---
title: "Cost of Living: Mexico City vs Lisbon — Geo-Parity"
description: "Portugal is 13% more expensive than Mexico for monthly essentials ($1,414 vs $1,253). Full 32-item price comparison: rent, pint, groceries, transport, gym."
canonical: "https://geo-parity.com/cost-of-living/mexico-vs-portugal/"
json: "https://geo-parity.com/api/micro-costs.json?base=MX&target=PT"
generator: geo-parity markdown twin
---
Cost of Living · MX vs PT

# 🇲🇽 Mexico City vs 🇵🇹 Lisbon: what everyday life costs

Monthly essentials: **$1,253** in Mexico vs **$1,414** in Portugal — 13% more expensive.

- **Essentials, Mexico**: $1,253/mo
- **Essentials, Portugal**: $1,414/mo
- **Difference**: +13%
- **1-bed city rent, Portugal**: $955/mo

## Biggest differences

Smallest premium in Portugal

- Petrol/gasoline, 1L: +3.9%
- Imported beer, 330ml bottle: +4%
- Running shoes (brand): +4%

Pricier in Portugal

- Rent: 3-bedroom, city center: +15%
- Rent: 1-bedroom, outside center: +15%
- Rent: 1-bedroom, city center: +15%

## The full basket (32 items)

| Item | Mexico | Portugal | Diff |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Housing |  |  |  |
| Rent: 1-bedroom, city center | $832 | $955 (846 EUR) | +15% |
| Rent: 1-bedroom, outside center | $666 | $764 (676 EUR) | +15% |
| Rent: 3-bedroom, city center | $1,522 | $1,747 (1,546 EUR) | +15% |
| Food out |  |  |  |
| Meal, inexpensive restaurant | $10.04 | $11.19 (10 EUR) | +11% |
| Dinner for two, mid-range | $41.82 | $46.62 (41 EUR) | +11% |
| Fast-food combo meal | $6.47 | $7.14 (6 EUR) | +10% |
| Groceries |  |  |  |
| Milk, 1L | $0.72 | $0.78 (1 EUR) | +8.3% |
| Bread, fresh loaf 500g | $2.09 | $2.26 (2 EUR) | +8.1% |
| Eggs, dozen | $2.22 | $2.41 (2 EUR) | +8.6% |
| Chicken breast, 1kg | $6.54 | $7.08 (6 EUR) | +8.3% |
| White rice, 1kg | $2.62 | $2.83 (3 EUR) | +8% |
| Apples, 1kg | $3.14 | $3.40 (3 EUR) | +8.3% |
| Local cheese, 1kg | $7.85 | $8.49 (8 EUR) | +8.2% |
| Water, 1.5L bottle | $1.31 | $1.42 (1 EUR) | +8.4% |
| Drinks |  |  |  |
| Domestic beer, pint (draught) | $3.35 | $3.73 (3 EUR) | +11% |
| Imported beer, 330ml bottle | $6.47 | $6.73 (6 EUR) | +4% |
| Cappuccino | $2.79 | $3.11 (3 EUR) | +11% |
| Coke/Pepsi, 330ml | $1.50 | $1.63 (1 EUR) | +8.7% |
| Transport |  |  |  |
| Public transport, monthly pass | $38.22 | $42.19 (37 EUR) | +10% |
| Public transport, one-way | $1.62 | $1.78 (2 EUR) | +9.9% |
| Taxi start (normal tariff) | $2.23 | $2.49 (2 EUR) | +12% |
| Taxi, per km | $1.00 | $1.12 (1 EUR) | +12% |
| Petrol/gasoline, 1L | $0.77 | $0.80 (1 EUR) | +3.9% |
| Utilities & comms |  |  |  |
| Basic utilities, 85m² apartment | $118 | $130 (115 EUR) | +10% |
| Internet, 60Mbps+ unlimited | $41.16 | $45.43 (40 EUR) | +10% |
| Mobile plan, 10GB+ data | $26.46 | $29.21 (26 EUR) | +10% |
| Lifestyle |  |  |  |
| Gym membership, month | $27.88 | $31.08 (28 EUR) | +11% |
| Cinema seat | $7.81 | $8.70 (8 EUR) | +11% |
| Men's haircut | $16.73 | $18.65 (17 EUR) | +11% |
| Jeans (mid-range brand) | $44.47 | $46.27 (41 EUR) | +4.1% |
| Running shoes (brand) | $72.78 | $75.71 (67 EUR) | +4% |
| Coworking hot desk, month | $139 | $155 (138 EUR) | +11% |

Estimated from World Bank — Consumption price levels with per-item elasticity — model figures, not quotes. Compare any pair in the [interactive tool](https://geo-parity.com/expenses/?tab=prices&base=MX&target=PT).

## Beyond prices

What each place pays, charges and offers — wages, rent, healthcare, climate, risk and time off. Figures come from the same engines behind the individual tools, so they match what those pages say. They sit about **8,664 km** apart as the crow flies.

| Measure | 🇲🇽 Mexico | 🇵🇹 Portugal |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Median local wage Monthly, USD. The local midpoint, not an average. | $765 | $2,073 |
| Rent, 1-bed Monthly, USD. | — | $619 |
| Rent as % of a local wage Are locals priced out? | — | 29.8% |
| Out-of-pocket healthcare Per person per year, USD. | $314 | $838 |
| Doctors per 1,000 WHO. | 2.6 | 5.8 |
| Comfortable days a year 18-27 °C and dry. Measured at Mexico City and Lisbon. | 152 | 130 |
| Rule of law World Bank WGI. A survey composite, so the band leads, not the decimal. | weak | strong |
| Country risk INFORM, 0-10. Lower is safer. | 5 (medium) | 1.9 (very low) |
| Public holidays Observed nationwide; regional days are counted separately. | 7 | 13 + 3 regional |
| Air quality Mean annual PM2.5, µg/m³. WHO guideline is 5. Lower is better. | 16.7 | 6.5 |
| Life expectancy Years at birth — the outcome, not the spending. | 75.3 | 82.4 |
| Homicide rate Per 100,000 a year. A count, not a perception score. | 24.9 | 0.7 |
| Population online % using the internet. Reach, not speed — the row below is speed. | 83.1% | 88.5% |
| Internet download Measured median, Mbps. | 142.3 | 257.5 |

## The whole Mexico → Portugal move, in one place

Everything above is free and always will be. The relocation report is the same engines run together for this one corridor: what you keep after rent, prices, healthcare and tax; the local wage ladder you would be earning against; which visas your income qualifies for; the day count that makes you tax-resident; and the months worth being there for.

[See the Mexico → Portugal report — £7](https://geo-parity.com/report/mexico-to-portugal/) One-off. No subscription. Free preview first.

## Related

- [Reverse view: Portugal vs Mexico](https://geo-parity.com/cost-of-living/portugal-vs-mexico/)
- [Fair salary: Mexico → Portugal](https://geo-parity.com/salary/mexico-to-portugal/)
- [How much to retire in Portugal?](https://geo-parity.com/fire/portugal/)
- [Cost of living in Portugal vs the US](https://geo-parity.com/ppp/portugal/)

## More comparisons

### Mexico compared with

- [Mexico vs Japan](https://geo-parity.com/cost-of-living/mexico-vs-japan/)
- [Mexico vs Spain](https://geo-parity.com/cost-of-living/mexico-vs-spain/)
- [Mexico vs Italy](https://geo-parity.com/cost-of-living/mexico-vs-italy/)
- [Mexico vs Singapore](https://geo-parity.com/cost-of-living/mexico-vs-singapore/)
- [Mexico vs Greece](https://geo-parity.com/cost-of-living/mexico-vs-greece/)
- [Mexico vs Czechia](https://geo-parity.com/cost-of-living/mexico-vs-czechia/)

### Moving to Portugal from

- [Czechia vs Portugal](https://geo-parity.com/cost-of-living/czechia-vs-portugal/)
- [United Arab Emirates vs Portugal](https://geo-parity.com/cost-of-living/united-arab-emirates-vs-portugal/)
- [Greece vs Portugal](https://geo-parity.com/cost-of-living/greece-vs-portugal/)
- [Singapore vs Portugal](https://geo-parity.com/cost-of-living/singapore-vs-portugal/)
- [South Korea vs Portugal](https://geo-parity.com/cost-of-living/south-korea-vs-portugal/)

## Frequently asked questions

- **How much more expensive is Portugal than Mexico?**: A single person's monthly essentials run about $1,414 in Portugal versus $1,253 in Mexico — 13% more. Rents differ the most; world-priced goods like petrol and electronics the least.
- **What does a beer cost in Portugal?**: A domestic draught pint is roughly $3.73 in Portugal (≈ 3.3 EUR), versus about $3.35 in Mexico.
- **How much is rent in Portugal compared to Mexico?**: A 1-bedroom city-center apartment is estimated at $955/month in Portugal versus $832/month in Mexico (+15%). Housing is the most locally-priced item in the basket.
- **How are these prices estimated?**: Curated US baseline prices scaled by each country's purchasing-power price level with per-item elasticities (housing 1.4, services 1.1, groceries 0.8, world-priced goods 0.4) — model estimates for orientation, not quotes.

Model estimates — verify locally. Agents: GET /api/micro-costs.json?base=MX&target=PT.

---

Source: Geo-Parity — https://geo-parity.com/cost-of-living/mexico-vs-portugal/ · JSON: https://geo-parity.com/api/micro-costs.json?base=MX&target=PT