Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Mexico City and Tabuk

For one person, living is cheaper in Tabuk: $1,234 a month against $1,567 in Mexico City, rent and utilities included – about $4,000 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

76

Cost of Living Index in Mexico City
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Mexico City Living Index
60

Cost of Living Index in Tabuk
Learn more

Tabuk Living Index

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Mexico City

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,567

/mo nomad

Tabuk

🇸🇦 Saudi Arabia

$1,234

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,567 in Mexico City versus $1,234 in Tabuk.

Mexico City $1,567
Tabuk $1,234

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,450 in Mexico City versus $1,834 in Tabuk.

Mexico City $2,450
Tabuk $1,834

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,333 in Mexico City versus $2,434 in Tabuk.

Mexico City $3,333
Tabuk $2,434

Living in Mexico City is roughly 27% more expensive than in Tabuk, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

The two cities straddle the global median: Mexico City is 16% above, Tabuk is 9% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$10.75 MX$199

$7.64 SAR 28.66

40.71%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$50.3 MX$929

$31.43 SAR 118

59.88%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.10 MX$205

$7.79 SAR 29.22

42.49%

Local Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$1.35 SAR 5.07

Imported Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.56 SAR 5.87

Cappuccino

$3.68 MX$68.1

$3.21 SAR 12.05

14.64%

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

$1.65 MX$30.42

$0.78 SAR 2.93

111.54%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.30 MX$24.08

$0.26 SAR 0.97

400.00%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.32 MX$61.3

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$5.54 MX$102

Milk (1 liter)

$1.77 MX$32.68

$2.01 SAR 7.55

-11.94%

White Bread (500g)

$3.05 MX$56.4

$0.92 SAR 3.46

231.52%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.01 MX$37.20

$2.74 SAR 10.28

-26.64%

Eggs

$2.77 MX$51.1

$2.87 SAR 10.77

-3.48%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$11.91 MX$220

$12.52 SAR 46.97

-4.87%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.33 MX$172

$6.78 SAR 25.45

37.61%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$15.02 MX$278

$12.65 SAR 47.46

18.74%

Apples (1kg)

$3.08 MX$56.8

$1.99 SAR 7.48

54.77%

Banana (1kg)

$1.95 MX$35.97

$1.67 SAR 6.25

16.77%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.03 MX$37.54

$1.76 SAR 6.60

15.34%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.21 MX$40.92

$2.21 SAR 8.31

Potato (1kg)

$2.02 MX$37.41

$1.69 SAR 6.35

19.53%

Onion (1kg)

$1.82 MX$33.67

$2.10 SAR 7.88

-13.33%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.52 MX$28.07

$1.90 SAR 7.12

-20.00%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.28 MX$23.65

$0.61 SAR 2.28

109.84%

Bottle of Non-Alcoholic Wine (Mid-Range)

$2.86 SAR 10.71

Local Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.80 SAR 6.76

Imported Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.07 SAR 7.76

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$5.27 MX$97.4

$6.57 SAR 24.65

-19.79%

Wine (Bottle)

$16.12 MX$298

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.95 MX$36.05

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.25 MX$78.6

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.31 MX$5.82

$1.05 SAR 3.94

-70.48%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$19.85 MX$367

$36.33 SAR 136

-45.36%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$2.00 MX$36.93

$2.60 SAR 9.76

-23.08%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.53 MX$9.86

$1.82 SAR 6.81

-70.88%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$5.62 MX$104

$13.43 SAR 50.4

-58.15%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.52 MX$28.07

$0.66 SAR 2.46

130.30%

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

$21.0K MX$388.7K

$43.9K SAR 164.7K

-52.08%

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

$25.2K MX$465.3K

$20.8K SAR 78.1K

20.97%

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

$62.5 MX$1,155

$102 SAR 385

-39.02%

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

$28.77 MX$532

$37.35 SAR 140

-22.97%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$34.45 MX$637

$77.0 SAR 289

-55.28%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$57.1 MX$1,055

$82.2 SAR 308

-30.49%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$24.81 MX$458

Cinema Ticket

$6.67 MX$123

$13.53 SAR 50.8

-50.70%

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

$431 MX$7,964

$424 SAR 1,592

1.60%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$11.7K MX$216.9K

$8,651 SAR 32.5K

35.71%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$70.8 MX$1,308

$41.90 SAR 157

68.95%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$51.8 MX$958

$54.5 SAR 204

-4.81%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$109 MX$2,011

$95.3 SAR 357

14.24%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$112 MX$2,076

$86.8 SAR 326

29.37%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,051 MX$19.4K

$343 SAR 1,286

206.78%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$665 MX$12.3K

$380 SAR 1,427

74.91%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,346 MX$43.3K

$638 SAR 2,396

267.41%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,227 MX$22.7K

$615 SAR 2,308

99.38%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,554 MX$65.7K

$2,358 SAR 8,848

50.71%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,977 MX$36.5K

$1,359 SAR 5,100

45.45%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$975 MX$18.0K

$1,712 SAR 6,423

-43.06%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

11.3

5.54

103.97%

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

Last update for Mexico City: October 11, 2026

Last update for Tabuk: October 13, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Mexico City

$665 42.4%

Tabuk

$380 30.8% 42.8% $285

Groceries & Markets

Mexico City

$323 20.6%

Tabuk

$223 18.1% 30.8% $99

Eating Out

Mexico City

$203 13%

Tabuk

$127 10.3% 37.4% $76

Clothing & Footwear

Mexico City

$155 9.9%

Tabuk

$125 10.2% 19% $29

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Mexico City

$126 8%

Tabuk

$217 17.6% 72.5% $91

Sport & Entertainment

Mexico City

$70 4.5%

Tabuk

$109 8.9% 55% $39

Getting Around

Mexico City

$26 1.6%

Tabuk

$52 4.2% 103% $26

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,051 in Mexico City and $343 in Tabuk. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Tabuk pays 76% more on average while also being the cheaper of the two. The combined effect is a noticeably stronger local purchasing power.

Dining out: $50.0 in Mexico City vs $31.00 in Tabuk for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $323 vs $223 per month, with Tabuk cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇲🇽 Mexico City

🇸🇦 Tabuk

🕒 Local time

18:15 6:15 PM

03:15 3:15 AM

9 h ahead of Mexico City

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

9,209,944 Capital

512,629

💱 Currency

Mexican Peso MXN $

Saudi Riyal SAR ر.س

📈 Exchange rate

100 MXN = 5.41 USD

100 MXN = 4.81 EUR

1 SAR = 0.266 USD

1 SAR = 0.237 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

SAR, USD, EUR to MXN – Mexican Peso Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇲🇽 Mexican Peso ($)

Mexican Peso exchange rates as of October 19, 2026: 1 USD = 18.48 MXN (100 MXN = 5.41 USD). 1 EUR = 20.77 MXN (100 MXN = 4.81 EUR).

Saudi Riyal exchange rates as of October 19, 2026: 1 USD = 3.75 SAR (1 SAR = 0.266 USD). 1 EUR = 4.22 SAR (1 SAR = 0.237 EUR).

USD to MXN in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Mexico City Tabuk 12,880 km ≈ 17 h nonstop flight

From you

Mexico City
Tabuk

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 Tabuk: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Mexico City and Tabuk differ by about 27% in total monthly costs ($1,567 vs $1,234 including rent). Tabuk is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

On paper, salaries run 76% lower in Tabuk. 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: $1,051 in Mexico City versus $343 in Tabuk. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

A monthly transit pass in Tabuk runs roughly 83% less than in Mexico City. Both cities have functional networks, but the price difference matters if you're watching your budget.

Childcare runs $431 in Mexico City versus $424 in Tabuk. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

At $1,234 in Tabuk versus $1,567 in Mexico City, a $1,500 budget is realistic in Tabuk but tight or insufficient in Mexico City. The gap between the two cities makes Tabuk 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.

Safety-wise, Mexico City and Tabuk are on par. Petty crime is typical for cities this size, and most residents feel comfortable going about their daily routines in either place.

Expats usually find Tabuk gentler on the wallet – expenses run 27% less than in Mexico City. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.