Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Butterworth and Mexico City

For one person, living is cheaper in Butterworth: $913 a month against $1,608 in Mexico City, rent and utilities included – about $8,300 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

44

Cost of Living Index in Butterworth
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Butterworth Living Index
78

Cost of Living Index in Mexico City
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Mexico City Living Index

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Butterworth

🇲🇾 Malaysia

$913

/mo nomad

Mexico City

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,608

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

A single person spends $913 per month in Butterworth vs $1,608 in Mexico City, rent included.

Butterworth $913
Mexico City $1,608

A couple spends around $1,408 per month in Butterworth vs $2,549 in Mexico City, rent included.

Butterworth $1,408
Mexico City $2,549

A family of three spends $1,902 per month in Butterworth vs $3,490 in Mexico City, rent included.

Butterworth $1,902
Mexico City $3,490

Butterworth is about 43% cheaper than Mexico City, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Butterworth sits 33% below the global median, while Mexico City is 18% above – they fall on opposite sides of the world average.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$3.72 MYR 15.10

$10.62 MX$200

-64.97%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$19.36 MYR 78.5

$48.35 MX$909

-59.96%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$4.77 MYR 19.36

$10.35 MX$194

-53.91%

Cappuccino

$2.89 MYR 11.71

$3.69 MX$69.4

-21.68%

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

$0.73 MYR 2.95

$1.67 MX$31.32

-56.29%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.36 MYR 1.48

$1.27 MX$23.78

-71.65%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$4.12 MYR 16.71

$3.19 MX$60.0

29.15%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.38 MYR 17.75

$5.31 MX$99.7

-17.51%

Milk (1 liter)

$2.12 MYR 8.58

$1.72 MX$32.41

23.26%

White Bread (500g)

$1.10 MYR 4.47

$3.04 MX$57.1

-63.82%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.69 MYR 6.85

$1.94 MX$36.48

-12.89%

Eggs

$2.24 MYR 9.09

$2.89 MX$54.3

-22.49%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$13.69 MYR 55.5

$10.97 MX$206

24.79%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$4.49 MYR 18.19

$9.25 MX$174

-51.46%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$8.64 MYR 35.03

$15.13 MX$284

-42.89%

Apples (1kg)

$3.06 MYR 12.42

$3.05 MX$57.3

0.33%

Banana (1kg)

$1.71 MYR 6.92

$1.94 MX$36.48

-11.86%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.23 MYR 9.04

$2.03 MX$38.06

9.85%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.47 MYR 5.96

$2.31 MX$43.50

-36.36%

Potato (1kg)

$1.06 MYR 4.31

$2.04 MX$38.25

-48.04%

Onion (1kg)

$1.09 MYR 4.40

$1.80 MX$33.83

-39.44%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.09 MYR 4.41

$1.48 MX$27.80

-26.35%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.58 MYR 2.37

$1.27 MX$23.82

-54.33%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.36 MYR 17.69

$5.30 MX$99.7

-17.74%

Wine (Bottle)

$19.00 MYR 77.0

$16.10 MX$303

18.01%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.93 MYR 11.86

$1.98 MX$37.27

47.98%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.98 MYR 20.18

$4.25 MX$79.9

17.18%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.70 MYR 2.83

$0.31 MX$5.73

125.81%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$10.85 MYR 44.00

$19.73 MX$371

-45.01%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.19 MYR 4.81

$1.84 MX$34.53

-35.33%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.38 MYR 1.52

$0.53 MX$10.03

-28.30%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$4.85 MYR 19.64

$5.30 MX$99.5

-8.49%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$0.89 MYR 3.59

$1.51 MX$28.39

-41.06%

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

$43.5K MYR 176.3K

$21.8K MX$408.8K

99.88%

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

$35.5K MYR 143.8K

$24.0K MX$450.8K

47.87%

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

$36.81 MYR 149

$63.0 MX$1,184

-41.55%

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

$8.61 MYR 34.89

$27.39 MX$515

-68.57%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$26.45 MYR 107

$35.67 MX$670

-25.85%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$32.93 MYR 133

$58.9 MX$1,108

-44.13%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$5.90 MYR 23.90

$23.64 MX$444

-75.04%

Cinema Ticket

$4.79 MYR 19.44

$6.40 MX$120

-25.16%

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

$240 MYR 973

$432 MX$8,111

-44.40%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$10.9K MYR 44.1K

$11.4K MX$214.7K

-4.67%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$59.8 MYR 242

$68.2 MX$1,282

-12.33%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$35.01 MYR 142

$53.1 MX$999

-34.11%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$82.5 MYR 334

$108 MX$2,026

-23.46%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$69.5 MYR 282

$117 MX$2,204

-40.72%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$412 MYR 1,671

$1,113 MX$20.9K

-62.98%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$300 MYR 1,218

$710 MX$13.4K

-57.73%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$813 MYR 3,296

$2,588 MX$48.6K

-68.59%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$563 MYR 2,283

$1,406 MX$26.4K

-59.95%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$1,966 MYR 7,969

$3,631 MX$68.2K

-45.86%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,205 MYR 4,886

$2,135 MX$40.1K

-43.55%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$946 MX$17.8K

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

4.04

11.35

-64.41%

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

Last update for Butterworth: October 24, 2026

Last update for Mexico City: October 25, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Butterworth

$300 32.9%

Mexico City

$710 44.2% 137% $410

Groceries & Markets

Butterworth

$258 28.3%

Mexico City

$320 19.9% 23.6% $61

Eating Out

Butterworth

$113 12.3%

Mexico City

$199 12.4% 76.6% $86

Clothing & Footwear

Butterworth

$111 12.2%

Mexico City

$156 9.7% 40.3% $45

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Butterworth

$72 7.9%

Mexico City

$126 7.8% 75.4% $54

Sport & Entertainment

Butterworth

$43 4.7%

Mexico City

$72 4.5% 68.8% $29

Getting Around

Butterworth

$17 1.8%

Mexico City

$25 1.6% 52.5% $8.8

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $412 in Butterworth versus $1,113 in Mexico City. Rent is usually the largest line item in a monthly budget, so the gap here sets the tone for the overall comparison.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $19 in Butterworth versus $48 in Mexico City. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $258 vs $320 – making Butterworth the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇲🇾 Butterworth

🇲🇽 Mexico City

🕒 Local time

20:14 8:14 PM

06:14 6:14 AM

14 h behind Butterworth

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

339,132

9,209,944 Capital

💱 Currency

Malaysian Ringgit MYR RM

Mexican Peso MXN $

📈 Exchange rate

1 MYR = 0.247 USD

1 MYR = 0.221 EUR

100 MXN = 5.32 USD

100 MXN = 4.77 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

MXN, USD, EUR to MYR – Malaysian Ringgit Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇲🇾 Malaysian Ringgit (RM)

Malaysian Ringgit exchange rates as of November 2, 2026: 1 USD = 4.05 MYR (1 MYR = 0.247 USD). 1 EUR = 4.52 MYR (1 MYR = 0.221 EUR).

Mexican Peso exchange rates as of November 2, 2026: 1 USD = 18.79 MXN (100 MXN = 5.32 USD). 1 EUR = 20.97 MXN (100 MXN = 4.77 EUR).

USD to MYR in detail →

On the map

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Highest

Between locations

Butterworth Mexico City 16,520 km ≈ 21 h nonstop flight

From you

Butterworth
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

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

Monthly costs with rent: $913 in Butterworth, $1,608 in Mexico City – Butterworth comes out roughly 43% cheaper. Outside of rent, the biggest gap is in eating out.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $1,370 per month in Butterworth and $2,412 in Mexico City. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

Rent is clearly cheaper in Butterworth, especially for central apartments: a one-bedroom in the center costs $412 there versus $1,113 in Mexico City.

Monthly expenses with rent come to $913 in Butterworth and $1,608 in Mexico City. That makes Butterworth about 43% cheaper.

Public transport costs about 45% less in Butterworth. For daily commuters, that gap adds up to noticeable savings over a year.

A $1,200 monthly budget goes further in Butterworth, where all-in costs run around $913, than in Mexico City at $1,608. In Butterworth it covers expenses comfortably, while in Mexico City it requires careful planning or may not stretch far enough.

Families tend to lean toward Butterworth – lower housing and cheaper childcare make a real difference, especially on a single income or when paying for private education.

For expats, Butterworth is the easier option financially – housing and daily costs are lower, and overall it costs about 43% less, which matters a lot on a fixed budget or early-career salary.