Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Ubatuba and Mexico City

For one person, living is cheaper in Ubatuba: $855 a month against $1,567 in Mexico City, rent and utilities included – about $8,500 less a year. Rent and utilities account for about half of the difference.

42

Cost of Living Index in Ubatuba
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Ubatuba Living Index
76

Cost of Living Index in Mexico City
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Mexico City Living Index

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Ubatuba

🇧🇷 Brazil

$855

/mo nomad

Mexico City

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,567

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $855 in Ubatuba versus $1,567 in Mexico City.

Ubatuba $855
Mexico City $1,567

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,360 in Ubatuba versus $2,450 in Mexico City.

Ubatuba $1,360
Mexico City $2,450

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $1,865 in Ubatuba versus $3,333 in Mexico City.

Ubatuba $1,865
Mexico City $3,333

Living in Ubatuba costs roughly 45% less than in Mexico City, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

The two cities straddle the global median: Ubatuba is 37% below, Mexico City is 16% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$7.59 R$38.48

$10.75 MX$199

-29.40%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$29.05 R$147

$50.3 MX$929

-42.19%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$5.09 R$25.78

$11.10 MX$205

-54.14%

Cappuccino

$1.46 R$7.40

$3.68 MX$68.1

-60.33%

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

$1.29 R$6.52

$1.65 MX$30.42

-21.82%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.93 R$4.72

$1.30 MX$24.08

-28.46%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.43 R$12.32

$3.32 MX$61.3

-26.81%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.92 R$19.85

$5.54 MX$102

-29.24%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.06 R$5.38

$1.77 MX$32.68

-40.11%

White Bread (500g)

$1.85 R$9.37

$3.05 MX$56.4

-39.34%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.39 R$7.04

$2.01 MX$37.20

-30.85%

Eggs

$2.51 R$12.73

$2.77 MX$51.1

-9.39%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$2.97 R$15.06

$11.91 MX$220

-75.06%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$4.06 R$20.58

$9.33 MX$172

-56.48%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$8.22 R$41.69

$15.02 MX$278

-45.27%

Apples (1kg)

$1.63 R$8.24

$3.08 MX$56.8

-47.08%

Banana (1kg)

$1.23 R$6.24

$1.95 MX$35.97

-36.92%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.18 R$5.97

$2.03 MX$37.54

-41.87%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.40 R$7.11

$2.21 MX$40.92

-36.65%

Potato (1kg)

$1.17 R$5.95

$2.02 MX$37.41

-42.08%

Onion (1kg)

$1.19 R$6.02

$1.82 MX$33.67

-34.62%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.93 R$4.74

$1.52 MX$28.07

-38.82%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.63 R$3.18

$1.28 MX$23.65

-50.78%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$2.55 R$12.90

$5.27 MX$97.4

-51.61%

Wine (Bottle)

$8.08 R$40.96

$16.12 MX$298

-49.88%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.58 R$8.03

$1.95 MX$36.05

-18.97%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.62 R$13.27

$4.25 MX$78.6

-38.35%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.01 R$5.13

$0.31 MX$5.82

225.81%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$19.85 MX$367

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.22 R$6.19

$2.00 MX$36.93

-39.00%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.73 R$3.72

$0.53 MX$9.86

37.74%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$8.73 R$44.27

$5.62 MX$104

55.34%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.29 R$6.56

$1.52 MX$28.07

-15.13%

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

$24.1K R$122.1K

$21.0K MX$388.7K

14.53%

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

$32.8K R$166.1K

$25.2K MX$465.3K

30.16%

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

$66.0 R$334

$62.5 MX$1,155

5.58%

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

$9.01 R$45.69

$28.77 MX$532

-68.68%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$19.76 R$100

$34.45 MX$637

-42.64%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$11.94 R$60.5

$57.1 MX$1,055

-79.09%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$24.81 MX$458

Cinema Ticket

$7.81 R$39.58

$6.67 MX$123

17.09%

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

$438 R$2,223

$431 MX$7,964

1.73%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$11.1K R$56.4K

$11.7K MX$216.9K

-5.17%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$64.7 R$328

$70.8 MX$1,308

-8.63%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$56.4 R$286

$51.8 MX$958

8.72%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$89.3 R$453

$109 MX$2,011

-17.93%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$79.8 R$405

$112 MX$2,076

-28.94%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$396 R$2,007

$1,051 MX$19.4K

-62.35%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$298 R$1,512

$665 MX$12.3K

-55.14%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$816 R$4,135

$2,346 MX$43.3K

-65.23%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$612 R$3,102

$1,227 MX$22.7K

-50.11%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$1,797 R$9,110

$3,554 MX$65.7K

-49.43%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,977 MX$36.5K

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$385 R$1,952

$975 MX$18.0K

-60.49%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

10.81

11.3

-4.34%

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

Last update for Ubatuba: October 12, 2026

Last update for Mexico City: October 11, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Ubatuba

$298 34.9%

Mexico City

$665 42.4% 123% $367

Groceries & Markets

Ubatuba

$172 20.2%

Mexico City

$323 20.6% 87.2% $150

Clothing & Footwear

Ubatuba

$131 15.3%

Mexico City

$155 9.9% 18.5% $24

Eating Out

Ubatuba

$122 14.3%

Mexico City

$203 13% 65.9% $81

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Ubatuba

$95 11.1%

Mexico City

$126 8% 32.7% $31

Sport & Entertainment

Ubatuba

$28 3.2%

Mexico City

$70 4.5% 156% $43

Getting Around

Ubatuba

$8.9 * 1.1%

Mexico City

$26 1.6% 188% $17

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 $396 in Ubatuba and $1,051 in Mexico City. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Mexico City pays 153% more on average. The extra income cushions the higher costs, though housing choices and lifestyle decide how much of the gap is truly closed.

Dining out: $29.00 in Ubatuba vs $50.0 in Mexico City for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $172 vs $323 per month, with Ubatuba cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇧🇷 Ubatuba

🇲🇽 Mexico City

🕒 Local time

00:25 12:25 AM

21:25 9:25 PM

3 h behind Ubatuba

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

92,981

9,209,944 Capital

💱 Currency

Brazilian Real BRL R$

Mexican Peso MXN $

📈 Exchange rate

1 BRL = 0.197 USD

1 BRL = 0.175 EUR

100 MXN = 5.41 USD

100 MXN = 4.81 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

MXN, USD, EUR to BRL – Brazilian Real Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇧🇷 Brazilian Real (R$)

Brazilian Real exchange rates as of October 19, 2026: 1 USD = 5.07 BRL (1 BRL = 0.197 USD). 1 EUR = 5.7 BRL (1 BRL = 0.175 EUR).

Mexican Peso exchange rates as of October 19, 2026: 1 USD = 18.48 MXN (100 MXN = 5.41 USD). 1 EUR = 20.77 MXN (100 MXN = 4.81 EUR).

USD to BRL in detail →

On the map

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Highest

Between locations

Ubatuba Mexico City 7,550 km ≈ 10 h nonstop flight

From you

Ubatuba
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

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

Ubatuba and Mexico City differ by about 83% in total monthly costs ($855 vs $1,567 including rent). Ubatuba is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

On paper, salaries run 153% lower in Mexico City. 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: $396 in Ubatuba versus $1,051 in Mexico City. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $438 in Ubatuba versus $431 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 Ubatuba – a meal for two runs $29.00 versus $50.0 in Mexico City. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

At $855 in Ubatuba versus $1,567 in Mexico City, a $2,000 budget is realistic in Ubatuba but tight or insufficient in Mexico City. The gap between the two cities makes Ubatuba 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.

Expats usually find Ubatuba gentler on the wallet – expenses run 83% less than in Mexico City. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.