Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Mexico and Aruba

Name: Aruba
Address: AW

For one person, living is cheaper in Mexico: $1,276 a month against $2,555 in Aruba, rent and utilities included – about $15,300 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

62

Cost of Living Index in Mexico
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Mexico Living Index
124

Cost of Living Index in Aruba
Learn more

Aruba Living Index

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🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,276

/mo nomad

🇦🇼 Aruba

$2,555

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Mexico and in Aruba

Real prices from locals and on-the-ground checks – rent, groceries, transit and the daily extras. Here's what a month in Mexico and in Aruba actually costs, broken down by who's living it.

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,276 in Mexico versus $2,555 in Aruba.

Mexico $1,276
Aruba $2,555

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,023 in Mexico versus $4,283 in Aruba.

Mexico $2,023
Aruba $4,283

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $2,770 in Mexico versus $6,010 in Aruba.

Mexico $2,770
Aruba $6,010

Living in Mexico costs about 50% less than in Aruba on average.

Mexico (5% below) and Aruba (89% above) straddle the global median.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$10.91 MX$202

$18.58 AWG 33.24

-41.28%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$44.51 MX$822

$89.7 AWG 161

-50.40%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$9.21 MX$170

$10.08 AWG 18.04

-8.63%

Cappuccino

$3.55 MX$65.6

$4.95 AWG 8.86

-28.28%

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

$1.43 MX$26.34

$2.08 AWG 3.73

-31.25%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.07 MX$19.83

$1.84 AWG 3.29

-41.85%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.73 MX$50.4

$5.73 AWG 10.25

-52.36%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.40 MX$81.3

$7.93 AWG 14.20

-44.51%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.61 MX$29.74

$1.77 AWG 3.17

-9.04%

White Bread (500g)

$2.74 MX$50.7

$2.95 AWG 5.28

-7.12%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.72 MX$31.76

$3.34 AWG 5.98

-48.50%

Eggs

$2.57 MX$47.55

$4.87 AWG 8.72

-47.23%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$9.34 MX$173

$12.78 AWG 22.86

-26.92%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$8.13 MX$150

$7.63 AWG 13.66

6.55%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$11.62 MX$215

$12.21 AWG 21.84

-4.83%

Apples (1kg)

$2.94 MX$54.3

$4.83 AWG 8.64

-39.13%

Banana (1kg)

$1.62 MX$29.95

$2.74 AWG 4.91

-40.88%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.08 MX$38.41

$6.25 AWG 11.18

-66.72%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.91 MX$35.21

$5.19 AWG 9.28

-63.20%

Potato (1kg)

$2.07 MX$38.22

$3.39 AWG 6.07

-38.94%

Onion (1kg)

$2.05 MX$37.86

$2.01 AWG 3.59

1.99%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.44 MX$26.69

$2.94 AWG 5.27

-51.02%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.10 MX$20.33

$2.39 AWG 4.28

-53.97%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.64 MX$85.7

$10.03 AWG 17.96

-53.74%

Wine (Bottle)

$10.76 MX$199

$10.08 AWG 18.03

6.75%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.79 MX$33.08

$4.57 AWG 8.17

-60.83%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.33 MX$61.5

$4.55 AWG 8.15

-26.81%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.63 MX$11.61

$2.49 AWG 4.45

-74.70%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$27.08 MX$500

$94.4 AWG 169

-71.30%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$2.77 MX$51.2

$19.32 AWG 34.58

-85.66%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$2.76 MX$51.1

$3.91 AWG 6.99

-29.41%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$11.03 MX$204

$22.06 AWG 39.47

-50.00%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.47 MX$27.17

$2.39 AWG 4.27

-38.49%

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

$20.8K MX$384.4K

$26.3K AWG 47.1K

-20.88%

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

$24.2K MX$446.9K

$35.7K AWG 64.0K

-32.35%

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

$69.1 MX$1,278

$236 AWG 422

-70.69%

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

$23.20 MX$429

$85.5 AWG 153

-72.87%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$28.94 MX$535

$102 AWG 182

-71.61%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$36.82 MX$680

$78.8 AWG 141

-53.29%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$18.19 MX$336

$38.97 AWG 69.8

-53.32%

Cinema Ticket

$5.29 MX$97.7

$10.18 AWG 18.22

-48.04%

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

$264 MX$4,887

$232 AWG 416

13.88%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$6,272 MX$115.9K

$11.7K AWG 21.0K

-46.44%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$56.8 MX$1,050

$68.5 AWG 123

-17.07%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$41.50 MX$767

$76.4 AWG 137

-45.67%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$99.0 MX$1,828

$126 AWG 226

-21.75%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$89.5 MX$1,654

$121 AWG 217

-26.06%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$714 MX$13.2K

$985 AWG 1,763

-27.52%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$469 MX$8,674

$1,023 AWG 1,831

-54.12%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,323 MX$24.5K

$2,602 AWG 4,656

-49.15%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$901 MX$16.7K

$2,639 AWG 4,722

-65.84%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,553 MX$47.2K

$2,271 AWG 4,064

12.41%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,467 MX$27.1K

$1,762 AWG 3,154

-16.76%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$768 MX$14.2K

$2,516 AWG 4,503

-69.50%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

11.44

6.25

83.04%

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

Last update for Mexico: October 10, 2026

Last update for Aruba: October 10, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Mexico

$469 36.8%

Aruba

$1K 40% 118% $554

Groceries & Markets

Mexico

$273 21.4%

Aruba

$391 15.3% 43.5% $119

Eating Out

Mexico

$190 14.9%

Aruba

$298 11.7% 57.2% $109

Clothing & Footwear

Mexico

$129 10.1%

Aruba

$177 6.9% 36.8% $48

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Mexico

$121 9.5%

Aruba

$423 16.6% 249% $302

Sport & Entertainment

Mexico

$47 3.7%

Aruba

$99 3.9% 109% $52

Getting Around

Mexico

$46 3.6%

Aruba

$143 5.6% 210% $97

Cost Breakdown

National rent averages: $617 in Mexico, $546 in Aruba. Capital cities: $1,051 in Mexico City vs $928 in Oranjestad.

National salary averages: $735 in Mexico, $2,438 in Aruba. Higher pay doesn't always mean more spending money – weigh income against local costs.

Cost Highlights

Rent is 13% higher in Mexico.

Dining out costs 13% more in Mexico.

Public transport is 92% more expensive in Aruba.

Salaries are 232% higher in Aruba, and purchasing power comes out stronger in Aruba.

Good to know

🇲🇽 Mexico

🇦🇼 Aruba

🕒 Local time

20:10 8:10 PM

22:10 10:10 PM

2 h ahead of Mexico

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

124,777,324

106,739

💱 Currency

Mexican Peso MXN $

Aruban Florin AWG ƒ

📈 Exchange rate

100 MXN = 5.41 USD

100 MXN = 4.81 EUR

1 AWG = 0.559 USD

1 AWG = 0.497 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

AWG, USD, EUR to MXN – Mexican Peso Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇲🇽 Mexican Peso ($)

Mexican Peso exchange rates as of October 19, 2026: 1 USD = 18.48 MXN (100 MXN = 5.41 USD). 1 EUR = 20.77 MXN (100 MXN = 4.81 EUR).

Aruban Florin exchange rates as of October 19, 2026: 1 USD = 1.79 AWG (1 AWG = 0.559 USD). 1 EUR = 2.01 AWG (1 AWG = 0.497 EUR).

USD to MXN in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Mexico Aruba 3,200 km ≈ 4 h 30 min nonstop flight

From you

Mexico
Aruba

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 vs Aruba: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

At $2,555 per month in Aruba and $1,276 in Mexico, there's a 100% gap. Keep in mind it varies by city – the difference can be bigger or smaller depending on where you settle within each country.

Overall, Mexico is the cheaper option, but not in every category: rent, groceries, transport, and eating out each follow their own pattern. Check the categories you spend the most on before deciding.

In Mexico, $2,500 covers most cities easily; in Aruba it stretches only to regional areas and falls short in the capital – you'll need to make trade-offs on housing or lifestyle.

It depends on what you're after: Mexico wins on affordability; Aruba may offer higher salaries, better infrastructure, and different cultural perks. Both attract large expat communities for different reasons.