Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Gaborone and Mexico City

For one person, living is cheaper in Gaborone: $845 a month against $1,608 in Mexico City, rent and utilities included – about $9,200 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

41

Cost of Living Index in Gaborone
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Gaborone Living Index
78

Cost of Living Index in Mexico City
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Mexico City Living Index

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Gaborone

🇧🇼 Botswana

$845

/mo nomad

Mexico City

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,608

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $845 in Gaborone versus $1,608 in Mexico City.

Gaborone $845
Mexico City $1,608

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,307 in Gaborone versus $2,549 in Mexico City.

Gaborone $1,307
Mexico City $2,549

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $1,768 in Gaborone versus $3,490 in Mexico City.

Gaborone $1,768
Mexico City $3,490

Living in Gaborone costs roughly 47% less than in Mexico City, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

The two cities straddle the global median: Gaborone is 38% below, Mexico City is 18% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$10.88 P 147

$10.62 MX$198

2.45%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$29.05 P 392

$48.35 MX$901

-39.92%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$5.76 P 77.8

$10.35 MX$193

-44.35%

Cappuccino

$2.35 P 31.67

$3.69 MX$68.8

-36.31%

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

$0.68 P 9.24

$1.67 MX$31.07

-59.28%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.40 P 5.46

$1.27 MX$23.59

-68.50%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.01 P 27.17

$3.19 MX$59.5

-36.99%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.48 P 33.44

$5.31 MX$98.9

-53.30%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.48 P 19.94

$1.72 MX$32.15

-13.95%

White Bread (500g)

$0.84 P 11.30

$3.04 MX$56.7

-72.37%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.78 P 24.04

$1.94 MX$36.19

-8.25%

Eggs

$2.44 P 32.90

$2.89 MX$53.8

-15.57%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$6.52 P 88.0

$10.97 MX$205

-40.57%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$4.43 P 59.8

$9.25 MX$172

-52.11%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$4.99 P 67.3

$15.13 MX$282

-67.02%

Apples (1kg)

$1.59 P 21.40

$3.05 MX$56.8

-47.87%

Banana (1kg)

$1.45 P 19.49

$1.94 MX$36.19

-25.26%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.98 P 26.74

$2.03 MX$37.75

-2.46%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.67 P 22.47

$2.31 MX$43.15

-27.71%

Potato (1kg)

$1.30 P 17.47

$2.04 MX$37.94

-36.27%

Onion (1kg)

$1.21 P 16.29

$1.80 MX$33.55

-32.78%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.28 P 17.27

$1.48 MX$27.58

-13.51%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.97 P 13.10

$1.27 MX$23.63

-23.62%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$3.60 P 48.56

$5.30 MX$98.9

-32.08%

Wine (Bottle)

$4.25 P 57.3

$16.10 MX$300

-73.60%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.38 P 18.68

$1.98 MX$36.97

-30.30%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.78 P 24.04

$4.25 MX$79.3

-58.12%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.62 P 8.40

$0.31 MX$5.69

100.00%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$29.95 P 404

$19.73 MX$368

51.80%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$0.60 P 8.14

$1.84 MX$34.25

-67.39%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$2.46 P 33.24

$0.53 MX$9.94

364.15%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$2.93 P 39.52

$5.30 MX$98.7

-44.72%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.32 P 17.84

$1.51 MX$28.16

-12.58%

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

$30.0K P 404.8K

$21.8K MX$405.5K

37.95%

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

$20.1K P 271.2K

$24.0K MX$447.1K

-16.18%

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

$61.0 P 823

$63.0 MX$1,174

-3.19%

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

$18.34 P 247

$27.39 MX$511

-33.04%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$43.67 P 589

$35.67 MX$665

22.43%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$34.07 P 460

$58.9 MX$1,099

-42.20%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$16.29 P 220

$23.64 MX$441

-31.09%

Cinema Ticket

$6.23 P 84.1

$6.40 MX$119

-2.66%

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

$129 P 1,744

$432 MX$8,045

-70.04%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$2,545 P 34.3K

$11.4K MX$212.9K

-77.72%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$48.15 P 650

$68.2 MX$1,272

-29.42%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$16.72 P 226

$53.1 MX$990

-68.53%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$72.1 P 972

$108 MX$2,009

-33.13%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$78.6 P 1,060

$117 MX$2,186

-33.00%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$353 P 4,763

$1,113 MX$20.8K

-68.29%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$209 P 2,824

$710 MX$13.2K

-70.54%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$534 P 7,198

$2,588 MX$48.2K

-79.38%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$356 P 4,802

$1,406 MX$26.2K

-74.68%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,034 P 27.4K

$3,631 MX$67.7K

-43.99%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,260 P 17.0K

$2,135 MX$39.8K

-40.98%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$451 P 6,087

$946 MX$17.6K

-52.31%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

11.33

11.35

-0.18%

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

Last update for Gaborone: October 26, 2026

Last update for Mexico City: October 25, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Gaborone

$209 24.8%

Mexico City

$710 44.2% 240% $501

Groceries & Markets

Gaborone

$172 20.3%

Mexico City

$320 19.9% 86.2% $148

Eating Out

Gaborone

$152 18%

Mexico City

$199 12.4% 30.7% $47

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Gaborone

$123 14.6%

Mexico City

$126 7.8% 2.5% $3.1

Clothing & Footwear

Gaborone

$97 11.5%

Mexico City

$156 9.7% 60.7% $59

Sport & Entertainment

Gaborone

$47 5.5%

Mexico City

$72 4.5% 54.2% $25

Getting Around

Gaborone

$45 5.4%

Mexico City

$25 1.6% 43.9% $20

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $353 in Gaborone and $1,113 in Mexico City. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Mexico City pays about 2.1 times more on average. How far that income stretches comes down to housing choices and lifestyle.

Dining out: $29 in Gaborone vs $48 in Mexico City for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $172 vs $320 per month, with Gaborone cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇧🇼 Gaborone

🇲🇽 Mexico City

🕒 Local time

00:13 12:13 AM

16:13 4:13 PM

8 h behind Gaborone

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

231,626 Capital

9,209,944 Capital

💱 Currency

Botswana Pula BWP P

Mexican Peso MXN $

📈 Exchange rate

100 BWP = 7.41 USD

100 BWP = 6.66 EUR

100 MXN = 5.36 USD

100 MXN = 4.82 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

MXN, USD, EUR to BWP – Botswana Pula Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇧🇼 Botswana Pula (P)

Botswana Pula exchange rates as of October 28, 2026: 1 USD = 13.49 BWP (100 BWP = 7.41 USD). 1 EUR = 15.02 BWP (100 BWP = 6.66 EUR).

Mexican Peso exchange rates as of October 28, 2026: 1 USD = 18.64 MXN (100 MXN = 5.36 USD). 1 EUR = 20.75 MXN (100 MXN = 4.82 EUR).

USD to BWP in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Gaborone Mexico City 14,360 km ≈ 18 h nonstop flight

From you

Gaborone
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

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

Gaborone is about 47% cheaper overall, especially in groceries, clothing, and eating out. That difference adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

On paper, salaries run 52% lower in Gaborone. 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: $353 in Gaborone 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.

Dining out is cheaper in Gaborone – a meal for two runs $29 versus $48 in Mexico City. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

At $845 in Gaborone versus $1,608 in Mexico City, a $1,000 budget is realistic in Gaborone but tight or insufficient in Mexico City. The gap between the two cities makes Gaborone 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 – Gaborone wins on affordability, Mexico City on earning potential. Factor in climate, language, visa rules, and proximity to places that matter to you before deciding.