Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Roatan and Mexico City

For one person, living is cheaper in Roatan: $1,228 a month against $1,608 in Mexico City, rent and utilities included – about $4,600 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

59

Cost of Living Index in Roatan
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Roatan Living Index
78

Cost of Living Index in Mexico City
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Mexico City Living Index

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Roatan

🇭🇳 Honduras

$1,228

/mo nomad

Mexico City

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,608

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,228 in Roatan versus $1,608 in Mexico City.

Roatan $1,228
Mexico City $1,608

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,000 in Roatan versus $2,549 in Mexico City.

Roatan $2,000
Mexico City $2,549

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $2,773 in Roatan versus $3,490 in Mexico City.

Roatan $2,773
Mexico City $3,490

Living in Roatan costs roughly 24% less than in Mexico City, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in clothing.

The two cities straddle the global median: Roatan is 10% below, Mexico City is 18% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$8.18 HNL 220

$10.62 MX$198

-22.98%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$40.19 HNL 1,080

$48.35 MX$901

-16.88%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$8.59 HNL 231

$10.35 MX$193

-17.00%

Cappuccino

$4.28 HNL 115

$3.69 MX$68.8

15.99%

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

$0.95 HNL 25.49

$1.67 MX$31.07

-43.11%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.86 HNL 23.21

$1.27 MX$23.59

-32.28%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.51 HNL 67.6

$3.19 MX$59.5

-21.32%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$5.15 HNL 138

$5.31 MX$98.9

-3.01%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.44 HNL 38.73

$1.72 MX$32.15

-16.28%

White Bread (500g)

$3.15 HNL 84.8

$3.04 MX$56.7

3.62%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.46 HNL 66.2

$1.94 MX$36.19

26.80%

Eggs

$1.97 HNL 53.0

$2.89 MX$53.8

-31.83%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$11.17 HNL 300

$10.97 MX$205

1.82%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$6.46 HNL 174

$9.25 MX$172

-30.16%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$17.61 HNL 473

$15.13 MX$282

16.39%

Apples (1kg)

$3.05 MX$56.8

Banana (1kg)

$1.12 HNL 30.10

$1.94 MX$36.19

-42.27%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.12 HNL 30.18

$2.03 MX$37.75

-44.83%

Tomato (1kg)

$0.52 HNL 14.04

$2.31 MX$43.15

-77.49%

Potato (1kg)

$1.63 HNL 43.84

$2.04 MX$37.94

-20.10%

Onion (1kg)

$1.49 HNL 40.10

$1.80 MX$33.55

-17.22%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.17 HNL 31.41

$1.48 MX$27.58

-20.95%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$2.93 HNL 78.8

$1.27 MX$23.63

130.71%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$2.92 HNL 78.4

$5.30 MX$98.9

-44.91%

Wine (Bottle)

$7.91 HNL 212

$16.10 MX$300

-50.87%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.33 HNL 35.77

$1.98 MX$36.97

-32.83%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.59 HNL 69.5

$4.25 MX$79.3

-39.06%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.31 MX$5.69

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$19.73 MX$368

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$2.06 HNL 55.3

$1.84 MX$34.25

11.96%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.53 MX$9.94

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$10.14 HNL 272

$5.30 MX$98.7

91.32%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.03 HNL 27.63

$1.51 MX$28.16

-31.79%

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

$21.8K MX$405.5K

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

$29.5K HNL 793.4K

$24.0K MX$447.1K

23.12%

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

$63.0 MX$1,174

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

$27.39 MX$511

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$99.6 HNL 2,675

$35.67 MX$665

179.17%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$61.2 HNL 1,644

$58.9 MX$1,099

3.82%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$23.64 MX$441

Cinema Ticket

$6.40 MX$119

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

$505 HNL 13.6K

$432 MX$8,045

17.05%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$11.4K MX$212.9K

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$40.37 HNL 1,084

$68.2 MX$1,272

-40.82%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$19.93 HNL 535

$53.1 MX$990

-62.49%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$39.69 HNL 1,066

$108 MX$2,009

-63.17%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$50.2 HNL 1,349

$117 MX$2,186

-57.18%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$838 HNL 22.5K

$1,113 MX$20.8K

-24.75%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$553 HNL 14.9K

$710 MX$13.2K

-22.15%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,968 HNL 52.9K

$2,588 MX$48.2K

-23.97%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,236 HNL 33.2K

$1,406 MX$26.2K

-12.07%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$1,906 HNL 51.2K

$3,631 MX$67.7K

-47.52%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,323 HNL 35.5K

$2,135 MX$39.8K

-38.05%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$497 HNL 13.3K

$946 MX$17.6K

-47.52%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

11.35

58.59%

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

Last update for Roatan: 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

Roatan

$553 45.1%

Mexico City

$710 44.2% 28.5% $157

Groceries & Markets

Roatan

$272 * 22.1%

Mexico City

$320 19.9% 17.6% $48

Eating Out

Roatan

$173 14.1%

Mexico City

$199 12.4% 15% $26

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Roatan

$100 * 8.1%

Mexico City

$126 7.8% 26.6% $26

Clothing & Footwear

Roatan

$68 5.5%

Mexico City

$156 9.7% 131% $88

Sport & Entertainment

Roatan

$61 * 5%

Mexico City

$72 4.5% 17.2% $11

Getting Around

Roatan

$2.1 * 0.2%

Mexico City

$25 1.6% 1136% $23

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

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $838 in Roatan and $1,113 in Mexico City. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Mexico City pays 91% more on average. How far that income stretches comes down to housing choices and lifestyle.

Dining out: $40 in Roatan vs $48 in Mexico City for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $272 vs $320 per month, with Roatan cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇭🇳 Roatan

🇲🇽 Mexico City

🕒 Local time

12:49 12:49 PM

Same time as Roatan

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

17,425

9,209,944 Capital

💱 Currency

Honduran Lempira HNL L

Mexican Peso MXN $

📈 Exchange rate

100 HNL = 3.72 USD

100 HNL = 3.34 EUR

100 MXN = 5.36 USD

100 MXN = 4.82 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

MXN, USD, EUR to HNL – Honduran Lempira Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇭🇳 Honduran Lempira (L)

Honduran Lempira exchange rates as of October 28, 2026: 1 USD = 26.87 HNL (100 HNL = 3.72 USD). 1 EUR = 29.91 HNL (100 HNL = 3.34 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 HNL in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Roatan Mexico City 1,380 km ≈ 2 h 15 min nonstop flight

From you

Roatan
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

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

Roatan and Mexico City differ by about 31% in total monthly costs ($1,228 vs $1,608 including rent). Roatan is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

On paper, salaries run 48% lower in Roatan. That’s worth factoring in alongside costs, though remote workers earning in a stronger currency may not notice the difference at all.

Rent for a central apartment: $838 in Roatan versus $1,113 in Mexico City. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $505 in Roatan 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 Roatan – a meal for two runs $40 versus $48 in Mexico City. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

At $1,228 in Roatan versus $1,608 in Mexico City, a $1,500 budget is realistic in Roatan but tight or insufficient in Mexico City. The gap between the two cities makes Roatan 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.

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