Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Mexico City and Songdo-dong

For one person, living is cheaper in Songdo-dong: $1,449 a month against $1,608 in Mexico City, rent and utilities included – about $1,900 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

78

Cost of Living Index in Mexico City
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Mexico City Living Index
70

Cost of Living Index in Songdo-dong
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Songdo-dong Living Index

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Mexico City

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,608

/mo nomad

Songdo-dong

🇰🇷 South Korea

$1,449

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Mexico City and in Songdo-dong

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 Songdo-dong actually costs, broken down by who's living it.

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,608 in Mexico City versus $1,449 in Songdo-dong.

Mexico City $1,608
Songdo-dong $1,449

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,549 in Mexico City versus $2,306 in Songdo-dong.

Mexico City $2,549
Songdo-dong $2,306

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,490 in Mexico City versus $3,163 in Songdo-dong.

Mexico City $3,490
Songdo-dong $3,163

Living in Mexico City is roughly 11% more expensive than in Songdo-dong, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Both cities are pricier than the global median: Mexico City 18% above, Songdo-dong 6% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$10.62 MX$198

$5.94 ₩7,971

78.79%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$48.35 MX$901

$35.30 ₩47.4K

36.97%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$10.35 MX$193

$6.86 ₩9,212

50.87%

Cappuccino

$3.69 MX$68.8

$3.73 ₩5,009

-1.07%

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

$1.67 MX$31.07

$1.61 ₩2,157

3.73%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.27 MX$23.59

$0.60 ₩801

111.67%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.19 MX$59.5

$3.01 ₩4,035

5.98%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$5.31 MX$98.9

$4.52 ₩6,066

17.48%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.72 MX$32.15

$2.19 ₩2,946

-21.46%

White Bread (500g)

$3.04 MX$56.7

$3.06 ₩4,108

-0.65%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.94 MX$36.19

$2.28 ₩3,060

-14.91%

Eggs

$2.89 MX$53.8

$3.26 ₩4,384

-11.35%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$10.97 MX$205

$16.03 ₩21.5K

-31.57%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.25 MX$172

$7.80 ₩10.5K

18.59%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$15.13 MX$282

$11.39 ₩15.3K

32.84%

Apples (1kg)

$3.05 MX$56.8

$7.58 ₩10.2K

-59.76%

Banana (1kg)

$1.94 MX$36.19

$3.21 ₩4,308

-39.56%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.03 MX$37.75

$7.53 ₩10.1K

-73.04%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.31 MX$43.15

$7.13 ₩9,576

-67.60%

Potato (1kg)

$2.04 MX$37.94

$3.48 ₩4,666

-41.38%

Onion (1kg)

$1.80 MX$33.55

$2.47 ₩3,322

-27.13%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.48 MX$27.58

$2.10 ₩2,824

-29.52%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.27 MX$23.63

$1.48 ₩1,989

-14.19%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$5.30 MX$98.9

$3.34 ₩4,491

58.68%

Wine (Bottle)

$16.10 MX$300

$18.77 ₩25.2K

-14.22%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.98 MX$36.97

$2.28 ₩3,063

-13.16%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.25 MX$79.3

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.31 MX$5.69

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$19.73 MX$368

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.84 MX$34.25

$3.75 ₩5,037

-50.93%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.53 MX$9.94

$0.61 ₩824

-13.11%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$5.30 MX$98.7

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.51 MX$28.16

$1.43 ₩1,918

5.59%

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

$21.8K MX$405.5K

$29.3K ₩39.3M

-25.68%

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

$24.0K MX$447.1K

$35.9K ₩48.2M

-33.14%

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

$63.0 MX$1,174

$215 ₩288.5K

-70.69%

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

$27.39 MX$511

$44.58 ₩59.9K

-38.56%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$35.67 MX$665

$20.85 ₩28.0K

71.08%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$58.9 MX$1,099

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$23.64 MX$441

Cinema Ticket

$6.40 MX$119

$11.50 ₩15.4K

-44.35%

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

$432 MX$8,045

$375 ₩503.5K

15.09%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$11.4K MX$212.9K

$18.1K ₩24.3M

-36.80%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$68.2 MX$1,272

$65.5 ₩87.9K

4.23%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$53.1 MX$990

$63.7 ₩85.6K

-16.63%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$108 MX$2,009

$74.8 ₩100.4K

44.19%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$117 MX$2,186

$101 ₩135.1K

16.54%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,113 MX$20.8K

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$710 MX$13.2K

$447 ₩599.6K

59.10%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,588 MX$48.2K

$1,936 ₩2.6M

33.69%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,406 MX$26.2K

$1,067 ₩1.4M

31.70%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,631 MX$67.7K

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$2,135 MX$39.8K

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$946 MX$17.6K

$3,493 ₩4.7M

-72.91%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

11.35

4.1

176.83%

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

Last update for Mexico City: October 25, 2026

Last update for Songdo-dong: October 25, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Mexico City

$710 44.2%

Songdo-dong

$447 30.8% 37.1% $264

Groceries & Markets

Mexico City

$320 19.9%

Songdo-dong

$409 * 28.3% 28.1% $90

Eating Out

Mexico City

$199 12.4%

Songdo-dong

$146 10.1% 26.6% $53

Clothing & Footwear

Mexico City

$156 9.7%

Songdo-dong

$137 9.5% 12.1% $19

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Mexico City

$126 7.8%

Songdo-dong

$280 19.4% 122% $154

Sport & Entertainment

Mexico City

$72 4.5%

Songdo-dong

$23 * 1.6% 67.9% $49

Getting Around

Mexico City

$25 1.6%

Songdo-dong

$6.8 * 0.5% 73.2% $19

Categories marked with * are only partly priced – their share counts the items that do have prices.

Cost Breakdown

Songdo-dong pays about 3.7 times more on average while also being the cheaper of the two. The combined effect is a noticeably stronger local purchasing power.

Dining out: $48 in Mexico City vs $35 in Songdo-dong. Groceries flip the comparison at $320 vs $409, with Mexico City cheaper for home cooking.

Good to know

🇲🇽 Mexico City

🇰🇷 Songdo-dong

🕒 Local time

17:07 5:07 PM

08:07 8:07 AM

15 h ahead of Mexico City

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

9,209,944 Capital

💱 Currency

Mexican Peso MXN $

South Korean Won KRW ₩

📈 Exchange rate

100 MXN = 5.36 USD

100 MXN = 4.82 EUR

10,000 KRW = 7.45 USD

10,000 KRW = 6.69 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

KRW, USD, EUR to MXN – Mexican Peso Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇲🇽 Mexican Peso ($)

Mexican Peso exchange rates as of October 28, 2026: 1 USD = 18.64 MXN (100 MXN = 5.36 USD). 1 EUR = 20.75 MXN (100 MXN = 4.82 EUR).

South Korean Won exchange rates as of October 28, 2026: 1 USD = 1,343 KRW (10,000 KRW = 7.45 USD). 1 EUR = 1,495 KRW (10,000 KRW = 6.69 EUR).

USD to MXN in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Mexico City Songdo-dong 12,090 km ≈ 16 h nonstop flight

From you

Mexico City
Songdo-dong

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 Songdo-dong: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Total monthly costs including rent come to $1,608 in Mexico City and $1,449 in Songdo-dong, so Songdo-dong is about 10% cheaper – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

On paper, salaries run 73% lower in Mexico City. That’s worth factoring in alongside costs, though remote workers earning in a stronger currency may not notice the difference at all.

Childcare runs $432 in Mexico City versus $375 in Songdo-dong. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Dining out is cheaper in Songdo-dong – a meal for two runs $35 versus $48 in Mexico City. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

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.