Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Monterrey and Buenaventura

For one person, living is cheaper in Buenaventura: $1,308 a month against $1,599 in Monterrey, rent and utilities included – about $3,500 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

77

Cost of Living Index in Monterrey
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Monterrey Living Index
63

Cost of Living Index in Buenaventura
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Buenaventura Living Index

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Monterrey

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,599

/mo nomad

Buenaventura

🇨🇴 Colombia

$1,308

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Monterrey and in Buenaventura

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

A single person spends $1,599 per month in Monterrey vs $1,308 in Buenaventura, rent included.

Monterrey $1,599
Buenaventura $1,308

A couple spends around $2,493 per month in Monterrey vs $2,012 in Buenaventura, rent included.

Monterrey $2,493
Buenaventura $2,012

A family of three spends $3,387 per month in Monterrey vs $2,716 in Buenaventura, rent included.

Monterrey $3,387
Buenaventura $2,716

Monterrey costs about 22% more than Buenaventura, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Monterrey sits 18% above the global median, while Buenaventura is 3% below – they fall on opposite sides of the world average.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$13.80 MX$255

$7.61 COP 24.1K

81.34%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$47.99 MX$887

$42.62 COP 135.1K

12.60%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$10.65 MX$197

$9.41 COP 29.8K

13.18%

Cappuccino

$3.99 MX$73.7

$2.59 COP 8,225

54.05%

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

$1.66 MX$30.76

$1.38 COP 4,370

20.29%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.99 MX$18.21

$0.89 COP 2,835

11.24%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.36 MX$43.64

$3.14 COP 9,959

-24.84%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.43 MX$81.8

$3.73 COP 11.8K

18.77%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.82 MX$33.58

$1.43 COP 4,538

27.27%

White Bread (500g)

$2.83 MX$52.4

$2.41 COP 7,642

17.43%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.92 MX$35.44

$1.63 COP 5,169

17.79%

Eggs

$2.48 MX$45.78

$2.95 COP 9,353

-15.93%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$11.74 MX$217

$7.86 COP 24.9K

49.36%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.10 MX$168

$9.62 COP 30.5K

-5.41%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$12.53 MX$232

$12.27 COP 38.9K

2.12%

Apples (1kg)

$3.34 MX$61.6

$3.58 COP 11.4K

-6.70%

Banana (1kg)

$1.57 MX$29.10

$1.47 COP 4,665

6.80%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.16 MX$39.86

$1.91 COP 6,047

13.09%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.47 MX$45.65

$1.80 COP 5,696

37.22%

Potato (1kg)

$2.31 MX$42.64

$1.49 COP 4,737

55.03%

Onion (1kg)

$2.68 MX$49.47

$1.48 COP 4,694

81.08%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.46 MX$26.90

$1.19 COP 3,758

22.69%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.19 MX$22.07

$1.20 COP 3,811

-0.83%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.75 MX$87.8

$3.95 COP 12.5K

20.25%

Wine (Bottle)

$13.58 MX$251

$13.14 COP 41.7K

3.35%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.92 MX$35.52

$1.41 COP 4,474

36.17%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.88 MX$53.2

$2.38 COP 7,555

21.01%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.79 MX$14.66

$1.09 COP 3,450

-27.52%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$31.36 MX$579

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.59 MX$29.44

$1.60 COP 5,079

-0.63%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.06 MX$19.58

$2.04 COP 6,457

-48.04%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$10.80 MX$200

$9.02 COP 28.6K

19.73%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.55 MX$28.59

$1.29 COP 4,080

20.16%

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

$24.2K MX$446.4K

$24.7K COP 78.5M

-2.37%

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

$24.3K MX$449.4K

$35.4K COP 112.2M

-31.26%

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

$117 MX$2,159

$126 COP 399.9K

-7.39%

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

$26.38 MX$488

$13.14 COP 41.7K

100.76%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$26.04 MX$481

$29.17 COP 92.5K

-10.73%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$30.26 MX$559

$38.15 COP 120.9K

-20.68%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$21.25 MX$393

Cinema Ticket

$5.23 MX$96.6

$6.50 COP 20.6K

-19.54%

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

$673 MX$12.4K

$630 COP 2.0M

6.84%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$11.1K MX$205.2K

$7,516 COP 23.8M

47.72%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$72.1 MX$1,332

$84.9 COP 269.2K

-15.12%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$42.38 MX$783

$54.4 COP 172.5K

-22.08%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$112 MX$2,066

$139 COP 440.5K

-19.54%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$119 MX$2,200

$103 COP 328.1K

15.04%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$949 MX$17.5K

$653 COP 2.1M

45.23%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$666 MX$12.3K

$475 COP 1.5M

40.32%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,821 MX$33.7K

$997 COP 3.2M

82.71%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,271 MX$23.5K

$875 COP 2.8M

45.26%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$4,050 MX$74.8K

$1,966 COP 6.2M

105.99%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$2,348 MX$43.4K

$1,628 COP 5.2M

44.22%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,155 MX$21.3K

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

11.79

11.58

1.81%

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

Last update for Monterrey: October 18, 2026

Last update for Buenaventura: October 18, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Monterrey

$666 41.7%

Buenaventura

$475 36.3% 28.7% $191

Groceries & Markets

Monterrey

$304 19%

Buenaventura

$273 20.9% 10.2% $31

Eating Out

Monterrey

$221 13.9%

Buenaventura

$153 11.7% 31.1% $69

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Monterrey

$169 10.6%

Buenaventura

$168 12.9% 0.5% $0.8

Clothing & Footwear

Monterrey

$155 9.7%

Buenaventura

$172 13.1% 10.6% $16

Getting Around

Monterrey

$41 2.6%

Buenaventura

$16 * 1.2% 61% $25

Sport & Entertainment

Monterrey

$41 2.6%

Buenaventura

$51 3.9% 25.6% $10

Categories marked with * are only partly priced – their share counts the items that do have prices.

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $949 in Monterrey versus $653 in Buenaventura. Rent is usually the largest line item in a monthly budget, so the gap here sets the tone for the overall comparison.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $48.00 in Monterrey versus $43.00 in Buenaventura. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $304 vs $273 – making Buenaventura the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇲🇽 Monterrey

🇨🇴 Buenaventura

🕒 Local time

12:48 12:48 PM

13:48 1:48 PM

1 h ahead of Monterrey

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

1,142,994

365,607

💱 Currency

Mexican Peso MXN $

Colombian Peso COP $

📈 Exchange rate

100 MXN = 5.41 USD

100 MXN = 4.81 EUR

10,000 COP = 3.15 USD

10,000 COP = 2.81 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

COP, USD, EUR to MXN – Mexican Peso Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇲🇽 Mexican Peso ($)

Mexican Peso exchange rates as of October 23, 2026: 1 USD = 18.48 MXN (100 MXN = 5.41 USD). 1 EUR = 20.77 MXN (100 MXN = 4.81 EUR).

Colombian Peso exchange rates as of October 23, 2026: 1 USD = 3,171 COP (10,000 COP = 3.15 USD). 1 EUR = 3,565 COP (10,000 COP = 2.81 EUR).

USD to MXN in detail →

On the map

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Highest

Between locations

Monterrey Buenaventura 3,470 km ≈ 4 h 45 min nonstop flight

From you

Monterrey
Buenaventura

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

Monterrey vs Buenaventura: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Monthly costs with rent: $1,599 in Monterrey, $1,308 in Buenaventura – roughly 22% apart. Outside of rent, the biggest gap is in eating out.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $2,399 per month in Monterrey and $1,962 in Buenaventura. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

Rent is clearly cheaper in Buenaventura, especially for central apartments. Housing is actually the single biggest factor behind the overall cost gap between these two cities.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $48.00 in Monterrey and $43.00 in Buenaventura. That's a good indicator of the overall restaurant and café pricing gap between the two cities.

Groceries cost about 11% more in Monterrey, though it depends on what you buy. Local produce may be comparable; imported and premium items show the biggest price gap.

A $2,000 monthly budget goes further in Buenaventura, where all-in costs run around $1,308, than in Monterrey at $1,599. In Buenaventura it covers expenses comfortably, while in Monterrey it requires careful planning or may not stretch far enough.

It depends on your priorities. Monterrey has an edge in some lifestyle areas, with costs from $1,308 in Buenaventura to $1,599 in Monterrey. Climate, culture, job market, and personal taste all factor in.

If budget matters most, go with Buenaventura. If higher salaries, better infrastructure, or specific career opportunities are the priority, Monterrey makes more sense. Both are solid long-term options with distinct trade-offs.