Cost of living comparison

compared to

Mexico City vs. Dubai Cost of Living Summary

Mexico City is 19.4% cheaper than Dubai.

Restaurants: pay 20.6% more in Mexico City
Groceries: pay 26.9% more in Mexico City
Transportation: pay 17.8% less in Mexico City
Housing: pay 63.8% less in Mexico City
Childcare: pay 37.3% less in Mexico City
Entertainment and Sports: pay 45.0% less in Mexico City
Clothing: pay 19.6% less in Mexico City

The cost of groceries and restaurants in Mexico City are more expensive than in Dubai. Expenses including housing, entertainment and sports, childcare, clothing, and transportation are lower in Mexico City.

Mexico City vs. Dubai Cost Breakdown

If you lived in Mexico City instead of Dubai, you would:

Display currency: USD

pay 20.6% more for restaurants

	Dubai	Mexico City
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$10.89 AED40.00	$10.86 MX$197.31	-0.3%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$9.53 AED35.00	$8.82 MX$160.32	-7.4%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$1.19 AED4.37	$1.73 MX$31.47	+45.6%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$0.90 AED3.31	$1.30 MX$23.70	+44.6%
Average			+20.6%

Dubai vs. Mexico City - Cost of restaurants

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pay 26.9% more for groceries

	Dubai	Mexico City
Bread 1 loaf	$1.41 AED5.18	$2.63 MX$47.71	+86.1%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$5.45 AED20.01	$5.04 MX$91.60	-7.5%
Milk (1 gallon)	$7.12 AED26.15	$6.54 MX$118.83	-8.2%
Eggs 1 dozen	$3.39 AED12.43	$2.61 MX$47.38	-23.0%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$4.21 AED15.45	$3.80 MX$69.15	-9.5%
Apples (1 lb)	$1.05 AED3.86	$1.37 MX$24.88	+30.3%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.86 AED3.16	$0.80 MX$14.54	-7.0%
Oranges (1 lb)	$0.78 AED2.88	$0.97 MX$17.69	+24.3%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$0.65 AED2.40	$0.91 MX$16.47	+38.8%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$0.53 AED1.94	$0.96 MX$17.42	+81.4%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.52 AED1.92	$0.99 MX$18.07	+90.5%
Average			+26.9%

Dubai vs. Mexico City - Cost of groceries

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pay 17.8% less for transportation

	Dubai	Mexico City
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$2.82 AED10.37	$5.14 MX$93.37	+81.9%
Monthly public transit pass	$87.13 AED320.00	$19.54 MX$355.17	-77.6%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$27,229.41 AED100,000.00	$20,030.45 MX$364,045.47	-26.4%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$8.71 AED32.00	$4.42 MX$80.42	-49.2%
Average			-17.8%

Dubai vs. Mexico City - Cost of transportation

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pay 63.8% less for housing

	Dubai	Mexico City
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$98.23 AED360.76	$30.93 MX$562.20	-68.5%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$2,362.29 AED8,675.50	$1,079.15 MX$19,613.07	-54.3%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$1,533.56 AED5,632.00	$677.25 MX$12,308.67	-55.8%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$159.06 AED584.17	$37.36 MX$679.03	-76.5%
Average			-63.8%

Dubai vs. Mexico City - Cost of housing

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pay 37.3% less for childcare

	Dubai	Mexico City
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$823.12 AED3,022.92	$430.39 MX$7,822.12	-47.7%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$14,907.17 AED54,746.58	$10,897.53 MX$198,058.25	-26.9%
Average			-37.3%

Dubai vs. Mexico City - Cost of childcare

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pay 45.0% less for entertainment and sports

	Dubai	Mexico City
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$13.61 AED50.00	$3.26 MX$59.19	-76.1%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$5.65 AED20.75	$3.81 MX$69.31	-32.5%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$6.13 AED22.50	$4.34 MX$78.93	-29.1%
Monthly membership at local gym	$84.61 AED310.71	$58.44 MX$1,062.21	-30.9%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$14.98 AED55.00	$6.51 MX$118.39	-56.5%
Average			-45.0%

Dubai vs. Mexico City - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 19.6% less for clothing

	Dubai	Mexico City
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$81.30 AED298.59	$60.95 MX$1,107.65	-25.0%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$63.28 AED232.39	$48.08 MX$873.77	-24.0%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$129.71 AED476.35	$105.72 MX$1,921.42	-18.5%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$124.75 AED458.15	$110.91 MX$2,015.75	-11.1%
Average			-19.6%

Dubai vs. Mexico City - Cost of clothing

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The statistics used to build this comparison are calculated using data from users just like you. We average the price of thousands of data points entered by users across the world. Learn more about our data sources. Page last updated: December 2025

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