Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Mexico City and Taipei

For one person, living is cheaper in Taipei: $1,330 a month against $1,608 in Mexico City, rent and utilities included – about $3,300 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
64

Cost of Living Index in Taipei
Learn more

Taipei Living Index

Jump to prices

Mexico City

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,608

/mo nomad

Taipei

🇹🇼 Taiwan

$1,330

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,608 in Mexico City versus $1,330 in Taipei.

Mexico City $1,608
Taipei $1,330

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,549 in Mexico City versus $2,145 in Taipei.

Mexico City $2,549
Taipei $2,145

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,490 in Mexico City versus $2,959 in Taipei.

Mexico City $3,490
Taipei $2,959

Living in Mexico City is roughly 21% more expensive than in Taipei, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Mexico City is 18% above, Taipei is 2% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$10.62 MX$199

$4.70 NT$153

125.96%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$48.35 MX$906

$46.13 NT$1,502

4.81%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$10.35 MX$194

$5.80 NT$189

78.45%

Cappuccino

$3.69 MX$69.2

$3.37 NT$110

9.50%

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

$1.67 MX$31.23

$0.91 NT$29.57

83.52%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.27 MX$23.71

$0.66 NT$21.55

92.42%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.19 MX$59.8

$2.98 NT$97.0

7.05%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$5.31 MX$99.5

$3.64 NT$119

45.88%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.72 MX$32.32

$2.95 NT$96.1

-41.69%

White Bread (500g)

$3.04 MX$57.0

$1.92 NT$62.7

58.33%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.94 MX$36.38

$3.10 NT$101

-37.42%

Eggs

$2.89 MX$54.1

$2.62 NT$85.2

10.31%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$10.97 MX$206

$19.04 NT$620

-42.38%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.25 MX$173

$9.54 NT$311

-3.04%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$15.13 MX$283

$20.87 NT$680

-27.50%

Apples (1kg)

$3.05 MX$57.1

$4.72 NT$154

-35.38%

Banana (1kg)

$1.94 MX$36.38

$3.33 NT$109

-41.74%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.03 MX$37.95

$2.95 NT$96.0

-31.19%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.31 MX$43.38

$4.26 NT$139

-45.77%

Potato (1kg)

$2.04 MX$38.14

$2.75 NT$89.7

-25.82%

Onion (1kg)

$1.80 MX$33.73

$2.22 NT$72.4

-18.92%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.48 MX$27.72

$1.66 NT$54.0

-10.84%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.27 MX$23.75

$1.08 NT$35.04

17.59%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$5.30 MX$99.4

$3.95 NT$128

34.18%

Wine (Bottle)

$16.10 MX$302

$13.89 NT$452

15.91%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.98 MX$37.16

$1.58 NT$51.6

25.32%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.25 MX$79.7

$2.18 NT$70.9

94.95%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.31 MX$5.72

$0.58 NT$18.96

-46.55%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$19.73 MX$370

$36.25 NT$1,180

-45.57%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.84 MX$34.44

$2.54 NT$82.6

-27.56%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.53 MX$10.00

$0.75 NT$24.41

-29.33%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$5.30 MX$99.2

$8.99 NT$293

-41.05%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.51 MX$28.31

$1.00 NT$32.58

51.00%

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

$21.8K MX$407.7K

$34.6K NT$1.1M

-37.21%

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

$24.0K MX$449.5K

$23.0K NT$749.9K

4.15%

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

$63.0 MX$1,180

$85.6 NT$2,787

-26.42%

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

$27.39 MX$513

$16.94 NT$552

61.69%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$35.67 MX$668

$26.94 NT$877

32.41%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$58.9 MX$1,105

$39.55 NT$1,288

49.03%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$23.64 MX$443

$15.36 NT$500

53.91%

Cinema Ticket

$6.40 MX$120

$9.72 NT$316

-34.16%

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

$432 MX$8,088

$710 NT$23.1K

-39.19%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$11.4K MX$214.1K

$16.3K NT$532.1K

-30.09%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$68.2 MX$1,278

$62.0 NT$2,019

10.05%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$53.1 MX$996

$39.30 NT$1,280

35.19%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$108 MX$2,020

$84.1 NT$2,738

28.17%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$117 MX$2,198

$102 NT$3,312

15.30%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,113 MX$20.9K

$961 NT$31.3K

15.91%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$710 MX$13.3K

$456 NT$14.8K

55.89%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,588 MX$48.5K

$1,511 NT$49.2K

71.28%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,406 MX$26.3K

$919 NT$29.9K

52.96%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,631 MX$68.0K

$11.4K NT$371.5K

-68.17%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$2,135 MX$40.0K

$6,882 NT$224.1K

-68.98%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$946 MX$17.7K

$1,703 NT$55.5K

-44.44%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

11.35

2.4

372.92%

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

Last update for Mexico City: October 25, 2026

Last update for Taipei: October 25, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Mexico City

$710 44.2%

Taipei

$456 34.3% 35.9% $255

Groceries & Markets

Mexico City

$320 19.9%

Taipei

$388 29.2% 21.4% $69

Eating Out

Mexico City

$199 12.4%

Taipei

$124 9.3% 37.6% $75

Clothing & Footwear

Mexico City

$156 9.7%

Taipei

$129 9.7% 17.1% $27

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Mexico City

$126 7.8%

Taipei

$129 9.7% 2.7% $3.4

Sport & Entertainment

Mexico City

$72 4.5%

Taipei

$59 4.4% 17.8% $13

Getting Around

Mexico City

$25 1.6%

Taipei

$45 3.4% 76.2% $19

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,113 in Mexico City and $961 in Taipei. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Taipei pays 80% 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 $46 in Taipei. Groceries flip the comparison at $320 vs $388, with Mexico City cheaper for home cooking.

Good to know

🇲🇽 Mexico City

🇹🇼 Taipei

🕒 Local time

18:35 6:35 PM

08:35 8:35 AM

14 h ahead of Mexico City

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

9,209,944 Capital

2,635,286 Capital

💱 Currency

Mexican Peso MXN $

New Taiwan Dollar TWD NT$

📈 Exchange rate

100 MXN = 5.34 USD

100 MXN = 4.76 EUR

100 TWD = 3.07 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 November 3, 2026: 1 USD = 18.74 MXN (100 MXN = 5.34 USD). 1 EUR = 21 MXN (100 MXN = 4.76 EUR).

New Taiwan Dollar exchange rates as of November 3, 2026: 1 USD = 32.56 TWD (100 TWD = 3.07 USD). 1 EUR = 36.5 TWD (100 TWD = 2.74 EUR).

USD to MXN in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Mexico City Taipei 13,390 km ≈ 17 h nonstop flight

From you

Mexico City
Taipei

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 Taipei: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Total monthly costs including rent come to $1,608 in Mexico City and $1,330 in Taipei, so Taipei is about 17% cheaper – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

On paper, salaries run 44% 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 $961 in Taipei. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

A monthly transit pass in Mexico City runs roughly 46% less than in Taipei. The price difference matters if you commute daily and watch your budget.

Childcare runs $432 in Mexico City versus $710 in Taipei. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

At $1,330 in Taipei versus $1,608 in Mexico City, a $1,500 budget is realistic in Taipei but tight or insufficient in Mexico City. The gap between the two cities makes Taipei 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.