Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Jakarta and Mexico City

For one person, living is cheaper in Jakarta: $793 a month against $1,561 in Mexico City, rent and utilities included – about $9,200 less a year. Rent and utilities account for about half of the difference.

38

Cost of Living Index in Jakarta
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Jakarta Living Index
77

Cost of Living Index in Mexico City
Learn more

Mexico City Living Index

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Jakarta

🇮🇩 Indonesia

$793

/mo nomad

Mexico City

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,561

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

A single person spends $793 per month in Jakarta vs $1,561 in Mexico City, rent included.

Jakarta $793
Mexico City $1,561

A couple spends around $1,283 per month in Jakarta vs $2,440 in Mexico City, rent included.

Jakarta $1,283
Mexico City $2,440

A family of three spends $1,772 per month in Jakarta vs $3,319 in Mexico City, rent included.

Jakarta $1,772
Mexico City $3,319

Jakarta is about 49% cheaper than Mexico City, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Jakarta sits 41% below the global median, while Mexico City is 16% above – they fall on opposite sides of the world average.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$2.63 Rp 47.1K

$11.12 MX$204

-76.35%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$16.93 Rp 302.6K

$48.99 MX$900

-65.44%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$3.33 Rp 59.5K

$11.23 MX$206

-70.35%

Cappuccino

$2.00 Rp 35.8K

$3.76 MX$69.0

-46.81%

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

$0.43 Rp 7,768

$1.65 MX$30.34

-73.94%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.25 Rp 4,468

$1.28 MX$23.48

-80.47%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.57 Rp 45.9K

$3.26 MX$59.8

-21.17%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.85 Rp 68.8K

$5.66 MX$104

-31.98%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.42 Rp 25.4K

$1.81 MX$33.23

-21.55%

White Bread (500g)

$1.09 Rp 19.4K

$2.94 MX$54.0

-62.93%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$0.91 Rp 16.2K

$2.05 MX$37.62

-55.61%

Eggs

$1.77 Rp 31.7K

$2.93 MX$53.7

-39.59%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$9.22 Rp 164.8K

$11.95 MX$219

-22.85%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$3.11 Rp 55.5K

$9.51 MX$175

-67.30%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$7.78 Rp 139.0K

$14.84 MX$273

-47.57%

Apples (1kg)

$2.87 Rp 51.4K

$3.14 MX$57.7

-8.60%

Banana (1kg)

$1.32 Rp 23.5K

$2.01 MX$36.99

-34.33%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.50 Rp 44.6K

$2.08 MX$38.10

20.19%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.39 Rp 24.9K

$2.22 MX$40.72

-37.39%

Potato (1kg)

$1.38 Rp 24.7K

$2.06 MX$37.82

-33.01%

Onion (1kg)

$2.10 Rp 37.6K

$1.88 MX$34.46

11.70%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.94 Rp 16.8K

$1.48 MX$27.18

-36.49%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.51 Rp 9,098

$1.35 MX$24.70

-62.22%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$2.80 Rp 50.0K

$5.41 MX$99.3

-48.24%

Wine (Bottle)

$20.83 Rp 372.4K

$16.86 MX$310

23.55%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.05 Rp 36.7K

$1.98 MX$36.43

3.54%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.04 Rp 54.3K

$4.32 MX$79.4

-29.63%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.27 Rp 4,805

$0.34 MX$6.33

-20.59%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$11.86 Rp 211.9K

$20.23 MX$371

-41.37%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$0.50 Rp 8,975

$2.10 MX$38.47

-76.19%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.33 Rp 5,883

$0.53 MX$9.74

-37.74%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$3.42 Rp 61.1K

$5.41 MX$99.3

-36.78%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$0.87 Rp 15.6K

$1.52 MX$27.91

-42.76%

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

$27.8K Rp 496.4M

$21.7K MX$399.0K

27.79%

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

$32.6K Rp 583.0M

$24.8K MX$455.6K

31.44%

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

$106 Rp 1.9M

$63.0 MX$1,156

68.11%

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

$6.04 Rp 107.9K

$28.88 MX$530

-79.09%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$19.04 Rp 340.4K

$33.93 MX$623

-43.88%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$25.65 Rp 458.4K

$55.8 MX$1,024

-54.02%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$13.65 Rp 244.1K

$24.90 MX$457

-45.18%

Cinema Ticket

$3.29 Rp 58.8K

$6.77 MX$124

-51.40%

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

$153 Rp 2.7M

$428 MX$7,854

-64.15%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$8,270 Rp 147.8M

$11.9K MX$218.0K

-30.34%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$58.7 Rp 1.0M

$70.0 MX$1,286

-16.25%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$28.37 Rp 507.1K

$53.7 MX$986

-47.20%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$70.9 Rp 1.3M

$110 MX$2,016

-35.43%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$106 Rp 1.9M

$115 MX$2,115

-8.15%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$370 Rp 6.6M

$1,062 MX$19.5K

-65.19%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$200 Rp 3.6M

$671 MX$12.3K

-70.14%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,155 Rp 20.6M

$2,379 MX$43.7K

-51.45%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$556 Rp 9.9M

$1,260 MX$23.1K

-55.86%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,023 Rp 54.0M

$3,716 MX$68.2K

-18.64%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,445 Rp 25.8M

$1,976 MX$36.3K

-26.85%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$449 Rp 8.0M

$997 MX$18.3K

-54.92%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

9.46

11.3

-16.28%

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

Last update for Jakarta: October 6, 2026

Last update for Mexico City: October 6, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Groceries & Markets

Jakarta

$218 27.5%

Mexico City

$327 20.7% 50.1% $109

Accommodation & Living

Jakarta

$200 25.3%

Mexico City

$671 42.4% 235% $470

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Jakarta

$131 16.5%

Mexico City

$126 8% 3.9% $5.2

Clothing & Footwear

Jakarta

$119 15%

Mexico City

$157 9.9% 32.2% $38

Eating Out

Jakarta

$78 9.9%

Mexico City

$207 13.1% 164% $129

Sport & Entertainment

Jakarta

$32 4.1%

Mexico City

$69 4.4% 115% $37

Getting Around

Jakarta

$15 1.9%

Mexico City

$26 1.7% 74.7% $11

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $370 in Jakarta versus $1,062 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.

Salaries run about 122% higher in Mexico City, which partly offsets the higher cost of living there. Purchasing power depends on which expenses matter most to you.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $17.00 in Jakarta versus $49.00 in Mexico City. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $218 vs $327 – making Jakarta the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇮🇩 Jakarta

🇲🇽 Mexico City

🕒 Local time

07:35 7:35 AM

18:35 6:35 PM

13 h behind Jakarta

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

11,337,563 Capital

9,209,944 Capital

💱 Currency

Indonesian Rupiah IDR Rp

Mexican Peso MXN $

📈 Exchange rate

100,000 IDR = 5.59 USD

100,000 IDR = 4.99 EUR

100 MXN = 5.45 USD

100 MXN = 4.86 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 October 10, 2026: 1 USD = 17,875 IDR (100,000 IDR = 5.59 USD). 1 EUR = 20,048 IDR (100,000 IDR = 4.99 EUR).

Mexican Peso exchange rates as of October 10, 2026: 1 USD = 18.36 MXN (100 MXN = 5.45 USD). 1 EUR = 20.59 MXN (100 MXN = 4.86 EUR).

USD to IDR in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Jakarta Mexico City 16,850 km ≈ 22 h nonstop flight

From you

Jakarta
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

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

Mexico City costs about 97% more than Jakarta, and outside of rent the gap comes mainly from eating out. That's enough to noticeably affect everyday spending and lifestyle for anyone choosing between the two.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $1,190 per month in Jakarta and $2,341 in Mexico City. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

Rent is clearly cheaper in Jakarta, especially for central apartments. Housing is actually the single biggest factor behind the overall cost gap between these two cities.

Kindergarten costs $153 per month in Jakarta and $428 in Mexico City. For families with young kids, this one expense can tip the scales when choosing between the two cities.

Groceries cost about 50% more in Mexico City, though it depends on what you buy. Local produce may be comparable; imported and premium items show the biggest price gap.

A $1,000 monthly budget goes further in Jakarta, where all-in costs run around $793, than in Mexico City at $1,561. In Jakarta it covers expenses comfortably, while in Mexico City it requires careful planning or may not stretch far enough.

For digital nomads, it depends on budget. Jakarta costs $793 versus $1,561 in Mexico City. Both have workable remote work infrastructure, but the cost gap matters when income varies month to month.

If budget matters most, go with Jakarta. If higher salaries, better infrastructure, or specific career opportunities are the priority, Mexico City makes more sense. Both are solid long-term options with distinct trade-offs.