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What It Costs to Live in Mexico
Last week we explored what it costs to eat in Mexico with our grocery price comparison. Now here’s what you really want to know, what does it cost to drink in Mexico? No shock, booze is cheap!
Don Julio White has one of the larges cost spreads.
This is an very informal survey and not necessarily the cheapest prices (which can usually be found at Costco in Mexico). We chose the most common beverages, not the necessarily the ones we drink. For Rob’s favourite beers you can click here. We compared costs in Texas, using HEB and Specs, in Alberta, using Liquor Depot, and here in Puerto Morelos, we used our local Super Aki and Chedraui. Our research was done on February 8/9, 2016 using regular pricing, not sale prices. We used this currency converter.
Price comparison of 3 similar beers in their country of origin.
| Beer | Origin | USA | Canada | Mexico |
| Budweiser | USA | $12.28 | $17.07 | $228.00 |
| Molson Canadian | Canada | $20.43 | $28.41 | $378.00 |
| Dos Equis Lager | Mexico | $4.86 | $6.75 | $90.00 |
To give you a quick start comparison, we will use an average case of beer (that’s 12 beer for everyone in the world, except our friends in Ontario who think a case is 24), brewed in its home country, served in bottles, with tax and no deposit. We found that if you were from the USA you would be saving over $7 USD for every 12 beer you drink. And if you were from Canada, you would be saving over $10 CDN a case.
Liquor Price Comparison
|
Alcohol |
Size |
USA |
Canada |
Mexico |
|
Beer |
|
|
|
|
|
Corona Extra |
6pk bottles |
$8.95 |
$16.99 |
$74.00 |
|
Bud Light Beer |
6pk cans |
$6.85 |
$17.85 |
$79.00 |
|
Dos Equis Amber Beer |
6pk bottles |
$8.95 |
$17.49 |
$90.00 |
|
Liquor |
|
|
|
|
|
Bacardi Anejo Rum |
750mL |
$16.73 |
$33.99 |
$112.00 |
|
Smirnoff Classic No. 21 Vodka |
750mL |
$14.41 |
$24.99 |
$130.00 |
|
Jose Cuervo Especial Gold Tequila |
750mL |
$18.09 |
$25.29 |
$98.00 |
|
Don Julio Blanco Tequila |
750mL |
$46.31 |
$71.99 |
$299.00 |
|
Jack Daniel’s Black Label Old No. 7 |
750mL |
$22.52 |
$32.95 |
$309.00 |
|
Chivas Regal 12 Year Old Scotch |
750mL |
$42.99 |
$59.99 |
$509.00 |
|
Johnnie Walker Red Label |
750mL |
$24.83 |
$30.99 |
$273.00 |
|
Johnnie Walker Black Label |
750mL |
$36.20 |
$47.99 |
$569.00 |
|
Baileys Original Irish Cream |
750mL |
$23.46 |
$26.95 |
$225.00 |
|
Kahlua Coffee Liquor |
1 Litre |
$30.73 |
$36.44 |
$134.00 |
|
Wine |
|
|
|
|
|
Concha y Toro Reservado Merlot (Chile) |
750mL |
$16.98 |
$23.99 |
$75.00 |
|
Barefoot Pinot Noir (USA) |
750mL |
$4.97 |
$9.99 |
$83.00 |
|
Frontera Chardonnay (Chile) |
750mL |
$3.99 |
$12.29 |
$123.00 |
|
Las Moras Reserva Malbec 2014 (Argentina) |
750mL |
$7.35 |
$16.49 |
$175.00 |
|
|
|
|||
|
Total |
|
$334.31 |
$506.66 |
$3,357.00 |
|
Taxes (no deposit) |
|
8.25% |
5.00% |
included |
|
Total with Tax |
|
$361.89 |
$531.99 |
$3,357.00 |
|
|
|
|||
|
Total in USD |
|
$361.89 |
$382.55 |
$181.31 |
|
Total in Canadian Dollars |
|
$503.16 |
$531.99 |
$251.84 |
|
Total in Pesos |
|
$6,703.00 |
$7,086.00 |
$3,357.00 |
The individual prices do not include tax or deposit in the USA and Canada. We have added the tax at the end. In Mexico all taxes are included in the prices.
We’re not just all about the tequila.
It doesn’t matter if you are spending dollars or pesos, when it comes to booze, Mexico is a bargain. In our area, it works out to be over a 48% savings in Texas and almost a 53% savings in Alberta.
Californian and French wines tend to be more expensive. For your best deals in Mexico, stick to Argentinean and Chilean wines.
We found that finding liquors and cervezas that were sold in all three countries was easy, but finding wine that is sold in all places proved to be more of a challenge. The wines we ended up using were not based on our taste, but on the fact that we could find pricing for them in all locations.
Two caguamas (1.2L each) and 1 can of beer for 54 pesos ($2.91USD/$4.05CDN) What a deal!
Again this is a very unscientific study, but it will give you a general idea. At these prices, we’ll drink to that.
Salud!
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Prices are listed in USD, CDN and Mexican pesos. Please see the bottom of the list.