Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Mexico City and the United Arab Emirates

For one person, living is cheaper in Mexico City: $1,561 a month against $2,227 in the United Arab Emirates, rent and utilities included – about $8,000 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

Mexico City
🇲🇽 Mexico
$1,561
/mo nomad
🇦🇪 United Arab Emirates
$2,227
/mo nomad
🙂 Solo nomad: Mexico City is 11.7% cheaper than the United Arab Emirates without rent, and 29.9% cheaper with rent.
🙂 Family of 3: Mexico City is 9.3% cheaper than the United Arab Emirates without rent, and 26.3% cheaper with rent.
Currency
🍽 Eating Out
Mexico City
United Arab Emirates
Difference
Meal at Budget Restaurant
$11.12 MX$204
$9.40 AED 34.51
18.30%
Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range
$48.99 MX$900
$60.5 AED 222
-19.01%
Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)
$11.23 MX$206
$9.69 AED 35.60
15.89%
Cappuccino
$3.76 MX$69.0
$5.34 AED 19.63
-29.59%
Coke/Pepsi/Fanta/Sprite (0.33 liter bottle)
$1.65 MX$30.34
$1.05 AED 3.86
57.14%
Water (0.33 liter bottle)
$1.28 MX$23.48
$0.46 AED 1.70
178.26%
Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)
$3.26 MX$59.8
$11.80 AED 43.33
-72.37%
Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)
$5.66 MX$104
$12.35 AED 45.35
-54.17%
🛒 Groceries & Markets
Mexico City
United Arab Emirates
Difference
Milk (1 liter)
$1.81 MX$33.23
$1.72 AED 6.33
5.23%
White Bread (500g)
$2.94 MX$54.0
$1.46 AED 5.38
101.37%
Rice (white) (1kg)
$2.05 MX$37.62
$2.14 AED 7.85
-4.21%
Eggs
$2.93 MX$53.7
$3.22 AED 11.82
-9.01%
Local Cheese (1kg)
$11.95 MX$219
$10.60 AED 38.92
12.74%
Chicken Fillets (1kg)
$9.51 MX$175
$8.82 AED 32.38
7.82%
Beef Round Steak (1kg)
$14.84 MX$273
$11.55 AED 42.44
28.48%
Apples (1kg)
$3.14 MX$57.7
$2.46 AED 9.04
27.64%
Banana (1kg)
$2.01 MX$36.99
$1.77 AED 6.51
13.56%
Oranges (1kg)
$2.08 MX$38.10
$1.68 AED 6.18
23.81%
Tomato (1kg)
$2.22 MX$40.72
$1.36 AED 4.99
63.24%
Potato (1kg)
$2.06 MX$37.82
$1.07 AED 3.92
92.52%
Onion (1kg)
$1.88 MX$34.46
$1.06 AED 3.88
77.36%
Lettuce (1 head)
$1.48 MX$27.18
$1.49 AED 5.46
-0.67%
Water (1.5 liter bottle)
$1.35 MX$24.70
$0.56 AED 2.06
141.07%
Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)
$5.41 MX$99.3
$6.09 AED 22.38
-11.17%
Wine (Bottle)
$16.86 MX$310
$13.52 AED 49.66
24.70%
Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)
$1.98 MX$36.43
$2.43 AED 8.94
-18.52%
Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)
$4.32 MX$79.4
$2.76 AED 10.14
56.52%
🚌 Getting Around
Mexico City
United Arab Emirates
Difference
One-way Ticket (Public Transport)
$0.34 MX$6.33
$1.62 AED 5.94
-79.01%
Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)
$20.23 MX$371
$47.10 AED 173
-57.05%
Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)
$2.10 MX$38.47
$3.25 AED 11.93
-35.38%
Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)
$0.53 MX$9.74
$0.60 AED 2.22
-11.67%
Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)
$5.41 MX$99.3
$8.32 AED 30.57
-34.98%
Gasoline (1 liter)
$1.52 MX$27.91
$0.95 AED 3.48
60.00%
Midsize Hatchback 1.4l (Volkswagen Golf, Toyota Prius, Honda Civic, etc)
$21.7K MX$399.0K
$44.9K AED 165.0K
-51.62%
Compact Sedan 1.6l (Toyota Corolla, Mazda3, Kia K4, Hyundai Elantra, etc)
$24.8K MX$455.6K
$22.4K AED 82.2K
10.81%
🧾 Monthly Utilities & Internet
Mexico City
United Arab Emirates
Difference
Utilities for 2 People in 2-bedroom Apartment (Heating, Electricity, Gas, Water, Garbage) (85m2)
$63.0 MX$1,156
$198 AED 726
-68.13%
SIM Card Monthly Plan (Calls and 10GB+ Data)
$28.88 MX$530
$53.4 AED 196
-45.92%
Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)
$33.93 MX$623
$91.3 AED 335
-62.85%
🎉 Sport & Entertainment
Mexico City
United Arab Emirates
Difference
Gym Membership (Monthly)
$55.8 MX$1,024
$73.8 AED 271
-24.45%
Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)
$24.90 MX$457
$33.45 AED 123
-25.56%
Cinema Ticket
$6.77 MX$124
$13.77 AED 50.6
-50.84%
🧸 Childcare & Education
Mexico City
United Arab Emirates
Difference
Preschool or Kindergarten, Full Day, Private, 1 Child (Monthly)
$428 MX$7,854
$570 AED 2,094
-24.98%
International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)
$11.9K MX$218.0K
$12.2K AED 44.8K
-2.63%
👕👟 Clothing & Footwear
Mexico City
United Arab Emirates
Difference
Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)
$70.0 MX$1,286
$61.2 AED 225
14.43%
Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)
$53.7 MX$986
$58.0 AED 213
-7.39%
Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)
$110 MX$2,016
$99.5 AED 365
10.33%
Men's Leather Business Shoes
$115 MX$2,115
$100 AED 368
15.11%
🏠 Accommodation & Living
Mexico City
United Arab Emirates
Difference
1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)
$1,062 MX$19.5K
$1,553 AED 5,704
-31.59%
1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)
$671 MX$12.3K
$1,092 AED 4,011
-38.59%
3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)
$2,379 MX$43.7K
$2,731 AED 10.0K
-12.89%
3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)
$1,260 MX$23.1K
$2,022 AED 7,427
-37.68%
Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)
$3,716 MX$68.2K
$5,628 AED 20.7K
-33.98%
Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)
$1,976 MX$36.3K
$2,849 AED 10.5K
-30.64%
💵 Salaries & Financials
Mexico City
United Arab Emirates
Difference
Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)
$997 MX$18.3K
$2,827 AED 10.4K
-64.74%
20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)
11.3
4.63
144.06%

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

Last update for Mexico City: October 6, 2026

Last update for the United Arab Emirates: October 3, 2026

Monthly budget structure
Share of the monthly basket for one person, rent included.
Accommodation & Living
Mexico City
$671
United Arab Emirates
$1.1K 62.8% $421
Groceries & Markets
Mexico City
$327
United Arab Emirates
$263 19.5% $64
Eating Out
Mexico City
$207
United Arab Emirates
$258 24.6% $51
Clothing & Footwear
Mexico City
$157
United Arab Emirates
$143 8.6% $13
Monthly Utilities & Internet
Mexico City
$126
United Arab Emirates
$342 172% $217
Sport & Entertainment
Mexico City
$69
United Arab Emirates
$101 46.2% $32
Getting Around
Mexico City
$26
United Arab Emirates
$60 127% $33
Good to know
🇲🇽 Mexico City
🇦🇪 United Arab Emirates
🕒 Local time
02:55 2:55 AM
12:55 12:55 PM
10 h ahead of Mexico City
🌤 Weather
👥 Population
9,209,944 Capital
9,890,400
💱 Currency
UAE Dirham AED د.إ
Exchange rates and currency converter

AED, USD, EUR to MXN – Mexican Peso Converter

Mexican Peso exchange rates as of October 10, 2026: 1 USD = 18.36 MXN (100 MXN = 5.45 USD). 1 EUR = 20.59 MXN (100 MXN = 4.86 EUR).

UAE Dirham exchange rates as of October 10, 2026: 1 USD = 3.67 AED (1 AED = 0.272 USD). 1 EUR = 4.12 AED (1 AED = 0.243 EUR).

On the map
Between locations
  • Mexico City United Arab Emirates 14,350 km ≈ 18 h nonstop flight
From you
  • Mexico City
  • United Arab Emirates

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

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