Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Mexico City and Springs

For one person, living is cheaper in Springs: $979 a month against $1,608 in Mexico City, rent and utilities included – about $7,500 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

78

Cost of Living Index in Mexico City
Learn more

Mexico City Living Index
47

Cost of Living Index in Springs
Learn more

Springs Living Index

Jump to prices

Mexico City

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,608

/mo nomad

Springs

🇿🇦 South Africa

$979

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,608 in Mexico City versus $979 in Springs.

Mexico City $1,608
Springs $979

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,549 in Mexico City versus $1,582 in Springs.

Mexico City $2,549
Springs $1,582

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,490 in Mexico City versus $2,184 in Springs.

Mexico City $3,490
Springs $2,184

Living in Mexico City is roughly 64% more expensive than in Springs, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

The two cities straddle the global median: Mexico City is 18% above, Springs is 28% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$10.62 MX$198

$9.15 R 152

16.07%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$48.35 MX$901

$35.40 R 588

36.58%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$10.35 MX$193

$5.18 R 86.0

99.81%

Cappuccino

$3.69 MX$68.7

$2.19 R 36.44

68.49%

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

$1.67 MX$31.05

$0.96 R 15.89

73.96%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.27 MX$23.58

$0.67 R 11.05

89.55%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.19 MX$59.5

$1.85 R 30.78

72.43%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$5.31 MX$98.9

$2.13 R 35.43

149.30%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.72 MX$32.13

$1.16 R 19.26

48.28%

White Bread (500g)

$3.04 MX$56.6

$1.05 R 17.50

189.52%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.94 MX$36.17

$1.77 R 29.45

9.60%

Eggs

$2.89 MX$53.8

$2.41 R 39.97

19.92%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$10.97 MX$204

$8.43 R 140

30.13%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.25 MX$172

$5.00 R 83.0

85.00%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$15.13 MX$282

$7.25 R 120

108.69%

Apples (1kg)

$3.05 MX$56.8

$1.28 R 21.29

138.28%

Banana (1kg)

$1.94 MX$36.17

$1.08 R 17.94

79.63%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.03 MX$37.73

$1.71 R 28.40

18.71%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.31 MX$43.12

$1.20 R 19.87

92.50%

Potato (1kg)

$2.04 MX$37.91

$1.06 R 17.60

92.45%

Onion (1kg)

$1.80 MX$33.53

$1.17 R 19.37

53.85%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.48 MX$27.56

$1.21 R 20.18

22.31%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.27 MX$23.62

$0.74 R 12.26

71.62%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$5.30 MX$98.8

$3.12 R 51.8

69.87%

Wine (Bottle)

$16.10 MX$300

$4.03 R 66.9

299.50%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.98 MX$36.95

$1.12 R 18.58

76.79%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.25 MX$79.2

$1.71 R 28.39

148.54%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.31 MX$5.68

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$19.73 MX$368

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.84 MX$34.23

$0.29 R 4.80

534.48%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.53 MX$9.94

$0.80 R 13.37

-33.75%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$5.30 MX$98.7

$14.37 R 239

-63.12%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.51 MX$28.14

$1.48 R 24.56

2.03%

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

$21.8K MX$405.3K

$35.6K R 591.4K

-38.91%

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

$24.0K MX$446.9K

$32.7K R 543.5K

-26.69%

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

$63.0 MX$1,173

$148 R 2,460

-57.47%

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

$27.39 MX$510

$37.52 R 623

-27.00%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$35.67 MX$664

$35.28 R 586

1.11%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$58.9 MX$1,098

$39.37 R 654

49.71%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$23.64 MX$441

Cinema Ticket

$6.40 MX$119

$7.31 R 121

-12.45%

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

$432 MX$8,041

$89.2 R 1,481

384.12%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$11.4K MX$212.8K

$1,794 R 29.8K

536.89%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$68.2 MX$1,271

$54.1 R 898

26.12%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$53.1 MX$990

$31.78 R 528

67.18%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$108 MX$2,008

$91.6 R 1,521

17.70%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$117 MX$2,185

$82.0 R 1,363

42.94%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,113 MX$20.7K

$284 R 4,721

291.74%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$710 MX$13.2K

$275 R 4,571

158.15%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,588 MX$48.2K

$712 R 11.8K

263.66%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,406 MX$26.2K

$694 R 11.5K

102.54%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,631 MX$67.6K

$1,481 R 24.6K

145.11%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$2,135 MX$39.8K

$692 R 11.5K

208.66%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$946 MX$17.6K

$1,145 R 19.0K

-17.34%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

11.35

10.75

5.58%

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

Last update for Mexico City: October 25, 2026

Last update for Springs: October 25, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Mexico City

$710 44.2%

Springs

$275 28.1% 61.3% $435

Groceries & Markets

Mexico City

$320 19.9%

Springs

$173 17.7% 45.9% $147

Eating Out

Mexico City

$199 12.4%

Springs

$135 13.8% 32% $64

Clothing & Footwear

Mexico City

$156 9.7%

Springs

$117 11.9% 25.1% $39

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Mexico City

$126 7.8%

Springs

$221 22.6% 75.3% $95

Sport & Entertainment

Mexico City

$72 4.5%

Springs

$54 5.5% 24.8% $18

Getting Around

Mexico City

$25 1.6%

Springs

$4.3 * 0.4% 83.1% $21

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 $284 in Springs. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Springs pays 21% 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 Springs for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $320 vs $173 per month, with Springs cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇲🇽 Mexico City

🇿🇦 Springs

🕒 Local time

00:51 12:51 AM

08:51 8:51 AM

8 h ahead of Mexico City

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

9,209,944 Capital

2,996

💱 Currency

Mexican Peso MXN $

South African Rand ZAR R

📈 Exchange rate

100 MXN = 5.37 USD

100 MXN = 4.82 EUR

100 ZAR = 6.02 USD

100 ZAR = 5.41 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

ZAR, USD, EUR to MXN – Mexican Peso Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇲🇽 Mexican Peso ($)

Mexican Peso exchange rates as of October 29, 2026: 1 USD = 18.63 MXN (100 MXN = 5.37 USD). 1 EUR = 20.74 MXN (100 MXN = 4.82 EUR).

South African Rand exchange rates as of October 29, 2026: 1 USD = 16.61 ZAR (100 ZAR = 6.02 USD). 1 EUR = 18.49 ZAR (100 ZAR = 5.41 EUR).

USD to MXN in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Mexico City Springs 14,620 km ≈ 19 h nonstop flight

From you

Mexico City
Springs

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 Springs: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Total monthly costs including rent come to $1,608 in Mexico City and $979 in Springs, so Springs is about 39% cheaper – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

On paper, salaries run 17% 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.

Rent for a central apartment: $1,113 in Mexico City versus $284 in Springs. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $432 in Mexico City versus $89 in Springs. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Dining out is cheaper in Springs – 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.