Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Mexico City and Subic Bay Freeport Zone

For one person, living is cheaper in Subic Bay Freeport Zone: $641 a month against $1,608 in Mexico City, rent and utilities included – about $11,600 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
31

Cost of Living Index in Subic Bay Freeport Zone
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Subic Bay Freeport Zone Living Index

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Mexico City

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,608

/mo nomad

Subic Bay Freeport Zone

🇵🇭 Philippines

$641

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Mexico City and in Subic Bay Freeport Zone

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 Subic Bay Freeport Zone actually costs, broken down by who's living it.

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,608 in Mexico City versus $641 in Subic Bay Freeport Zone.

Mexico City $1,608
Subic Bay Freeport Zone $641

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,549 in Mexico City versus $978 in Subic Bay Freeport Zone.

Mexico City $2,549
Subic Bay Freeport Zone $978

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,490 in Mexico City versus $1,315 in Subic Bay Freeport Zone.

Mexico City $3,490
Subic Bay Freeport Zone $1,315

Living in Mexico City is roughly 151% more expensive than in Subic Bay Freeport Zone, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

The two cities straddle the global median: Mexico City is 18% above, Subic Bay Freeport Zone is 53% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$10.62 MX$199

$4.60 ₱293

130.87%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$48.35 MX$908

$14.04 ₱895

244.37%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$10.35 MX$194

$5.13 ₱327

101.75%

Cappuccino

$3.69 MX$69.3

$2.21 ₱141

66.97%

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

$1.67 MX$31.29

$0.68 ₱43.06

145.59%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.27 MX$23.76

$0.33 ₱21.33

284.85%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.19 MX$59.9

$1.39 ₱88.6

129.50%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$5.31 MX$99.6

$2.01 ₱128

164.18%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.72 MX$32.38

$1.58 ₱100

8.86%

White Bread (500g)

$3.04 MX$57.1

$1.09 ₱69.6

178.90%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.94 MX$36.44

$0.85 ₱54.2

128.24%

Eggs

$2.89 MX$54.2

$1.93 ₱123

49.74%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$10.97 MX$206

$4.86 ₱310

125.72%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.25 MX$174

$3.99 ₱255

131.83%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$15.13 MX$284

$7.56 ₱481

100.13%

Apples (1kg)

$3.05 MX$57.2

$2.13 ₱136

43.19%

Banana (1kg)

$1.94 MX$36.45

$1.73 ₱110

12.14%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.03 MX$38.02

$2.54 ₱162

-20.08%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.31 MX$43.46

$1.15 ₱73.3

100.87%

Potato (1kg)

$2.04 MX$38.21

$2.21 ₱141

-7.69%

Onion (1kg)

$1.80 MX$33.79

$2.08 ₱133

-13.46%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.48 MX$27.77

$0.92 ₱58.7

60.87%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.27 MX$23.80

$0.61 ₱38.59

108.20%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$5.30 MX$99.6

$2.84 ₱181

86.62%

Wine (Bottle)

$16.10 MX$302

$7.35 ₱468

119.05%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.98 MX$37.23

$0.92 ₱58.8

115.22%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.25 MX$79.8

$1.83 ₱117

132.24%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.31 MX$5.73

$0.18 ₱11.78

72.22%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$19.73 MX$371

$12.86 ₱819

53.42%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.84 MX$34.50

$0.80 ₱51.3

130.00%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.53 MX$10.02

$0.21 ₱13.38

152.38%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$5.30 MX$99.4

$1.85 ₱118

186.49%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.51 MX$28.36

$1.03 ₱65.9

46.60%

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

$21.8K MX$408.4K

$19.1K ₱1.2M

13.71%

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

$24.0K MX$450.3K

$20.0K ₱1.3M

20.16%

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

$63.0 MX$1,182

$135 ₱8,582

-53.24%

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

$27.39 MX$514

$14.33 ₱913

91.14%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$35.67 MX$670

$16.57 ₱1,056

115.27%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$58.9 MX$1,107

$30.08 ₱1,917

95.94%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$23.64 MX$444

$5.28 ₱337

347.73%

Cinema Ticket

$6.40 MX$120

$5.23 ₱333

22.37%

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

$432 MX$8,103

$127 ₱8,082

240.29%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$11.4K MX$214.5K

$7,688 ₱489.9K

48.59%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$68.2 MX$1,281

$29.05 ₱1,851

134.84%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$53.1 MX$997

$20.80 ₱1,325

155.43%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$108 MX$2,023

$63.5 ₱4,047

69.68%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$117 MX$2,202

$46.93 ₱2,991

149.88%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,113 MX$20.9K

$124 ₱7,900

798.08%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$710 MX$13.3K

$77.0 ₱4,908

822.44%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,588 MX$48.6K

$323 ₱20.6K

701.12%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,406 MX$26.4K

$186 ₱11.9K

655.39%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,631 MX$68.2K

$2,434 ₱155.1K

49.15%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$2,135 MX$40.1K

$1,143 ₱72.8K

86.85%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$946 MX$17.8K

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

11.35

6.92

64.02%

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

Last update for Mexico City: October 25, 2026

Last update for Subic Bay Freeport Zone: October 24, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Mexico City

$710 44.2%

Subic Bay Freeport Zone

$77 12% 89.2% $633

Groceries & Markets

Mexico City

$320 19.9%

Subic Bay Freeport Zone

$177 27.6% 44.7% $143

Eating Out

Mexico City

$199 12.4%

Subic Bay Freeport Zone

$94 14.6% 52.8% $105

Clothing & Footwear

Mexico City

$156 9.7%

Subic Bay Freeport Zone

$72 11.3% 53.7% $84

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Mexico City

$126 7.8%

Subic Bay Freeport Zone

$166 25.8% 31.4% $40

Sport & Entertainment

Mexico City

$72 4.5%

Subic Bay Freeport Zone

$41 6.3% 43.5% $31

Getting Around

Mexico City

$25 1.6%

Subic Bay Freeport Zone

$15 2.4% 39.3% $10

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,113 in Mexico City and $124 in Subic Bay Freeport Zone. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Dining out: $48 in Mexico City vs $14 in Subic Bay Freeport Zone for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $320 vs $177 per month, with Subic Bay Freeport Zone cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇲🇽 Mexico City

🇵🇭 Subic Bay Freeport Zone

🕒 Local time

07:50 7:50 AM

21:50 9:50 PM

14 h ahead of Mexico City

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

9,209,944 Capital

221,178

💱 Currency

Mexican Peso MXN $

Philippine Peso PHP ₱

📈 Exchange rate

100 MXN = 5.33 USD

100 MXN = 4.77 EUR

100 PHP = 1.57 USD

100 PHP = 1.41 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

PHP, USD, EUR to MXN – Mexican Peso Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇲🇽 Mexican Peso ($)

Mexican Peso exchange rates as of November 1, 2026: 1 USD = 18.77 MXN (100 MXN = 5.33 USD). 1 EUR = 20.96 MXN (100 MXN = 4.77 EUR).

Philippine Peso exchange rates as of November 1, 2026: 1 USD = 63.72 PHP (100 PHP = 1.57 USD). 1 EUR = 71.15 PHP (100 PHP = 1.41 EUR).

USD to MXN in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Mexico City Subic Bay Freeport Zone 14,260 km ≈ 18 h nonstop flight

From you

Mexico City
Subic Bay Freeport Zone

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 Subic Bay Freeport Zone: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Total monthly costs including rent come to $1,608 in Mexico City and $641 in Subic Bay Freeport Zone, so Subic Bay Freeport Zone is about 60% cheaper – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

You’d need roughly $2,412 in Mexico City and $962 in Subic Bay Freeport Zone to live well. The gap comes down to housing and overall price levels. Both cities are liveable on less, but these numbers represent actual comfort.

Rent for a central apartment: $1,113 in Mexico City versus $124 in Subic Bay Freeport Zone. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

A monthly transit pass in Subic Bay Freeport Zone runs roughly 35% less than in Mexico City. The price difference matters if you commute daily and watch your budget.

Childcare runs $432 in Mexico City versus $127 in Subic Bay Freeport Zone. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

At $641 in Subic Bay Freeport Zone versus $1,608 in Mexico City, a $800 budget is realistic in Subic Bay Freeport Zone but tight or insufficient in Mexico City. The gap between the two cities makes Subic Bay Freeport Zone 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 Subic Bay Freeport Zone gentler on the wallet – expenses run 60% less than in Mexico City. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.