Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Batam and Mexico City

For one person, living is cheaper in Batam: $586 a month against $1,608 in Mexico City, rent and utilities included – about $12,300 less a year. Rent and utilities account for about half of the difference.

28

Cost of Living Index in Batam
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Batam Living Index
78

Cost of Living Index in Mexico City
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Mexico City Living Index

Jump to prices

Batam

🇮🇩 Indonesia

$586

/mo nomad

Mexico City

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,608

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Batam 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 Batam and in Mexico City actually costs, broken down by who's living it.

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $586 in Batam versus $1,608 in Mexico City.

Batam $586
Mexico City $1,608

Estimated couple costs with rent: $984 in Batam versus $2,549 in Mexico City.

Batam $984
Mexico City $2,549

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $1,382 in Batam versus $3,490 in Mexico City.

Batam $1,382
Mexico City $3,490

Living in Batam costs roughly 64% less than in Mexico City, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

The two cities straddle the global median: Batam is 57% below, Mexico City is 18% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$1.95 Rp 35.3K

$10.62 MX$199

-81.64%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$8.07 Rp 146.3K

$48.35 MX$908

-83.31%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$3.90 Rp 70.7K

$10.35 MX$194

-62.32%

Cappuccino

$2.05 Rp 37.1K

$3.69 MX$69.3

-44.44%

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

$0.61 Rp 11.0K

$1.67 MX$31.29

-63.47%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.30 Rp 5,449

$1.27 MX$23.76

-76.38%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.47 Rp 44.7K

$3.19 MX$59.9

-22.57%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.66 Rp 66.4K

$5.31 MX$99.6

-31.07%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.12 Rp 20.3K

$1.72 MX$32.38

-34.88%

White Bread (500g)

$1.09 Rp 19.8K

$3.04 MX$57.1

-64.14%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$0.81 Rp 14.7K

$1.94 MX$36.44

-58.25%

Eggs

$1.22 Rp 22.1K

$2.89 MX$54.2

-57.79%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$7.45 Rp 135.0K

$10.97 MX$206

-32.09%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$2.47 Rp 44.8K

$9.25 MX$174

-73.30%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$4.31 Rp 78.1K

$15.13 MX$284

-71.51%

Apples (1kg)

$2.17 Rp 39.2K

$3.05 MX$57.2

-28.85%

Banana (1kg)

$2.00 Rp 36.2K

$1.94 MX$36.45

3.09%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.97 Rp 35.8K

$2.03 MX$38.02

-2.96%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.03 Rp 18.7K

$2.31 MX$43.46

-55.41%

Potato (1kg)

$0.95 Rp 17.2K

$2.04 MX$38.21

-53.43%

Onion (1kg)

$1.96 Rp 35.5K

$1.80 MX$33.79

8.89%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.29 Rp 23.4K

$1.48 MX$27.77

-12.84%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.44 Rp 8,036

$1.27 MX$23.80

-65.35%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$2.72 Rp 49.3K

$5.30 MX$99.6

-48.68%

Wine (Bottle)

$13.78 Rp 249.8K

$16.10 MX$302

-14.41%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.68 Rp 30.4K

$1.98 MX$37.23

-15.15%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.33 Rp 42.3K

$4.25 MX$79.8

-45.18%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.41 Rp 7,419

$0.31 MX$5.73

32.26%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$19.73 MX$371

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.13 Rp 20.5K

$1.84 MX$34.50

-38.59%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.58 Rp 10.6K

$0.53 MX$10.02

9.43%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$3.42 Rp 62.0K

$5.30 MX$99.4

-35.47%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$0.84 Rp 15.2K

$1.51 MX$28.36

-44.37%

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

$27.6K Rp 499.6M

$21.8K MX$408.4K

26.73%

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

$24.6K Rp 445.8M

$24.0K MX$450.3K

2.56%

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

$67.8 Rp 1.2M

$63.0 MX$1,182

7.65%

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

$4.09 Rp 74.2K

$27.39 MX$514

-85.07%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$22.58 Rp 409.2K

$35.67 MX$670

-36.70%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$27.03 Rp 489.9K

$58.9 MX$1,107

-54.14%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$5.66 Rp 102.5K

$23.64 MX$444

-76.06%

Cinema Ticket

$2.66 Rp 48.3K

$6.40 MX$120

-58.44%

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

$83.0 Rp 1.5M

$432 MX$8,103

-80.77%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$3,186 Rp 57.7M

$11.4K MX$214.5K

-72.11%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$31.46 Rp 570.0K

$68.2 MX$1,281

-53.88%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$17.99 Rp 326.0K

$53.1 MX$997

-66.14%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$64.4 Rp 1.2M

$108 MX$2,023

-40.30%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$23.72 Rp 429.9K

$117 MX$2,202

-79.77%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$265 Rp 4.8M

$1,113 MX$20.9K

-76.20%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$145 Rp 2.6M

$710 MX$13.3K

-79.57%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$796 Rp 14.4M

$2,588 MX$48.6K

-69.23%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$499 Rp 9.0M

$1,406 MX$26.4K

-64.50%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$542 Rp 9.8M

$3,631 MX$68.2K

-85.08%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$2,135 MX$40.1K

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$334 Rp 6.0M

$946 MX$17.8K

-64.72%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

13.17

11.35

16.04%

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

Last update for Batam: October 26, 2026

Last update for Mexico City: October 25, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Groceries & Markets

Batam

$172 29.3%

Mexico City

$320 19.9% 86.1% $148

Accommodation & Living

Batam

$145 24.8%

Mexico City

$710 44.2% 390% $565

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Batam

$94 16.1%

Mexico City

$126 7.8% 33.4% $32

Eating Out

Batam

$75 12.8%

Mexico City

$199 12.4% 164% $124

Clothing & Footwear

Batam

$62 10.6%

Mexico City

$156 9.7% 152% $94

Sport & Entertainment

Batam

$32 5.5%

Mexico City

$72 4.5% 122% $39

Getting Around

Batam

$5.7 * 1%

Mexico City

$25 1.6% 348% $20

Categories marked with * are only partly priced – their share counts the items that do have prices.

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $265 in Batam and $1,113 in Mexico City. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Mexico City pays about 2.8 times more on average. How far that income stretches comes down to housing choices and lifestyle.

Dining out: $8 in Batam vs $48 in Mexico City for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $172 vs $320 per month, with Batam cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇮🇩 Batam

🇲🇽 Mexico City

🕒 Local time

22:39 10:39 PM

09:39 9:39 AM

13 h behind Batam

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

1,196,396

9,209,944 Capital

💱 Currency

Indonesian Rupiah IDR Rp

Mexican Peso MXN $

📈 Exchange rate

100,000 IDR = 5.52 USD

100,000 IDR = 4.94 EUR

100 MXN = 5.33 USD

100 MXN = 4.77 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 November 1, 2026: 1 USD = 18,120 IDR (100,000 IDR = 5.52 USD). 1 EUR = 20,232 IDR (100,000 IDR = 4.94 EUR).

Mexican Peso exchange rates as of November 1, 2026: 1 USD = 18.77 MXN (100 MXN = 5.33 USD). 1 EUR = 20.96 MXN (100 MXN = 4.77 EUR).

USD to IDR in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Batam Mexico City 16,610 km ≈ 21 h nonstop flight

From you

Batam
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

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

Batam is about 64% cheaper overall, especially in groceries, eating out, and clothing. That difference adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

On paper, salaries run 65% lower in Batam. 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: $265 in Batam versus $1,113 in Mexico City. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Supermarket bills run roughly 86% higher in Mexico City. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

All in, you’ll spend $586 per month in Batam versus $1,608 in Mexico City – Batam is about 64% cheaper, which adds up to real savings over time.

At $586 in Batam versus $1,608 in Mexico City, a $1,000 budget is realistic in Batam but tight or insufficient in Mexico City. The gap between the two cities makes Batam the clear choice for anyone on this budget.

Both cities offer a good standard of living with different trade-offs. Neither is objectively better – the right pick depends on what matters most: affordability, career, cultural scene, or climate.

It comes down to priorities – Batam wins on affordability, Mexico City on earning potential. Factor in climate, language, visa rules, and proximity to places that matter to you before deciding.