Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Kota Kinabalu and Mexico City

For one person, living is cheaper in Kota Kinabalu: $921 a month against $1,567 in Mexico City, rent and utilities included – about $7,800 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

45

Cost of Living Index in Kota Kinabalu
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Kota Kinabalu Living Index
76

Cost of Living Index in Mexico City
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Mexico City Living Index

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Kota Kinabalu

🇲🇾 Malaysia

$921

/mo nomad

Mexico City

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,567

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $921 in Kota Kinabalu versus $1,567 in Mexico City.

Kota Kinabalu $921
Mexico City $1,567

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,421 in Kota Kinabalu versus $2,450 in Mexico City.

Kota Kinabalu $1,421
Mexico City $2,450

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $1,921 in Kota Kinabalu versus $3,333 in Mexico City.

Kota Kinabalu $1,921
Mexico City $3,333

Living in Kota Kinabalu costs roughly 41% less than in Mexico City, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Kota Kinabalu is 32% below, Mexico City is 16% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$3.64 MYR 14.86

$10.75 MX$199

-66.14%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$19.52 MYR 79.6

$50.3 MX$929

-61.15%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$4.82 MYR 19.65

$11.10 MX$205

-56.58%

Cappuccino

$2.57 MYR 10.50

$3.68 MX$68.1

-30.16%

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

$0.59 MYR 2.41

$1.65 MX$30.42

-64.24%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.29 MYR 1.20

$1.30 MX$24.08

-77.69%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.50 MYR 10.19

$3.32 MX$61.3

-24.70%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.75 MYR 15.28

$5.54 MX$102

-32.31%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.72 MYR 7.02

$1.77 MX$32.68

-2.82%

White Bread (500g)

$1.30 MYR 5.28

$3.05 MX$56.4

-57.38%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.31 MYR 9.43

$2.01 MX$37.20

14.93%

Eggs

$3.52 MYR 14.37

$2.77 MX$51.1

27.08%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$28.38 MYR 116

$11.91 MX$220

138.29%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$3.69 MYR 15.06

$9.33 MX$172

-60.45%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$6.91 MYR 28.19

$15.02 MX$278

-53.99%

Apples (1kg)

$2.25 MYR 9.20

$3.08 MX$56.8

-26.95%

Banana (1kg)

$1.42 MYR 5.81

$1.95 MX$35.97

-27.18%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.91 MYR 7.78

$2.03 MX$37.54

-5.91%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.93 MYR 7.88

$2.21 MX$40.92

-12.67%

Potato (1kg)

$1.66 MYR 6.79

$2.02 MX$37.41

-17.82%

Onion (1kg)

$2.07 MYR 8.44

$1.82 MX$33.67

13.74%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.00 MYR 4.06

$1.52 MX$28.07

-34.21%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.48 MYR 1.95

$1.28 MX$23.65

-62.50%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.81 MYR 19.64

$5.27 MX$97.4

-8.73%

Wine (Bottle)

$16.20 MYR 66.1

$16.12 MX$298

0.50%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$3.76 MYR 15.36

$1.95 MX$36.05

92.82%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.49 MYR 10.14

$4.25 MX$78.6

-41.41%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.90 MYR 7.76

$0.31 MX$5.82

512.90%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$43.22 MYR 176

$19.85 MX$367

117.73%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.91 MYR 7.77

$2.00 MX$36.93

-4.50%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.23 MYR 0.93

$0.53 MX$9.86

-56.60%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$5.62 MX$104

Gasoline (1 liter)

$0.71 MYR 2.89

$1.52 MX$28.07

-53.29%

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

$42.5K MYR 173.5K

$21.0K MX$388.7K

102.27%

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

$34.8K MYR 142.1K

$25.2K MX$465.3K

38.29%

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

$69.4 MYR 283

$62.5 MX$1,155

10.99%

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

$9.25 MYR 37.75

$28.77 MX$532

-67.85%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$32.46 MYR 132

$34.45 MX$637

-5.78%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$51.3 MYR 209

$57.1 MX$1,055

-10.19%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$3.07 MYR 12.53

$24.81 MX$458

-87.63%

Cinema Ticket

$5.11 MYR 20.83

$6.67 MX$123

-23.39%

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

$138 MYR 565

$431 MX$7,964

-67.87%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$6,981 MYR 28.5K

$11.7K MX$216.9K

-40.54%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$81.7 MYR 333

$70.8 MX$1,308

15.43%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$37.02 MYR 151

$51.8 MX$958

-28.57%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$91.7 MYR 374

$109 MX$2,011

-15.77%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$48.12 MYR 196

$112 MX$2,076

-57.16%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$438 MYR 1,786

$1,051 MX$19.4K

-58.36%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$190 MYR 775

$665 MX$12.3K

-71.42%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$676 MYR 2,759

$2,346 MX$43.3K

-71.17%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$368 MYR 1,501

$1,227 MX$22.7K

-70.01%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$1,802 MYR 7,351

$3,554 MX$65.7K

-49.29%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,089 MYR 4,444

$1,977 MX$36.5K

-44.90%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$578 MYR 2,356

$975 MX$18.0K

-40.74%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

3.9

11.3

-65.49%

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

Last update for Kota Kinabalu: October 12, 2026

Last update for Mexico City: October 11, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Groceries & Markets

Kota Kinabalu

$290 31.5%

Mexico City

$323 20.6% 11.3% $33

Accommodation & Living

Kota Kinabalu

$190 20.6%

Mexico City

$665 42.4% 250% $475

Clothing & Footwear

Kota Kinabalu

$116 12.6%

Mexico City

$155 9.9% 33% $38

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Kota Kinabalu

$111 12.1%

Mexico City

$126 8% 13.2% $15

Eating Out

Kota Kinabalu

$98 10.6%

Mexico City

$203 13% 107% $105

Sport & Entertainment

Kota Kinabalu

$61 6.7%

Mexico City

$70 4.5% 14.6% $8.9

Getting Around

Kota Kinabalu

$54 5.9%

Mexico City

$26 1.6% 52.1% $28

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $438 in Kota Kinabalu and $1,051 in Mexico City. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Mexico City pays 69% 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: $20.00 in Kota Kinabalu vs $50.0 in Mexico City for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $290 vs $323 per month, with Kota Kinabalu cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇲🇾 Kota Kinabalu

🇲🇽 Mexico City

🕒 Local time

09:46 9:46 AM

19:46 7:46 PM

14 h behind Kota Kinabalu

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

500,425

9,209,944 Capital

💱 Currency

Malaysian Ringgit MYR RM

Mexican Peso MXN $

📈 Exchange rate

1 MYR = 0.245 USD

1 MYR = 0.218 EUR

100 MXN = 5.41 USD

100 MXN = 4.81 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 October 19, 2026: 1 USD = 4.08 MYR (1 MYR = 0.245 USD). 1 EUR = 4.59 MYR (1 MYR = 0.218 EUR).

Mexican Peso exchange rates as of October 19, 2026: 1 USD = 18.48 MXN (100 MXN = 5.41 USD). 1 EUR = 20.77 MXN (100 MXN = 4.81 EUR).

USD to MYR in detail →

On the map

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Highest

Between locations

Kota Kinabalu Mexico City 15,240 km ≈ 20 h nonstop flight

From you

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

Kota Kinabalu wins on cost – living expenses run 70% lower than in Mexico City. Housing and daily spending are where you'll feel the difference most, making Kota Kinabalu the obvious pick if budget is a priority.

On paper, salaries run 69% 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: $438 in Kota Kinabalu versus $1,051 in Mexico City. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

A monthly transit pass in Kota Kinabalu runs roughly 118% less than in Mexico City. Both cities have functional networks, but the price difference matters if you're watching your budget.

Childcare runs $138 in Kota Kinabalu versus $431 in Mexico City. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

At $921 in Kota Kinabalu versus $1,567 in Mexico City, a $1,000 budget is realistic in Kota Kinabalu but tight or insufficient in Mexico City. The gap between the two cities makes Kota Kinabalu the clear choice for anyone on this budget.

Both work as nomad bases, but Kota Kinabalu delivers better value – similar infrastructure at $921 monthly. If stretching your runway or maximizing savings is the goal, the price difference makes Kota Kinabalu hard to pass up.

Safety-wise, Kota Kinabalu and Mexico City are on par. Petty crime is typical for cities this size, and most residents feel comfortable going about their daily routines in either place.

Expats usually find Kota Kinabalu gentler on the wallet – expenses run 70% less than in Mexico City. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.