2026

Last update for Portsmouth: October 12, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Mexico City

$665 42.4%

Portsmouth

$1.1K 39.8% 65.1% $433

Groceries & Markets

Mexico City

$323 20.6%

Portsmouth

$310 11.2% 3.8% $12

Eating Out

Mexico City

$203 13%

Portsmouth

$309 11.2% 52.4% $106

Clothing & Footwear

Mexico City

$155 9.9%

Portsmouth

$157 5.7% 1.4% $2.2

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Mexico City

$126 8%

Portsmouth

$711 25.7% 466% $586

Sport & Entertainment

Mexico City

$70 4.5%

Portsmouth

$60 2.2% 15.3% $11

Getting Around

Mexico City

$26 1.6%

Portsmouth

$118 4.3% 356% $92

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,051 in Mexico City and $1,457 in Portsmouth. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Portsmouth pays 244% 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: $50.0 in Mexico City vs $66.0 in Portsmouth. Groceries flip the comparison at $323 vs $310, with Portsmouth cheaper for home cooking.

Good to know

🇲🇽 Mexico City

🇬🇧 Portsmouth

🕒 Local time

21:03 9:03 PM

04:03 4:03 AM

7 h ahead of Mexico City

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

9,209,944 Capital

198,974

💱 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 18, 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 18, 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

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Mexico City Portsmouth 8,890 km ≈ 12 h nonstop flight

From you

Mexico City
Portsmouth

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 Portsmouth: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Mexico City and Portsmouth differ by about 76% in total monthly costs ($1,567 vs $2,763 including rent). Mexico City is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

On paper, salaries run 244% lower in Portsmouth. 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: $1,051 in Mexico City versus $1,457 in Portsmouth. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

A monthly transit pass in Mexico City runs roughly 343% less than in Portsmouth. Both cities have functional networks, but the price difference matters if you're watching your budget.

Childcare runs $431 in Mexico City versus $1,249 in Portsmouth. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

At $1,567 in Mexico City versus $2,763 in Portsmouth, a $2,000 budget is realistic in Mexico City but tight or insufficient in Portsmouth. 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.

Expats usually find Mexico City gentler on the wallet – expenses run 76% less than in Portsmouth. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.