Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Kuching and Mexico City

For one person, living is cheaper in Kuching: $887 a month against $1,561 in Mexico City, rent and utilities included – about $8,100 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

43

Cost of Living Index in Kuching
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Kuching Living Index
77

Cost of Living Index in Mexico City
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Mexico City Living Index

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Kuching

🇲🇾 Malaysia

$887

/mo nomad

Mexico City

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,561

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $887 in Kuching versus $1,561 in Mexico City.

Kuching $887
Mexico City $1,561

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,389 in Kuching versus $2,440 in Mexico City.

Kuching $1,389
Mexico City $2,440

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $1,892 in Kuching versus $3,319 in Mexico City.

Kuching $1,892
Mexico City $3,319

Living in Kuching costs roughly 43% less than in Mexico City, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Kuching is 34% below, Mexico City is 16% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$3.33 MYR 13.60

$11.12 MX$204

-70.05%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$24.53 MYR 100

$48.99 MX$900

-49.93%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$4.87 MYR 19.89

$11.23 MX$206

-56.63%

Cappuccino

$3.17 MYR 12.93

$3.76 MX$69.0

-15.69%

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

$0.74 MYR 3.04

$1.65 MX$30.34

-55.15%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.36 MYR 1.47

$1.28 MX$23.48

-71.88%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$4.51 MYR 18.43

$3.26 MX$59.8

38.34%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$6.16 MYR 25.15

$5.66 MX$104

8.83%

Milk (1 liter)

$2.31 MYR 9.42

$1.81 MX$33.23

27.62%

White Bread (500g)

$1.26 MYR 5.16

$2.94 MX$54.0

-57.14%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.15 MYR 4.68

$2.05 MX$37.62

-43.90%

Eggs

$2.46 MYR 10.03

$2.93 MX$53.7

-16.04%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$10.95 MYR 44.72

$11.95 MX$219

-8.37%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$4.45 MYR 18.17

$9.51 MX$175

-53.21%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$9.90 MYR 40.42

$14.84 MX$273

-33.29%

Apples (1kg)

$3.17 MYR 12.93

$3.14 MX$57.7

0.96%

Banana (1kg)

$1.37 MYR 5.59

$2.01 MX$36.99

-31.84%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.40 MYR 9.80

$2.08 MX$38.10

15.38%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.82 MYR 7.42

$2.22 MX$40.72

-18.02%

Potato (1kg)

$1.41 MYR 5.75

$2.06 MX$37.82

-31.55%

Onion (1kg)

$1.19 MYR 4.86

$1.88 MX$34.46

-36.70%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.56 MYR 6.35

$1.48 MX$27.18

5.41%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.54 MYR 2.22

$1.35 MX$24.70

-60.00%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.51 MYR 18.41

$5.41 MX$99.3

-16.64%

Wine (Bottle)

$21.59 MYR 88.2

$16.86 MX$310

28.05%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$4.06 MYR 16.58

$1.98 MX$36.43

105.05%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$5.19 MYR 21.19

$4.32 MX$79.4

20.14%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.58 MYR 2.37

$0.34 MX$6.33

70.59%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$12.36 MYR 50.5

$20.23 MX$371

-38.90%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.00 MYR 4.09

$2.10 MX$38.47

-52.38%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.24 MYR 5.06

$0.53 MX$9.74

133.96%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$8.32 MYR 33.99

$5.41 MX$99.3

53.79%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$0.90 MYR 3.68

$1.52 MX$27.91

-40.79%

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

$40.9K MYR 167.2K

$21.7K MX$399.0K

88.44%

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

$36.1K MYR 147.4K

$24.8K MX$455.6K

45.52%

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

$35.18 MYR 144

$63.0 MX$1,156

-44.13%

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

$9.95 MYR 40.63

$28.88 MX$530

-65.55%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$25.26 MYR 103

$33.93 MX$623

-25.55%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$30.24 MYR 123

$55.8 MX$1,024

-45.79%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$12.38 MYR 50.6

$24.90 MX$457

-50.28%

Cinema Ticket

$4.83 MYR 19.72

$6.77 MX$124

-28.66%

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

$135 MYR 551

$428 MX$7,854

-68.45%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$7,000 MYR 28.6K

$11.9K MX$218.0K

-41.04%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$63.3 MYR 258

$70.0 MX$1,286

-9.68%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$37.67 MYR 154

$53.7 MX$986

-29.89%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$90.2 MYR 368

$110 MX$2,016

-17.86%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$65.8 MYR 269

$115 MX$2,115

-42.92%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$360 MYR 1,471

$1,062 MX$19.5K

-66.09%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$245 MYR 1,001

$671 MX$12.3K

-63.44%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$647 MYR 2,642

$2,379 MX$43.7K

-72.80%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$478 MYR 1,953

$1,260 MX$23.1K

-62.05%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,073 MYR 8,464

$3,716 MX$68.2K

-44.21%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,508 MYR 6,157

$1,976 MX$36.3K

-23.68%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$530 MYR 2,165

$997 MX$18.3K

-46.81%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

4.37

11.3

-61.33%

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

Last update for Kuching: October 5, 2026

Last update for Mexico City: October 6, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Groceries & Markets

Kuching

$271 30.7%

Mexico City

$327 20.7% 20.7% $56

Accommodation & Living

Kuching

$245 27.8%

Mexico City

$671 42.4% 174% $426

Eating Out

Kuching

$119 13.4%

Mexico City

$207 13.1% 74.6% $89

Clothing & Footwear

Kuching

$116 13.1%

Mexico City

$157 9.9% 35.8% $41

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Kuching

$70 8%

Mexico City

$126 8% 78.7% $55

Sport & Entertainment

Kuching

$40 4.5%

Mexico City

$69 4.4% 73.8% $29

Getting Around

Kuching

$22 2.5%

Mexico City

$26 1.7% 20.5% $4.5

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $360 in Kuching and $1,062 in Mexico City. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Mexico City pays 88% 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: $25.00 in Kuching vs $49.00 in Mexico City for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $271 vs $327 per month, with Kuching cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇲🇾 Kuching

🇲🇽 Mexico City

🕒 Local time

15:36 3:36 PM

01:36 1:36 AM

14 h behind Kuching

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

349,147

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 = 5.45 USD

100 MXN = 4.86 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 10, 2026: 1 USD = 4.08 MYR (1 MYR = 0.245 USD). 1 EUR = 4.58 MYR (1 MYR = 0.218 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 MYR in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Kuching Mexico City 16,040 km ≈ 21 h nonstop flight

From you

Kuching
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

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

Kuching is cheaper overall, especially in groceries, eating out, and clothing. The 76% gap adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

On paper, salaries run 88% 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: $360 in Kuching versus $1,062 in Mexico City. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Dining out is cheaper in Kuching – a meal for two runs $25.00 versus $49.00 in Mexico City. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

All in, you'll spend $887 per month in Kuching versus $1,561 in Mexico City – a 76% gap that adds up to real savings over time for anyone picking the cheaper option.

At $887 in Kuching versus $1,561 in Mexico City, a $1,500 budget is realistic in Kuching but tight or insufficient in Mexico City. The gap between the two cities makes Kuching the clear choice for anyone on this budget.

For families, Kuching 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.

Safety-wise, Kuching 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 Kuching gentler on the wallet – expenses run 76% less than in Mexico City. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.