Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Mexico City and Tainan

For one person, living is cheaper in Tainan: $1,068 a month against $1,567 in Mexico City, rent and utilities included – about $6,000 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
52

Cost of Living Index in Tainan
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Tainan Living Index

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Mexico City

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,567

/mo nomad

Tainan

🇹🇼 Taiwan

$1,068

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,567 in Mexico City versus $1,068 in Tainan.

Mexico City $1,567
Tainan $1,068

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,450 in Mexico City versus $1,837 in Tainan.

Mexico City $2,450
Tainan $1,837

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,333 in Mexico City versus $2,606 in Tainan.

Mexico City $3,333
Tainan $2,606

Living in Mexico City is roughly 47% more expensive than in Tainan, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Mexico City is 16% above, Tainan is 21% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$10.75 MX$199

$3.74 NT$121

187.43%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$50.3 MX$929

$24.62 NT$799

104.10%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.10 MX$205

$4.79 NT$155

131.73%

Cappuccino

$3.68 MX$68.1

$3.27 NT$106

12.54%

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

$1.65 MX$30.42

$0.95 NT$30.66

73.68%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.30 MX$24.08

$0.63 NT$20.54

106.35%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.32 MX$61.3

$2.86 NT$92.6

16.08%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$5.54 MX$102

$3.49 NT$113

58.74%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.77 MX$32.68

$3.09 NT$100

-42.72%

White Bread (500g)

$3.05 MX$56.4

$1.77 NT$57.5

72.32%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.01 MX$37.20

$3.15 NT$102

-36.19%

Eggs

$2.77 MX$51.1

$2.75 NT$89.3

0.73%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$11.91 MX$220

$19.50 NT$632

-38.92%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.33 MX$172

$9.88 NT$320

-5.57%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$15.02 MX$278

$21.04 NT$682

-28.61%

Apples (1kg)

$3.08 MX$56.8

$4.96 NT$161

-37.90%

Banana (1kg)

$1.95 MX$35.97

$2.86 NT$92.7

-31.82%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.03 MX$37.54

$3.00 NT$97.4

-32.33%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.21 MX$40.92

$4.48 NT$145

-50.67%

Potato (1kg)

$2.02 MX$37.41

$2.66 NT$86.4

-24.06%

Onion (1kg)

$1.82 MX$33.67

$2.27 NT$73.6

-19.82%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.52 MX$28.07

$1.71 NT$55.3

-11.11%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.28 MX$23.65

$1.15 NT$37.31

11.30%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$5.27 MX$97.4

$3.81 NT$124

38.32%

Wine (Bottle)

$16.12 MX$298

$13.94 NT$452

15.64%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.95 MX$36.05

$1.65 NT$53.4

18.18%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.25 MX$78.6

$2.17 NT$70.3

95.85%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.31 MX$5.82

$0.61 NT$19.68

-49.18%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$19.85 MX$367

$33.89 NT$1,099

-41.43%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$2.00 MX$36.93

$2.53 NT$82.2

-20.95%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.53 MX$9.86

$0.77 NT$24.92

-31.17%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$5.62 MX$104

$5.74 NT$186

-2.09%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.52 MX$28.07

$1.01 NT$32.90

50.50%

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

$21.0K MX$388.7K

$32.8K NT$1.1M

-35.88%

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

$25.2K MX$465.3K

$24.1K NT$780.6K

4.61%

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

$62.5 MX$1,155

$87.2 NT$2,828

-28.35%

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

$28.77 MX$532

$17.51 NT$568

64.31%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$34.45 MX$637

$21.30 NT$691

61.74%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$57.1 MX$1,055

$45.65 NT$1,480

25.08%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$24.81 MX$458

Cinema Ticket

$6.67 MX$123

$9.60 NT$311

-30.52%

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

$431 MX$7,964

$433 NT$14.1K

-0.54%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$11.7K MX$216.9K

$5,413 NT$175.5K

116.89%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$70.8 MX$1,308

$63.2 NT$2,050

11.99%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$51.8 MX$958

$39.20 NT$1,271

32.22%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$109 MX$2,011

$83.7 NT$2,716

29.97%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$112 MX$2,076

$103 NT$3,353

8.63%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,051 MX$19.4K

$297 NT$9,624

254.21%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$665 MX$12.3K

$200 NT$6,470

233.33%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,346 MX$43.3K

$845 NT$27.4K

177.74%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,227 MX$22.7K

$696 NT$22.6K

76.18%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,554 MX$65.7K

$4,123 NT$133.7K

-13.80%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,977 MX$36.5K

$3,022 NT$98.0K

-34.57%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$975 MX$18.0K

$1,376 NT$44.6K

-29.18%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

11.3

2.4

370.83%

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

Last update for Mexico City: October 11, 2026

Last update for Tainan: October 11, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Mexico City

$665 42.4%

Tainan

$200 18.7% 70% $466

Groceries & Markets

Mexico City

$323 20.6%

Tainan

$393 36.9% 21.9% $71

Eating Out

Mexico City

$203 13%

Tainan

$111 10.4% 45.3% $92

Clothing & Footwear

Mexico City

$155 9.9%

Tainan

$130 12.2% 15.8% $24

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Mexico City

$126 8%

Tainan

$126 11.8% 0.3% $0.3

Sport & Entertainment

Mexico City

$70 4.5%

Tainan

$65 6.1% 8% $5.6

Getting Around

Mexico City

$26 1.6%

Tainan

$43 4% 65.6% $17

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,051 in Mexico City and $297 in Tainan. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Tainan pays 41% 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 $25.00 in Tainan. Groceries flip the comparison at $323 vs $393, with Mexico City cheaper for home cooking.

Good to know

🇲🇽 Mexico City

🇹🇼 Tainan

🕒 Local time

19:03 7:03 PM

09:03 9:03 AM

14 h ahead of Mexico City

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

9,209,944 Capital

1,886,033

💱 Currency

Mexican Peso MXN $

New Taiwan Dollar TWD NT$

📈 Exchange rate

100 MXN = 5.41 USD

100 MXN = 4.81 EUR

100 TWD = 3.08 USD

100 TWD = 2.74 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

TWD, 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).

New Taiwan Dollar exchange rates as of October 19, 2026: 1 USD = 32.43 TWD (100 TWD = 3.08 USD). 1 EUR = 36.46 TWD (100 TWD = 2.74 EUR).

USD to MXN in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Mexico City Tainan 13,650 km ≈ 18 h nonstop flight

From you

Mexico City
Tainan

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 Tainan: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Mexico City and Tainan differ by about 47% in total monthly costs ($1,567 vs $1,068 including rent). Tainan is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

On paper, salaries run 41% lower in Tainan. 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 $297 in Tainan. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

A monthly transit pass in Tainan runs roughly 71% 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 $433 in Tainan. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

At $1,068 in Tainan versus $1,567 in Mexico City, a $2,000 budget is realistic in Tainan but tight or insufficient in Mexico City. The gap between the two cities makes Tainan 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 Tainan 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 Tainan gentler on the wallet – expenses run 47% less than in Mexico City. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.