Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Melbourne and Mexico City

For one person, living is cheaper in Mexico City: $1,608 a month against $2,849 in Melbourne, rent and utilities included – about $14,900 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

137

Cost of Living Index in Melbourne
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Melbourne Living Index
78

Cost of Living Index in Mexico City
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Mexico City Living Index

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Melbourne

🇦🇺 Australia

$2,849

/mo nomad

Mexico City

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,608

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,849 in Melbourne versus $1,608 in Mexico City.

Melbourne $2,849
Mexico City $1,608

Estimated couple costs with rent: $4,274 in Melbourne versus $2,549 in Mexico City.

Melbourne $4,274
Mexico City $2,549

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $5,699 in Melbourne versus $3,490 in Mexico City.

Melbourne $5,699
Mexico City $3,490

Living in Melbourne is roughly 77% more expensive than in Mexico City, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in transport.

Both cities are pricier than the global median: Melbourne 109% above, Mexico City 18% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$17.50 A$24.86

$10.62 MX$198

64.78%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$84.3 A$120

$48.35 MX$901

74.35%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$12.17 A$17.29

$10.35 MX$193

17.58%

Cappuccino

$4.07 A$5.79

$3.69 MX$68.8

10.30%

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

$3.18 A$4.52

$1.67 MX$31.07

90.42%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.50 A$3.55

$1.27 MX$23.59

96.85%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$9.57 A$13.60

$3.19 MX$59.5

200.00%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$8.25 A$11.72

$5.31 MX$98.9

55.37%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.50 A$2.14

$1.72 MX$32.15

-12.79%

White Bread (500g)

$2.97 A$4.22

$3.04 MX$56.7

-2.30%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.68 A$3.81

$1.94 MX$36.19

38.14%

Eggs

$5.45 A$7.75

$2.89 MX$53.8

88.58%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$10.71 A$15.22

$10.97 MX$205

-2.37%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$10.05 A$14.28

$9.25 MX$172

8.65%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$15.00 A$21.31

$15.13 MX$282

-0.86%

Apples (1kg)

$4.07 A$5.78

$3.05 MX$56.8

33.44%

Banana (1kg)

$3.14 A$4.46

$1.94 MX$36.19

61.86%

Oranges (1kg)

$3.12 A$4.43

$2.03 MX$37.75

53.69%

Tomato (1kg)

$4.73 A$6.72

$2.31 MX$43.15

104.76%

Potato (1kg)

$2.98 A$4.23

$2.04 MX$37.94

46.08%

Onion (1kg)

$2.49 A$3.55

$1.80 MX$33.55

38.33%

Lettuce (1 head)

$2.48 A$3.53

$1.48 MX$27.58

67.57%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.60 A$2.27

$1.27 MX$23.63

25.98%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$44.65 A$63.4

$5.30 MX$98.9

742.45%

Wine (Bottle)

$12.68 A$18.02

$16.10 MX$300

-21.24%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$5.55 A$7.88

$1.98 MX$36.97

180.30%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$5.18 A$7.37

$4.25 MX$79.3

21.88%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$3.84 A$5.45

$0.31 MX$5.69

1138.71%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$139 A$197

$19.73 MX$368

603.04%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$4.36 A$6.19

$1.84 MX$34.25

136.96%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.37 A$1.94

$0.53 MX$9.94

158.49%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$29.72 A$42.23

$5.30 MX$98.7

460.75%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.49 A$2.11

$1.51 MX$28.16

-1.32%

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

$29.1K A$41.3K

$21.8K MX$405.5K

33.72%

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

$25.7K A$36.5K

$24.0K MX$447.1K

7.02%

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

$236 A$335

$63.0 MX$1,174

274.18%

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

$28.01 A$39.80

$27.39 MX$511

2.26%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$57.2 A$81.3

$35.67 MX$665

60.44%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$48.39 A$68.8

$58.9 MX$1,099

-17.90%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$21.46 A$30.50

$23.64 MX$441

-9.22%

Cinema Ticket

$17.67 A$25.10

$6.40 MX$119

176.09%

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

$2,461 A$3,497

$432 MX$8,045

470.25%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$29.7K A$42.2K

$11.4K MX$212.9K

160.01%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$81.2 A$115

$68.2 MX$1,272

19.04%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$49.28 A$70.0

$53.1 MX$990

-7.25%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$120 A$170

$108 MX$2,009

10.87%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$131 A$186

$117 MX$2,186

11.70%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,703 A$2,419

$1,113 MX$20.8K

52.93%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,409 A$2,002

$710 MX$13.2K

98.28%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$3,496 A$4,967

$2,588 MX$48.2K

35.07%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$2,527 A$3,590

$1,406 MX$26.2K

79.71%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$7,978 A$11.3K

$3,631 MX$67.7K

119.72%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$6,900 A$9,805

$2,135 MX$39.8K

223.20%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$4,257 A$6,049

$946 MX$17.6K

349.93%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

5.9

11.35

-48.02%

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

Last update for Melbourne: October 26, 2026

Last update for Mexico City: October 25, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Melbourne

$1.4K 49.4%

Mexico City

$710 44.2% 49.6% $698

Groceries & Markets

Melbourne

$386 13.6%

Mexico City

$320 19.9% 17.3% $67

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Melbourne

$321 11.3%

Mexico City

$126 7.8% 60.7% $195

Eating Out

Melbourne

$312 11%

Mexico City

$199 12.4% 36.4% $114

Clothing & Footwear

Melbourne

$171 6%

Mexico City

$156 9.7% 9.1% $16

Getting Around

Melbourne

$165 5.8%

Mexico City

$25 1.6% 84.6% $140

Sport & Entertainment

Melbourne

$84 2.9%

Mexico City

$72 4.5% 14.3% $12

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,703 in Melbourne and $1,113 in Mexico City. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Melbourne pays about 4.5 times more on average. How far that income stretches comes down to housing choices and lifestyle.

Dining out: $84 in Melbourne vs $48 in Mexico City for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $386 vs $320 per month, with Mexico City cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇦🇺 Melbourne

🇲🇽 Mexico City

🕒 Local time

09:12 9:12 AM

16:12 4:12 PM

17 h behind Melbourne

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

5,031,195

9,209,944 Capital

💱 Currency

Australian Dollar AUD $

Mexican Peso MXN $

📈 Exchange rate

1 AUD = 0.704 USD

1 AUD = 0.632 EUR

100 MXN = 5.36 USD

100 MXN = 4.82 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

MXN, USD, EUR to AUD – Australian Dollar Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇦🇺 Australian Dollar ($)

Australian Dollar exchange rates as of October 28, 2026: 1 USD = 1.42 AUD (1 AUD = 0.704 USD). 1 EUR = 1.58 AUD (1 AUD = 0.632 EUR).

Mexican Peso exchange rates as of October 28, 2026: 1 USD = 18.64 MXN (100 MXN = 5.36 USD). 1 EUR = 20.75 MXN (100 MXN = 4.82 EUR).

USD to AUD in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Melbourne Mexico City 13,560 km ≈ 17 h nonstop flight

From you

Melbourne
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

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

Total monthly costs including rent come to $2,849 in Melbourne and $1,608 in Mexico City, so Mexico City is about 44% cheaper – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

Average pay in Melbourne is about 4.5 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: $1,703 in Melbourne versus $1,113 in Mexico City. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $2,461 in Melbourne versus $432 in Mexico City. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Supermarket bills run roughly 21% higher in Melbourne. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

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.

Expats usually find Mexico City gentler on the wallet – expenses run 44% less than in Melbourne. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.