Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Harare and Mexico City

For one person, living is cheaper in Harare: $1,018 a month against $1,548 in Mexico City, rent and utilities included – about $6,400 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

49

Cost of Living Index in Harare
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Harare Living Index
75

Cost of Living Index in Mexico City
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Mexico City Living Index

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Harare

🇿🇼 Zimbabwe

$1,018

/mo nomad

Mexico City

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,548

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,018 in Harare versus $1,548 in Mexico City.

Harare $1,018
Mexico City $1,548

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,696 in Harare versus $2,436 in Mexico City.

Harare $1,696
Mexico City $2,436

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $2,375 in Harare versus $3,323 in Mexico City.

Harare $2,375
Mexico City $3,323

Living in Harare 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: Harare is 25% below, Mexico City is 14% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$9.95 ZWL 265

$11.02 MX$204

-9.71%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$45.58 ZWL 1,213

$48.68 MX$900

-6.37%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$5.63 ZWL 150

$10.90 MX$201

-48.35%

Cappuccino

$2.98 ZWL 79.3

$3.68 MX$68.1

-19.02%

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

$0.94 ZWL 24.95

$1.63 MX$30.18

-42.33%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.45 ZWL 11.98

$1.25 MX$23.07

-64.00%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$0.99 ZWL 26.31

$3.25 MX$60.1

-69.54%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.95 ZWL 51.8

$5.53 MX$102

-64.74%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.53 ZWL 40.78

$1.70 MX$31.50

-10.00%

White Bread (500g)

$1.02 ZWL 27.05

$3.02 MX$55.8

-66.23%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.66 ZWL 44.16

$1.92 MX$35.53

-13.54%

Eggs

$1.98 ZWL 52.7

$2.73 MX$50.5

-27.47%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$11.37 ZWL 303

$11.77 MX$218

-3.40%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$5.40 ZWL 144

$9.53 MX$176

-43.34%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$6.79 ZWL 181

$14.41 MX$266

-52.88%

Apples (1kg)

$3.06 ZWL 81.4

$3.02 MX$55.8

1.32%

Banana (1kg)

$1.63 ZWL 43.25

$1.89 MX$35.01

-13.76%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.05 ZWL 54.6

$1.99 MX$36.70

3.02%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.52 ZWL 40.50

$2.19 MX$40.38

-30.59%

Potato (1kg)

$1.73 ZWL 46.09

$1.92 MX$35.43

-9.90%

Onion (1kg)

$1.80 ZWL 47.94

$1.87 MX$34.49

-3.74%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.29 ZWL 34.35

$1.44 MX$26.62

-10.42%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.00 ZWL 26.67

$1.27 MX$23.39

-21.26%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$1.95 ZWL 51.8

$5.22 MX$96.4

-62.64%

Wine (Bottle)

$8.33 ZWL 222

$16.17 MX$299

-48.48%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.38 ZWL 36.62

$1.90 MX$35.03

-27.37%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.97 ZWL 52.4

$4.22 MX$78.0

-53.32%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.98 ZWL 26.02

$0.34 MX$6.30

188.24%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$60.8 ZWL 1,618

$19.65 MX$363

209.47%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.88 ZWL 103

$2.00 MX$36.90

94.00%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$2.05 ZWL 54.6

$0.52 MX$9.67

294.23%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$5.12 ZWL 136

$5.34 MX$98.7

-4.12%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.79 ZWL 47.75

$1.52 MX$28.13

17.76%

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

$21.9K ZWL 582.6K

$22.1K MX$408.0K

-0.83%

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

$27.2K ZWL 722.7K

$24.5K MX$452.9K

10.80%

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

$50.7 ZWL 1,348

$61.1 MX$1,129

-17.06%

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

$21.89 ZWL 583

$28.58 MX$528

-23.41%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$69.5 ZWL 1,849

$34.47 MX$637

101.57%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$47.15 ZWL 1,255

$56.4 MX$1,042

-16.34%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$22.40 ZWL 596

$24.88 MX$460

-9.97%

Cinema Ticket

$10.18 ZWL 271

$6.66 MX$123

52.85%

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

$467 ZWL 12.4K

$427 MX$7,891

9.28%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$8,608 ZWL 229.1K

$11.6K MX$215.0K

-26.02%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$23.43 ZWL 623

$67.8 MX$1,253

-65.44%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$21.48 ZWL 572

$52.0 MX$960

-58.66%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$38.24 ZWL 1,018

$106 MX$1,959

-63.93%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$40.39 ZWL 1,075

$113 MX$2,080

-64.11%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$384 ZWL 10.2K

$1,025 MX$18.9K

-62.55%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$311 ZWL 8,284

$654 MX$12.1K

-52.42%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$835 ZWL 22.2K

$2,308 MX$42.7K

-63.81%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$743 ZWL 19.8K

$1,242 MX$22.9K

-40.16%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$939 ZWL 25.0K

$3,613 MX$66.8K

-74.01%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$393 ZWL 10.4K

$1,936 MX$35.8K

-79.72%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$419 ZWL 11.2K

$964 MX$17.8K

-56.51%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

13.69

11.3

21.15%

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

Last update for Harare: October 20, 2026

Last update for Mexico City: October 20, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Harare

$311 30.6%

Mexico City

$654 42.3% 110% $343

Groceries & Markets

Harare

$216 21.2%

Mexico City

$318 20.6% 47.3% $102

Eating Out

Harare

$147 14.4%

Mexico City

$204 13.2% 39% $57

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Harare

$142 14%

Mexico City

$124 8% 12.6% $18

Getting Around

Harare

$79 7.8%

Mexico City

$26 1.7% 67.5% $53

Sport & Entertainment

Harare

$68 6.6%

Mexico City

$70 4.5% 3.2% $2.2

Clothing & Footwear

Harare

$56 5.5%

Mexico City

$152 9.8% 174% $97

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $384 in Harare and $1,025 in Mexico City. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Mexico City pays 130% 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: $46.00 in Harare vs $49.00 in Mexico City for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $216 vs $318 per month, with Harare cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇿🇼 Harare

🇲🇽 Mexico City

🕒 Local time

12:51 12:51 PM

04:51 4:51 AM

8 h behind Harare

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

1,606,000 Capital

9,209,944 Capital

💱 Currency

Zimbabwean Dollar ZWL $

Mexican Peso MXN $

📈 Exchange rate

100 ZWL = 3.76 USD

100 ZWL = 3.34 EUR

100 MXN = 5.41 USD

100 MXN = 4.81 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

MXN, USD, EUR to ZWL – Zimbabwean Dollar Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇿🇼 Zimbabwean Dollar ($)

Zimbabwean Dollar exchange rates as of October 20, 2026: 1 USD = 26.61 ZWL (100 ZWL = 3.76 USD). 1 EUR = 29.92 ZWL (100 ZWL = 3.34 EUR).

Mexican Peso exchange rates as of October 20, 2026: 1 USD = 18.48 MXN (100 MXN = 5.41 USD). 1 EUR = 20.77 MXN (100 MXN = 4.81 EUR).

USD to ZWL in detail →

On the map

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Highest

Between locations

Harare Mexico City 14,780 km ≈ 19 h nonstop flight

From you

Harare
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

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

Harare is cheaper overall, especially in groceries, eating out, and leisure. The 52% gap adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

On paper, salaries run 130% 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: $384 in Harare versus $1,025 in Mexico City. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $467 in Harare versus $427 in Mexico City. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Supermarket bills run roughly 47% higher in Mexico City. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

At $1,018 in Harare versus $1,548 in Mexico City, a $1,500 budget is realistic in Harare but tight or insufficient in Mexico City. The gap between the two cities makes Harare the clear choice for anyone on this budget.

For families, Harare is more practical. Housing and childcare are both notably cheaper than in Mexico City, and the savings on those two alone free up budget for education, activities, and family trips.

Expats usually find Harare gentler on the wallet – expenses run 52% less than in Mexico City. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.