Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Mexico City and San Pedro Sula

For one person, living is cheaper in San Pedro Sula: $1,221 a month against $1,567 in Mexico City, rent and utilities included – about $4,200 less a year. Rent and utilities account for about half of the difference.

76

Cost of Living Index in Mexico City
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Mexico City Living Index
59

Cost of Living Index in San Pedro Sula
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San Pedro Sula Living Index

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Mexico City

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,567

/mo nomad

San Pedro Sula

🇭🇳 Honduras

$1,221

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Mexico City and in San Pedro Sula

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 San Pedro Sula actually costs, broken down by who's living it.

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,567 in Mexico City versus $1,221 in San Pedro Sula.

Mexico City $1,567
San Pedro Sula $1,221

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,450 in Mexico City versus $1,818 in San Pedro Sula.

Mexico City $2,450
San Pedro Sula $1,818

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,333 in Mexico City versus $2,414 in San Pedro Sula.

Mexico City $3,333
San Pedro Sula $2,414

Living in Mexico City is roughly 28% more expensive than in San Pedro Sula, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

The two cities straddle the global median: Mexico City is 16% above, San Pedro Sula is 10% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$10.75 MX$199

$7.43 HNL 200

44.68%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$50.3 MX$929

$33.86 HNL 910

48.41%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.10 MX$205

$9.36 HNL 252

18.59%

Cappuccino

$3.68 MX$68.1

$2.34 HNL 62.9

57.26%

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

$1.65 MX$30.42

$1.06 HNL 28.52

55.66%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.30 MX$24.08

$0.78 HNL 20.90

66.67%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.32 MX$61.3

$1.85 HNL 49.68

79.46%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$5.54 MX$102

$3.62 HNL 97.3

53.04%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.77 MX$32.68

$1.53 HNL 41.10

15.69%

White Bread (500g)

$3.05 MX$56.4

$2.03 HNL 54.6

50.25%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.01 MX$37.20

$1.62 HNL 43.56

24.07%

Eggs

$2.77 MX$51.1

$2.35 HNL 63.0

17.87%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$11.91 MX$220

$8.85 HNL 238

34.58%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.33 MX$172

$6.66 HNL 179

40.09%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$15.02 MX$278

$9.23 HNL 248

62.73%

Apples (1kg)

$3.08 MX$56.8

$3.49 HNL 93.7

-11.75%

Banana (1kg)

$1.95 MX$35.97

$1.27 HNL 34.12

53.54%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.03 MX$37.54

$3.20 HNL 86.0

-36.56%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.21 MX$40.92

$1.72 HNL 46.31

28.49%

Potato (1kg)

$2.02 MX$37.41

$2.43 HNL 65.4

-16.87%

Onion (1kg)

$1.82 MX$33.67

$2.35 HNL 63.0

-22.55%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.52 MX$28.07

$1.43 HNL 38.37

6.29%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.28 MX$23.65

$1.65 HNL 44.45

-22.42%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$5.27 MX$97.4

$3.04 HNL 81.8

73.36%

Wine (Bottle)

$16.12 MX$298

$12.93 HNL 347

24.67%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.95 MX$36.05

$0.86 HNL 22.99

126.74%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.25 MX$78.6

$1.39 HNL 37.44

205.76%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.31 MX$5.82

$0.64 HNL 17.07

-51.56%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$19.85 MX$367

$35.87 HNL 963

-44.66%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$2.00 MX$36.93

$2.73 HNL 73.3

-26.74%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.53 MX$9.86

$1.85 HNL 49.63

-71.35%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$5.62 MX$104

$11.07 HNL 297

-49.23%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.52 MX$28.07

$0.93 HNL 25.03

63.44%

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

$21.0K MX$388.7K

$23.0K HNL 617.0K

-8.43%

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

$25.2K MX$465.3K

$24.4K HNL 655.8K

3.14%

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

$62.5 MX$1,155

$129 HNL 3,478

-51.74%

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

$28.77 MX$532

$11.29 HNL 303

154.83%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$34.45 MX$637

$43.72 HNL 1,174

-21.20%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$57.1 MX$1,055

$37.53 HNL 1,008

52.14%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$24.81 MX$458

$14.08 HNL 378

76.21%

Cinema Ticket

$6.67 MX$123

$5.76 HNL 155

15.80%

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

$431 MX$7,964

$148 HNL 3,971

191.52%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$11.7K MX$216.9K

$3,203 HNL 86.0K

266.49%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$70.8 MX$1,308

$73.2 HNL 1,965

-3.24%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$51.8 MX$958

$39.91 HNL 1,072

29.87%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$109 MX$2,011

$78.4 HNL 2,107

38.76%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$112 MX$2,076

$74.9 HNL 2,013

49.90%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,051 MX$19.4K

$568 HNL 15.3K

85.01%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$665 MX$12.3K

$421 HNL 11.3K

57.82%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,346 MX$43.3K

$819 HNL 22.0K

186.28%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,227 MX$22.7K

$706 HNL 19.0K

73.81%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,554 MX$65.7K

$992 HNL 26.6K

258.32%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,977 MX$36.5K

$426 HNL 11.4K

363.98%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$975 MX$18.0K

$608 HNL 16.3K

60.22%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

11.3

12.33

-8.35%

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

Last update for Mexico City: October 11, 2026

Last update for San Pedro Sula: October 12, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Mexico City

$665 42.4%

San Pedro Sula

$421 34.5% 36.6% $244

Groceries & Markets

Mexico City

$323 20.6%

San Pedro Sula

$256 21% 20.7% $67

Eating Out

Mexico City

$203 13%

San Pedro Sula

$139 11.4% 31.3% $63

Clothing & Footwear

Mexico City

$155 9.9%

San Pedro Sula

$120 9.8% 22.5% $35

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Mexico City

$126 8%

San Pedro Sula

$185 15.1% 46.8% $59

Sport & Entertainment

Mexico City

$70 4.5%

San Pedro Sula

$49 4% 30.4% $21

Getting Around

Mexico City

$26 1.6%

San Pedro Sula

$50 4.1% 95.4% $25

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,051 in Mexico City and $568 in San Pedro Sula. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Mexico City pays 60% 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 $34.00 in San Pedro Sula for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $323 vs $256 per month, with San Pedro Sula cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇲🇽 Mexico City

🇭🇳 San Pedro Sula

🕒 Local time

01:07 1:07 AM

Same time as Mexico City

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

9,209,944 Capital

719,064

💱 Currency

Mexican Peso MXN $

Honduran Lempira HNL L

📈 Exchange rate

100 MXN = 5.41 USD

100 MXN = 4.81 EUR

100 HNL = 3.72 USD

100 HNL = 3.31 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

HNL, USD, EUR to MXN – Mexican Peso Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇲🇽 Mexican Peso ($)

Mexican Peso exchange rates as of October 19, 2026: 1 USD = 18.48 MXN (100 MXN = 5.41 USD). 1 EUR = 20.77 MXN (100 MXN = 4.81 EUR).

Honduran Lempira exchange rates as of October 19, 2026: 1 USD = 26.86 HNL (100 HNL = 3.72 USD). 1 EUR = 30.2 HNL (100 HNL = 3.31 EUR).

USD to MXN in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Mexico City San Pedro Sula 1,260 km ≈ 2 h nonstop flight

From you

Mexico City
San Pedro Sula

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 San Pedro Sula: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Mexico City and San Pedro Sula differ by about 28% in total monthly costs ($1,567 vs $1,221 including rent). San Pedro Sula is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

Average pay runs 60% higher in Mexico City, which matters when comparing affordability. Whether that higher income actually nets you more depends on your spending habits and housing choices.

Rent for a central apartment: $1,051 in Mexico City versus $568 in San Pedro Sula. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

A monthly transit pass in San Pedro Sula runs roughly 81% less than in Mexico City. Both cities have functional networks, but the price difference matters if you're watching your budget.

Childcare runs $431 in Mexico City versus $148 in San Pedro Sula. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

At $1,221 in San Pedro Sula versus $1,567 in Mexico City, a $2,000 budget is realistic in San Pedro Sula but tight or insufficient in Mexico City. The gap between the two cities makes San Pedro Sula 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 San Pedro Sula gentler on the wallet – expenses run 28% less than in Mexico City. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.