Last update: Nov 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Monterrey and Havana

For one person, living is cheaper in Havana: $862 a month against $1,641 in Monterrey, rent and utilities included – about $9,300 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

78

Cost of Living Index in Monterrey
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Monterrey Living Index
41

Cost of Living Index in Havana
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Havana Living Index

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Monterrey

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,641

/mo nomad

Havana

🇨🇺 Cuba

$862

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Monterrey and in Havana

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,641 in Monterrey versus $862 in Havana.

Monterrey $1,641
Havana $862

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,573 in Monterrey versus $1,397 in Havana.

Monterrey $2,573
Havana $1,397

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,504 in Monterrey versus $1,932 in Havana.

Monterrey $3,504
Havana $1,932

Living in Monterrey is roughly 90% more expensive than in Havana, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Monterrey is 21% above, Havana is 36% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$13.37 MX$250

$3.67 CUP 88.2

264.31%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$47.95 MX$897

$27.84 CUP 668

72.23%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$10.79 MX$202

$4.85 CUP 116

122.47%

Cappuccino

$3.77 MX$70.4

$1.05 CUP 25.21

259.05%

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

$1.51 MX$28.26

$1.54 CUP 36.92

-1.95%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.03 MX$19.25

$0.94 CUP 22.61

9.57%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.48 MX$46.41

$1.17 CUP 28.09

111.97%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.36 MX$81.5

$1.95 CUP 46.75

123.59%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.89 MX$35.43

$2.78 CUP 66.8

-32.01%

White Bread (500g)

$2.85 MX$53.3

$1.48 CUP 35.55

92.57%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.86 MX$34.71

$1.70 CUP 40.86

9.41%

Eggs

$2.47 MX$46.12

$3.48 CUP 83.6

-29.02%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$11.81 MX$221

$4.32 CUP 104

173.38%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$8.97 MX$168

$4.81 CUP 115

86.49%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$12.57 MX$235

$8.67 CUP 208

44.98%

Apples (1kg)

$3.20 MX$59.8

$6.06 CUP 146

-47.19%

Banana (1kg)

$1.50 MX$28.12

$1.01 CUP 24.28

48.51%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.12 MX$39.74

$3.86 CUP 92.7

-45.08%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.33 MX$43.64

$2.24 CUP 53.7

4.02%

Potato (1kg)

$2.22 MX$41.58

$2.81 CUP 67.3

-21.00%

Onion (1kg)

$2.58 MX$48.34

$2.72 CUP 65.3

-5.15%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.45 MX$27.04

$0.74 CUP 17.72

95.95%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.22 MX$22.85

$0.52 CUP 12.57

134.62%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.80 MX$89.7

$1.61 CUP 38.62

198.14%

Wine (Bottle)

$13.30 MX$249

$5.28 CUP 127

151.89%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.93 MX$36.14

$1.71 CUP 41.14

12.87%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.86 MX$53.4

$2.15 CUP 51.6

33.02%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.80 MX$14.94

$0.64 CUP 15.36

25.00%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$30.94 MX$579

$22.25 CUP 534

39.06%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.83 MX$34.28

$2.64 CUP 63.2

-30.68%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.06 MX$19.78

$0.34 CUP 8.04

211.76%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$10.82 MX$202

$19.86 CUP 477

-45.52%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.47 MX$27.54

$1.32 CUP 31.79

11.36%

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

$24.1K MX$450.4K

$60.9K CUP 1.5M

-60.46%

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

$23.5K MX$440.2K

$59.4K CUP 1.4M

-60.39%

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

$115 MX$2,144

$48.26 CUP 1,158

137.48%

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

$26.37 MX$493

$39.55 CUP 949

-33.32%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$25.70 MX$481

$91.4 CUP 2,193

-71.87%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$30.53 MX$571

$15.84 CUP 380

92.74%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$21.27 MX$398

$13.06 CUP 313

62.86%

Cinema Ticket

$4.96 MX$92.8

$0.81 CUP 19.51

512.35%

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

$679 MX$12.7K

$159 CUP 3,816

326.82%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$14.2K MX$265.3K

$13.1K CUP 315.0K

8.07%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$72.2 MX$1,350

$50.7 CUP 1,216

42.49%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$41.94 MX$784

$41.25 CUP 990

1.67%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$107 MX$2,011

$80.3 CUP 1,927

33.84%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$119 MX$2,219

$67.6 CUP 1,622

75.56%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,018 MX$19.0K

$249 CUP 5,983

308.20%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$722 MX$13.5K

$216 CUP 5,177

234.53%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,966 MX$36.8K

$886 CUP 21.3K

121.92%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,416 MX$26.5K

$515 CUP 12.4K

174.83%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$4,203 MX$78.6K

$308 CUP 7,392

1264.58%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$2,782 MX$52.0K

$401 CUP 9,631

593.21%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,096 MX$20.5K

$29.32 CUP 704

3637.07%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

11.79

9.1

29.56%

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

Last update for Monterrey: November 2, 2026

Last update for Havana: November 2, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Monterrey

$722 44%

Havana

$216 25% 70.1% $506

Groceries & Markets

Monterrey

$302 18.4%

Havana

$236 27.4% 21.9% $66

Eating Out

Monterrey

$216 13.2%

Havana

$76 8.9% 64.7% $140

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Monterrey

$167 10.2%

Havana

$179 20.8% 7.5% $12

Clothing & Footwear

Monterrey

$153 9.3%

Havana

$108 12.5% 29.5% $45

Getting Around

Monterrey

$41 2.5%

Havana

$29 3.4% 29.4% $12

Sport & Entertainment

Monterrey

$40 2.5%

Havana

$17 2% 56.8% $23

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,018 in Monterrey and $249 in Havana. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Monterrey pays about 37 times more on average. How far that income stretches comes down to housing choices and lifestyle.

Dining out: $48 in Monterrey vs $28 in Havana for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $302 vs $236 per month, with Havana cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇲🇽 Monterrey

🇨🇺 Havana

🕒 Local time

15:11 3:11 PM

16:11 4:11 PM

1 h ahead of Monterrey

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

1,142,994

2,141,993 Capital

💱 Currency

Mexican Peso MXN $

Cuban Peso CUP $

📈 Exchange rate

100 MXN = 5.35 USD

100 MXN = 4.78 EUR

100 CUP = 4.17 USD

100 CUP = 3.73 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

CUP, USD, EUR to MXN – Mexican Peso Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇲🇽 Mexican Peso ($)

Mexican Peso exchange rates as of November 6, 2026: 1 USD = 18.7 MXN (100 MXN = 5.35 USD). 1 EUR = 20.9 MXN (100 MXN = 4.78 EUR).

Cuban Peso exchange rates as of November 6, 2026: 1 USD = 24 CUP (100 CUP = 4.17 USD). 1 EUR = 26.82 CUP (100 CUP = 3.73 EUR).

USD to MXN in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Monterrey Havana 1,840 km ≈ 2 h 45 min nonstop flight

From you

Monterrey
Havana

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 Havana: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Total monthly costs including rent come to $1,641 in Monterrey and $862 in Havana, so Havana is about 47% cheaper – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

Average pay in Monterrey is about 37 times higher, which matters when comparing affordability. Whether that higher income actually nets you more depends on your spending habits and housing choices.

Rent for a central apartment: $1,018 in Monterrey versus $249 in Havana. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Dining out is cheaper in Havana – a meal for two runs $28 versus $48 in Monterrey. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

All in, you’ll spend $1,641 per month in Monterrey versus $862 in Havana – Havana is about 47% cheaper, which adds up to real savings over time.

At $862 in Havana versus $1,641 in Monterrey, a $1,200 budget is realistic in Havana but tight or insufficient in Monterrey. The gap between the two cities makes Havana the clear choice for anyone on this budget.

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.

Expats usually find Havana gentler on the wallet – expenses run 47% less than in Monterrey. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.