Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Mexico City and Binjai

For one person, living is cheaper in Binjai: $638 a month against $1,608 in Mexico City, rent and utilities included – about $11,600 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 Binjai
Learn more

Binjai Living Index

Jump to prices

Mexico City

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,608

/mo nomad

Binjai

🇮🇩 Indonesia

$638

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,608 in Mexico City versus $638 in Binjai.

Mexico City $1,608
Binjai $638

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,549 in Mexico City versus $1,029 in Binjai.

Mexico City $2,549
Binjai $1,029

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,490 in Mexico City versus $1,421 in Binjai.

Mexico City $3,490
Binjai $1,421

Living in Mexico City is roughly 152% more expensive than in Binjai, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

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

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$10.62 MX$200

$1.80 Rp 32.7K

490.00%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$48.35 MX$909

$15.06 Rp 273.1K

221.05%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$10.35 MX$194

$2.81 Rp 51.0K

268.33%

Cappuccino

$3.69 MX$69.4

$1.33 Rp 24.1K

177.44%

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

$1.67 MX$31.32

$0.48 Rp 8,707

247.92%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.27 MX$23.78

$0.20 Rp 3,639

535.00%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.19 MX$60.0

$2.49 Rp 45.1K

28.11%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$5.31 MX$99.7

$3.12 Rp 56.6K

70.19%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.72 MX$32.41

$1.04 Rp 18.8K

65.38%

White Bread (500g)

$3.04 MX$57.1

$0.94 Rp 17.0K

223.40%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.94 MX$36.48

$0.80 Rp 14.6K

142.50%

Eggs

$2.89 MX$54.3

$1.25 Rp 22.6K

131.20%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$10.97 MX$206

$6.22 Rp 112.9K

76.37%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.25 MX$174

$3.15 Rp 57.1K

193.65%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$15.13 MX$284

$7.48 Rp 135.8K

102.27%

Apples (1kg)

$3.05 MX$57.3

$2.43 Rp 44.1K

25.51%

Banana (1kg)

$1.94 MX$36.48

$1.30 Rp 23.7K

49.23%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.03 MX$38.06

$1.77 Rp 32.2K

14.69%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.31 MX$43.50

$1.25 Rp 22.7K

84.80%

Potato (1kg)

$2.04 MX$38.25

$1.40 Rp 25.4K

45.71%

Onion (1kg)

$1.80 MX$33.83

$1.96 Rp 35.5K

-8.16%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.48 MX$27.80

$0.81 Rp 14.7K

82.72%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.27 MX$23.82

$0.39 Rp 6,985

225.64%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$5.30 MX$99.7

$2.43 Rp 44.1K

118.11%

Wine (Bottle)

$16.10 MX$303

$21.59 Rp 391.6K

-25.43%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.98 MX$37.27

$2.01 Rp 36.5K

-1.49%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.25 MX$79.9

$3.20 Rp 58.0K

32.81%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.31 MX$5.73

$0.21 Rp 3,849

47.62%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$19.73 MX$371

$10.00 Rp 181.4K

97.30%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.84 MX$34.53

$0.47 Rp 8,510

291.49%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.53 MX$10.03

$0.36 Rp 6,512

47.22%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$5.30 MX$99.5

$3.18 Rp 57.6K

66.67%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.51 MX$28.39

$0.94 Rp 17.0K

60.64%

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

$21.8K MX$408.8K

$20.3K Rp 369.0M

6.92%

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

$24.0K MX$450.8K

$30.1K Rp 546.1M

-20.33%

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

$63.0 MX$1,184

$68.7 Rp 1.2M

-8.30%

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

$27.39 MX$515

$3.91 Rp 70.8K

600.51%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$35.67 MX$670

$18.11 Rp 328.4K

96.96%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$58.9 MX$1,108

$20.19 Rp 366.2K

191.93%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$23.64 MX$444

$8.73 Rp 158.4K

170.79%

Cinema Ticket

$6.40 MX$120

$2.88 Rp 52.3K

122.22%

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

$432 MX$8,111

$105 Rp 1.9M

311.86%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$11.4K MX$214.7K

$8,060 Rp 146.2M

41.74%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$68.2 MX$1,282

$42.93 Rp 778.7K

58.91%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$53.1 MX$999

$27.03 Rp 490.3K

96.56%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$108 MX$2,026

$84.1 Rp 1.5M

28.16%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$117 MX$2,204

$62.7 Rp 1.1M

87.06%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,113 MX$20.9K

$204 Rp 3.7M

447.04%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$710 MX$13.4K

$156 Rp 2.8M

354.64%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,588 MX$48.6K

$495 Rp 9.0M

423.32%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,406 MX$26.4K

$411 Rp 7.5M

241.96%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,631 MX$68.2K

$1,207 Rp 21.9M

200.89%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$2,135 MX$40.1K

$752 Rp 13.6M

183.82%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$946 MX$17.8K

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 Binjai: October 24, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Mexico City

$710 44.2%

Binjai

$156 24.5% 78% $554

Groceries & Markets

Mexico City

$320 19.9%

Binjai

$194 30.4% 39.4% $126

Eating Out

Mexico City

$199 12.4%

Binjai

$60 9.4% 69.7% $138

Clothing & Footwear

Mexico City

$156 9.7%

Binjai

$98 15.3% 37.4% $58

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Mexico City

$126 7.8%

Binjai

$91 14.2% 28% $35

Sport & Entertainment

Mexico City

$72 4.5%

Binjai

$26 4.1% 63.8% $46

Getting Around

Mexico City

$25 1.6%

Binjai

$13 2.1% 48.5% $12

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,113 in Mexico City and $204 in Binjai. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Dining out: $48 in Mexico City vs $15 in Binjai for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $320 vs $194 per month, with Binjai cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇲🇽 Mexico City

🇮🇩 Binjai

🕒 Local time

03:00 3:00 AM

16:00 4:00 PM

13 h ahead of Mexico City

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

9,209,944 Capital

267,901

💱 Currency

Mexican Peso MXN $

Indonesian Rupiah IDR Rp

📈 Exchange rate

100 MXN = 5.32 USD

100 MXN = 4.77 EUR

100,000 IDR = 5.51 USD

100,000 IDR = 4.94 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 November 2, 2026: 1 USD = 18.79 MXN (100 MXN = 5.32 USD). 1 EUR = 20.97 MXN (100 MXN = 4.77 EUR).

Indonesian Rupiah exchange rates as of November 2, 2026: 1 USD = 18,138 IDR (100,000 IDR = 5.51 USD). 1 EUR = 20,241 IDR (100,000 IDR = 4.94 EUR).

USD to MXN in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Mexico City Binjai 16,810 km ≈ 22 h nonstop flight

From you

Mexico City
Binjai

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 Binjai: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Binjai is about 60% cheaper overall, especially in eating out, groceries, and clothing. That difference adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

You’d need roughly $2,412 in Mexico City and $956 in Binjai 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 $204 in Binjai. 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 $638 in Binjai – Binjai is about 60% cheaper, which adds up to real savings over time.

A monthly transit pass in Binjai runs roughly 49% less than in Mexico City. The price difference matters if you commute daily and watch your budget.

At $638 in Binjai versus $1,608 in Mexico City, a $1,000 budget is realistic in Binjai but tight or insufficient in Mexico City. The gap between the two cities makes Binjai 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 Binjai 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.