Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Benoni and Mexico City

For one person, living is cheaper in Benoni: $1,067 a month against $1,608 in Mexico City, rent and utilities included – about $6,500 less a year. Rent and utilities account for about half of the difference.

51

Cost of Living Index in Benoni
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Benoni Living Index
78

Cost of Living Index in Mexico City
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Mexico City Living Index

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Benoni

🇿🇦 South Africa

$1,067

/mo nomad

Mexico City

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,608

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,067 in Benoni versus $1,608 in Mexico City.

Benoni $1,067
Mexico City $1,608

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,318 in Benoni versus $2,549 in Mexico City.

Benoni $1,318
Mexico City $2,549

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $1,568 in Benoni versus $3,490 in Mexico City.

Benoni $1,568
Mexico City $3,490

Living in Benoni costs roughly 34% less than in Mexico City, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

The two cities straddle the global median: Benoni is 22% below, Mexico City is 18% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$9.86 R 164

$10.62 MX$198

-7.16%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$37.05 R 617

$48.35 MX$901

-23.37%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$5.55 R 92.5

$10.35 MX$193

-46.38%

Cappuccino

$2.17 R 36.12

$3.69 MX$68.8

-41.19%

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

$1.14 R 18.97

$1.67 MX$31.07

-31.74%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.84 R 14.04

$1.27 MX$23.59

-33.86%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.37 R 39.43

$3.19 MX$59.5

-25.71%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.75 R 45.80

$5.31 MX$98.9

-48.21%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.21 R 20.15

$1.72 MX$32.15

-29.65%

White Bread (500g)

$1.12 R 18.61

$3.04 MX$56.7

-63.16%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.79 R 29.75

$1.94 MX$36.19

-7.73%

Eggs

$2.49 R 41.41

$2.89 MX$53.8

-13.84%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$8.18 R 136

$10.97 MX$205

-25.43%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$4.85 R 80.8

$9.25 MX$172

-47.57%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$7.12 R 119

$15.13 MX$282

-52.94%

Apples (1kg)

$1.74 R 28.96

$3.05 MX$56.8

-42.95%

Banana (1kg)

$1.60 R 26.66

$1.94 MX$36.19

-17.53%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.77 R 29.56

$2.03 MX$37.75

-12.81%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.56 R 26.07

$2.31 MX$43.15

-32.47%

Potato (1kg)

$1.07 R 17.83

$2.04 MX$37.94

-47.55%

Onion (1kg)

$1.17 R 19.54

$1.80 MX$33.55

-35.00%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.22 R 20.28

$1.48 MX$27.58

-17.57%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.30 R 21.61

$1.27 MX$23.63

2.36%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$3.52 R 58.7

$5.30 MX$98.9

-33.58%

Wine (Bottle)

$4.97 R 82.8

$16.10 MX$300

-69.13%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.51 R 25.20

$1.98 MX$36.97

-23.74%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.98 R 33.04

$4.25 MX$79.3

-53.41%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.31 MX$5.69

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$19.73 MX$368

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$0.29 R 4.79

$1.84 MX$34.25

-84.24%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.93 R 15.52

$0.53 MX$9.94

75.47%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$14.37 R 239

$5.30 MX$98.7

171.13%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.53 R 25.55

$1.51 MX$28.16

1.32%

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

$35.4K R 590.5K

$21.8K MX$405.5K

62.90%

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

$34.4K R 573.9K

$24.0K MX$447.1K

43.58%

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

$197 R 3,285

$63.0 MX$1,174

213.02%

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

$39.26 R 654

$27.39 MX$511

43.34%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$37.82 R 630

$35.67 MX$665

6.03%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$17.81 R 297

$58.9 MX$1,099

-69.78%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$23.64 MX$441

Cinema Ticket

$7.15 R 119

$6.40 MX$119

11.72%

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

$246 R 4,098

$432 MX$8,045

-43.02%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$5,379 R 89.6K

$11.4K MX$212.9K

-52.91%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$52.1 R 868

$68.2 MX$1,272

-23.63%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$31.79 R 530

$53.1 MX$990

-40.17%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$91.2 R 1,520

$108 MX$2,009

-15.36%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$82.3 R 1,372

$117 MX$2,186

-29.79%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$393 R 6,547

$1,113 MX$20.8K

-64.72%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$302 R 5,036

$710 MX$13.2K

-57.46%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$489 R 8,157

$2,588 MX$48.2K

-81.09%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,406 MX$26.2K

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,631 MX$67.7K

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$2,135 MX$39.8K

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$2,000 R 33.3K

$946 MX$17.6K

111.35%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

10.91

11.35

-3.88%

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

Last update for Benoni: October 25, 2026

Last update for Mexico City: October 25, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Benoni

$302 28.3%

Mexico City

$710 44.2% 135% $408

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Benoni

$274 25.7%

Mexico City

$126 7.8% 54% $148

Groceries & Markets

Benoni

$191 17.9%

Mexico City

$320 19.9% 67.2% $128

Eating Out

Benoni

$147 13.8%

Mexico City

$199 12.4% 35.3% $52

Clothing & Footwear

Benoni

$116 10.9%

Mexico City

$156 9.7% 34.5% $40

Sport & Entertainment

Benoni

$32 3%

Mexico City

$72 4.5% 123% $40

Getting Around

Benoni

$4.9 * 0.5%

Mexico City

$25 1.6% 415% $21

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 $393 in Benoni and $1,113 in Mexico City. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Benoni pays about 2.1 times more on average while also being the cheaper of the two. The combined effect is a noticeably stronger local purchasing power.

Dining out: $37 in Benoni vs $48 in Mexico City for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $191 vs $320 per month, with Benoni cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇿🇦 Benoni

🇲🇽 Mexico City

🕒 Local time

10:18 10:18 AM

02:18 2:18 AM

8 h behind Benoni

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

158,777

9,209,944 Capital

💱 Currency

South African Rand ZAR R

Mexican Peso MXN $

📈 Exchange rate

100 ZAR = 6 USD

100 ZAR = 5.38 EUR

100 MXN = 5.36 USD

100 MXN = 4.81 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

MXN, USD, EUR to ZAR – South African Rand Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇿🇦 South African Rand (R)

South African Rand exchange rates as of October 29, 2026: 1 USD = 16.66 ZAR (100 ZAR = 6 USD). 1 EUR = 18.6 ZAR (100 ZAR = 5.38 EUR).

Mexican Peso exchange rates as of October 29, 2026: 1 USD = 18.64 MXN (100 MXN = 5.36 USD). 1 EUR = 20.8 MXN (100 MXN = 4.81 EUR).

USD to ZAR in detail →

On the map

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Highest

Between locations

Benoni Mexico City 14,610 km ≈ 19 h nonstop flight

From you

Benoni
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

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

Total monthly costs including rent come to $1,067 in Benoni and $1,608 in Mexico City, so Benoni is about 34% cheaper – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

Average pay in Benoni is about 2.1 times higher, which matters when comparing affordability. Whether that higher income actually nets you more depends on your spending habits and housing choices.

Rent for a central apartment: $393 in Benoni 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 67% higher in Mexico City. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

All in, you’ll spend $1,067 per month in Benoni versus $1,608 in Mexico City – Benoni is about 34% cheaper, which adds up to real savings over time.

Either city works on $2,000 a month, though Benoni gives you more room to save. At this income level, the choice is more about lifestyle than financial pressure.

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.