Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Side and Mexico City

For one person, living is cheaper in Side: $1,144 a month against $1,608 in Mexico City, rent and utilities included – about $5,600 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

55

Cost of Living Index in Side
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Side Living Index
78

Cost of Living Index in Mexico City
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Mexico City Living Index

Jump to prices

Side

🇹🇷 Turkey

$1,144

/mo nomad

Mexico City

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,608

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,144 in Side versus $1,608 in Mexico City.

Side $1,144
Mexico City $1,608

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,790 in Side versus $2,549 in Mexico City.

Side $1,790
Mexico City $2,549

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $2,435 in Side versus $3,490 in Mexico City.

Side $2,435
Mexico City $3,490

Living in Side costs roughly 29% less than in Mexico City, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

The two cities straddle the global median: Side is 16% below, Mexico City is 18% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$10.26 ₺511

$10.62 MX$198

-3.39%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$29.76 ₺1,483

$48.35 MX$901

-38.45%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$9.45 ₺471

$10.35 MX$193

-8.70%

Cappuccino

$3.44 ₺171

$3.69 MX$68.8

-6.78%

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

$2.19 ₺109

$1.67 MX$31.07

31.14%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.39 ₺19.48

$1.27 MX$23.59

-69.29%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$4.01 ₺200

$3.19 MX$59.5

25.71%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$6.07 ₺303

$5.31 MX$98.9

14.31%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.07 ₺53.1

$1.72 MX$32.15

-37.79%

White Bread (500g)

$0.97 ₺48.33

$3.04 MX$56.7

-68.09%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.61 ₺130

$1.94 MX$36.19

34.54%

Eggs

$2.29 ₺114

$2.89 MX$53.8

-20.76%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$13.70 ₺683

$10.97 MX$205

24.89%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$6.16 ₺307

$9.25 MX$172

-33.41%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$26.79 ₺1,335

$15.13 MX$282

77.07%

Apples (1kg)

$1.57 ₺78.2

$3.05 MX$56.8

-48.52%

Banana (1kg)

$2.46 ₺123

$1.94 MX$36.19

26.80%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.39 ₺69.1

$2.03 MX$37.75

-31.53%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.27 ₺63.5

$2.31 MX$43.15

-45.02%

Potato (1kg)

$0.79 ₺39.51

$2.04 MX$37.94

-61.27%

Onion (1kg)

$0.71 ₺35.38

$1.80 MX$33.55

-60.56%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.74 ₺87.0

$1.48 MX$27.58

17.57%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.76 ₺37.63

$1.27 MX$23.63

-40.16%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$2.78 ₺139

$5.30 MX$98.9

-47.55%

Wine (Bottle)

$13.85 ₺690

$16.10 MX$300

-13.98%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.69 ₺84.1

$1.98 MX$36.97

-14.65%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.13 ₺156

$4.25 MX$79.3

-26.35%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.69 ₺34.55

$0.31 MX$5.69

122.58%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$19.73 MX$368

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.24 ₺61.7

$1.84 MX$34.25

-32.61%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.00 ₺49.64

$0.53 MX$9.94

88.68%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$6.69 ₺333

$5.30 MX$98.7

26.23%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.51 ₺75.2

$1.51 MX$28.16

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

$42.1K ₺2.1M

$21.8K MX$405.5K

93.50%

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

$38.2K ₺1.9M

$24.0K MX$447.1K

59.46%

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

$76.7 ₺3,824

$63.0 MX$1,174

21.82%

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

$10.57 ₺527

$27.39 MX$511

-61.41%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$23.12 ₺1,152

$35.67 MX$665

-35.18%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$52.8 ₺2,632

$58.9 MX$1,099

-10.40%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$23.64 MX$441

Cinema Ticket

$8.06 ₺402

$6.40 MX$119

25.94%

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

$507 ₺25.3K

$432 MX$8,045

17.50%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$10.9K ₺544.1K

$11.4K MX$212.9K

-4.41%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$46.20 ₺2,302

$68.2 MX$1,272

-32.28%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$58.9 ₺2,937

$53.1 MX$990

10.92%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$157 ₺7,812

$108 MX$2,009

45.45%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$117 ₺5,842

$117 MX$2,186

-0.03%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$420 ₺20.9K

$1,113 MX$20.8K

-62.30%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$302 ₺15.1K

$710 MX$13.2K

-57.45%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$761 ₺37.9K

$2,588 MX$48.2K

-70.61%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$573 ₺28.5K

$1,406 MX$26.2K

-59.27%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$1,431 ₺71.3K

$3,631 MX$67.7K

-60.59%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,018 ₺50.7K

$2,135 MX$39.8K

-52.33%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$946 MX$17.6K

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

38.25

11.35

237.00%

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

Last update for Side: 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

Side

$302 26.4%

Mexico City

$710 44.2% 135% $408

Groceries & Markets

Side

$289 25.3%

Mexico City

$320 19.9% 10.6% $31

Eating Out

Side

$194 17%

Mexico City

$199 12.4% 2.3% $4.4

Clothing & Footwear

Side

$171 14.9%

Mexico City

$156 9.7% 8.6% $15

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Side

$110 9.7%

Mexico City

$126 7.8% 14.2% $16

Sport & Entertainment

Side

$69 6%

Mexico City

$72 4.5% 4.1% $2.8

Getting Around

Side

$9 * 0.8%

Mexico City

$25 1.6% 183% $16

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 $420 in Side and $1,113 in Mexico City. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Dining out: $30 in Side vs $48 in Mexico City for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $289 vs $320 per month, with Side cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇹🇷 Side

🇲🇽 Mexico City

🕒 Local time

20:41 8:41 PM

11:41 11:41 AM

9 h behind Side

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

12,500

9,209,944 Capital

💱 Currency

Turkish Lira TRY ₺

Mexican Peso MXN $

📈 Exchange rate

100 TRY = 2.01 USD

100 TRY = 1.8 EUR

100 MXN = 5.36 USD

100 MXN = 4.82 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

MXN, USD, EUR to TRY – Turkish Lira Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇹🇷 Turkish Lira (₺)

Turkish Lira exchange rates as of October 28, 2026: 1 USD = 49.83 TRY (100 TRY = 2.01 USD). 1 EUR = 55.48 TRY (100 TRY = 1.8 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 TRY in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Side Mexico City 11,890 km ≈ 15 h nonstop flight

From you

Side
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

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

Side and Mexico City differ by about 40% in total monthly costs ($1,144 vs $1,608 including rent). Side is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

You’d need roughly $1,717 in Side and $2,412 in Mexico City to live well. The gap comes down to housing and overall price levels. Both cities are liveable on less, but these numbers represent actual comfort.

Rent for a central apartment: $420 in Side versus $1,113 in Mexico City. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $507 in Side 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 Side – a meal for two runs $30 versus $48 in Mexico City. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

At $1,144 in Side versus $1,608 in Mexico City, a $1,500 budget is realistic in Side but tight or insufficient in Mexico City. The gap between the two cities makes Side 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.