Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Mexico City and Ambon

For one person, living is cheaper in Ambon: $646 a month against $1,608 in Mexico City, rent and utilities included – about $11,500 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

78

Cost of Living Index in Mexico City
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Mexico City Living Index
30

Cost of Living Index in Ambon
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Ambon Living Index

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Mexico City

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,608

/mo nomad

Ambon

🇮🇩 Indonesia

$646

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Mexico City and in Ambon

Real prices from locals and on-the-ground checks – rent, groceries, transit and the daily extras. Here's what a month in Mexico City and in Ambon actually costs, broken down by who's living it.

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,608 in Mexico City versus $646 in Ambon.

Mexico City $1,608
Ambon $646

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,549 in Mexico City versus $1,021 in Ambon.

Mexico City $2,549
Ambon $1,021

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,490 in Mexico City versus $1,397 in Ambon.

Mexico City $3,490
Ambon $1,397

Living in Mexico City is roughly 149% more expensive than in Ambon, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Mexico City is 18% above, Ambon is 53% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$10.62 MX$199

$1.11 Rp 20.1K

856.76%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$48.35 MX$904

$13.36 Rp 240.8K

261.90%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$10.35 MX$193

$3.91 Rp 70.5K

164.71%

Cappuccino

$3.69 MX$69.0

$1.45 Rp 26.2K

154.48%

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

$1.67 MX$31.14

$0.45 Rp 8,115

271.11%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.27 MX$23.65

$0.28 Rp 5,037

353.57%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.19 MX$59.7

$2.19 Rp 39.4K

45.66%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$5.31 MX$99.2

$3.36 Rp 60.6K

58.04%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.72 MX$32.23

$1.02 Rp 18.3K

68.63%

White Bread (500g)

$3.04 MX$56.8

$0.97 Rp 17.6K

213.40%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.94 MX$36.27

$0.85 Rp 15.3K

128.24%

Eggs

$2.89 MX$54.0

$1.41 Rp 25.4K

104.96%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$10.97 MX$205

$7.05 Rp 127.1K

55.60%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.25 MX$173

$2.92 Rp 52.7K

216.78%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$15.13 MX$283

$7.38 Rp 133.0K

105.01%

Apples (1kg)

$3.05 MX$57.0

$2.18 Rp 39.3K

39.91%

Banana (1kg)

$1.94 MX$36.27

$1.30 Rp 23.4K

49.23%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.03 MX$37.85

$1.55 Rp 28.0K

30.97%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.31 MX$43.25

$1.20 Rp 21.6K

92.50%

Potato (1kg)

$2.04 MX$38.03

$1.21 Rp 21.8K

68.60%

Onion (1kg)

$1.80 MX$33.63

$1.90 Rp 34.2K

-5.26%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.48 MX$27.64

$0.87 Rp 15.7K

70.11%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.27 MX$23.69

$0.42 Rp 7,599

202.38%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$5.30 MX$99.1

$2.22 Rp 40.0K

138.74%

Wine (Bottle)

$16.10 MX$301

$21.08 Rp 379.9K

-23.62%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.98 MX$37.06

$1.88 Rp 33.8K

5.32%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.25 MX$79.5

$2.99 Rp 53.9K

42.14%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.31 MX$5.70

$0.25 Rp 4,583

24.00%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$19.73 MX$369

$11.46 Rp 206.7K

72.16%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.84 MX$34.34

$0.52 Rp 9,287

253.85%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.53 MX$9.97

$0.37 Rp 6,711

43.24%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$5.30 MX$99.0

$2.78 Rp 50.1K

90.65%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.51 MX$28.23

$0.81 Rp 14.6K

86.42%

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

$21.8K MX$406.5K

$21.6K Rp 390.2M

0.50%

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

$24.0K MX$448.2K

$34.5K Rp 621.8M

-30.46%

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

$63.0 MX$1,177

$71.4 Rp 1.3M

-11.78%

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

$27.39 MX$512

$5.55 Rp 100.1K

393.51%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$35.67 MX$666

$18.61 Rp 335.5K

91.67%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$58.9 MX$1,101

$18.34 Rp 330.5K

221.37%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$23.64 MX$442

$8.46 Rp 152.5K

179.43%

Cinema Ticket

$6.40 MX$120

$1.40 Rp 25.2K

357.14%

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

$432 MX$8,065

$100 Rp 1.8M

330.21%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$11.4K MX$213.5K

$8,411 Rp 151.6M

35.81%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$68.2 MX$1,275

$43.94 Rp 792.1K

55.26%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$53.1 MX$993

$31.67 Rp 570.8K

67.76%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$108 MX$2,014

$74.5 Rp 1.3M

44.59%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$117 MX$2,191

$70.0 Rp 1.3M

67.55%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,113 MX$20.8K

$250 Rp 4.5M

345.88%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$710 MX$13.3K

$165 Rp 3.0M

329.41%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,588 MX$48.4K

$535 Rp 9.6M

384.05%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,406 MX$26.3K

$402 Rp 7.2M

249.58%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,631 MX$67.8K

$1,237 Rp 22.3M

193.42%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$2,135 MX$39.9K

$712 Rp 12.8M

199.73%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$946 MX$17.7K

$122 Rp 2.2M

675.78%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

11.35

9.46

19.98%

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

Last update for Mexico City: October 25, 2026

Last update for Ambon: October 25, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Mexico City

$710 44.2%

Ambon

$165 25.6% 76.7% $545

Groceries & Markets

Mexico City

$320 19.9%

Ambon

$191 29.6% 40.1% $128

Eating Out

Mexico City

$199 12.4%

Ambon

$59 9.1% 70.5% $140

Clothing & Footwear

Mexico City

$156 9.7%

Ambon

$99 15.3% 36.5% $57

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Mexico City

$126 7.8%

Ambon

$96 14.8% 24.2% $30

Sport & Entertainment

Mexico City

$72 4.5%

Ambon

$21 3.3% 70.5% $51

Getting Around

Mexico City

$25 1.6%

Ambon

$15 2.3% 41.6% $11

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,113 in Mexico City and $250 in Ambon. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Mexico City pays about 7.8 times more on average. How far that income stretches comes down to housing choices and lifestyle.

Dining out: $48 in Mexico City vs $13 in Ambon for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $320 vs $191 per month, with Ambon cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇲🇽 Mexico City

🇮🇩 Ambon

🕒 Local time

08:03 8:03 AM

23:03 11:03 PM

15 h ahead of Mexico City

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

9,209,944 Capital

275,888

💱 Currency

Mexican Peso MXN $

Indonesian Rupiah IDR Rp

📈 Exchange rate

100 MXN = 5.35 USD

100 MXN = 4.81 EUR

100,000 IDR = 5.55 USD

100,000 IDR = 4.98 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

IDR, USD, EUR to MXN – Mexican Peso Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇲🇽 Mexican Peso ($)

Mexican Peso exchange rates as of October 28, 2026: 1 USD = 18.69 MXN (100 MXN = 5.35 USD). 1 EUR = 20.8 MXN (100 MXN = 4.81 EUR).

Indonesian Rupiah exchange rates as of October 28, 2026: 1 USD = 18,025 IDR (100,000 IDR = 5.55 USD). 1 EUR = 20,061 IDR (100,000 IDR = 4.98 EUR).

USD to MXN in detail →

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Mexico City Ambon 14,600 km ≈ 19 h nonstop flight

From you

Mexico City
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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

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

Ambon wins on cost – living expenses run 60% lower than in Mexico City. Housing and daily spending are where you’ll feel the difference most, making Ambon the obvious pick if budget is a priority.

Average pay in Mexico City is about 7.8 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: $1,113 in Mexico City versus $250 in Ambon. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

All in, you’ll spend $1,608 per month in Mexico City versus $646 in Ambon – a 149% gap that adds up to real savings over time for anyone picking the cheaper option.

A monthly transit pass in Ambon runs roughly 42% less than in Mexico City. Both cities have functional networks, but the price difference matters if you’re watching your budget.

At $646 in Ambon versus $1,608 in Mexico City, a $800 budget is realistic in Ambon but tight or insufficient in Mexico City. The gap between the two cities makes Ambon the clear choice for anyone on this budget.

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 Ambon gentler on the wallet – expenses run 60% less than in Mexico City. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.