Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Swords and Mexico City

For one person, living is cheaper in Mexico City: $1,608 a month against $2,598 in Swords, rent and utilities included – about $11,900 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

125

Cost of Living Index in Swords
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Swords Living Index
78

Cost of Living Index in Mexico City
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Mexico City Living Index

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Swords

🇮🇪 Ireland

$2,598

/mo nomad

Mexico City

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,608

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,598 in Swords versus $1,608 in Mexico City.

Swords $2,598
Mexico City $1,608

Estimated couple costs with rent: $3,804 in Swords versus $2,549 in Mexico City.

Swords $3,804
Mexico City $2,549

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $5,010 in Swords versus $3,490 in Mexico City.

Swords $5,010
Mexico City $3,490

Living in Swords is roughly 62% 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: Swords 91% above, Mexico City 18% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$22.16 €19.91

$10.62 MX$199

108.66%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$98.6 €88.6

$48.35 MX$904

103.93%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$13.20 €11.86

$10.35 MX$193

27.54%

Cappuccino

$4.93 €4.43

$3.69 MX$69.0

33.60%

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

$2.98 €2.68

$1.67 MX$31.14

78.44%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.16 €1.94

$1.27 MX$23.65

70.08%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$8.03 €7.21

$3.19 MX$59.7

151.72%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$6.74 €6.05

$5.31 MX$99.2

26.93%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.58 €1.42

$1.72 MX$32.23

-8.14%

White Bread (500g)

$2.35 €2.11

$3.04 MX$56.8

-22.70%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.03 €1.83

$1.94 MX$36.27

4.64%

Eggs

$4.24 €3.81

$2.89 MX$54.0

46.71%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$9.89 €8.89

$10.97 MX$205

-9.85%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$10.86 €9.76

$9.25 MX$173

17.41%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$13.29 €11.94

$15.13 MX$283

-12.16%

Apples (1kg)

$2.75 €2.47

$3.05 MX$57.0

-9.84%

Banana (1kg)

$2.27 €2.04

$1.94 MX$36.27

17.01%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.79 €2.51

$2.03 MX$37.85

37.44%

Tomato (1kg)

$4.17 €3.75

$2.31 MX$43.25

80.52%

Potato (1kg)

$1.87 €1.68

$2.04 MX$38.03

-8.33%

Onion (1kg)

$1.47 €1.33

$1.80 MX$33.63

-18.33%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.30 €1.16

$1.48 MX$27.64

-12.16%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.90 €1.70

$1.27 MX$23.69

49.61%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$20.52 €18.44

$5.30 MX$99.1

287.17%

Wine (Bottle)

$13.39 €12.03

$16.10 MX$301

-16.83%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$3.35 €3.01

$1.98 MX$37.06

69.19%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.45 €3.10

$4.25 MX$79.5

-18.82%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$2.26 €2.03

$0.31 MX$5.70

629.03%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$19.73 MX$369

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$5.00 €4.49

$1.84 MX$34.34

171.74%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.47 €1.32

$0.53 MX$9.97

177.36%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$37.35 €33.55

$5.30 MX$99.0

604.72%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$2.16 €1.94

$1.51 MX$28.23

43.05%

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

$38.6K €34.7K

$21.8K MX$406.5K

77.35%

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

$38.0K €34.1K

$24.0K MX$448.2K

58.40%

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

$246 €221

$63.0 MX$1,177

291.09%

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

$18.68 €16.78

$27.39 MX$512

-31.80%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$51.2 €45.97

$35.67 MX$666

43.45%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$40.58 €36.46

$58.9 MX$1,101

-31.15%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$23.64 MX$442

Cinema Ticket

$13.43 €12.07

$6.40 MX$120

109.84%

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

$1,010 €907

$432 MX$8,065

134.00%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$5,183 €4,656

$11.4K MX$213.5K

-54.63%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$100 €90.0

$68.2 MX$1,275

46.83%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$48.06 €43.18

$53.1 MX$993

-9.54%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$108 €97.1

$108 MX$2,014

0.31%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$113 €101

$117 MX$2,191

-3.88%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,556 €1,398

$1,113 MX$20.8K

39.72%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,342 €1,206

$710 MX$13.3K

88.88%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,584 €2,322

$2,588 MX$48.4K

-0.14%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$2,165 €1,945

$1,406 MX$26.3K

53.99%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$4,721 €4,242

$3,631 MX$67.8K

30.03%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$3,447 €3,097

$2,135 MX$39.9K

61.44%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$946 MX$17.7K

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

3.68

11.35

-67.58%

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

Last update for Swords: 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

Swords

$1.3K 51.7%

Mexico City

$710 44.2% 47.1% $631

Eating Out

Swords

$350 13.5%

Mexico City

$199 12.4% 43.3% $152

Groceries & Markets

Swords

$335 12.9%

Mexico City

$320 19.9% 4.5% $15

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Swords

$316 12.2%

Mexico City

$126 7.8% 60.1% $190

Clothing & Footwear

Swords

$166 6.4%

Mexico City

$156 9.7% 6.1% $10

Sport & Entertainment

Swords

$67 2.6%

Mexico City

$72 4.5% 6.4% $4.3

Getting Around

Swords

$21 * 0.8%

Mexico City

$25 1.6% 19.1% $4.1

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 $1,556 in Swords and $1,113 in Mexico City. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Dining out: $99 in Swords vs $48 in Mexico City for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $335 vs $320 per month, with Mexico City cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇮🇪 Swords

🇲🇽 Mexico City

🕒 Local time

09:27 9:27 AM

03:27 3:27 AM

6 h behind Swords

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

40,776

9,209,944 Capital

💱 Currency

Euro EUR €

Mexican Peso MXN $

📈 Exchange rate

1 EUR = 1.11 USD

100 MXN = 5.35 USD

100 MXN = 4.81 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

On the map

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Between locations

Swords Mexico City 8,470 km ≈ 11 h nonstop flight

From you

Swords
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

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

Swords and Mexico City differ by about 62% in total monthly costs ($2,598 vs $1,608 including rent). Mexico City is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

You’d need roughly $3,897 in Swords 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: $1,556 in Swords versus $1,113 in Mexico City. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $1,010 in Swords 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 $99 in Swords. 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.