Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Bandung and Mexico City

For one person, living is cheaper in Bandung: $641 a month against $1,561 in Mexico City, rent and utilities included – about $11,000 less a year. Rent and utilities account for about half of the difference.

31

Cost of Living Index in Bandung
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Bandung Living Index
77

Cost of Living Index in Mexico City
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Mexico City Living Index

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Bandung

🇮🇩 Indonesia

$641

/mo nomad

Mexico City

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,561

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Bandung and in Mexico City

Real prices from locals and on-the-ground checks – rent, groceries, transit and the daily extras. Here's what a month in Bandung and in Mexico City actually costs, broken down by who's living it.

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $641 in Bandung versus $1,561 in Mexico City.

Bandung $641
Mexico City $1,561

Estimated couple costs with rent: $947 in Bandung versus $2,440 in Mexico City.

Bandung $947
Mexico City $2,440

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $1,252 in Bandung versus $3,319 in Mexico City.

Bandung $1,252
Mexico City $3,319

Living in Bandung costs roughly 59% less than in Mexico City, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Bandung is 52% below, Mexico City is 16% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$1.42 Rp 25.4K

$11.12 MX$204

-87.23%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$14.13 Rp 252.5K

$48.99 MX$900

-71.16%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$3.31 Rp 59.1K

$11.23 MX$206

-70.53%

Cappuccino

$1.48 Rp 26.5K

$3.76 MX$69.0

-60.64%

Coke/Pepsi/Fanta/Sprite (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.47 Rp 8,397

$1.65 MX$30.34

-71.52%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.22 Rp 3,921

$1.28 MX$23.48

-82.81%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.09 Rp 55.1K

$3.26 MX$59.8

-5.21%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.99 Rp 53.5K

$5.66 MX$104

-47.17%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.13 Rp 20.1K

$1.81 MX$33.23

-37.57%

White Bread (500g)

$0.99 Rp 17.7K

$2.94 MX$54.0

-66.33%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$0.88 Rp 15.7K

$2.05 MX$37.62

-57.07%

Eggs

$1.47 Rp 26.3K

$2.93 MX$53.7

-49.83%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$7.36 Rp 131.6K

$11.95 MX$219

-38.41%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$2.81 Rp 50.3K

$9.51 MX$175

-70.45%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$7.75 Rp 138.6K

$14.84 MX$273

-47.78%

Apples (1kg)

$2.19 Rp 39.1K

$3.14 MX$57.7

-30.25%

Banana (1kg)

$1.07 Rp 19.1K

$2.01 MX$36.99

-46.77%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.50 Rp 26.8K

$2.08 MX$38.10

-27.88%

Tomato (1kg)

$0.96 Rp 17.1K

$2.22 MX$40.72

-56.76%

Potato (1kg)

$1.10 Rp 19.6K

$2.06 MX$37.82

-46.60%

Onion (1kg)

$1.95 Rp 34.8K

$1.88 MX$34.46

3.72%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.70 Rp 12.5K

$1.48 MX$27.18

-52.70%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.43 Rp 7,728

$1.35 MX$24.70

-68.15%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$2.62 Rp 46.9K

$5.41 MX$99.3

-51.57%

Wine (Bottle)

$22.77 Rp 407.0K

$16.86 MX$310

35.05%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.82 Rp 32.6K

$1.98 MX$36.43

-8.08%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.18 Rp 56.8K

$4.32 MX$79.4

-26.39%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.27 Rp 4,788

$0.34 MX$6.33

-20.59%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$9.61 Rp 171.7K

$20.23 MX$371

-52.50%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$0.86 Rp 15.3K

$2.10 MX$38.47

-59.05%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.55 Rp 9,771

$0.53 MX$9.74

3.77%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$2.23 Rp 39.8K

$5.41 MX$99.3

-58.78%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$0.90 Rp 16.1K

$1.52 MX$27.91

-40.79%

Midsize Hatchback 1.4l (Volkswagen Golf, Toyota Prius, Honda Civic, etc)

$21.1K Rp 376.3M

$21.7K MX$399.0K

-3.13%

Compact Sedan 1.6l (Toyota Corolla, Mazda3, Kia K4, Hyundai Elantra, etc)

$29.2K Rp 522.8M

$24.8K MX$455.6K

17.87%

Utilities for 2 People in 2-bedroom Apartment (Heating, Electricity, Gas, Water, Garbage) (85m2)

$33.58 Rp 600.2K

$63.0 MX$1,156

-46.67%

SIM Card Monthly Plan (Calls and 10GB+ Data)

$4.25 Rp 75.9K

$28.88 MX$530

-85.28%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$19.25 Rp 344.1K

$33.93 MX$623

-43.27%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$18.05 Rp 322.6K

$55.8 MX$1,024

-67.64%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$6.00 Rp 107.3K

$24.90 MX$457

-75.90%

Cinema Ticket

$2.84 Rp 50.8K

$6.77 MX$124

-58.05%

Preschool or Kindergarten, Full Day, Private, 1 Child (Monthly)

$95.7 Rp 1.7M

$428 MX$7,854

-77.63%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$8,240 Rp 147.3M

$11.9K MX$218.0K

-30.60%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$39.08 Rp 698.5K

$70.0 MX$1,286

-44.20%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$32.18 Rp 575.3K

$53.7 MX$986

-40.11%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$76.5 Rp 1.4M

$110 MX$2,016

-30.28%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$69.5 Rp 1.2M

$115 MX$2,115

-39.69%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$214 Rp 3.8M

$1,062 MX$19.5K

-79.82%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$178 Rp 3.2M

$671 MX$12.3K

-73.40%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$381 Rp 6.8M

$2,379 MX$43.7K

-84.00%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$266 Rp 4.8M

$1,260 MX$23.1K

-78.87%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$725 Rp 13.0M

$3,716 MX$68.2K

-80.49%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$312 Rp 5.6M

$1,976 MX$36.3K

-84.19%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$281 Rp 5.0M

$997 MX$18.3K

-71.79%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

11.38

11.3

0.71%

CityCost data is based on AI and user input – minor inaccuracies may occur.

Last update for Bandung: October 5, 2026

Last update for Mexico City: October 6, 2026

Monthly budget structure

Share of the monthly basket for one person, rent included.

Groceries & Markets

Bandung

$194 30.9%

Mexico City

$327 20.7% 68.2% $133

Accommodation & Living

Bandung

$178 28.4%

Mexico City

$671 42.4% 276% $492

Clothing & Footwear

Bandung

$98 15.6%

Mexico City

$157 9.9% 60.5% $59

Eating Out

Bandung

$63 10.1%

Mexico City

$207 13.1% 227% $144

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Bandung

$57 9.1%

Mexico City

$126 8% 120% $69

Sport & Entertainment

Bandung

$24 3.8%

Mexico City

$69 4.4% 192% $46

Getting Around

Bandung

$14 2.3%

Mexico City

$26 1.7% 84.7% $12

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $214 in Bandung and $1,062 in Mexico City. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Mexico City pays 254% more on average. The extra income cushions the higher costs, though housing choices and lifestyle decide how much of the gap is truly closed.

Dining out: $14.00 in Bandung vs $49.00 in Mexico City for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $194 vs $327 per month, with Bandung cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇮🇩 Bandung

🇲🇽 Mexico City

🕒 Local time

13:42 1:42 PM

00:42 12:42 AM

13 h behind Bandung

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

2,390,120

9,209,944 Capital

💱 Currency

Indonesian Rupiah IDR Rp

Mexican Peso MXN $

📈 Exchange rate

100,000 IDR = 5.59 USD

100,000 IDR = 4.99 EUR

100 MXN = 5.45 USD

100 MXN = 4.86 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

MXN, USD, EUR to IDR – Indonesian Rupiah Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇮🇩 Indonesian Rupiah (Rp)

Indonesian Rupiah exchange rates as of October 10, 2026: 1 USD = 17,875 IDR (100,000 IDR = 5.59 USD). 1 EUR = 20,048 IDR (100,000 IDR = 4.99 EUR).

Mexican Peso exchange rates as of October 10, 2026: 1 USD = 18.36 MXN (100 MXN = 5.45 USD). 1 EUR = 20.59 MXN (100 MXN = 4.86 EUR).

USD to IDR in detail →

On the map

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Highest

Between locations

Bandung Mexico City 16,810 km ≈ 22 h nonstop flight

From you

Bandung
Mexico City

Distances are measured in a straight line. Your location is detected approximately.

City Median Internet Speeds Comparison (Updated April 2026)

The chart highlights the Precision Threshold for mobile and fixed broadband internet speeds, updated quarterly.

Digital Nomad Cost of Living Index

Bandung vs Mexico City: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Bandung wins on cost – living expenses run 143% lower than in Mexico City. Housing and daily spending are where you'll feel the difference most, making Bandung the obvious pick if budget is a priority.

On paper, salaries run 254% lower in Mexico City. That's worth factoring in alongside costs, though remote workers earning in a stronger currency may not notice the difference at all.

Rent for a central apartment: $214 in Bandung versus $1,062 in Mexico City. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Supermarket bills run roughly 68% higher in Mexico City. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

Dining out is cheaper in Bandung – a meal for two runs $14.00 versus $49.00 in Mexico City. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

At $641 in Bandung versus $1,561 in Mexico City, a $1,000 budget is realistic in Bandung but tight or insufficient in Mexico City. The gap between the two cities makes Bandung the clear choice for anyone on this budget.

Both work as nomad bases, but Bandung delivers better value – similar infrastructure at $641 monthly. If stretching your runway or maximizing savings is the goal, the price difference makes Bandung hard to pass up.

Safety-wise, Bandung and Mexico City are on par. Petty crime is typical for cities this size, and most residents feel comfortable going about their daily routines in either place.

Expats usually find Bandung gentler on the wallet – expenses run 143% less than in Mexico City. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.