Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Qatif and Mexico City

For one person, living is cheaper in Qatif: $1,102 a month against $1,608 in Mexico City, rent and utilities included – about $6,100 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

53

Cost of Living Index in Qatif
Learn more

Qatif Living Index
78

Cost of Living Index in Mexico City
Learn more

Mexico City Living Index

Jump to prices

Qatif

🇸🇦 Saudi Arabia

$1,102

/mo nomad

Mexico City

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,608

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Qatif 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 Qatif and in Mexico City actually costs, broken down by who's living it.

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,102 in Qatif versus $1,608 in Mexico City.

Qatif $1,102
Mexico City $1,608

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,640 in Qatif versus $2,549 in Mexico City.

Qatif $1,640
Mexico City $2,549

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $2,178 in Qatif versus $3,490 in Mexico City.

Qatif $2,178
Mexico City $3,490

Living in Qatif costs roughly 31% less than in Mexico City, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

The two cities straddle the global median: Qatif is 19% below, Mexico City is 18% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$3.50 SAR 13.15

$10.62 MX$199

-67.04%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$34.91 SAR 131

$48.35 MX$908

-27.80%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$6.52 SAR 24.48

$10.35 MX$194

-37.00%

Local Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$1.88 SAR 7.04

Imported Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.24 SAR 8.39

Cappuccino

$3.10 SAR 11.62

$3.69 MX$69.3

-15.99%

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

$0.77 SAR 2.89

$1.67 MX$31.29

-53.89%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.19 SAR 0.72

$1.27 MX$23.76

-85.04%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.19 MX$59.9

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$5.31 MX$99.6

Milk (1 liter)

$1.78 SAR 6.68

$1.72 MX$32.38

3.49%

White Bread (500g)

$0.91 SAR 3.42

$3.04 MX$57.1

-70.07%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.92 SAR 7.20

$1.94 MX$36.44

-1.03%

Eggs

$2.10 SAR 7.89

$2.89 MX$54.2

-27.34%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$5.90 SAR 22.14

$10.97 MX$206

-46.22%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$7.90 SAR 29.64

$9.25 MX$174

-14.59%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$12.64 SAR 47.44

$15.13 MX$284

-16.46%

Apples (1kg)

$2.29 SAR 8.58

$3.05 MX$57.2

-24.92%

Banana (1kg)

$1.71 SAR 6.41

$1.94 MX$36.45

-11.86%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.59 SAR 5.95

$2.03 MX$38.02

-21.67%

Tomato (1kg)

$0.67 SAR 2.52

$2.31 MX$43.46

-71.00%

Potato (1kg)

$1.08 SAR 4.05

$2.04 MX$38.21

-47.06%

Onion (1kg)

$1.13 SAR 4.26

$1.80 MX$33.79

-37.22%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.95 SAR 3.58

$1.48 MX$27.77

-35.81%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.55 SAR 2.07

$1.27 MX$23.80

-56.69%

Bottle of Non-Alcoholic Wine (Mid-Range)

$2.60 SAR 9.77

Local Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.50 SAR 5.64

Imported Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.21 SAR 8.31

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$6.26 SAR 23.48

$5.30 MX$99.6

18.11%

Wine (Bottle)

$16.10 MX$302

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.98 MX$37.23

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.25 MX$79.8

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.09 SAR 4.09

$0.31 MX$5.73

251.61%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$36.50 SAR 137

$19.73 MX$371

85.00%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$2.46 SAR 9.22

$1.84 MX$34.50

33.70%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.55 SAR 2.07

$0.53 MX$10.02

3.77%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$13.24 SAR 49.70

$5.30 MX$99.4

149.81%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$0.61 SAR 2.29

$1.51 MX$28.36

-59.60%

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

$29.1K SAR 109.1K

$21.8K MX$408.4K

33.62%

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

$20.3K SAR 76.3K

$24.0K MX$450.3K

-15.25%

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

$104 SAR 388

$63.0 MX$1,182

64.35%

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

$32.15 SAR 121

$27.39 MX$514

17.38%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$59.3 SAR 222

$35.67 MX$670

66.11%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$79.4 SAR 298

$58.9 MX$1,107

34.71%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$21.38 SAR 80.2

$23.64 MX$444

-9.56%

Cinema Ticket

$13.07 SAR 49.03

$6.40 MX$120

104.22%

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

$264 SAR 992

$432 MX$8,103

-38.73%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$7,860 SAR 29.5K

$11.4K MX$214.5K

-31.19%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$32.16 SAR 121

$68.2 MX$1,281

-52.86%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$21.10 SAR 79.2

$53.1 MX$997

-60.29%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$95.5 SAR 358

$108 MX$2,023

-11.38%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$90.7 SAR 340

$117 MX$2,202

-22.67%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$586 SAR 2,199

$1,113 MX$20.9K

-47.38%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$374 SAR 1,402

$710 MX$13.3K

-47.41%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$807 SAR 3,029

$2,588 MX$48.6K

-68.81%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$578 SAR 2,171

$1,406 MX$26.4K

-58.86%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$943 SAR 3,537

$3,631 MX$68.2K

-74.04%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$796 SAR 2,987

$2,135 MX$40.1K

-62.72%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$2,257 SAR 8,471

$946 MX$17.8K

138.58%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

5.5

11.35

-51.54%

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

Last update for Qatif: October 27, 2026

Last update for Mexico City: October 25, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Qatif

$374 33.9%

Mexico City

$710 44.2% 90.2% $337

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Qatif

$195 17.7%

Mexico City

$126 7.8% 35.3% $69

Groceries & Markets

Qatif

$185 16.8%

Mexico City

$320 19.9% 72.3% $134

Clothing & Footwear

Qatif

$108 9.8%

Mexico City

$156 9.7% 44.7% $48

Sport & Entertainment

Qatif

$106 9.6%

Mexico City

$72 4.5% 32% $34

Eating Out

Qatif

$89 8%

Mexico City

$199 12.4% 124% $110

Getting Around

Qatif

$46 4.2%

Mexico City

$25 1.6% 44.7% $21

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $586 in Qatif and $1,113 in Mexico City. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Qatif pays about 2.4 times more on average while also being the cheaper of the two. The combined effect is a noticeably stronger local purchasing power.

Dining out: $35 in Qatif vs $48 in Mexico City for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $185 vs $320 per month, with Qatif cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇸🇦 Qatif

🇲🇽 Mexico City

🕒 Local time

02:16 2:16 AM

17:16 5:16 PM

9 h behind Qatif

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

87,332

9,209,944 Capital

💱 Currency

Saudi Riyal SAR ر.س

Mexican Peso MXN $

📈 Exchange rate

1 SAR = 0.266 USD

1 SAR = 0.239 EUR

100 MXN = 5.33 USD

100 MXN = 4.77 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

MXN, USD, EUR to SAR – Saudi Riyal Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇸🇦 Saudi Riyal (ر.س)

Saudi Riyal exchange rates as of November 1, 2026: 1 USD = 3.75 SAR (1 SAR = 0.266 USD). 1 EUR = 4.19 SAR (1 SAR = 0.239 EUR).

Mexican Peso exchange rates as of November 1, 2026: 1 USD = 18.77 MXN (100 MXN = 5.33 USD). 1 EUR = 20.96 MXN (100 MXN = 4.77 EUR).

USD to SAR in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Qatif Mexico City 13,910 km ≈ 18 h nonstop flight

From you

Qatif
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

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

Total monthly costs including rent come to $1,102 in Qatif and $1,608 in Mexico City, so Qatif is about 31% cheaper – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

Average pay in Qatif is about 2.4 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: $586 in Qatif versus $1,113 in Mexico City. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

A monthly transit pass in Mexico City runs roughly 46% less than in Qatif. The price difference matters if you commute daily and watch your budget.

Childcare runs $264 in Qatif versus $432 in Mexico City. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Either city works on $2,000 a month, though Qatif gives you more room to save. At this income level, the choice is more about lifestyle than financial pressure.

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.