Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Mexico City and Butterworth

For one person, living is cheaper in Butterworth: $913 a month against $1,608 in Mexico City, rent and utilities included – about $8,300 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

78

Cost of Living Index in Mexico City
Learn more

Mexico City Living Index
44

Cost of Living Index in Butterworth
Learn more

Butterworth Living Index

Jump to prices

Mexico City

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,608

/mo nomad

Butterworth

🇲🇾 Malaysia

$913

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

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

A single person spends $1,608 per month in Mexico City vs $913 in Butterworth, rent included.

Mexico City $1,608
Butterworth $913

A couple spends around $2,549 per month in Mexico City vs $1,408 in Butterworth, rent included.

Mexico City $2,549
Butterworth $1,408

A family of three spends $3,490 per month in Mexico City vs $1,902 in Butterworth, rent included.

Mexico City $3,490
Butterworth $1,902

Mexico City costs about 76% more than Butterworth, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Mexico City sits 18% above the global median, while Butterworth is 33% below – they fall on opposite sides of the world average.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$10.62 MX$199

$3.72 MYR 15.16

185.48%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$48.35 MX$906

$19.36 MYR 78.8

149.74%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$10.35 MX$194

$4.77 MYR 19.43

116.98%

Cappuccino

$3.69 MX$69.2

$2.89 MYR 11.76

27.68%

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

$1.67 MX$31.23

$0.73 MYR 2.96

128.77%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.27 MX$23.71

$0.36 MYR 1.48

252.78%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.19 MX$59.8

$4.12 MYR 16.78

-22.57%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$5.31 MX$99.5

$4.38 MYR 17.82

21.23%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.72 MX$32.32

$2.12 MYR 8.61

-18.87%

White Bread (500g)

$3.04 MX$57.0

$1.10 MYR 4.48

176.36%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.94 MX$36.38

$1.69 MYR 6.88

14.79%

Eggs

$2.89 MX$54.1

$2.24 MYR 9.13

29.02%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$10.97 MX$206

$13.69 MYR 55.7

-19.87%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.25 MX$173

$4.49 MYR 18.26

106.01%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$15.13 MX$283

$8.64 MYR 35.18

75.12%

Apples (1kg)

$3.05 MX$57.1

$3.06 MYR 12.47

-0.33%

Banana (1kg)

$1.94 MX$36.38

$1.71 MYR 6.95

13.45%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.03 MX$37.95

$2.23 MYR 9.07

-8.97%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.31 MX$43.38

$1.47 MYR 5.98

57.14%

Potato (1kg)

$2.04 MX$38.14

$1.06 MYR 4.33

92.45%

Onion (1kg)

$1.80 MX$33.73

$1.09 MYR 4.42

65.14%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.48 MX$27.72

$1.09 MYR 4.43

35.78%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.27 MX$23.75

$0.58 MYR 2.38

118.97%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$5.30 MX$99.4

$4.36 MYR 17.76

21.56%

Wine (Bottle)

$16.10 MX$302

$19.00 MYR 77.3

-15.26%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.98 MX$37.16

$2.93 MYR 11.91

-32.42%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.25 MX$79.7

$4.98 MYR 20.27

-14.66%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.31 MX$5.72

$0.70 MYR 2.84

-55.71%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$19.73 MX$370

$10.85 MYR 44.18

81.84%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.84 MX$34.44

$1.19 MYR 4.83

54.62%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.53 MX$10.00

$0.38 MYR 1.53

39.47%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$5.30 MX$99.2

$4.85 MYR 19.72

9.28%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.51 MX$28.31

$0.89 MYR 3.61

69.66%

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

$21.8K MX$407.7K

$43.5K MYR 177.0K

-49.97%

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

$24.0K MX$449.5K

$35.5K MYR 144.4K

-32.37%

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

$63.0 MX$1,180

$36.81 MYR 150

71.09%

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

$27.39 MX$513

$8.61 MYR 35.03

218.12%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$35.67 MX$668

$26.45 MYR 108

34.86%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$58.9 MX$1,105

$32.93 MYR 134

78.99%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$23.64 MX$443

$5.90 MYR 24.00

300.68%

Cinema Ticket

$6.40 MX$120

$4.79 MYR 19.52

33.61%

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

$432 MX$8,088

$240 MYR 977

79.84%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$11.4K MX$214.1K

$10.9K MYR 44.3K

4.89%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$68.2 MX$1,278

$59.8 MYR 243

14.06%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$53.1 MX$996

$35.01 MYR 143

51.76%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$108 MX$2,020

$82.5 MYR 336

30.66%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$117 MX$2,198

$69.5 MYR 283

68.69%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,113 MX$20.9K

$412 MYR 1,678

170.11%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$710 MX$13.3K

$300 MYR 1,223

136.55%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,588 MX$48.5K

$813 MYR 3,309

218.38%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,406 MX$26.3K

$563 MYR 2,292

149.68%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,631 MX$68.0K

$1,966 MYR 8,002

84.71%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$2,135 MX$40.0K

$1,205 MYR 4,905

77.16%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$946 MX$17.7K

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

11.35

4.04

180.94%

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

Last update for Mexico City: October 25, 2026

Last update for Butterworth: October 24, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Mexico City

$710 44.2%

Butterworth

$300 32.9% 57.7% $410

Groceries & Markets

Mexico City

$320 19.9%

Butterworth

$258 28.3% 19.1% $61

Eating Out

Mexico City

$199 12.4%

Butterworth

$113 12.3% 43.4% $86

Clothing & Footwear

Mexico City

$156 9.7%

Butterworth

$111 12.2% 28.7% $45

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Mexico City

$126 7.8%

Butterworth

$72 7.9% 43% $54

Sport & Entertainment

Mexico City

$72 4.5%

Butterworth

$43 4.7% 40.7% $29

Getting Around

Mexico City

$25 1.6%

Butterworth

$17 1.8% 34.4% $8.8

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $1,113 in Mexico City versus $412 in Butterworth. Rent is usually the largest line item in a monthly budget, so the gap here sets the tone for the overall comparison.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $48 in Mexico City versus $19 in Butterworth. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $320 vs $258 – making Butterworth the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇲🇽 Mexico City

🇲🇾 Butterworth

🕒 Local time

12:23 12:23 PM

02:23 2:23 AM

14 h ahead of Mexico City

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

9,209,944 Capital

339,132

💱 Currency

Mexican Peso MXN $

Malaysian Ringgit MYR RM

📈 Exchange rate

100 MXN = 5.34 USD

100 MXN = 4.78 EUR

1 MYR = 0.246 USD

1 MYR = 0.22 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 = 18.74 MXN (100 MXN = 5.34 USD). 1 EUR = 20.91 MXN (100 MXN = 4.78 EUR).

Malaysian Ringgit exchange rates as of November 2, 2026: 1 USD = 4.07 MYR (1 MYR = 0.246 USD). 1 EUR = 4.54 MYR (1 MYR = 0.22 EUR).

USD to MXN in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Mexico City Butterworth 16,520 km ≈ 21 h nonstop flight

From you

Mexico City
Butterworth

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 Butterworth: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Monthly costs with rent: $1,608 in Mexico City, $913 in Butterworth – Butterworth comes out roughly 43% cheaper. Outside of rent, the biggest gap is in eating out.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $2,412 per month in Mexico City and $1,370 in Butterworth. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

Rent is clearly cheaper in Butterworth, especially for central apartments: a one-bedroom in the center costs $412 there versus $1,113 in Mexico City.

Monthly expenses with rent come to $1,608 in Mexico City and $913 in Butterworth. That makes Butterworth about 43% cheaper.

Public transport costs about 45% less in Butterworth. For daily commuters, that gap adds up to noticeable savings over a year.

A $1,200 monthly budget goes further in Butterworth, where all-in costs run around $913, than in Mexico City at $1,608. In Butterworth it covers expenses comfortably, while in Mexico City it requires careful planning or may not stretch far enough.

Families tend to lean toward Butterworth – lower housing and cheaper childcare make a real difference, especially on a single income or when paying for private education.

For expats, Butterworth is the easier option financially – housing and daily costs are lower, and overall it costs about 43% less, which matters a lot on a fixed budget or early-career salary.