Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Mexico City and Vila Real

For one person, living is cheaper in Vila Real: $1,223 a month against $1,608 in Mexico City, rent and utilities included – about $4,600 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
59

Cost of Living Index in Vila Real
Learn more

Vila Real Living Index

Jump to prices

Mexico City

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,608

/mo nomad

Vila Real

🇵🇹 Portugal

$1,223

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Mexico City and in Vila Real

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,608 in Mexico City versus $1,223 in Vila Real.

Mexico City $1,608
Vila Real $1,223

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,549 in Mexico City versus $1,790 in Vila Real.

Mexico City $2,549
Vila Real $1,790

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,490 in Mexico City versus $2,356 in Vila Real.

Mexico City $3,490
Vila Real $2,356

Living in Mexico City is roughly 31% more expensive than in Vila Real, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

The two cities straddle the global median: Mexico City is 18% above, Vila Real is 10% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$10.62 MX$199

$9.12 €8.17

16.45%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$48.35 MX$908

$27.82 €24.92

73.80%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$10.35 MX$194

$7.61 €6.81

36.01%

Cappuccino

$3.69 MX$69.3

$1.10 €0.99

235.45%

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

$1.67 MX$31.29

$1.70 €1.52

-1.76%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.27 MX$23.76

$1.13 €1.02

12.39%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.19 MX$59.9

$3.40 €3.05

-6.18%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$5.31 MX$99.6

$1.54 €1.38

244.81%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.72 MX$32.38

$0.91 €0.82

89.01%

White Bread (500g)

$3.04 MX$57.1

$1.39 €1.25

118.71%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.94 MX$36.44

$1.20 €1.08

61.67%

Eggs

$2.89 MX$54.2

$2.63 €2.36

9.89%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$10.97 MX$206

$9.67 €8.66

13.44%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.25 MX$174

$7.80 €6.98

18.59%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$15.13 MX$284

$14.84 €13.29

1.95%

Apples (1kg)

$3.05 MX$57.2

$1.68 €1.51

81.55%

Banana (1kg)

$1.94 MX$36.45

$1.33 €1.19

45.86%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.03 MX$38.02

$1.57 €1.41

29.30%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.31 MX$43.46

$2.61 €2.34

-11.49%

Potato (1kg)

$2.04 MX$38.21

$1.42 €1.27

43.66%

Onion (1kg)

$1.80 MX$33.79

$1.72 €1.54

4.65%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.48 MX$27.77

$1.17 €1.05

26.50%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.27 MX$23.80

$0.43 €0.38

195.35%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$5.30 MX$99.6

$6.29 €5.64

-15.74%

Wine (Bottle)

$16.10 MX$302

$4.37 €3.91

268.42%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.98 MX$37.23

$1.10 €0.99

80.00%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.25 MX$79.8

$1.63 €1.46

160.74%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.31 MX$5.73

$1.26 €1.12

-75.40%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$19.73 MX$371

$24.62 €22.05

-19.86%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.84 MX$34.50

$4.19 €3.75

-56.09%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.53 MX$10.02

$1.70 €1.52

-68.82%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$5.30 MX$99.4

$16.81 €15.05

-68.47%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.51 MX$28.36

$2.08 €1.87

-27.40%

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

$21.8K MX$408.4K

$31.6K €28.3K

-31.25%

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

$24.0K MX$450.3K

$37.4K €33.5K

-35.83%

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

$63.0 MX$1,182

$109 €97.3

-42.00%

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

$27.39 MX$514

$16.62 €14.89

64.80%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$35.67 MX$670

$45.77 €41.00

-22.07%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$58.9 MX$1,107

$32.35 €28.97

82.19%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$23.64 MX$444

$10.22 €9.15

131.31%

Cinema Ticket

$6.40 MX$120

$8.91 €7.98

-28.17%

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

$432 MX$8,103

$328 €294

31.50%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$11.4K MX$214.5K

$9,782 €8,760

16.79%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$68.2 MX$1,281

$64.9 €58.1

5.18%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$53.1 MX$997

$31.30 €28.04

69.74%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$108 MX$2,023

$84.7 €75.8

27.32%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$117 MX$2,202

$77.4 €69.3

51.61%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,113 MX$20.9K

$785 €703

41.86%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$710 MX$13.3K

$481 €431

47.59%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,588 MX$48.6K

$1,010 €905

156.25%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,406 MX$26.4K

$765 €685

83.73%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,631 MX$68.2K

$1,711 €1,533

112.16%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$2,135 MX$40.1K

$1,313 €1,176

62.66%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$946 MX$17.8K

$1,075 €963

-12.02%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

11.35

3.55

219.72%

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

Last update for Mexico City: October 25, 2026

Last update for Vila Real: October 25, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Mexico City

$710 44.2%

Vila Real

$481 39.4% 32.2% $229

Groceries & Markets

Mexico City

$320 19.9%

Vila Real

$222 18.1% 30.6% $98

Eating Out

Mexico City

$199 12.4%

Vila Real

$140 11.5% 29.3% $58

Clothing & Footwear

Mexico City

$156 9.7%

Vila Real

$116 9.5% 25.5% $40

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Mexico City

$126 7.8%

Vila Real

$171 14% 35.7% $45

Sport & Entertainment

Mexico City

$72 4.5%

Vila Real

$50 4.1% 30.1% $22

Getting Around

Mexico City

$25 1.6%

Vila Real

$42 3.5% 66.3% $17

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,113 in Mexico City and $785 in Vila Real. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Vila Real pays 14% 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 $28 in Vila Real for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $320 vs $222 per month, with Vila Real cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇲🇽 Mexico City

🇵🇹 Vila Real

🕒 Local time

21:45 9:45 PM

03:45 3:45 AM

6 h ahead of Mexico City

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

9,209,944 Capital

49,574

💱 Currency

Mexican Peso MXN $

Euro EUR €

📈 Exchange rate

100 MXN = 5.33 USD

100 MXN = 4.77 EUR

1 EUR = 1.12 USD

Exchange rates and currency converter

EUR, USD to MXN – Mexican Peso Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇲🇽 Mexican Peso ($)

Mexican Peso exchange rates as of November 1, 2026: 1 USD = 18.77 MXN (100 MXN = 5.33 USD). 1 EUR = 20.96 MXN (100 MXN = 4.77 EUR).

Euro exchange rates as of November 1, 2026: 1 USD = 0.896 EUR (1 EUR = 1.12 USD).

USD to MXN in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Mexico City Vila Real 8,710 km ≈ 11 h nonstop flight

From you

Mexico City
Vila Real

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 Vila Real: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Total monthly costs including rent come to $1,608 in Mexico City and $1,223 in Vila Real, so Vila Real is about 24% cheaper – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

On paper, salaries run 12% 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 $785 in Vila Real. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

A monthly transit pass in Mexico City runs roughly 20% less than in Vila Real. The price difference matters if you commute daily and watch your budget.

Childcare runs $432 in Mexico City versus $328 in Vila Real. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Both cities are expensive relative to $1,000. Vila Real is the more realistic option, but even there you’ll need to be disciplined with housing, food, and fun money.

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.