Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Santo Domingo, Ecuador and Mexico City

For one person, living is cheaper in Santo Domingo: $723 a month against $1,608 in Mexico City, rent and utilities included – about $10,600 less a year. Rent and utilities account for about half of the difference.

35

Cost of Living Index in Santo Domingo
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Santo Domingo Living Index
78

Cost of Living Index in Mexico City
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Mexico City Living Index

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Santo Domingo

🇪🇨 Ecuador

$723

/mo nomad

Mexico City

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,608

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $723 in Santo Domingo versus $1,608 in Mexico City.

Santo Domingo $723
Mexico City $1,608

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,190 in Santo Domingo versus $2,549 in Mexico City.

Santo Domingo $1,190
Mexico City $2,549

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $1,657 in Santo Domingo versus $3,490 in Mexico City.

Santo Domingo $1,657
Mexico City $3,490

Living in Santo Domingo costs roughly 55% less than in Mexico City, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

The two cities straddle the global median: Santo Domingo is 47% below, Mexico City is 18% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$3.96 $3.96

$10.62 MX$198

-62.71%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$51.5 $51.5

$48.35 MX$901

6.45%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$9.15 $9.15

$10.35 MX$193

-11.59%

Cappuccino

$1.98 $1.98

$3.69 MX$68.8

-46.34%

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

$0.88 $0.88

$1.67 MX$31.07

-47.31%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.73 $0.73

$1.27 MX$23.59

-42.52%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$1.98 $1.98

$3.19 MX$59.5

-37.93%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.17 $4.17

$5.31 MX$98.9

-21.47%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.02 $1.02

$1.72 MX$32.15

-40.70%

White Bread (500g)

$1.93 $1.93

$3.04 MX$56.7

-36.51%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.31 $1.31

$1.94 MX$36.19

-32.47%

Eggs

$2.01 $2.01

$2.89 MX$53.8

-30.45%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$4.34 $4.34

$10.97 MX$205

-60.44%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$2.99 $2.99

$9.25 MX$172

-67.68%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$3.54 $3.54

$15.13 MX$282

-76.60%

Apples (1kg)

$1.51 $1.51

$3.05 MX$56.8

-50.49%

Banana (1kg)

$0.98 $0.98

$1.94 MX$36.19

-49.48%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.01 $1.01

$2.03 MX$37.75

-50.25%

Tomato (1kg)

$0.92 $0.92

$2.31 MX$43.15

-60.17%

Potato (1kg)

$0.98 $0.98

$2.04 MX$37.94

-51.96%

Onion (1kg)

$0.92 $0.92

$1.80 MX$33.55

-48.89%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.82 $0.82

$1.48 MX$27.58

-44.59%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.99 $0.99

$1.27 MX$23.63

-22.05%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$5.87 $5.87

$5.30 MX$98.9

10.75%

Wine (Bottle)

$5.04 $5.04

$16.10 MX$300

-68.70%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.50 $1.50

$1.98 MX$36.97

-24.24%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.13 $2.13

$4.25 MX$79.3

-49.88%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.33 $0.33

$0.31 MX$5.69

6.45%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$19.73 MX$368

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$2.82 $2.82

$1.84 MX$34.25

53.26%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.80 $1.80

$0.53 MX$9.94

239.62%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$12.11 $12.11

$5.30 MX$98.7

128.49%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$0.90 $0.90

$1.51 MX$28.16

-40.40%

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

$23.1K $23.1K

$21.8K MX$405.5K

6.10%

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

$30.5K $30.5K

$24.0K MX$447.1K

27.19%

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

$34.76 $34.76

$63.0 MX$1,174

-44.81%

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

$9.83 $9.83

$27.39 MX$511

-64.11%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$23.21 $23.21

$35.67 MX$665

-34.93%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$32.57 $32.57

$58.9 MX$1,099

-44.74%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$17.80 $17.80

$23.64 MX$441

-24.70%

Cinema Ticket

$7.55 $7.55

$6.40 MX$119

17.97%

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

$379 $379

$432 MX$8,045

-12.23%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$5,642 $5,642

$11.4K MX$212.9K

-50.61%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$19.97 $19.97

$68.2 MX$1,272

-70.73%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$29.92 $29.92

$53.1 MX$990

-43.69%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$50.4 $50.4

$108 MX$2,009

-53.28%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$49.26 $49.26

$117 MX$2,186

-57.99%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$422 $422

$1,113 MX$20.8K

-62.13%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$274 $274

$710 MX$13.2K

-61.38%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$832 $832

$2,588 MX$48.2K

-67.87%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$499 $499

$1,406 MX$26.2K

-64.48%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,631 MX$67.7K

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$10.2K $10.2K

$2,135 MX$39.8K

377.38%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$401 $401

$946 MX$17.6K

-57.62%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

10.05

11.35

-11.45%

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

Last update for Santo Domingo: October 24, 2026

Last update for Mexico City: October 25, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Santo Domingo

$274 37.9%

Mexico City

$710 44.2% 159% $436

Groceries & Markets

Santo Domingo

$145 20.1%

Mexico City

$320 19.9% 120% $174

Eating Out

Santo Domingo

$108 14.9%

Mexico City

$199 12.4% 84.6% $91

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Santo Domingo

$68 9.4%

Mexico City

$126 7.8% 85.9% $58

Clothing & Footwear

Santo Domingo

$67 9.3%

Mexico City

$156 9.7% 132% $89

Sport & Entertainment

Santo Domingo

$48 6.6%

Mexico City

$72 4.5% 50.5% $24

Getting Around

Santo Domingo

$13 * 1.8%

Mexico City

$25 1.6% 93.6% $12

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 $422 in Santo Domingo and $1,113 in Mexico City. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Mexico City pays about 2.4 times more on average. How far that income stretches comes down to housing choices and lifestyle.

Dining out: $51 in Santo Domingo vs $48 in Mexico City. Groceries flip the comparison at $145 vs $320, with Santo Domingo cheaper for home cooking.

Good to know

🇪🇨 Santo Domingo

🇲🇽 Mexico City

🕒 Local time

18:48 6:48 PM

17:48 5:48 PM

1 h behind Santo Domingo

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

270,875

9,209,944 Capital

💱 Currency

United States Dollar USD $

Mexican Peso MXN $

📈 Exchange rate

1 USD = 0.898 EUR

100 MXN = 5.36 USD

100 MXN = 4.82 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

MXN, EUR to USD – United States Dollar Converter

🇲🇽 Mexican Peso ($)

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

United States Dollar exchange rates as of October 28, 2026: 1 EUR = 1.11 USD (1 USD = 0.898 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).

MXN to USD in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Santo Domingo Mexico City 3,090 km ≈ 4 h 15 min nonstop flight

From you

Santo Domingo
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

Santo Domingo vs Mexico City: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Total monthly costs including rent come to $723 in Santo Domingo and $1,608 in Mexico City, so Santo Domingo is about 55% cheaper – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

On paper, salaries run 58% lower in Santo Domingo. 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: $422 in Santo Domingo versus $1,113 in Mexico City. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $379 in Santo Domingo 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 $51 in Santo Domingo. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

At $723 in Santo Domingo versus $1,608 in Mexico City, a $1,000 budget is realistic in Santo Domingo but tight or insufficient in Mexico City. The gap between the two cities makes Santo Domingo 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 – Santo Domingo wins on affordability, Mexico City on earning potential. Factor in climate, language, visa rules, and proximity to places that matter to you before deciding.