Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Mexico City and Ubatuba

For one person, living is cheaper in Ubatuba: $790 a month against $1,608 in Mexico City, rent and utilities included – about $9,800 less a year. Rent and utilities account for about half of the difference.

78

Cost of Living Index in Mexico City
Learn more

Mexico City Living Index
38

Cost of Living Index in Ubatuba
Learn more

Ubatuba Living Index

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Mexico City

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,608

/mo nomad

Ubatuba

🇧🇷 Brazil

$790

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,608 in Mexico City versus $790 in Ubatuba.

Mexico City $1,608
Ubatuba $790

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,549 in Mexico City versus $1,256 in Ubatuba.

Mexico City $2,549
Ubatuba $1,256

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,490 in Mexico City versus $1,722 in Ubatuba.

Mexico City $3,490
Ubatuba $1,722

Living in Mexico City is roughly 103% more expensive than in Ubatuba, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

The two cities straddle the global median: Mexico City is 18% above, Ubatuba is 42% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$10.62 MX$199

$6.82 R$37.09

55.72%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$48.35 MX$906

$27.03 R$147

78.88%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$10.35 MX$194

$4.78 R$25.97

116.53%

Cappuccino

$3.69 MX$69.2

$1.37 R$7.44

169.34%

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

$1.67 MX$31.23

$1.24 R$6.77

34.68%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.27 MX$23.71

$0.81 R$4.42

56.79%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.19 MX$59.8

$2.24 R$12.18

42.41%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$5.31 MX$99.5

$3.64 R$19.77

45.88%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.72 MX$32.32

$0.92 R$5.01

86.96%

White Bread (500g)

$3.04 MX$57.0

$1.71 R$9.27

77.78%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.94 MX$36.38

$1.27 R$6.93

52.76%

Eggs

$2.89 MX$54.1

$2.31 R$12.57

25.11%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$10.97 MX$206

$2.76 R$15.02

297.46%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.25 MX$173

$3.78 R$20.53

144.71%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$15.13 MX$283

$7.32 R$39.79

106.69%

Apples (1kg)

$3.05 MX$57.1

$1.52 R$8.24

100.66%

Banana (1kg)

$1.94 MX$36.38

$1.10 R$5.97

76.36%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.03 MX$37.95

$1.11 R$6.02

82.88%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.31 MX$43.38

$1.31 R$7.10

76.34%

Potato (1kg)

$2.04 MX$38.14

$1.14 R$6.18

78.95%

Onion (1kg)

$1.80 MX$33.73

$1.14 R$6.21

57.89%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.48 MX$27.72

$0.85 R$4.64

74.12%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.27 MX$23.75

$0.58 R$3.14

118.97%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$5.30 MX$99.4

$2.29 R$12.44

131.44%

Wine (Bottle)

$16.10 MX$302

$7.42 R$40.32

116.98%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.98 MX$37.16

$1.47 R$7.99

34.69%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.25 MX$79.7

$2.31 R$12.58

83.98%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.31 MX$5.72

$0.97 R$5.29

-68.04%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$19.73 MX$370

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.84 MX$34.44

$1.09 R$5.95

68.81%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.53 MX$10.00

$0.71 R$3.86

-25.35%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$5.30 MX$99.2

$8.10 R$44.06

-34.57%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.51 MX$28.31

$1.23 R$6.71

22.76%

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

$21.8K MX$407.7K

$22.2K R$120.5K

-1.82%

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

$24.0K MX$449.5K

$31.8K R$173.1K

-24.67%

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

$63.0 MX$1,180

$61.4 R$334

2.61%

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

$27.39 MX$513

$8.67 R$47.13

215.92%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$35.67 MX$668

$18.41 R$100

93.75%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$58.9 MX$1,105

$11.06 R$60.2

432.91%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$23.64 MX$443

Cinema Ticket

$6.40 MX$120

$7.39 R$40.20

-13.40%

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

$432 MX$8,088

$414 R$2,253

4.14%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$11.4K MX$214.1K

$10.2K R$55.3K

12.32%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$68.2 MX$1,278

$61.4 R$334

11.05%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$53.1 MX$996

$53.1 R$288

0.15%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$108 MX$2,020

$84.8 R$461

27.10%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$117 MX$2,198

$74.2 R$403

58.13%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,113 MX$20.9K

$366 R$1,991

204.14%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$710 MX$13.3K

$275 R$1,493

158.79%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,588 MX$48.5K

$735 R$3,997

252.08%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,406 MX$26.3K

$562 R$3,054

150.28%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,631 MX$68.0K

$1,656 R$9,005

119.22%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$2,135 MX$40.0K

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$946 MX$17.7K

$352 R$1,916

168.43%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

11.35

10.81

5.00%

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

Last update for Mexico City: October 25, 2026

Last update for Ubatuba: October 24, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Mexico City

$710 44.2%

Ubatuba

$275 34.7% 61.4% $436

Groceries & Markets

Mexico City

$320 19.9%

Ubatuba

$158 20% 50.6% $162

Eating Out

Mexico City

$199 12.4%

Ubatuba

$112 14.2% 43.6% $87

Clothing & Footwear

Mexico City

$156 9.7%

Ubatuba

$123 15.6% 21.1% $33

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Mexico City

$126 7.8%

Ubatuba

$88 11.2% 29.8% $38

Sport & Entertainment

Mexico City

$72 4.5%

Ubatuba

$26 3.3% 64% $46

Getting Around

Mexico City

$25 1.6%

Ubatuba

$8.5 * 1.1% 66.5% $17

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 $1,113 in Mexico City and $366 in Ubatuba. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Mexico City pays about 2.7 times more on average. How far that income stretches comes down to housing choices and lifestyle.

Dining out: $48 in Mexico City vs $27 in Ubatuba for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $320 vs $158 per month, with Ubatuba cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇲🇽 Mexico City

🇧🇷 Ubatuba

🕒 Local time

12:22 12:22 PM

15:22 3:22 PM

3 h ahead of Mexico City

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

9,209,944 Capital

92,981

💱 Currency

Mexican Peso MXN $

Brazilian Real BRL R$

📈 Exchange rate

100 MXN = 5.34 USD

100 MXN = 4.78 EUR

1 BRL = 0.184 USD

1 BRL = 0.165 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

BRL, USD, EUR to MXN – Mexican Peso Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇲🇽 Mexican Peso ($)

Mexican Peso exchange rates as of November 2, 2026: 1 USD = 18.74 MXN (100 MXN = 5.34 USD). 1 EUR = 20.91 MXN (100 MXN = 4.78 EUR).

Brazilian Real exchange rates as of November 2, 2026: 1 USD = 5.44 BRL (1 BRL = 0.184 USD). 1 EUR = 6.07 BRL (1 BRL = 0.165 EUR).

USD to MXN in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Mexico City Ubatuba 7,550 km ≈ 10 h nonstop flight

From you

Mexico City
Ubatuba

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 Ubatuba: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Total monthly costs including rent come to $1,608 in Mexico City and $790 in Ubatuba, so Ubatuba is about 51% cheaper – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

Average pay in Mexico City is about 2.7 times higher, which matters when comparing affordability. Whether that higher income actually nets you more depends on your spending habits and housing choices.

Rent for a central apartment: $1,113 in Mexico City versus $366 in Ubatuba. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $432 in Mexico City versus $414 in Ubatuba. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Dining out is cheaper in Ubatuba – a meal for two runs $27 versus $48 in Mexico City. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

At $790 in Ubatuba versus $1,608 in Mexico City, a $1,200 budget is realistic in Ubatuba but tight or insufficient in Mexico City. The gap between the two cities makes Ubatuba 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.

It comes down to priorities – Ubatuba wins on affordability, Mexico City on earning potential. Factor in climate, language, visa rules, and proximity to places that matter to you before deciding.