Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Mexico City and Tak

For one person, living is cheaper in Tak: $938 a month against $1,548 in Mexico City, rent and utilities included – about $7,300 less a year. Rent and utilities account for about half of the difference.

75

Cost of Living Index in Mexico City
Learn more

Mexico City Living Index
45

Cost of Living Index in Tak
Learn more

Tak Living Index

Jump to prices

Mexico City

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,548

/mo nomad

Tak

🇹🇭 Thailand

$938

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,548 in Mexico City versus $938 in Tak.

Mexico City $1,548
Tak $938

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,436 in Mexico City versus $1,488 in Tak.

Mexico City $2,436
Tak $1,488

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,323 in Mexico City versus $2,039 in Tak.

Mexico City $3,323
Tak $2,039

Living in Mexico City is roughly 65% more expensive than in Tak, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Mexico City is 14% above, Tak is 31% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$11.02 MX$204

$3.38 ฿113

226.04%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$48.68 MX$900

$21.54 ฿720

126.00%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$10.90 MX$201

$7.23 ฿242

50.76%

Cappuccino

$3.68 MX$68.1

$1.74 ฿58.1

111.49%

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

$1.63 MX$30.18

$0.60 ฿20.07

171.67%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.25 MX$23.07

$0.33 ฿10.93

278.79%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.25 MX$60.1

$1.91 ฿63.8

70.16%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$5.53 MX$102

$3.08 ฿103

79.55%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.70 MX$31.50

$1.57 ฿52.6

8.28%

White Bread (500g)

$3.02 MX$55.8

$1.34 ฿44.76

125.37%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.92 MX$35.53

$1.33 ฿44.41

44.36%

Eggs

$2.73 MX$50.5

$2.16 ฿72.3

26.39%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$11.77 MX$218

$16.40 ฿548

-28.23%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.53 MX$176

$2.90 ฿96.8

228.62%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$14.41 MX$266

$11.41 ฿381

26.29%

Apples (1kg)

$3.02 MX$55.8

$2.91 ฿97.4

3.78%

Banana (1kg)

$1.89 MX$35.01

$1.03 ฿34.47

83.50%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.99 MX$36.70

$2.26 ฿75.6

-11.95%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.19 MX$40.38

$2.21 ฿73.9

-0.90%

Potato (1kg)

$1.92 MX$35.43

$1.49 ฿49.69

28.86%

Onion (1kg)

$1.87 MX$34.49

$1.06 ฿35.59

76.42%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.44 MX$26.62

$1.15 ฿38.47

25.22%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.27 MX$23.39

$0.53 ฿17.70

139.62%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$5.22 MX$96.4

$4.47 ฿149

16.78%

Wine (Bottle)

$16.17 MX$299

$16.78 ฿561

-3.64%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.90 MX$35.03

$1.62 ฿54.3

17.28%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.22 MX$78.0

$2.99 ฿100

41.14%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.34 MX$6.30

$0.81 ฿27.11

-58.02%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$19.65 MX$363

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$2.00 MX$36.90

$1.35 ฿45.00

48.15%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.52 MX$9.67

$1.18 ฿39.33

-55.93%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$5.34 MX$98.7

$5.56 ฿186

-3.96%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.52 MX$28.13

$1.51 ฿50.4

0.66%

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

$22.1K MX$408.0K

$26.3K ฿877.5K

-15.92%

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

$24.5K MX$452.9K

$26.0K ฿870.1K

-5.86%

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

$61.1 MX$1,129

$85.9 ฿2,869

-28.86%

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

$28.58 MX$528

$12.38 ฿414

130.86%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$34.47 MX$637

$20.05 ฿670

71.92%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$56.4 MX$1,042

$41.87 ฿1,399

34.61%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$24.88 MX$460

$14.06 ฿470

76.96%

Cinema Ticket

$6.66 MX$123

$5.92 ฿198

12.50%

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

$427 MX$7,891

$595 ฿19.9K

-28.29%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$11.6K MX$215.0K

$11.2K ฿373.1K

4.23%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$67.8 MX$1,253

$43.91 ฿1,467

54.41%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$52.0 MX$960

$30.26 ฿1,011

71.71%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$106 MX$1,959

$80.4 ฿2,686

31.91%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$113 MX$2,080

$79.2 ฿2,647

42.10%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,025 MX$18.9K

$416 ฿13.9K

146.04%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$654 MX$12.1K

$314 ฿10.5K

108.42%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,308 MX$42.7K

$1,208 ฿40.4K

91.02%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,242 MX$22.9K

$692 ฿23.1K

79.37%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,613 MX$66.8K

$2,060 ฿68.8K

75.41%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,936 MX$35.8K

$1,359 ฿45.4K

42.45%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$964 MX$17.8K

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

11.3

5.57

102.87%

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

Last update for Mexico City: October 20, 2026

Last update for Tak: October 20, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Mexico City

$654 42.3%

Tak

$314 33.5% 52% $340

Groceries & Markets

Mexico City

$318 20.6%

Tak

$247 26.4% 22.3% $71

Eating Out

Mexico City

$204 13.2%

Tak

$89 9.5% 56.3% $115

Clothing & Footwear

Mexico City

$152 9.8%

Tak

$105 11.2% 30.9% $47

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Mexico City

$124 8%

Tak

$118 12.6% 4.7% $5.9

Sport & Entertainment

Mexico City

$70 4.5%

Tak

$54 5.7% 22.9% $16

Getting Around

Mexico City

$26 1.7%

Tak

$10 * 1.1% 59.1% $15

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 $1,025 in Mexico City and $416 in Tak. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Dining out: $49.00 in Mexico City vs $22.00 in Tak for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $318 vs $247 per month, with Tak cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇲🇽 Mexico City

🇹🇭 Tak

🕒 Local time

09:34 9:34 AM

22:34 10:34 PM

13 h ahead of Mexico City

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

9,209,944 Capital

19,900

💱 Currency

Mexican Peso MXN $

Thai Baht THB ฿

📈 Exchange rate

100 MXN = 5.41 USD

100 MXN = 4.81 EUR

100 THB = 2.99 USD

100 THB = 2.66 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

THB, USD, EUR to MXN – Mexican Peso Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇲🇽 Mexican Peso ($)

Mexican Peso exchange rates as of October 21, 2026: 1 USD = 18.48 MXN (100 MXN = 5.41 USD). 1 EUR = 20.77 MXN (100 MXN = 4.81 EUR).

Thai Baht exchange rates as of October 21, 2026: 1 USD = 33.42 THB (100 THB = 2.99 USD). 1 EUR = 37.57 THB (100 THB = 2.66 EUR).

USD to MXN in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Mexico City Tak 15,510 km ≈ 20 h nonstop flight

From you

Mexico City
Tak

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 Tak: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Mexico City and Tak differ by about 65% in total monthly costs ($1,548 vs $938 including rent). Tak is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

You'd need roughly $2,322 in Mexico City and $1,407 in Tak 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: $1,025 in Mexico City versus $416 in Tak. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $427 in Mexico City versus $595 in Tak. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Dining out is cheaper in Tak – a meal for two runs $22.00 versus $49.00 in Mexico City. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

At $938 in Tak versus $1,548 in Mexico City, a $2,000 budget is realistic in Tak but tight or insufficient in Mexico City. The gap between the two cities makes Tak 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 Tak 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 Tak gentler on the wallet – expenses run 65% less than in Mexico City. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.