Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Spain and Mexico

Name: Mexico
Address: MX

For one person, living is cheaper in Mexico: $1,262 a month against $1,760 in Spain, rent and utilities included – about $6,000 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

85

Cost of Living Index in Spain
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Spain Living Index
61

Cost of Living Index in Mexico
Learn more

Mexico Living Index

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🇪🇸 Spain

$1,760

/mo nomad

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,262

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Spain and in Mexico

Real prices from locals and on-the-ground checks – rent, groceries, transit and the daily extras. Here's what a month in Spain and in Mexico actually costs, broken down by who's living it.

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,760 in Spain versus $1,262 in Mexico.

Spain $1,760
Mexico $1,262

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,581 in Spain versus $1,993 in Mexico.

Spain $2,581
Mexico $1,993

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,402 in Spain versus $2,723 in Mexico.

Spain $3,402
Mexico $2,723

Spain ($937–$2,649) and Mexico ($736–$2,604) have similar cost spreads. Where you settle within each country has roughly equal impact on the budget.

Living in Spain is roughly 39% more expensive than in Mexico on average.

Spain (30% above) and Mexico (7% below) straddle the global median.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$16.72 €14.87

$10.89 MX$201

53.54%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$56.0 €49.76

$43.66 MX$807

28.15%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.13 €9.90

$9.21 MX$170

20.85%

Cappuccino

$2.43 €2.17

$3.54 MX$65.4

-31.36%

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

$2.63 €2.34

$1.46 MX$27.07

80.14%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.81 €1.61

$1.01 MX$18.71

79.21%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.40 €3.03

$2.69 MX$49.63

26.39%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.82 €3.39

$4.40 MX$81.4

-13.18%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.17 €1.04

$1.59 MX$29.37

-26.42%

White Bread (500g)

$1.50 €1.33

$2.71 MX$50.1

-44.65%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.60 €1.43

$1.75 MX$32.27

-8.57%

Eggs

$3.33 €2.96

$2.44 MX$45.17

36.48%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$14.41 €12.82

$9.15 MX$169

57.49%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$8.33 €7.41

$8.41 MX$155

-0.95%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$16.30 €14.50

$11.52 MX$213

41.49%

Apples (1kg)

$2.57 €2.29

$2.79 MX$51.5

-7.89%

Banana (1kg)

$2.04 €1.82

$1.62 MX$30.00

25.93%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.04 €1.82

$2.06 MX$38.16

-0.97%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.55 €2.27

$1.96 MX$36.15

30.10%

Potato (1kg)

$1.83 €1.63

$1.96 MX$36.22

-6.63%

Onion (1kg)

$2.03 €1.80

$1.97 MX$36.49

3.05%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.36 €1.21

$1.39 MX$25.61

-2.16%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.74 €0.66

$1.15 MX$21.18

-35.65%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$6.35 €5.65

$4.52 MX$83.5

40.49%

Wine (Bottle)

$5.52 €4.91

$11.01 MX$203

-49.86%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.31 €1.17

$1.76 MX$32.53

-25.57%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.02 €1.80

$3.28 MX$60.5

-38.41%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.71 €1.52

$0.67 MX$12.40

155.22%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$33.15 €29.49

$27.61 MX$510

20.07%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$4.52 €4.02

$2.68 MX$49.49

68.66%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.50 €1.34

$2.69 MX$49.65

-44.24%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$24.43 €21.73

$10.83 MX$200

125.58%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.79 €1.59

$1.46 MX$27.03

22.60%

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

$35.9K €32.0K

$23.9K MX$442.1K

50.20%

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

$31.2K €27.7K

$24.2K MX$447.2K

28.85%

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

$150 €133

$70.0 MX$1,293

114.36%

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

$17.57 €15.62

$23.69 MX$438

-25.83%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$31.32 €27.86

$29.33 MX$542

6.78%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$45.55 €40.52

$36.51 MX$675

24.76%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$15.00 €13.34

$17.98 MX$332

-16.57%

Cinema Ticket

$9.47 €8.43

$5.35 MX$98.8

77.01%

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

$544 €484

$257 MX$4,742

112.10%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$10.8K €9,563

$6,229 MX$115.1K

72.59%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$84.1 €74.8

$55.8 MX$1,032

50.56%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$36.90 €32.82

$41.25 MX$762

-10.55%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$88.5 €78.7

$98.9 MX$1,827

-10.49%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$104 €92.8

$91.9 MX$1,699

13.47%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,017 €904

$706 MX$13.0K

44.03%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$793 €705

$455 MX$8,405

74.28%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,605 €1,428

$1,309 MX$24.2K

22.65%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,209 €1,075

$859 MX$15.9K

40.80%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$4,093 €3,640

$2,538 MX$46.9K

61.27%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$2,581 €2,296

$1,497 MX$27.7K

72.42%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$2,001 €1,780

$768 MX$14.2K

160.49%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

3.3

11.43

-71.13%

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

Last update for Spain: October 20, 2026

Last update for Mexico: October 18, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Spain

$793 45%

Mexico

$455 36% 42.6% $338

Groceries & Markets

Spain

$272 15.4%

Mexico

$272 21.6% 0.1% $0.3

Eating Out

Spain

$239 13.6%

Mexico

$189 15% 20.7% $49

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Spain

$199 11.3%

Mexico

$123 9.7% 38.2% $76

Clothing & Footwear

Spain

$141 8%

Mexico

$130 10.3% 8.3% $12

Sport & Entertainment

Spain

$65 3.7%

Mexico

$47 3.7% 26.8% $17

Getting Around

Spain

$52 3%

Mexico

$46 3.7% 10.8% $5.6

Cost Breakdown

National rent averages: $913 in Spain, $620 in Mexico. Capital cities: $1,509 in Madrid vs $1,025 in Mexico City.

National salary averages: $1,977 in Spain, $729 in Mexico. Higher pay doesn't always mean more spending money – weigh income against local costs.

Cost Highlights

Rent is 47% higher in Spain.

Dining out costs 33% more in Spain.

Public transport is 142% more expensive in Spain.

Salaries are 171% higher in Spain, and purchasing power comes out stronger in Spain.

Good to know

🇪🇸 Spain

🇲🇽 Mexico

🕒 Local time

03:31 3:31 AM

19:31 7:31 PM

8 h behind Spain

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

47,415,750

124,777,324

💱 Currency

Euro EUR €

Mexican Peso MXN $

📈 Exchange rate

1 EUR = 1.12 USD

100 MXN = 5.41 USD

100 MXN = 4.81 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

MXN, USD to EUR – Euro Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇪🇺 Euro (€)

Euro exchange rates as of October 21, 2026: 1 USD = 0.889 EUR (1 EUR = 1.12 USD).

Mexican Peso exchange rates as of October 21, 2026: 1 USD = 18.48 MXN (100 MXN = 5.41 USD). 1 EUR = 20.77 MXN (100 MXN = 4.81 EUR).

USD to EUR in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Spain Mexico 9,060 km ≈ 12 h nonstop flight

From you

Spain
Mexico

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

Spain vs Mexico: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

At $1,262 per month in Mexico and $1,760 in Spain, there's a 39% gap. Keep in mind it varies by city – the difference can be bigger or smaller depending on where you settle within each country.

Day-to-day life is cheaper in Mexico: lower grocery prices, cheaper commutes, and more affordable meals out. Over time, those daily savings make a real difference to your monthly budget and ability to put money away.

Rent for a central one-bedroom averages $913 in Spain and $620 in Mexico. Rents vary a lot between cities, so the gap depends on where you settle.

In Mexico, $2,500 covers most cities easily; in Spain it stretches only to regional areas and falls short in the capital – you'll need to make trade-offs on housing or lifestyle.

It depends on what you're after: Mexico wins on affordability; Spain may offer higher salaries, better infrastructure, and different cultural perks. Both attract large expat communities for different reasons.