Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Mexico City and Buchs

For one person, living is cheaper in Mexico City: $1,548 a month against $3,009 in Buchs, rent and utilities included – about $17,500 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

75

Cost of Living Index in Mexico City
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Mexico City Living Index
146

Cost of Living Index in Buchs
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Buchs Living Index

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Mexico City

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,548

/mo nomad

Buchs

🇨🇭 Switzerland

$3,009

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,548 in Mexico City versus $3,009 in Buchs.

Mexico City $1,548
Buchs $3,009

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,436 in Mexico City versus $4,535 in Buchs.

Mexico City $2,436
Buchs $4,535

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,323 in Mexico City versus $6,062 in Buchs.

Mexico City $3,323
Buchs $6,062

Living in Mexico City costs roughly 49% less than in Buchs, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Both cities are pricier than the global median: Mexico City 14% above, Buchs 122% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$11.02 MX$204

$23.43 CHF 19.30

-52.97%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$48.68 MX$900

$84.3 CHF 69.4

-42.23%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$10.90 MX$201

$15.36 CHF 12.65

-29.04%

Cappuccino

$3.68 MX$68.1

$4.71 CHF 3.88

-21.87%

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

$1.63 MX$30.18

$3.77 CHF 3.10

-56.76%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.25 MX$23.07

$3.20 CHF 2.63

-60.94%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.25 MX$60.1

$6.13 CHF 5.04

-46.98%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$5.53 MX$102

$5.39 CHF 4.44

2.60%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.70 MX$31.50

$2.01 CHF 1.66

-15.42%

White Bread (500g)

$3.02 MX$55.8

$3.94 CHF 3.24

-23.35%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.92 MX$35.53

$4.64 CHF 3.82

-58.62%

Eggs

$2.73 MX$50.5

$7.32 CHF 6.03

-62.70%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$11.77 MX$218

$32.21 CHF 26.53

-63.46%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.53 MX$176

$18.51 CHF 15.24

-48.51%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$14.41 MX$266

$32.47 CHF 26.74

-55.62%

Apples (1kg)

$3.02 MX$55.8

$3.53 CHF 2.91

-14.45%

Banana (1kg)

$1.89 MX$35.01

$2.14 CHF 1.76

-11.68%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.99 MX$36.70

$3.14 CHF 2.59

-36.62%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.19 MX$40.38

$6.70 CHF 5.52

-67.31%

Potato (1kg)

$1.92 MX$35.43

$1.78 CHF 1.46

7.87%

Onion (1kg)

$1.87 MX$34.49

$2.54 CHF 2.10

-26.38%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.44 MX$26.62

$2.44 CHF 2.01

-40.98%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.27 MX$23.39

$1.21 CHF 1.00

4.96%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$5.22 MX$96.4

$10.84 CHF 8.92

-51.85%

Wine (Bottle)

$16.17 MX$299

$12.70 CHF 10.46

27.32%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.90 MX$35.03

$3.28 CHF 2.70

-42.07%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.22 MX$78.0

$3.91 CHF 3.22

7.93%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.34 MX$6.30

$5.17 CHF 4.25

-93.42%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$19.65 MX$363

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$2.00 MX$36.90

$5.36 CHF 4.42

-62.69%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.52 MX$9.67

$3.46 CHF 2.85

-84.97%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$5.34 MX$98.7

$61.2 CHF 50.4

-91.27%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.52 MX$28.13

$2.23 CHF 1.83

-31.84%

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

$22.1K MX$408.0K

$42.5K CHF 35.0K

-48.11%

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

$24.5K MX$452.9K

$39.6K CHF 32.6K

-38.06%

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

$61.1 MX$1,129

$184 CHF 152

-66.88%

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

$28.58 MX$528

$31.24 CHF 25.73

-8.51%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$34.47 MX$637

$67.2 CHF 55.4

-48.72%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$56.4 MX$1,042

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$24.88 MX$460

Cinema Ticket

$6.66 MX$123

$15.20 CHF 12.52

-56.18%

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

$427 MX$7,891

$611 CHF 503

-30.12%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$11.6K MX$215.0K

$20.7K CHF 17.0K

-43.66%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$67.8 MX$1,253

$107 CHF 88.0

-36.53%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$52.0 MX$960

$23.70 CHF 19.52

119.24%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$106 MX$1,959

$95.2 CHF 78.4

11.41%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$113 MX$2,080

$170 CHF 140

-33.66%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,025 MX$18.9K

$1,828 CHF 1,505

-43.94%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$654 MX$12.1K

$1,561 CHF 1,285

-58.08%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,308 MX$42.7K

$2,690 CHF 2,216

-14.19%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,242 MX$22.9K

$2,746 CHF 2,261

-54.77%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,613 MX$66.8K

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,936 MX$35.8K

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$964 MX$17.8K

$8,480 CHF 6,984

-88.63%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

11.3

1.93

485.49%

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

Last update for Mexico City: October 20, 2026

Last update for Buchs: October 18, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Mexico City

$654 42.3%

Buchs

$1.6K 51.9% 139% $906

Groceries & Markets

Mexico City

$318 20.6%

Buchs

$555 18.4% 74.4% $237

Eating Out

Mexico City

$204 13.2%

Buchs

$359 11.9% 76.2% $155

Clothing & Footwear

Mexico City

$152 9.8%

Buchs

$178 5.9% 16.8% $26

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Mexico City

$124 8%

Buchs

$283 9.4% 128% $159

Sport & Entertainment

Mexico City

$70 4.5%

Buchs

$30 * 1% 56.4% $39

Getting Around

Mexico City

$26 1.7%

Buchs

$43 * 1.4% 68.9% $18

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 $1,025 in Mexico City and $1,828 in Buchs. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Buchs pays 780% more on average. The extra income cushions the higher costs, though housing choices and lifestyle decide how much of the gap is truly closed.

Dining out: $49.00 in Mexico City vs $84.0 in Buchs for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $318 vs $555 per month, with Mexico City cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇲🇽 Mexico City

🇨🇭 Buchs

🕒 Local time

05:42 5:42 AM

13:42 1:42 PM

8 h ahead of Mexico City

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

9,209,944 Capital

12,187

💱 Currency

Mexican Peso MXN $

Swiss Franc CHF Fr

📈 Exchange rate

100 MXN = 5.41 USD

100 MXN = 4.81 EUR

1 CHF = 1.21 USD

1 CHF = 1.08 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

CHF, USD, EUR to MXN – Mexican Peso Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇲🇽 Mexican Peso ($)

Mexican Peso exchange rates as of October 22, 2026: 1 USD = 18.48 MXN (100 MXN = 5.41 USD). 1 EUR = 20.77 MXN (100 MXN = 4.81 EUR).

Swiss Franc exchange rates as of October 22, 2026: 1 USD = 0.824 CHF (1 CHF = 1.21 USD). 1 EUR = 0.926 CHF (1 CHF = 1.08 EUR).

USD to MXN in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Mexico City Buchs 9,760 km ≈ 13 h nonstop flight

From you

Mexico City
Buchs

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 Buchs: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Mexico City and Buchs differ by about 94% in total monthly costs ($1,548 vs $3,009 including rent). Mexico City is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

On paper, salaries run 780% lower in Buchs. 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: $1,025 in Mexico City versus $1,828 in Buchs. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $427 in Mexico City versus $611 in Buchs. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Dining out is cheaper in Mexico City – a meal for two runs $49.00 versus $84.0 in Buchs. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

At $1,548 in Mexico City versus $3,009 in Buchs, a $2,000 budget is realistic in Mexico City but tight or insufficient in Buchs. The gap between the two cities makes Mexico City 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.

Safety-wise, Mexico City and Buchs are on par. Petty crime is typical for cities this size, and most residents feel comfortable going about their daily routines in either place.

Expats usually find Mexico City gentler on the wallet – expenses run 94% less than in Buchs. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.