Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Mexico City and Benoni

For one person, living is cheaper in Benoni: $1,067 a month against $1,608 in Mexico City, rent and utilities included – about $6,500 less a year. Rent and utilities account for about half of the difference.

78

Cost of Living Index in Mexico City
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Mexico City Living Index
51

Cost of Living Index in Benoni
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Benoni Living Index

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Mexico City

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,608

/mo nomad

Benoni

🇿🇦 South Africa

$1,067

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,608 in Mexico City versus $1,067 in Benoni.

Mexico City $1,608
Benoni $1,067

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,549 in Mexico City versus $1,318 in Benoni.

Mexico City $2,549
Benoni $1,318

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,490 in Mexico City versus $1,568 in Benoni.

Mexico City $3,490
Benoni $1,568

Living in Mexico City is roughly 51% more expensive than in Benoni, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

The two cities straddle the global median: Mexico City is 18% above, Benoni is 22% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$10.62 MX$198

$9.86 R 164

7.71%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$48.35 MX$901

$37.05 R 615

30.50%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$10.35 MX$193

$5.55 R 92.2

86.49%

Cappuccino

$3.69 MX$68.7

$2.17 R 36.00

70.05%

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

$1.67 MX$31.05

$1.14 R 18.91

46.49%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.27 MX$23.58

$0.84 R 14.00

51.19%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.19 MX$59.5

$2.37 R 39.31

34.60%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$5.31 MX$98.9

$2.75 R 45.65

93.09%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.72 MX$32.13

$1.21 R 20.09

42.15%

White Bread (500g)

$3.04 MX$56.6

$1.12 R 18.55

171.43%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.94 MX$36.17

$1.79 R 29.65

8.38%

Eggs

$2.89 MX$53.8

$2.49 R 41.28

16.06%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$10.97 MX$204

$8.18 R 136

34.11%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.25 MX$172

$4.85 R 80.5

90.72%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$15.13 MX$282

$7.12 R 118

112.50%

Apples (1kg)

$3.05 MX$56.8

$1.74 R 28.86

75.29%

Banana (1kg)

$1.94 MX$36.17

$1.60 R 26.57

21.25%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.03 MX$37.73

$1.77 R 29.47

14.69%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.31 MX$43.12

$1.56 R 25.98

48.08%

Potato (1kg)

$2.04 MX$37.91

$1.07 R 17.77

90.65%

Onion (1kg)

$1.80 MX$33.53

$1.17 R 19.48

53.85%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.48 MX$27.56

$1.22 R 20.21

21.31%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.27 MX$23.62

$1.30 R 21.54

-2.31%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$5.30 MX$98.8

$3.52 R 58.5

50.57%

Wine (Bottle)

$16.10 MX$300

$4.97 R 82.6

223.94%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.98 MX$36.95

$1.51 R 25.12

31.13%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.25 MX$79.2

$1.98 R 32.94

114.65%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.31 MX$5.68

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$19.73 MX$368

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.84 MX$34.23

$0.29 R 4.77

534.48%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.53 MX$9.94

$0.93 R 15.47

-43.01%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$5.30 MX$98.7

$14.37 R 239

-63.12%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.51 MX$28.14

$1.53 R 25.46

-1.31%

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

$21.8K MX$405.3K

$35.4K R 588.6K

-38.61%

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

$24.0K MX$446.9K

$34.4K R 572.0K

-30.35%

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

$63.0 MX$1,173

$197 R 3,275

-68.05%

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

$27.39 MX$510

$39.26 R 652

-30.23%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$35.67 MX$664

$37.82 R 628

-5.68%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$58.9 MX$1,098

$17.81 R 296

230.94%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$23.64 MX$441

Cinema Ticket

$6.40 MX$119

$7.15 R 119

-10.49%

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

$432 MX$8,041

$246 R 4,085

75.51%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$11.4K MX$212.8K

$5,379 R 89.3K

112.37%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$68.2 MX$1,271

$52.1 R 865

30.94%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$53.1 MX$990

$31.79 R 528

67.13%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$108 MX$2,008

$91.2 R 1,515

18.15%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$117 MX$2,185

$82.3 R 1,368

42.42%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,113 MX$20.7K

$393 R 6,526

183.42%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$710 MX$13.2K

$302 R 5,020

135.07%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,588 MX$48.2K

$489 R 8,131

428.73%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,406 MX$26.2K

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,631 MX$67.6K

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$2,135 MX$39.8K

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$946 MX$17.6K

$2,000 R 33.2K

-52.69%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

11.35

10.91

4.03%

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

Last update for Mexico City: October 25, 2026

Last update for Benoni: October 25, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Mexico City

$710 44.2%

Benoni

$302 28.3% 57.5% $408

Groceries & Markets

Mexico City

$320 19.9%

Benoni

$191 17.9% 40.2% $128

Eating Out

Mexico City

$199 12.4%

Benoni

$147 13.8% 26.1% $52

Clothing & Footwear

Mexico City

$156 9.7%

Benoni

$116 10.9% 25.7% $40

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Mexico City

$126 7.8%

Benoni

$274 25.7% 118% $148

Sport & Entertainment

Mexico City

$72 4.5%

Benoni

$32 3% 55.2% $40

Getting Around

Mexico City

$25 1.6%

Benoni

$4.9 * 0.5% 80.6% $21

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 $393 in Benoni. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Benoni pays about 2.1 times more on average while also being the cheaper of the two. The combined effect is a noticeably stronger local purchasing power.

Dining out: $48 in Mexico City vs $37 in Benoni for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $320 vs $191 per month, with Benoni cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇲🇽 Mexico City

🇿🇦 Benoni

🕒 Local time

00:27 12:27 AM

08:27 8:27 AM

8 h ahead of Mexico City

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

9,209,944 Capital

158,777

💱 Currency

Mexican Peso MXN $

South African Rand ZAR R

📈 Exchange rate

100 MXN = 5.37 USD

100 MXN = 4.82 EUR

100 ZAR = 6.02 USD

100 ZAR = 5.41 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

ZAR, USD, EUR to MXN – Mexican Peso Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇲🇽 Mexican Peso ($)

Mexican Peso exchange rates as of October 29, 2026: 1 USD = 18.63 MXN (100 MXN = 5.37 USD). 1 EUR = 20.74 MXN (100 MXN = 4.82 EUR).

South African Rand exchange rates as of October 29, 2026: 1 USD = 16.61 ZAR (100 ZAR = 6.02 USD). 1 EUR = 18.49 ZAR (100 ZAR = 5.41 EUR).

USD to MXN in detail →

On the map

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Highest

Between locations

Mexico City Benoni 14,610 km ≈ 19 h nonstop flight

From you

Mexico City
Benoni

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 Benoni: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Total monthly costs including rent come to $1,608 in Mexico City and $1,067 in Benoni, so Benoni is about 34% cheaper – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

On paper, salaries run 53% 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: $1,113 in Mexico City versus $393 in Benoni. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Supermarket bills run roughly 67% higher in Mexico City. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

All in, you’ll spend $1,608 per month in Mexico City versus $1,067 in Benoni – Benoni is about 34% cheaper, which adds up to real savings over time.

Either city works on $2,000 a month, though Benoni 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.