Cost of living comparison

 Mexico City, Mexico
compared to
 Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates
Abu Dhabi vs. Mexico City Cost of Living Summary

Abu Dhabi is 65.7% more expensive than Mexico City.

Restaurants
pay 2.2% less in Abu Dhabi
Groceries
pay 5.3% less in Abu Dhabi
Transportation
pay 63.1% more in Abu Dhabi
Housing
pay 2.9 times more in Abu Dhabi
Childcare
pay 64.0% more in Abu Dhabi
Entertainment and Sports
pay 2.3 times more in Abu Dhabi
Clothing
pay 23.4% more in Abu Dhabi

The cost of housing, entertainment and sports, childcare, transportation, and clothing in Abu Dhabi are more expensive than in Mexico City. Expenses including groceries and restaurants 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 2.2% less for restaurants

 
Mexico City
Abu Dhabi
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant $9.93
MX$197.86
$10.89
AED40.00
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
$7.45
MX$148.40
$9.53
AED35.00
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) $1.08
MX$21.51
$1.08
AED3.95

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pay 5.3% less for groceries

 
Mexico City
Abu Dhabi
Bread
1 loaf
$2.45
MX$48.87
$1.37
AED5.03
Local cheese (8 oz) $4.87
MX$96.99
$4.80
AED17.63
Milk (1 gallon) $5.51
MX$109.75
$6.85
AED25.17

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pay 63.1% more for transportation

 
Mexico City
Abu Dhabi
Gasoline (1 gallon) $4.64
MX$92.41
$3.03
AED11.11
Monthly public transit pass $17.87
MX$356.15
$24.50
AED89.99
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) $18,615.02
MX$370,988.00
$45,026.41
AED165,366.24

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pay 2.9 times more for housing

 
Mexico City
Abu Dhabi
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
$24.38
MX$485.87
$103.04
AED378.43
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area $893.52
MX$17,807.42
$1,349.31
AED4,955.53
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center $544.24
MX$10,846.34
$1,005.59
AED3,693.20

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pay 64.0% more for childcare

 
Mexico City
Abu Dhabi
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly $381.33
MX$7,599.63
$669.40
AED2,458.46
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters $8,426.99
MX$167,945.68
$12,841.46
AED47,162.17

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pay 2.3 times more for entertainment and sports

 
Mexico City
Abu Dhabi
Domestic/local beer (1 pint) $2.73
MX$54.41
$10.89
AED40.00
Cappuccino in mid-range area $3.01
MX$59.91
$5.88
AED21.61
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
$3.92
MX$78.15
$6.13
AED22.50

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pay 23.4% more for clothing

 
Mexico City
Abu Dhabi
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
$56.36
MX$1,123.13
$67.20
AED246.79
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
$41.06
MX$818.29
$62.59
AED229.88
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
$91.99
MX$1,833.37
$103.06
AED378.52

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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: March 2025
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