Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Portsmouth and Mexico City

For one person, living is cheaper in Mexico City: $1,608 a month against $2,765 in Portsmouth, rent and utilities included – about $13,900 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

134

Cost of Living Index in Portsmouth
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Portsmouth Living Index
78

Cost of Living Index in Mexico City
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Mexico City Living Index

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Portsmouth

🇬🇧 United Kingdom

$2,765

/mo nomad

Mexico City

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,608

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Portsmouth and in Mexico City

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,765 in Portsmouth versus $1,608 in Mexico City.

Portsmouth $2,765
Mexico City $1,608

Estimated couple costs with rent: $3,781 in Portsmouth versus $2,549 in Mexico City.

Portsmouth $3,781
Mexico City $2,549

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $4,798 in Portsmouth versus $3,490 in Mexico City.

Portsmouth $4,798
Mexico City $3,490

Living in Portsmouth is roughly 72% more expensive than in Mexico City, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Both cities are pricier than the global median: Portsmouth 103% above, Mexico City 18% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$20.08 £15.12

$10.62 MX$198

89.08%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$66.5 £50.0

$48.35 MX$901

37.44%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$10.54 £7.93

$10.35 MX$193

1.84%

Cappuccino

$4.78 £3.60

$3.69 MX$68.8

29.54%

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

$2.74 £2.07

$1.67 MX$31.07

64.07%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.31 £1.74

$1.27 MX$23.59

81.89%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$6.28 £4.73

$3.19 MX$59.5

96.87%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$5.85 £4.40

$5.31 MX$98.9

10.17%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.39 £1.05

$1.72 MX$32.15

-19.19%

White Bread (500g)

$1.61 £1.21

$3.04 MX$56.7

-47.04%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$3.67 £2.76

$1.94 MX$36.19

89.18%

Eggs

$3.46 £2.60

$2.89 MX$53.8

19.72%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$13.49 £10.15

$10.97 MX$205

22.97%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$8.16 £6.14

$9.25 MX$172

-11.78%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$13.18 £9.92

$15.13 MX$282

-12.89%

Apples (1kg)

$3.89 £2.93

$3.05 MX$56.8

27.54%

Banana (1kg)

$1.93 £1.46

$1.94 MX$36.19

-0.52%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.92 £2.19

$2.03 MX$37.75

43.84%

Tomato (1kg)

$3.38 £2.54

$2.31 MX$43.15

46.32%

Potato (1kg)

$1.67 £1.26

$2.04 MX$37.94

-18.14%

Onion (1kg)

$1.67 £1.26

$1.80 MX$33.55

-7.22%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.21 £0.91

$1.48 MX$27.58

-18.24%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.47 £1.11

$1.27 MX$23.63

15.75%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$22.69 £17.07

$5.30 MX$98.9

328.11%

Wine (Bottle)

$11.13 £8.38

$16.10 MX$300

-30.87%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$3.13 £2.35

$1.98 MX$36.97

58.08%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.16 £1.62

$4.25 MX$79.3

-49.18%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$3.94 £2.96

$0.31 MX$5.69

1170.97%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$86.3 £65.0

$19.73 MX$368

337.46%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$5.31 £4.00

$1.84 MX$34.25

188.59%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.54 £1.16

$0.53 MX$9.94

190.57%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$19.93 £15.00

$5.30 MX$98.7

276.04%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$2.09 £1.57

$1.51 MX$28.16

38.41%

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

$38.5K £29.0K

$21.8K MX$405.5K

77.05%

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

$41.1K £30.9K

$24.0K MX$447.1K

71.27%

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

$661 £497

$63.0 MX$1,174

949.29%

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

$15.19 £11.43

$27.39 MX$511

-44.54%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$43.05 £32.40

$35.67 MX$665

20.69%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$34.53 £25.99

$58.9 MX$1,099

-41.41%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$17.24 £12.97

$23.64 MX$441

-27.07%

Cinema Ticket

$10.80 £8.13

$6.40 MX$119

68.75%

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

$1,602 £1,205

$432 MX$8,045

271.10%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$20.0K £15.1K

$11.4K MX$212.9K

75.23%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$91.2 £68.6

$68.2 MX$1,272

33.63%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$39.80 £29.96

$53.1 MX$990

-25.09%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$100 £75.6

$108 MX$2,009

-6.87%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$119 £89.9

$117 MX$2,186

1.84%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,493 £1,124

$1,113 MX$20.8K

34.09%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,092 £822

$710 MX$13.2K

53.66%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,146 £1,615

$2,588 MX$48.2K

-17.08%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,669 £1,256

$1,406 MX$26.2K

18.71%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$4,574 £3,442

$3,631 MX$67.7K

25.96%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$3,680 £2,770

$2,135 MX$39.8K

72.37%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$3,397 £2,556

$946 MX$17.6K

258.99%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

5.16

11.35

-54.54%

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

Last update for Portsmouth: October 25, 2026

Last update for Mexico City: October 25, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Portsmouth

$1.1K 39.5%

Mexico City

$710 44.2% 34.9% $381

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Portsmouth

$719 26%

Mexico City

$126 7.8% 82.5% $593

Eating Out

Portsmouth

$313 11.3%

Mexico City

$199 12.4% 36.5% $114

Groceries & Markets

Portsmouth

$312 11.3%

Mexico City

$320 19.9% 2.4% $7.6

Clothing & Footwear

Portsmouth

$158 5.7%

Mexico City

$156 9.7% 1.2% $2

Getting Around

Portsmouth

$115 4.2%

Mexico City

$25 1.6% 77.9% $90

Sport & Entertainment

Portsmouth

$56 2%

Mexico City

$72 4.5% 27.8% $16

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,493 in Portsmouth and $1,113 in Mexico City. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Portsmouth pays about 3.6 times more on average. How far that income stretches comes down to housing choices and lifestyle.

Dining out: $66 in Portsmouth vs $48 in Mexico City. Groceries flip the comparison at $312 vs $320, with Portsmouth cheaper for home cooking.

Good to know

🇬🇧 Portsmouth

🇲🇽 Mexico City

🕒 Local time

22:59 10:59 PM

16:59 4:59 PM

6 h behind Portsmouth

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

198,974

9,209,944 Capital

💱 Currency

British Pound GBP £

Mexican Peso MXN $

📈 Exchange rate

1 GBP = 1.33 USD

1 GBP = 1.19 EUR

100 MXN = 5.36 USD

100 MXN = 4.82 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

MXN, USD, EUR to GBP – British Pound Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇬🇧 British Pound (£)

British Pound exchange rates as of October 28, 2026: 1 USD = 0.753 GBP (1 GBP = 1.33 USD). 1 EUR = 0.838 GBP (1 GBP = 1.19 EUR).

Mexican Peso exchange rates as of October 28, 2026: 1 USD = 18.64 MXN (100 MXN = 5.36 USD). 1 EUR = 20.75 MXN (100 MXN = 4.82 EUR).

USD to GBP in detail →

On the map

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Highest

Between locations

Portsmouth Mexico City 8,890 km ≈ 12 h nonstop flight

From you

Portsmouth
Mexico City

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

Portsmouth vs Mexico City: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Total monthly costs including rent come to $2,765 in Portsmouth and $1,608 in Mexico City, so Mexico City is about 42% cheaper – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

Average pay in Portsmouth is about 3.6 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: $1,493 in Portsmouth versus $1,113 in Mexico City. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $1,602 in Portsmouth versus $432 in Mexico City. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Dining out is cheaper in Mexico City – a meal for two runs $48 versus $66 in Portsmouth. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

For families, Mexico City is more practical. Housing and childcare are both notably cheaper than in Portsmouth, and the savings on those two alone free up budget for education, activities, and family trips.

It comes down to priorities – Mexico City wins on affordability, Portsmouth on earning potential. Factor in climate, language, visa rules, and proximity to places that matter to you before deciding.