Cost of living comparison
compared to
Abu Dhabi vs. Mexico City Cost of Living Summary
Abu Dhabi is 30.9% more expensive than Mexico City.
- Restaurants
-
pay 28.8% less in Abu Dhabi
- Groceries
-
pay 16.8% less in Abu Dhabi
- Transportation
-
pay 2.3% more in Abu Dhabi
- Housing
-
pay 2.1 times more in Abu Dhabi
- Childcare
-
pay 49.4% more in Abu Dhabi
- Entertainment and Sports
-
pay 99.7% more in Abu Dhabi
- Clothing
-
pay 6.2% less in Abu Dhabi
The cost of housing, entertainment and sports, childcare, and transportation in Abu Dhabi are more expensive than in Mexico City. Expenses including restaurants, groceries, and clothing are lower in Abu Dhabi. Notably, housing and entertainment and sports are significantly more expensive in Abu Dhabi.
Abu Dhabi vs. Mexico City Cost Breakdown
If you lived in Abu Dhabi instead of Mexico City, you would:
pay 28.8% less for restaurants
|
Mexico City
|
Abu Dhabi
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant |
$11.13
MX$205.76
|
$8.17
AED30.00
|
|
|
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
|
$11.07
MX$204.73
|
$9.53
AED35.00
|
|
| Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) |
$1.63
MX$30.14
|
$1.15
AED4.24
|
|
| Bottle of water (11 fl. oz) |
$1.30
MX$24.06
|
$0.42
AED1.53
|
|
Mexico City vs. Abu Dhabi - Cost of restaurants
pay 16.8% less for groceries
|
Mexico City
|
Abu Dhabi
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Bread
1 loaf
|
$3.03
MX$56.07
|
$1.62
AED5.94
|
|
| Local cheese (8 oz) |
$6.02
MX$111.38
|
$5.81
AED21.35
|
|
| Milk (1 gallon) |
$6.73
MX$124.42
|
$7.38
AED27.10
|
|
|
Eggs
1 dozen
|
$2.87
MX$53.00
|
$3.49
AED12.81
|
|
| Boneless chicken breast (1 lb) |
$4.39
MX$81.13
|
$4.40
AED16.16
|
|
| Apples (1 lb) |
$1.43
MX$26.42
|
$1.12
AED4.13
|
|
| Bananas (1 lb) |
$0.90
MX$16.67
|
$0.95
AED3.48
|
|
| Oranges (1 lb) |
$0.93
MX$17.19
|
$0.84
AED3.09
|
|
| Tomatoes (1 lb) |
$1.04
MX$19.27
|
$0.71
AED2.60
|
|
| Potatoes (1 lb) |
$0.91
MX$16.90
|
$0.55
AED2.03
|
|
| Onions (1 lb) |
$0.85
MX$15.71
|
$0.53
AED1.96
|
|
Mexico City vs. Abu Dhabi - Cost of groceries
pay 2.3% more for transportation
|
Mexico City
|
Abu Dhabi
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Gasoline (1 gallon) |
$5.76
MX$106.56
|
$3.63
AED13.32
|
|
| Monthly public transit pass |
$20.03
MX$370.37
|
$26.55
AED97.49
|
|
| New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) |
$21,528.95
MX$398K
|
$29,949.09
AED110K
|
|
| Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles) |
$6.54
MX$120.88
|
$7.62
AED28.00
|
|
Mexico City vs. Abu Dhabi - Cost of transportation
pay 2.1 times more for housing
|
Mexico City
|
Abu Dhabi
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
|
$34.66
MX$640.87
|
$88.30
AED324.28
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area |
$1,053.82
MX$19,488.15
|
$1,966.33
AED7,221.36
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment outside city center |
$672.38
MX$12,434.27
|
$1,399.56
AED5,139.88
|
|
|
Utilities for two
(700 sq ft apartment)
including electric, gas, water, heating
|
$47.71
MX$882.34
|
$148.00
AED543.52
|
|
Mexico City vs. Abu Dhabi - Cost of housing
pay 49.4% more for childcare
|
Mexico City
|
Abu Dhabi
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Private preschool for 1 child, monthly |
$435.78
MX$8,058.88
|
$790.93
AED2,904.68
|
|
| Middle school for 1 child, two semesters |
$12,045.70
MX$223K
|
$14,819.26
AED54,423.74
|
|
Mexico City vs. Abu Dhabi - Cost of childcare
pay 99.7% more for entertainment and sports
|
Mexico City
|
Abu Dhabi
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Domestic/local beer (1 pint) |
$3.34
MX$61.73
|
$11.57
AED42.50
|
|
| Cappuccino in mid-range area |
$3.80
MX$70.36
|
$5.96
AED21.87
|
|
|
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
|
$5.29
MX$97.74
|
$6.67
AED24.50
|
|
| Monthly membership at local gym |
$57.09
MX$1,055.72
|
$95.29
AED349.96
|
|
| Movie ticket to theater/cinema |
$6.68
MX$123.46
|
$14.97
AED54.99
|
|
Mexico City vs. Abu Dhabi - Cost of entertainment and sports
pay 6.2% less for clothing
|
Mexico City
|
Abu Dhabi
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
|
$70.61
MX$1,305.78
|
$61.46
AED225.73
|
|
|
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
|
$53.64
MX$991.98
|
$49.09
AED180.30
|
|
|
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
|
$109.04
MX$2,016.43
|
$111.63
AED409.96
|
|
| Men's business shoes (leather) |
$115.97
MX$2,144.64
|
$110.14
AED404.50
|
|
Mexico City vs. Abu Dhabi - Cost of clothing
We average the price of thousands of data points entered by users across the world. Sources: MyLifeElsewhere's cost-of-living dataset (prices updated October 2026). How we calculate this
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