Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Ventanas and Monterrey

For one person, living is cheaper in Ventanas: $794 a month against $1,608 in Monterrey, rent and utilities included – about $9,800 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

39

Cost of Living Index in Ventanas
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Ventanas Living Index
79

Cost of Living Index in Monterrey
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Monterrey Living Index

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Ventanas

🇪🇨 Ecuador

$794

/mo nomad

Monterrey

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,608

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Ventanas and in Monterrey

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $794 in Ventanas versus $1,608 in Monterrey.

Ventanas $794
Monterrey $1,608

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,368 in Ventanas versus $2,521 in Monterrey.

Ventanas $1,368
Monterrey $2,521

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $1,941 in Ventanas versus $3,433 in Monterrey.

Ventanas $1,941
Monterrey $3,433

Living in Ventanas costs roughly 51% less than in Monterrey, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

The two cities straddle the global median: Ventanas is 41% below, Monterrey is 19% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$4.09 $4.09

$13.85 MX$256

-70.47%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$52.8 $52.8

$49.70 MX$918

6.20%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$9.10 $9.10

$11.05 MX$204

-17.65%

Cappuccino

$2.84 $2.84

$4.09 MX$75.6

-30.56%

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

$0.87 $0.87

$1.68 MX$30.97

-48.21%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.70 $0.70

$1.03 MX$18.98

-32.04%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.09 $3.09

$2.40 MX$44.28

28.75%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.13 $4.13

$4.35 MX$80.3

-5.06%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.21 $1.21

$1.92 MX$35.55

-36.98%

White Bread (500g)

$2.01 $2.01

$2.94 MX$54.2

-31.63%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.47 $1.47

$1.88 MX$34.66

-21.81%

Eggs

$2.06 $2.06

$2.55 MX$47.06

-19.22%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$6.81 $6.81

$11.84 MX$219

-42.48%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$5.11 $5.11

$9.36 MX$173

-45.41%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$9.23 $9.23

$13.10 MX$242

-29.54%

Apples (1kg)

$1.54 $1.54

$3.38 MX$62.5

-54.44%

Banana (1kg)

$1.18 $1.18

$1.52 MX$28.13

-22.37%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.01 $1.01

$2.19 MX$40.51

-53.88%

Tomato (1kg)

$0.90 $0.90

$2.36 MX$43.63

-61.86%

Potato (1kg)

$1.22 $1.22

$2.26 MX$41.76

-46.02%

Onion (1kg)

$0.98 $0.98

$2.73 MX$50.5

-64.10%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.88 $0.88

$1.52 MX$28.17

-42.11%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.95 $0.95

$1.24 MX$22.90

-23.39%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$5.99 $5.99

$4.75 MX$87.8

26.11%

Wine (Bottle)

$11.87 $11.87

$13.66 MX$252

-13.10%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.56 $1.56

$1.89 MX$34.95

-17.46%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.19 $2.19

$2.99 MX$55.2

-26.76%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.33 $0.33

$0.85 MX$15.78

-61.18%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$17.38 $17.38

$30.95 MX$572

-43.84%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.33 $1.33

$1.68 MX$30.98

-20.83%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.72 $1.72

$1.13 MX$20.87

52.21%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$11.98 $11.98

$11.15 MX$206

7.44%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$0.85 $0.85

$1.56 MX$28.91

-45.51%

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

$20.7K $20.7K

$21.4K MX$395.8K

-3.24%

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

$31.5K $31.5K

$25.1K MX$463.2K

25.66%

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

$39.46 $39.46

$119 MX$2,206

-66.95%

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

$14.92 $14.92

$26.21 MX$484

-43.08%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$26.27 $26.27

$26.78 MX$495

-1.90%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$31.36 $31.36

$31.03 MX$573

1.06%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$15.54 $15.54

$21.43 MX$396

-27.48%

Cinema Ticket

$7.67 $7.67

$5.29 MX$97.7

44.99%

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

$374 $374

$691 MX$12.8K

-45.96%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$5,644 $5,644

$11.5K MX$212.1K

-50.82%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$66.4 $66.4

$72.3 MX$1,335

-8.17%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$41.14 $41.14

$42.72 MX$789

-3.70%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$127 $127

$110 MX$2,024

16.04%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$91.8 $91.8

$117 MX$2,158

-21.38%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$312 $312

$970 MX$17.9K

-67.87%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$167 $167

$664 MX$12.3K

-74.78%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$681 $681

$1,857 MX$34.3K

-63.32%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$402 $402

$1,287 MX$23.8K

-68.75%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$1,128 $1,128

$4,162 MX$76.9K

-72.90%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$726 $726

$2,349 MX$43.4K

-69.11%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,146 MX$21.2K

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

10.05

11.79

-14.76%

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

Last update for Ventanas: October 12, 2026

Last update for Monterrey: October 10, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Groceries & Markets

Ventanas

$200 25.2%

Monterrey

$310 19.3% 55.4% $111

Accommodation & Living

Ventanas

$167 21.1%

Monterrey

$664 41.3% 297% $496

Clothing & Footwear

Ventanas

$147 18.5%

Monterrey

$154 9.6% 4.6% $6.7

Eating Out

Ventanas

$124 15.6%

Monterrey

$225 14% 81% $101

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Ventanas

$81 10.2%

Monterrey

$172 10.7% 114% $92

Sport & Entertainment

Ventanas

$47 5.9%

Monterrey

$42 2.6% 10.9% $5.1

Getting Around

Ventanas

$29 3.6%

Monterrey

$42 2.6% 45.5% $13

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $312 in Ventanas and $970 in Monterrey. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Dining out: $53.0 in Ventanas vs $50.0 in Monterrey. Groceries flip the comparison at $200 vs $310, with Ventanas cheaper for home cooking.

Good to know

🇪🇨 Ventanas

🇲🇽 Monterrey

🕒 Local time

00:02 12:02 AM

23:02 11:02 PM

1 h behind Ventanas

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

38,168

1,142,994

💱 Currency

United States Dollar USD $

Mexican Peso MXN $

📈 Exchange rate

1 USD = 0.89 EUR

100 MXN = 5.41 USD

100 MXN = 4.81 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 18, 2026: 1 EUR = 1.12 USD (1 USD = 0.89 EUR).

Mexican Peso exchange rates as of October 18, 2026: 1 USD = 18.48 MXN (100 MXN = 5.41 USD). 1 EUR = 20.77 MXN (100 MXN = 4.81 EUR).

MXN to USD in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Ventanas Monterrey 3,760 km ≈ 5 h nonstop flight

From you

Ventanas
Monterrey

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

Ventanas vs Monterrey: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Ventanas and Monterrey differ by about 102% in total monthly costs ($794 vs $1,608 including rent). Ventanas is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

You'd need roughly $1,191 in Ventanas and $2,412 in Monterrey 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: $312 in Ventanas versus $970 in Monterrey. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Dining out is cheaper in Ventanas – a meal for two runs $53.0 versus $50.0 in Monterrey. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

All in, you'll spend $794 per month in Ventanas versus $1,608 in Monterrey – a 102% gap that adds up to real savings over time for anyone picking the cheaper option.

At $794 in Ventanas versus $1,608 in Monterrey, a $1,500 budget is realistic in Ventanas but tight or insufficient in Monterrey. The gap between the two cities makes Ventanas 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 Ventanas gentler on the wallet – expenses run 102% less than in Monterrey. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.