Last update: Nov 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Kota Bharu and Mexico City

For one person, living is cheaper in Kota Bharu: $694 a month against $1,674 in Mexico City, rent and utilities included – about $11,800 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

33

Cost of Living Index in Kota Bharu
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Kota Bharu Living Index
80

Cost of Living Index in Mexico City
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Mexico City Living Index

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Kota Bharu

🇲🇾 Malaysia

$694

/mo nomad

Mexico City

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,674

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

A single person spends $694 per month in Kota Bharu vs $1,674 in Mexico City, rent included.

Kota Bharu $694
Mexico City $1,674

A couple spends around $1,075 per month in Kota Bharu vs $2,606 in Mexico City, rent included.

Kota Bharu $1,075
Mexico City $2,606

A family of three spends $1,455 per month in Kota Bharu vs $3,537 in Mexico City, rent included.

Kota Bharu $1,455
Mexico City $3,537

Kota Bharu is about 59% cheaper than Mexico City, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Kota Bharu sits 49% below the global median, while Mexico City is 24% above – they fall on opposite sides of the world average.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$2.24 MYR 9.12

$10.59 MX$199

-78.85%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$19.43 MYR 79.2

$52.0 MX$978

-62.61%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$4.79 MYR 19.51

$10.73 MX$202

-55.36%

Cappuccino

$2.18 MYR 8.87

$3.80 MX$71.4

-42.63%

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

$0.47 MYR 1.93

$1.61 MX$30.35

-70.81%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.26 MYR 1.05

$1.21 MX$22.81

-78.51%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$4.27 MYR 17.40

$3.18 MX$59.8

34.28%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.34 MYR 17.68

$5.44 MX$102

-20.22%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.57 MYR 6.38

$1.72 MX$32.32

-8.72%

White Bread (500g)

$0.90 MYR 3.67

$2.97 MX$55.8

-69.70%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$0.78 MYR 3.18

$1.93 MX$36.24

-59.59%

Eggs

$1.60 MYR 6.51

$2.77 MX$52.2

-42.24%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$13.48 MYR 55.0

$11.67 MX$220

15.51%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$3.06 MYR 12.49

$9.48 MX$178

-67.72%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$6.52 MYR 26.57

$15.37 MX$289

-57.58%

Apples (1kg)

$3.07 MYR 12.52

$3.10 MX$58.4

-0.97%

Banana (1kg)

$1.45 MYR 5.89

$1.96 MX$36.90

-26.02%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.76 MYR 11.25

$1.98 MX$37.30

39.39%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.12 MYR 4.58

$2.34 MX$43.95

-52.14%

Potato (1kg)

$0.95 MYR 3.86

$2.02 MX$38.08

-52.97%

Onion (1kg)

$1.10 MYR 4.46

$1.82 MX$34.34

-39.56%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.10 MYR 4.48

$1.54 MX$29.06

-28.57%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.45 MYR 1.83

$1.31 MX$24.70

-65.65%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$3.35 MYR 13.66

$5.35 MX$101

-37.38%

Wine (Bottle)

$19.31 MYR 78.7

$16.19 MX$305

19.27%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.93 MYR 11.93

$1.96 MX$36.87

49.49%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$5.45 MYR 22.19

$4.35 MX$81.9

25.29%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.76 MYR 3.11

$0.30 MX$5.74

153.33%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$12.22 MYR 49.79

$19.49 MX$367

-37.30%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.77 MYR 7.20

$1.92 MX$36.08

-7.81%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.41 MYR 1.65

$0.47 MX$8.90

-12.77%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$3.75 MYR 15.29

$5.41 MX$102

-30.68%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$0.48 MYR 1.96

$1.48 MX$27.92

-67.57%

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

$31.4K MYR 128.1K

$21.4K MX$402.2K

47.12%

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

$29.5K MYR 120.3K

$23.8K MX$447.1K

24.30%

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

$37.70 MYR 154

$62.0 MX$1,167

-39.18%

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

$8.53 MYR 34.74

$28.47 MX$536

-70.04%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$26.29 MYR 107

$34.11 MX$642

-22.93%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$48.85 MYR 199

$58.4 MX$1,099

-16.34%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$24.50 MX$461

Cinema Ticket

$4.44 MYR 18.11

$6.59 MX$124

-32.63%

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

$122 MYR 497

$434 MX$8,172

-71.93%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$11.6K MYR 47.3K

$14.0K MX$264.1K

-17.32%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$54.7 MYR 223

$68.4 MX$1,286

-20.03%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$19.81 MYR 80.7

$54.8 MX$1,031

-63.85%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$80.7 MYR 329

$111 MX$2,086

-27.24%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$69.8 MYR 284

$116 MX$2,183

-39.85%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$247 MYR 1,007

$1,179 MX$22.2K

-79.05%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$123 MYR 502

$771 MX$14.5K

-84.02%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$676 MYR 2,753

$2,570 MX$48.4K

-73.72%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$224 MYR 913

$1,420 MX$26.7K

-84.21%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,586 MX$67.5K

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$2,064 MX$38.8K

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$296 MYR 1,205

$1,003 MX$18.9K

-70.52%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

4.24

11.35

-62.64%

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

Last update for Kota Bharu: November 2, 2026

Last update for Mexico City: November 1, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Groceries & Markets

Kota Bharu

$229 33%

Mexico City

$324 19.3% 41.2% $94

Accommodation & Living

Kota Bharu

$123 17.7%

Mexico City

$771 46.1% 526% $648

Clothing & Footwear

Kota Bharu

$101 14.6%

Mexico City

$158 9.4% 55.6% $56

Eating Out

Kota Bharu

$91 13.2%

Mexico City

$201 12% 120% $109

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Kota Bharu

$73 10.5%

Mexico City

$125 7.4% 71.8% $52

Sport & Entertainment

Kota Bharu

$58 8.3%

Mexico City

$72 4.3% 23.9% $14

Getting Around

Kota Bharu

$19 2.8%

Mexico City

$25 1.5% 31% $5.9

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $247 in Kota Bharu versus $1,179 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 in Mexico City are about 3.4 times higher. Purchasing power depends on which expenses matter most to you.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $19 in Kota Bharu versus $52 in Mexico City. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $229 vs $324 – making Kota Bharu the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇲🇾 Kota Bharu

🇲🇽 Mexico City

🕒 Local time

16:57 4:57 PM

02:57 2:57 AM

14 h behind Kota Bharu

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

568,900

9,209,944 Capital

💱 Currency

Malaysian Ringgit MYR RM

Mexican Peso MXN $

📈 Exchange rate

1 MYR = 0.245 USD

1 MYR = 0.219 EUR

100 MXN = 5.31 USD

100 MXN = 4.74 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 4, 2026: 1 USD = 4.07 MYR (1 MYR = 0.245 USD). 1 EUR = 4.57 MYR (1 MYR = 0.219 EUR).

Mexican Peso exchange rates as of November 4, 2026: 1 USD = 18.82 MXN (100 MXN = 5.31 USD). 1 EUR = 21.1 MXN (100 MXN = 4.74 EUR).

USD to MYR in detail →

On the map

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Highest

Between locations

Kota Bharu Mexico City 16,330 km ≈ 21 h nonstop flight

From you

Kota Bharu
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

Kota Bharu vs Mexico City: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Mexico City costs about 141% more than Kota Bharu, 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 $1,041 per month in Kota Bharu and $2,510 in Mexico City. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

Rent is clearly cheaper in Kota Bharu, especially for central apartments: a one-bedroom in the center costs $247 there versus $1,179 in Mexico City.

Public transport costs about 37% less in Kota Bharu. For daily commuters, that gap adds up to noticeable savings over a year.

Kindergarten costs $122 per month in Kota Bharu and $434 in Mexico City. For families with young kids, this one expense can tip the scales when choosing between the two cities.

A $800 monthly budget goes further in Kota Bharu, where all-in costs run around $694, than in Mexico City at $1,674. In Kota Bharu it covers expenses comfortably, while in Mexico City it requires careful planning or may not stretch far enough.

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

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