Last update: Nov 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Mexico City and Sao Tome

For one person, living is cheaper in Sao Tome: $1,202 a month against $1,674 in Mexico City, rent and utilities included – about $5,700 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

80

Cost of Living Index in Mexico City
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Mexico City Living Index
57

Cost of Living Index in Sao Tome
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Sao Tome Living Index

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Mexico City

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,674

/mo nomad

Sao Tome

🇸🇹 Sao Tome and Principe

$1,202

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Mexico City and in Sao Tome

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,674 in Mexico City versus $1,202 in Sao Tome.

Mexico City $1,674
Sao Tome $1,202

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,606 in Mexico City versus $1,885 in Sao Tome.

Mexico City $2,606
Sao Tome $1,885

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,537 in Mexico City versus $2,567 in Sao Tome.

Mexico City $3,537
Sao Tome $2,567

Living in Mexico City is roughly 39% more expensive than in Sao Tome, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in clothing.

The two cities straddle the global median: Mexico City is 24% above, Sao Tome is 11% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$10.59 MX$199

$8.79 STN 192

20.48%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$52.0 MX$976

$44.44 STN 969

16.92%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$10.73 MX$201

$7.84 STN 171

36.86%

Cappuccino

$3.80 MX$71.3

$2.21 STN 48.22

71.95%

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

$1.61 MX$30.28

$1.87 STN 40.78

-13.90%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.21 MX$22.76

$1.21 STN 26.44

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.18 MX$59.7

$1.72 STN 37.55

84.88%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$5.44 MX$102

$1.81 STN 39.51

200.55%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.72 MX$32.26

$1.51 STN 32.88

13.91%

White Bread (500g)

$2.97 MX$55.7

$1.21 STN 26.36

145.45%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.93 MX$36.17

$2.04 STN 44.58

-5.39%

Eggs

$2.77 MX$52.1

$4.81 STN 105

-42.41%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$11.67 MX$219

$22.11 STN 482

-47.22%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.48 MX$178

$16.62 STN 362

-42.96%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$15.37 MX$289

$20.21 STN 441

-23.95%

Apples (1kg)

$3.10 MX$58.3

$3.84 STN 83.7

-19.27%

Banana (1kg)

$1.96 MX$36.82

$1.75 STN 38.18

12.00%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.98 MX$37.22

$3.82 STN 83.3

-48.17%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.34 MX$43.86

$3.90 STN 84.9

-40.00%

Potato (1kg)

$2.02 MX$38.00

$3.14 STN 68.5

-35.67%

Onion (1kg)

$1.82 MX$34.26

$3.05 STN 66.6

-40.33%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.54 MX$29.00

$0.50 STN 10.83

208.00%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.31 MX$24.64

$2.08 STN 45.33

-37.02%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$5.35 MX$100

$2.26 STN 49.25

136.73%

Wine (Bottle)

$16.19 MX$304

$7.01 STN 153

130.96%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.96 MX$36.79

$1.50 STN 32.76

30.67%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.35 MX$81.7

$1.64 STN 35.65

165.24%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.30 MX$5.72

$1.40 STN 30.59

-78.57%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$19.49 MX$366

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.92 MX$36.01

$1.67 STN 36.33

14.97%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.47 MX$8.88

$2.52 STN 55.0

-81.35%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$5.41 MX$102

$13.81 STN 301

-60.83%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.48 MX$27.86

$1.73 STN 37.68

-14.45%

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

$21.4K MX$401.4K

$24.4K STN 532.1K

-12.44%

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

$23.8K MX$446.1K

$31.5K STN 686.7K

-24.59%

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

$62.0 MX$1,164

$232 STN 5,047

-73.22%

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

$28.47 MX$535

$31.65 STN 690

-10.05%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$34.11 MX$641

$67.1 STN 1,462

-49.13%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$58.4 MX$1,097

$33.48 STN 730

74.40%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$24.50 MX$460

$24.95 STN 544

-1.80%

Cinema Ticket

$6.59 MX$124

$20.27 STN 442

-67.49%

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

$434 MX$8,155

$230 STN 5,017

88.69%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$14.0K MX$263.6K

$2,182 STN 47.6K

543.30%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$68.4 MX$1,284

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$54.8 MX$1,029

$73.6 STN 1,605

-25.57%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$111 MX$2,082

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$116 MX$2,178

$18.53 STN 404

525.96%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,179 MX$22.1K

$285 STN 6,205

314.28%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$771 MX$14.5K

$195 STN 4,254

295.06%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,570 MX$48.3K

$922 STN 20.1K

178.92%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,420 MX$26.7K

$441 STN 9,618

221.74%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,586 MX$67.3K

$1,839 STN 40.1K

95.01%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$2,064 MX$38.8K

$1,143 STN 24.9K

80.50%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,003 MX$18.8K

$256 STN 5,582

291.65%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

11.35

7.38

53.79%

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

Last update for Mexico City: November 1, 2026

Last update for Sao Tome: October 31, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Mexico City

$771 46.1%

Sao Tome

$195 16.2% 74.7% $576

Groceries & Markets

Mexico City

$324 19.3%

Sao Tome

$396 33% 22.5% $73

Eating Out

Mexico City

$201 12%

Sao Tome

$145 12.1% 27.7% $56

Clothing & Footwear

Mexico City

$158 9.4%

Sao Tome

$41 * 3.5% 73.7% $116

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Mexico City

$125 7.4%

Sao Tome

$330 27.5% 165% $206

Sport & Entertainment

Mexico City

$72 4.3%

Sao Tome

$74 6.2% 3.5% $2.5

Getting Around

Mexico City

$25 1.5%

Sao Tome

$20 * 1.7% 20.4% $5.1

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 $1,179 in Mexico City and $285 in Sao Tome. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Mexico City pays about 3.9 times more on average. How far that income stretches comes down to housing choices and lifestyle.

Dining out: $52 in Mexico City vs $44 in Sao Tome. Groceries flip the comparison at $324 vs $396, with Mexico City cheaper for home cooking.

Good to know

🇲🇽 Mexico City

🇸🇹 Sao Tome

🕒 Local time

14:37 2:37 PM

20:37 8:37 PM

6 h ahead of Mexico City

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

9,209,944 Capital

53,300 Capital

💱 Currency

Mexican Peso MXN $

Sao Tome and Principe Dobra STN Db

📈 Exchange rate

100 MXN = 5.32 USD

100 MXN = 4.76 EUR

100 STN = 4.59 USD

100 STN = 4.1 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

STN, USD, EUR to MXN – Mexican Peso Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇲🇽 Mexican Peso ($)

Mexican Peso exchange rates as of November 6, 2026: 1 USD = 18.78 MXN (100 MXN = 5.32 USD). 1 EUR = 20.99 MXN (100 MXN = 4.76 EUR).

Sao Tome and Principe Dobra exchange rates as of November 6, 2026: 1 USD = 21.8 STN (100 STN = 4.59 USD). 1 EUR = 24.36 STN (100 STN = 4.1 EUR).

USD to MXN in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Mexico City Sao Tome 11,660 km ≈ 15 h nonstop flight

From you

Mexico City
Sao Tome

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 Sao Tome: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Total monthly costs including rent come to $1,674 in Mexico City and $1,202 in Sao Tome, so Sao Tome is about 28% cheaper – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

Average pay in Mexico City is about 3.9 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: $1,179 in Mexico City versus $285 in Sao Tome. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $434 in Mexico City versus $230 in Sao Tome. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Dining out is cheaper in Sao Tome – a meal for two runs $44 versus $52 in Mexico City. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

Both cities are expensive relative to $1,000. Sao Tome is the more realistic option, but even there you’ll need to be disciplined with housing, food, and fun money.

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 – Sao Tome wins on affordability, Mexico City on earning potential. Factor in climate, language, visa rules, and proximity to places that matter to you before deciding.