Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Mexico City and Santo Domingo, Ecuador

Name: Santo Domingo
Address: Santo Domingo, EC

For one person, living is cheaper in Santo Domingo: $723 a month against $1,608 in Mexico City, rent and utilities included – about $10,600 less a year. Rent and utilities account for about half of the difference.

78

Cost of Living Index in Mexico City
Learn more

Mexico City Living Index
35

Cost of Living Index in Santo Domingo
Learn more

Santo Domingo Living Index

Jump to prices

Mexico City

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,608

/mo nomad

Santo Domingo

🇪🇨 Ecuador

$723

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Mexico City and in Santo Domingo

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,608 in Mexico City versus $723 in Santo Domingo.

Mexico City $1,608
Santo Domingo $723

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,549 in Mexico City versus $1,190 in Santo Domingo.

Mexico City $2,549
Santo Domingo $1,190

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,490 in Mexico City versus $1,657 in Santo Domingo.

Mexico City $3,490
Santo Domingo $1,657

Living in Mexico City is roughly 122% more expensive than in Santo Domingo, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

The two cities straddle the global median: Mexico City is 18% above, Santo Domingo is 47% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$10.62 MX$198

$3.96 $3.96

168.18%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$48.35 MX$901

$51.5 $51.5

-6.06%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$10.35 MX$193

$9.15 $9.15

13.11%

Cappuccino

$3.69 MX$68.8

$1.98 $1.98

86.36%

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

$1.67 MX$31.07

$0.88 $0.88

89.77%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.27 MX$23.59

$0.73 $0.73

73.97%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.19 MX$59.5

$1.98 $1.98

61.11%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$5.31 MX$98.9

$4.17 $4.17

27.34%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.72 MX$32.15

$1.02 $1.02

68.63%

White Bread (500g)

$3.04 MX$56.7

$1.93 $1.93

57.51%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.94 MX$36.19

$1.31 $1.31

48.09%

Eggs

$2.89 MX$53.8

$2.01 $2.01

43.78%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$10.97 MX$205

$4.34 $4.34

152.76%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.25 MX$172

$2.99 $2.99

209.36%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$15.13 MX$282

$3.54 $3.54

327.40%

Apples (1kg)

$3.05 MX$56.8

$1.51 $1.51

101.99%

Banana (1kg)

$1.94 MX$36.19

$0.98 $0.98

97.96%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.03 MX$37.75

$1.01 $1.01

100.99%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.31 MX$43.15

$0.92 $0.92

151.09%

Potato (1kg)

$2.04 MX$37.94

$0.98 $0.98

108.16%

Onion (1kg)

$1.80 MX$33.55

$0.92 $0.92

95.65%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.48 MX$27.58

$0.82 $0.82

80.49%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.27 MX$23.63

$0.99 $0.99

28.28%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$5.30 MX$98.9

$5.87 $5.87

-9.71%

Wine (Bottle)

$16.10 MX$300

$5.04 $5.04

219.44%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.98 MX$36.97

$1.50 $1.50

32.00%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.25 MX$79.3

$2.13 $2.13

99.53%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.31 MX$5.69

$0.33 $0.33

-6.06%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$19.73 MX$368

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.84 MX$34.25

$2.82 $2.82

-34.75%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.53 MX$9.94

$1.80 $1.80

-70.56%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$5.30 MX$98.7

$12.11 $12.11

-56.23%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.51 MX$28.16

$0.90 $0.90

67.78%

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

$21.8K MX$405.5K

$23.1K $23.1K

-5.75%

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

$24.0K MX$447.1K

$30.5K $30.5K

-21.38%

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

$63.0 MX$1,174

$34.76 $34.76

81.19%

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

$27.39 MX$511

$9.83 $9.83

178.64%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$35.67 MX$665

$23.21 $23.21

53.68%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$58.9 MX$1,099

$32.57 $32.57

80.96%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$23.64 MX$441

$17.80 $17.80

32.81%

Cinema Ticket

$6.40 MX$119

$7.55 $7.55

-15.23%

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

$432 MX$8,045

$379 $379

13.93%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$11.4K MX$212.9K

$5,642 $5,642

102.49%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$68.2 MX$1,272

$19.97 $19.97

241.61%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$53.1 MX$990

$29.92 $29.92

77.57%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$108 MX$2,009

$50.4 $50.4

114.02%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$117 MX$2,186

$49.26 $49.26

138.06%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,113 MX$20.8K

$422 $422

164.04%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$710 MX$13.2K

$274 $274

158.90%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,588 MX$48.2K

$832 $832

211.25%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,406 MX$26.2K

$499 $499

181.51%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,631 MX$67.7K

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$2,135 MX$39.8K

$10.2K $10.2K

-79.05%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$946 MX$17.6K

$401 $401

135.98%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

11.35

10.05

12.94%

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

Last update for Mexico City: October 25, 2026

Last update for Santo Domingo: October 24, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Mexico City

$710 44.2%

Santo Domingo

$274 37.9% 61.4% $436

Groceries & Markets

Mexico City

$320 19.9%

Santo Domingo

$145 20.1% 54.5% $174

Eating Out

Mexico City

$199 12.4%

Santo Domingo

$108 14.9% 45.8% $91

Clothing & Footwear

Mexico City

$156 9.7%

Santo Domingo

$67 9.3% 56.8% $89

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Mexico City

$126 7.8%

Santo Domingo

$68 9.4% 46.2% $58

Sport & Entertainment

Mexico City

$72 4.5%

Santo Domingo

$48 6.6% 33.6% $24

Getting Around

Mexico City

$25 1.6%

Santo Domingo

$13 * 1.8% 48.4% $12

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 $1,113 in Mexico City and $422 in Santo Domingo. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Mexico City pays about 2.4 times more on average. How far that income stretches comes down to housing choices and lifestyle.

Dining out: $48 in Mexico City vs $51 in Santo Domingo. Groceries flip the comparison at $320 vs $145, with Santo Domingo cheaper for home cooking.

Good to know

🇲🇽 Mexico City

🇪🇨 Santo Domingo

🕒 Local time

19:05 7:05 PM

20:05 8:05 PM

1 h ahead of Mexico City

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

9,209,944 Capital

270,875

💱 Currency

Mexican Peso MXN $

United States Dollar USD $

📈 Exchange rate

100 MXN = 5.36 USD

100 MXN = 4.82 EUR

1 USD = 0.898 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

USD, EUR to MXN – Mexican Peso Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇲🇽 Mexican Peso ($)

Mexican Peso exchange rates as of October 29, 2026: 1 USD = 18.64 MXN (100 MXN = 5.36 USD). 1 EUR = 20.75 MXN (100 MXN = 4.82 EUR).

United States Dollar exchange rates as of October 29, 2026: 1 EUR = 1.11 USD (1 USD = 0.898 EUR).

USD to MXN in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Mexico City Santo Domingo 3,090 km ≈ 4 h 15 min nonstop flight

From you

Mexico City
Santo Domingo

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 Santo Domingo: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Total monthly costs including rent come to $1,608 in Mexico City and $723 in Santo Domingo, so Santo Domingo is about 55% cheaper – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

Average pay in Mexico City is about 2.4 times higher, 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: $1,113 in Mexico City versus $422 in Santo Domingo. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $432 in Mexico City versus $379 in Santo Domingo. 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 $51 in Santo Domingo. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

At $723 in Santo Domingo versus $1,608 in Mexico City, a $1,000 budget is realistic in Santo Domingo but tight or insufficient in Mexico City. The gap between the two cities makes Santo Domingo 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 – Santo Domingo wins on affordability, Mexico City on earning potential. Factor in climate, language, visa rules, and proximity to places that matter to you before deciding.