Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Mexico and Spain

Name: Spain
Address: ES

For one person, living is cheaper in Mexico: $1,274 a month against $1,775 in Spain, rent and utilities included – about $6,000 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

61

Cost of Living Index in Mexico
Learn more

Mexico Living Index
86

Cost of Living Index in Spain
Learn more

Spain Living Index

Jump to prices

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,274

/mo nomad

🇪🇸 Spain

$1,775

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Mexico and in Spain

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,274 in Mexico versus $1,775 in Spain.

Mexico $1,274
Spain $1,775

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,010 in Mexico versus $2,606 in Spain.

Mexico $2,010
Spain $2,606

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $2,746 in Mexico versus $3,438 in Spain.

Mexico $2,746
Spain $3,438

Mexico ($730–$2,625) and Spain ($931–$2,610) have similar cost spreads. Where you settle within each country has roughly equal impact on the budget.

Living in Mexico costs about 28% less than in Spain on average.

Mexico (6% below) and Spain (30% above) straddle the global median.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$10.63 MX$200

$16.69 €14.95

-36.31%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$43.29 MX$813

$55.7 €49.88

-22.28%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$8.94 MX$168

$11.37 €10.18

-21.37%

Cappuccino

$3.61 MX$67.7

$2.42 €2.16

49.17%

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

$1.48 MX$27.70

$2.68 €2.40

-44.78%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.00 MX$18.77

$1.79 €1.60

-44.13%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.67 MX$50.0

$3.42 €3.07

-21.93%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.37 MX$82.0

$3.88 €3.47

12.63%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.59 MX$29.76

$1.20 €1.07

32.50%

White Bread (500g)

$2.67 MX$50.2

$1.48 €1.33

80.41%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.68 MX$31.57

$1.67 €1.50

0.60%

Eggs

$2.52 MX$47.38

$3.42 €3.06

-26.32%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$8.79 MX$165

$14.17 €12.69

-37.97%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$7.97 MX$150

$8.33 €7.46

-4.32%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$11.50 MX$216

$16.20 €14.51

-29.01%

Apples (1kg)

$2.76 MX$51.7

$2.45 €2.20

12.65%

Banana (1kg)

$1.52 MX$28.61

$2.03 €1.82

-25.12%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.95 MX$36.70

$2.08 €1.86

-6.25%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.97 MX$36.93

$2.58 €2.31

-23.64%

Potato (1kg)

$1.96 MX$36.84

$1.83 €1.64

7.10%

Onion (1kg)

$2.03 MX$38.08

$2.00 €1.79

1.50%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.43 MX$26.90

$1.31 €1.17

9.16%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.14 MX$21.39

$0.77 €0.69

48.05%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.52 MX$84.9

$6.36 €5.70

-28.93%

Wine (Bottle)

$10.87 MX$204

$5.64 €5.05

92.73%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.77 MX$33.14

$1.30 €1.17

36.15%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.19 MX$59.9

$2.09 €1.87

52.63%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.62 MX$11.64

$1.64 €1.47

-62.20%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$29.85 MX$560

$32.91 €29.48

-9.30%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$2.66 MX$49.97

$4.43 €3.96

-39.95%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$2.72 MX$51.0

$1.47 €1.31

85.03%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$10.63 MX$200

$24.98 €22.38

-57.45%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.40 MX$26.24

$1.77 €1.59

-20.90%

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

$24.0K MX$450.0K

$35.5K €31.8K

-32.53%

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

$23.9K MX$449.0K

$30.6K €27.4K

-21.88%

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

$69.2 MX$1,299

$149 €134

-53.66%

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

$23.51 MX$441

$17.67 €15.83

33.05%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$29.00 MX$544

$31.88 €28.55

-9.03%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$34.74 MX$652

$44.24 €39.62

-21.47%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$17.46 MX$328

$15.29 €13.70

14.19%

Cinema Ticket

$5.24 MX$98.5

$9.66 €8.65

-45.76%

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

$261 MX$4,892

$544 €487

-52.12%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$5,999 MX$112.6K

$10.6K €9,499

-43.44%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$55.8 MX$1,048

$84.9 €76.0

-34.23%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$41.58 MX$781

$37.11 €33.24

12.05%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$96.3 MX$1,809

$89.2 €79.9

8.02%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$90.1 MX$1,691

$106 €94.7

-14.81%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$713 MX$13.4K

$1,056 €946

-32.52%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$477 MX$8,954

$808 €723

-40.96%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,358 MX$25.5K

$1,621 €1,452

-16.22%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$906 MX$17.0K

$1,246 €1,116

-27.30%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,597 MX$48.7K

$4,135 €3,704

-37.21%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,565 MX$29.4K

$2,633 €2,358

-40.55%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$773 MX$14.5K

$1,999 €1,790

-61.31%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

11.43

3.3

246.36%

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

Last update for Mexico: October 25, 2026

Last update for Spain: October 24, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Mexico

$477 37.4%

Spain

$808 45.5% 69.4% $331

Groceries & Markets

Mexico

$267 21%

Spain

$272 15.3% 1.7% $4.6

Eating Out

Mexico

$187 14.7%

Spain

$239 13.5% 27.9% $52

Clothing & Footwear

Mexico

$128 10%

Spain

$143 8% 11.7% $15

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Mexico

$122 9.6%

Spain

$199 11.2% 63.4% $77

Getting Around

Mexico

$49 3.8%

Spain

$51 2.9% 5.5% $2.7

Sport & Entertainment

Mexico

$45 3.6%

Spain

$64 3.6% 40.5% $18

Cost Breakdown

National rent averages: $624 in Mexico, $920 in Spain. Capital cities: $1,113 in Mexico City vs $1,508 in Madrid.

National salary averages: $722 in Mexico, $1,972 in Spain. Higher pay doesn’t always mean more spending money – weigh income against local costs.

Cost Highlights

Rent is 47% higher in Spain.

Dining out costs 33% more in Spain.

Salaries are about 2.7 times higher in Spain, and purchasing power comes out stronger in Spain.

Good to know

🇲🇽 Mexico

🇪🇸 Spain

🕒 Local time

10:27 10:27 AM

17:27 5:27 PM

7 h ahead of Mexico

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

124,777,324

47,415,750

💱 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 October 31, 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 October 31, 2026: 1 USD = 0.896 EUR (1 EUR = 1.12 USD).

USD to MXN in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Mexico Spain 9,060 km ≈ 12 h nonstop flight

From you

Mexico
Spain

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 Spain: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

At $1,274 per month in Mexico and $1,775 in Spain, Mexico comes out about 28% cheaper. Keep in mind it varies by city – the difference can be bigger or smaller depending on where you settle within each country.

Rent for a central one-bedroom averages $920 in Spain and $624 in Mexico. Rents vary a lot between cities, so the gap depends on where you settle.

It depends on what you’re after: Mexico wins on affordability, while salaries, visas, language, and lifestyle can tip the balance either way.