Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Macao and Mexico City

For one person, living is cheaper in Mexico City: $1,608 a month against $2,158 in Macao, rent and utilities included – about $6,600 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

104

Cost of Living Index in Macao
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Macao Living Index
78

Cost of Living Index in Mexico City
Learn more

Mexico City Living Index

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Macao

🇲🇴 Macao (China)

$2,158

/mo nomad

Mexico City

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,608

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,158 in Macao versus $1,608 in Mexico City.

Macao $2,158
Mexico City $1,608

Estimated couple costs with rent: $3,053 in Macao versus $2,549 in Mexico City.

Macao $3,053
Mexico City $2,549

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,948 in Macao versus $3,490 in Mexico City.

Macao $3,948
Mexico City $3,490

Living in Macao is roughly 34% more expensive than in Mexico City, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Both cities are pricier than the global median: Macao 59% above, Mexico City 18% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$6.37 MOP 51.5

$10.62 MX$199

-40.02%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$55.4 MOP 447

$48.35 MX$908

14.52%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$5.76 MOP 46.56

$10.35 MX$194

-44.35%

Cappuccino

$4.97 MOP 40.18

$3.69 MX$69.3

34.69%

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

$1.05 MOP 8.46

$1.67 MX$31.29

-37.13%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.78 MOP 6.33

$1.27 MX$23.76

-38.58%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$5.66 MOP 45.72

$3.19 MX$59.9

77.43%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$7.34 MOP 59.3

$5.31 MX$99.6

38.23%

Milk (1 liter)

$3.12 MOP 25.18

$1.72 MX$32.38

81.40%

White Bread (500g)

$1.71 MOP 13.78

$3.04 MX$57.1

-43.75%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.72 MOP 13.89

$1.94 MX$36.44

-11.34%

Eggs

$3.50 MOP 28.25

$2.89 MX$54.2

21.11%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$15.90 MOP 128

$10.97 MX$206

44.94%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$19.42 MOP 157

$9.25 MX$174

109.95%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$29.46 MOP 238

$15.13 MX$284

94.71%

Apples (1kg)

$2.58 MOP 20.84

$3.05 MX$57.2

-15.41%

Banana (1kg)

$2.86 MOP 23.08

$1.94 MX$36.45

47.42%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.89 MOP 15.24

$2.03 MX$38.02

-6.90%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.44 MOP 19.73

$2.31 MX$43.46

5.63%

Potato (1kg)

$3.95 MOP 31.94

$2.04 MX$38.21

93.63%

Onion (1kg)

$2.94 MOP 23.74

$1.80 MX$33.79

63.33%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.62 MOP 5.00

$1.48 MX$27.77

-58.11%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.14 MOP 9.21

$1.27 MX$23.80

-10.24%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$6.64 MOP 53.7

$5.30 MX$99.6

25.28%

Wine (Bottle)

$12.16 MOP 98.2

$16.10 MX$302

-24.47%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.78 MOP 14.41

$1.98 MX$37.23

-10.10%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.31 MOP 18.68

$4.25 MX$79.8

-45.65%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.71 MOP 5.76

$0.31 MX$5.73

129.03%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$22.93 MOP 185

$19.73 MX$371

16.22%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$2.66 MOP 21.53

$1.84 MX$34.50

44.57%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.24 MOP 9.99

$0.53 MX$10.02

133.96%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$15.00 MOP 121

$5.30 MX$99.4

183.02%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.76 MOP 14.21

$1.51 MX$28.36

16.56%

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

$31.1K MOP 251.4K

$21.8K MX$408.4K

43.01%

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

$31.4K MOP 253.5K

$24.0K MX$450.3K

30.81%

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

$122 MOP 989

$63.0 MX$1,182

94.27%

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

$24.02 MOP 194

$27.39 MX$514

-12.30%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$36.91 MOP 298

$35.67 MX$670

3.48%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$95.6 MOP 772

$58.9 MX$1,107

62.20%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$3.64 MOP 29.43

$23.64 MX$444

-84.60%

Cinema Ticket

$14.43 MOP 117

$6.40 MX$120

125.47%

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

$1,194 MOP 9,646

$432 MX$8,103

176.61%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$19.4K MOP 156.7K

$11.4K MX$214.5K

69.83%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$68.8 MOP 556

$68.2 MX$1,281

0.88%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$33.15 MOP 268

$53.1 MX$997

-37.61%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$91.5 MOP 739

$108 MX$2,023

-15.13%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$136 MOP 1,095

$117 MX$2,202

15.61%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,095 MOP 8,850

$1,113 MX$20.9K

-1.63%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,065 MOP 8,605

$710 MX$13.3K

49.91%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,089 MOP 16.9K

$2,588 MX$48.6K

-19.29%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,452 MOP 11.7K

$1,406 MX$26.4K

3.28%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$9,783 MOP 79.0K

$3,631 MX$68.2K

169.43%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$6,861 MOP 55.4K

$2,135 MX$40.1K

221.34%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$2,042 MOP 16.5K

$946 MX$17.8K

115.82%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

11.35

-73.57%

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

Last update for Macao: October 24, 2026

Last update for Mexico City: October 25, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Macao

$1.1K 49.4%

Mexico City

$710 44.2% 33.3% $355

Groceries & Markets

Macao

$424 19.6%

Mexico City

$320 19.9% 24.6% $104

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Macao

$183 8.5%

Mexico City

$126 7.8% 31.2% $57

Eating Out

Macao

$178 8.3%

Mexico City

$199 12.4% 11.5% $20

Clothing & Footwear

Macao

$148 6.9%

Mexico City

$156 9.7% 5.3% $7.8

Sport & Entertainment

Macao

$124 5.8%

Mexico City

$72 4.5% 42.4% $53

Getting Around

Macao

$35 1.6%

Mexico City

$25 1.6% 26.5% $9.2

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,095 in Macao and $1,113 in Mexico City. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Macao pays about 2.2 times more on average. How far that income stretches comes down to housing choices and lifestyle.

Dining out: $55 in Macao vs $48 in Mexico City for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $424 vs $320 per month, with Mexico City cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇲🇴 Macao

🇲🇽 Mexico City

🕒 Local time

03:32 3:32 AM

13:32 1:32 PM

14 h behind Macao

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

622,567 Capital

9,209,944 Capital

💱 Currency

Macanese Pataca MOP P

Mexican Peso MXN $

📈 Exchange rate

1 MOP = 0.124 USD

1 MOP = 0.111 EUR

100 MXN = 5.33 USD

100 MXN = 4.77 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

MXN, USD, EUR to MOP – Macanese Pataca Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇲🇴 Macanese Pataca (P)

Macanese Pataca exchange rates as of November 1, 2026: 1 USD = 8.08 MOP (1 MOP = 0.124 USD). 1 EUR = 9.02 MOP (1 MOP = 0.111 EUR).

Mexican Peso exchange rates as of November 1, 2026: 1 USD = 18.77 MXN (100 MXN = 5.33 USD). 1 EUR = 20.96 MXN (100 MXN = 4.77 EUR).

USD to MOP in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Macao Mexico City 14,180 km ≈ 18 h nonstop flight

From you

Macao
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

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

Mexico City wins on cost – living expenses run 25% lower than in Macao. Housing and daily spending are where you’ll feel the difference most, making Mexico City the obvious pick if budget is a priority.

Average pay in Macao is about 2.2 times higher, which matters when comparing affordability. Whether that higher income actually nets you more depends on your spending habits and housing choices.

Rent for a central apartment: $1,095 in Macao versus $1,113 in Mexico City. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Dining out is cheaper in Mexico City – a meal for two runs $48 versus $55 in Macao. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

All in, you’ll spend $2,158 per month in Macao versus $1,608 in Mexico City – Mexico City is about 25% cheaper, which adds up to real savings over time.

Either city works on $3,000 a month, though Mexico City gives you more room to save. At this income level, the choice is more about lifestyle than financial pressure.

Both cities offer a good standard of living with different trade-offs. Neither is objectively better – the right pick depends on what matters most: affordability, career, cultural scene, or climate.

It comes down to priorities – Mexico City wins on affordability, Macao on earning potential. Factor in climate, language, visa rules, and proximity to places that matter to you before deciding.