Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between San Sebastian and Mexico City

For one person, living is cheaper in Mexico City: $1,608 a month against $2,066 in San Sebastian, rent and utilities included – about $5,500 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

100

Cost of Living Index in San Sebastian
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San Sebastian Living Index
78

Cost of Living Index in Mexico City
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Mexico City Living Index

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San Sebastian

🇪🇸 Spain

$2,066

/mo nomad

Mexico City

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,608

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,066 in San Sebastian versus $1,608 in Mexico City.

San Sebastian $2,066
Mexico City $1,608

Estimated couple costs with rent: $3,076 in San Sebastian versus $2,549 in Mexico City.

San Sebastian $3,076
Mexico City $2,549

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $4,086 in San Sebastian versus $3,490 in Mexico City.

San Sebastian $4,086
Mexico City $3,490

Living in San Sebastian is roughly 28% 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: San Sebastian 52% above, Mexico City 18% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$18.85 €16.88

$10.62 MX$199

77.50%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$61.9 €55.5

$48.35 MX$908

28.07%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$10.78 €9.65

$10.35 MX$194

4.15%

Cappuccino

$2.31 €2.07

$3.69 MX$69.3

-37.40%

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

$2.84 €2.54

$1.67 MX$31.29

70.06%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.63 €1.46

$1.27 MX$23.76

28.35%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.28 €2.94

$3.19 MX$59.9

2.82%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.70 €3.31

$5.31 MX$99.6

-30.32%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.18 €1.06

$1.72 MX$32.38

-31.40%

White Bread (500g)

$1.12 €1.01

$3.04 MX$57.1

-63.16%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.84 €1.65

$1.94 MX$36.44

-5.15%

Eggs

$3.62 €3.24

$2.89 MX$54.2

25.26%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$22.61 €20.25

$10.97 MX$206

106.11%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$7.91 €7.08

$9.25 MX$174

-14.49%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$20.65 €18.49

$15.13 MX$284

36.48%

Apples (1kg)

$2.50 €2.24

$3.05 MX$57.2

-18.03%

Banana (1kg)

$2.76 €2.47

$1.94 MX$36.45

42.27%

Oranges (1kg)

$3.30 €2.96

$2.03 MX$38.02

62.56%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.92 €2.62

$2.31 MX$43.46

26.41%

Potato (1kg)

$2.60 €2.33

$2.04 MX$38.21

27.45%

Onion (1kg)

$2.03 €1.81

$1.80 MX$33.79

12.78%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.19 €1.07

$1.48 MX$27.77

-19.59%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.03 €0.92

$1.27 MX$23.80

-18.90%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$6.79 €6.08

$5.30 MX$99.6

28.11%

Wine (Bottle)

$7.36 €6.59

$16.10 MX$302

-54.29%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.72 €1.54

$1.98 MX$37.23

-13.13%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.77 €1.58

$4.25 MX$79.8

-58.35%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$2.16 €1.93

$0.31 MX$5.73

596.77%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$33.69 €30.17

$19.73 MX$371

70.76%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$6.82 €6.11

$1.84 MX$34.50

270.65%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.89 €0.79

$0.53 MX$10.02

67.92%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$22.07 €19.77

$5.30 MX$99.4

316.42%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.70 €1.52

$1.51 MX$28.36

12.58%

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

$35.2K €31.5K

$21.8K MX$408.4K

61.84%

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

$31.0K €27.8K

$24.0K MX$450.3K

29.35%

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

$136 €122

$63.0 MX$1,182

115.85%

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

$25.48 €22.82

$27.39 MX$514

-6.97%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$35.61 €31.89

$35.67 MX$670

-0.17%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$42.24 €37.83

$58.9 MX$1,107

-28.33%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$19.49 €17.45

$23.64 MX$444

-17.55%

Cinema Ticket

$8.51 €7.62

$6.40 MX$120

32.97%

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

$454 €406

$432 MX$8,103

5.09%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$14.0K €12.5K

$11.4K MX$214.5K

22.37%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$101 €90.1

$68.2 MX$1,281

47.41%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$32.72 €29.31

$53.1 MX$997

-38.42%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$74.2 €66.4

$108 MX$2,023

-31.17%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$132 €119

$117 MX$2,202

12.84%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,470 €1,316

$1,113 MX$20.9K

32.01%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,024 €917

$710 MX$13.3K

44.08%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,371 €2,123

$2,588 MX$48.6K

-8.41%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,671 €1,497

$1,406 MX$26.4K

18.88%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$9,813 €8,789

$3,631 MX$68.2K

170.27%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$5,360 €4,800

$2,135 MX$40.1K

151.05%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$3,011 €2,696

$946 MX$17.8K

218.20%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

2.92

11.35

-74.27%

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

Last update for San Sebastian: October 26, 2026

Last update for Mexico City: October 25, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

San Sebastian

$1K 49.6%

Mexico City

$710 44.2% 30.6% $313

Groceries & Markets

San Sebastian

$327 15.8%

Mexico City

$320 19.9% 2.3% $7.4

Eating Out

San Sebastian

$253 12.2%

Mexico City

$199 12.4% 21.3% $54

Monthly Utilities & Internet

San Sebastian

$197 9.5%

Mexico City

$126 7.8% 36% $71

Clothing & Footwear

San Sebastian

$153 7.4%

Mexico City

$156 9.7% 1.9% $3

Sport & Entertainment

San Sebastian

$59 2.9%

Mexico City

$72 4.5% 21.1% $12

Getting Around

San Sebastian

$54 2.6%

Mexico City

$25 1.6% 52.5% $28

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,470 in San Sebastian and $1,113 in Mexico City. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

San Sebastian pays about 3.2 times more on average. How far that income stretches comes down to housing choices and lifestyle.

Dining out: $62 in San Sebastian vs $48 in Mexico City for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $327 vs $320 per month, with Mexico City cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇪🇸 San Sebastian

🇲🇽 Mexico City

🕒 Local time

03:06 3:06 AM

20:06 8:06 PM

7 h behind San Sebastian

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

188,743

9,209,944 Capital

💱 Currency

Euro EUR €

Mexican Peso MXN $

📈 Exchange rate

1 EUR = 1.12 USD

100 MXN = 5.33 USD

100 MXN = 4.77 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

MXN, USD to EUR – Euro Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇪🇺 Euro (€)

Euro exchange rates as of November 2, 2026: 1 USD = 0.896 EUR (1 EUR = 1.12 USD).

Mexican Peso exchange rates as of November 2, 2026: 1 USD = 18.77 MXN (100 MXN = 5.33 USD). 1 EUR = 20.96 MXN (100 MXN = 4.77 EUR).

USD to EUR in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

San Sebastian Mexico City 9,090 km ≈ 12 h nonstop flight

From you

San Sebastian
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

San Sebastian vs Mexico City: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Total monthly costs including rent come to $2,066 in San Sebastian and $1,608 in Mexico City, so Mexico City is about 22% cheaper – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

Average pay in San Sebastian is about 3.2 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: $1,470 in San Sebastian versus $1,113 in Mexico City. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $454 in San Sebastian 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 $62 in San Sebastian. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

Either city works on $3,000 a month, though Mexico City 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.

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