Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Mexico City and Bayan Lepas

For one person, living is cheaper in Bayan Lepas: $735 a month against $1,608 in Mexico City, rent and utilities included – about $10,500 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
35

Cost of Living Index in Bayan Lepas
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Bayan Lepas Living Index

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Mexico City

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,608

/mo nomad

Bayan Lepas

🇲🇾 Malaysia

$735

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Mexico City and in Bayan Lepas

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 Bayan Lepas actually costs, broken down by who's living it.

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,608 in Mexico City versus $735 in Bayan Lepas.

Mexico City $1,608
Bayan Lepas $735

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,549 in Mexico City versus $1,214 in Bayan Lepas.

Mexico City $2,549
Bayan Lepas $1,214

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,490 in Mexico City versus $1,694 in Bayan Lepas.

Mexico City $3,490
Bayan Lepas $1,694

Living in Mexico City is roughly 119% more expensive than in Bayan Lepas, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

The two cities straddle the global median: Mexico City is 18% above, Bayan Lepas is 46% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$10.62 MX$200

$2.97 MYR 12.05

257.58%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$48.35 MX$909

$16.85 MYR 68.3

186.94%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$10.35 MX$194

$4.09 MYR 16.57

153.06%

Cappuccino

$3.69 MX$69.4

$2.81 MYR 11.39

31.32%

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

$1.67 MX$31.32

$0.84 MYR 3.42

98.81%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.27 MX$23.78

$0.55 MYR 2.22

130.91%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.19 MX$60.0

$4.78 MYR 19.36

-33.26%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$5.31 MX$99.7

$4.94 MYR 20.04

7.49%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.72 MX$32.41

$2.56 MYR 10.39

-32.81%

White Bread (500g)

$3.04 MX$57.1

$0.97 MYR 3.92

213.40%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.94 MX$36.48

$0.89 MYR 3.61

117.98%

Eggs

$2.89 MX$54.3

$2.05 MYR 8.31

40.98%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$10.97 MX$206

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.25 MX$174

$3.47 MYR 14.08

166.57%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$15.13 MX$284

$6.91 MYR 28.02

118.96%

Apples (1kg)

$3.05 MX$57.3

$3.11 MYR 12.60

-1.93%

Banana (1kg)

$1.94 MX$36.48

$1.59 MYR 6.43

22.01%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.03 MX$38.06

$3.08 MYR 12.50

-34.09%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.31 MX$43.50

$1.18 MYR 4.77

95.76%

Potato (1kg)

$2.04 MX$38.25

$1.30 MYR 5.29

56.92%

Onion (1kg)

$1.80 MX$33.83

$1.20 MYR 4.88

50.00%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.48 MX$27.80

$0.77 MYR 3.11

92.21%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.27 MX$23.82

$0.67 MYR 2.73

89.55%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$5.30 MX$99.7

$5.09 MYR 20.62

4.13%

Wine (Bottle)

$16.10 MX$303

$19.20 MYR 77.9

-16.15%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.98 MX$37.27

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.25 MX$79.9

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.31 MX$5.73

$0.64 MYR 2.58

-51.56%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$19.73 MX$371

$14.76 MYR 59.8

33.67%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.84 MX$34.53

$1.56 MYR 6.32

17.95%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.53 MX$10.03

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$5.30 MX$99.5

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.51 MX$28.39

$0.77 MYR 3.11

96.10%

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

$21.8K MX$408.8K

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

$24.0K MX$450.8K

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

$63.0 MX$1,184

$24.53 MYR 99.4

156.75%

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

$27.39 MX$515

$11.64 MYR 47.20

135.31%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$35.67 MX$670

$31.20 MYR 126

14.33%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$58.9 MX$1,108

$29.63 MYR 120

98.92%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$23.64 MX$444

$7.39 MYR 29.95

219.89%

Cinema Ticket

$6.40 MX$120

$4.83 MYR 19.56

32.51%

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

$432 MX$8,111

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$11.4K MX$214.7K

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$68.2 MX$1,282

$39.33 MYR 159

73.46%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$53.1 MX$999

$26.27 MYR 107

102.25%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$108 MX$2,026

$64.0 MYR 259

68.54%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$117 MX$2,204

$80.7 MYR 327

45.30%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,113 MX$20.9K

$197 MYR 800

464.11%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$710 MX$13.4K

$221 MYR 898

220.79%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,588 MX$48.6K

$496 MYR 2,012

421.57%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,406 MX$26.4K

$568 MYR 2,304

147.34%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,631 MX$68.2K

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$2,135 MX$40.1K

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$946 MX$17.8K

$965 MYR 3,911

-1.93%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

11.35

3.5

224.29%

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

Last update for Mexico City: October 25, 2026

Last update for Bayan Lepas: October 26, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Mexico City

$710 44.2%

Bayan Lepas

$221 30.1% 68.8% $489

Groceries & Markets

Mexico City

$320 19.9%

Bayan Lepas

$184 * 25.1% 42.3% $135

Eating Out

Mexico City

$199 12.4%

Bayan Lepas

$109 14.8% 45.1% $90

Clothing & Footwear

Mexico City

$156 9.7%

Bayan Lepas

$95 12.9% 39.3% $61

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Mexico City

$126 7.8%

Bayan Lepas

$67 9.2% 46.5% $59

Sport & Entertainment

Mexico City

$72 4.5%

Bayan Lepas

$39 5.3% 45.2% $32

Getting Around

Mexico City

$25 1.6%

Bayan Lepas

$19 * 2.6% 25.9% $6.6

Categories marked with * are only partly priced – their share counts the items that do have prices.

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,113 in Mexico City and $197 in Bayan Lepas. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Dining out: $48 in Mexico City vs $17 in Bayan Lepas for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $320 vs $184 per month, with Bayan Lepas cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇲🇽 Mexico City

🇲🇾 Bayan Lepas

🕒 Local time

09:56 9:56 AM

23:56 11:56 PM

14 h ahead of Mexico City

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

9,209,944 Capital

217,600

💱 Currency

Mexican Peso MXN $

Malaysian Ringgit MYR RM

📈 Exchange rate

100 MXN = 5.32 USD

100 MXN = 4.77 EUR

1 MYR = 0.247 USD

1 MYR = 0.221 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

MYR, USD, EUR to MXN – Mexican Peso Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇲🇽 Mexican Peso ($)

Mexican Peso exchange rates as of November 2, 2026: 1 USD = 18.79 MXN (100 MXN = 5.32 USD). 1 EUR = 20.97 MXN (100 MXN = 4.77 EUR).

Malaysian Ringgit exchange rates as of November 2, 2026: 1 USD = 4.05 MYR (1 MYR = 0.247 USD). 1 EUR = 4.52 MYR (1 MYR = 0.221 EUR).

USD to MXN in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Mexico City Bayan Lepas 16,540 km ≈ 21 h nonstop flight

From you

Mexico City
Bayan Lepas

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 Bayan Lepas: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Total monthly costs including rent come to $1,608 in Mexico City and $735 in Bayan Lepas, so Bayan Lepas is about 54% cheaper – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

You’d need roughly $2,412 in Mexico City and $1,102 in Bayan Lepas to live well. The gap comes down to housing and overall price levels. Both cities are liveable on less, but these numbers represent actual comfort.

Rent for a central apartment: $1,113 in Mexico City versus $197 in Bayan Lepas. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Dining out is cheaper in Bayan Lepas – a meal for two runs $17 versus $48 in Mexico City. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

A monthly transit pass in Bayan Lepas runs roughly 25% less than in Mexico City. The price difference matters if you commute daily and watch your budget.

At $735 in Bayan Lepas versus $1,608 in Mexico City, a $1,200 budget is realistic in Bayan Lepas but tight or insufficient in Mexico City. The gap between the two cities makes Bayan Lepas 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 Bayan Lepas gentler on the wallet – expenses run 54% less than in Mexico City. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.