Cost of Living Comparison Between Mexico City and Cape Town Cost of Living Comparison Between Mexico City and Cape Town

😐 Solo nomad: Mexico City is 17.3% more expensive than Cape Town without rent, and 16% more expensive with rent.
😐 Family of 3: Mexico City is 20.5% more expensive than Cape Town without rent, and 16.1% more expensive with rent.
Currency
🍽 Eating Out
Mexico City
Cape Town
Difference
Meal at Budget Restaurant
$13.29 MX$231
$11.06 R 181
20.16%
Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range
$53.8 MX$933
$45.39 R 744
18.42%
Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)
$9.29 MX$161
$5.09 R 83.4
82.51%
Cappuccino
$3.61 MX$62.6
$2.08 R 34.09
73.56%
Coke/Pepsi/Fanta/Sprite (0.33 liter bottle)
$1.56 MX$27.03
$1.16 R 19.08
34.48%
Water (0.33 liter bottle)
$1.12 MX$19.46
$0.89 R 14.64
25.84%
Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)
$3.13 MX$54.3
$2.84 R 46.55
10.21%
Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)
$4.71 MX$81.7
$2.45 R 40.15
92.24%
🛒 Groceries & Markets
Mexico City
Cape Town
Difference
Milk (1 liter)
$1.70 MX$29.54
$1.10 R 17.99
54.55%
White Bread (500g)
$2.77 MX$48.03
$1.10 R 17.97
151.82%
Rice (white) (1kg)
$1.96 MX$34.05
$1.83 R 30.03
7.10%
Eggs
$2.60 MX$45.21
$2.50 R 41.02
4.00%
Local Cheese (1kg)
$9.94 MX$173
$8.65 R 142
14.91%
Chicken Fillets (1kg)
$8.10 MX$141
$5.06 R 83.0
60.08%
Beef Round Steak (1kg)
$11.50 MX$200
$7.58 R 124
51.72%
Apples (1kg)
$2.87 MX$49.84
$1.57 R 25.76
82.80%
Banana (1kg)
$1.73 MX$30.07
$1.41 R 23.18
22.70%
Oranges (1kg)
$2.00 MX$34.73
$1.50 R 24.66
33.33%
Tomato (1kg)
$2.04 MX$35.38
$1.53 R 25.10
33.33%
Potato (1kg)
$2.08 MX$36.14
$1.09 R 17.80
90.83%
Onion (1kg)
$2.20 MX$38.12
$1.18 R 19.39
86.44%
Lettuce (1 head)
$1.45 MX$25.24
$1.06 R 17.38
36.79%
Water (1.5 liter bottle)
$1.07 MX$18.63
$0.99 R 16.19
8.08%
Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)
$4.27 MX$74.2
$3.11 R 51.0
37.30%
Wine (Bottle)
$14.32 MX$249
$6.36 R 104
125.16%
Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)
$1.76 MX$30.62
$1.37 R 22.45
28.47%
Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)
$3.70 MX$64.2
$1.75 R 28.77
111.43%
🚌 Getting Around
Mexico City
Cape Town
Difference
One-way Ticket (Public Transport)
$0.35 MX$6.12
$0.92 R 15.03
-61.96%
Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)
$19.19 MX$333
$48.28 R 792
-60.25%
Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)
$1.34 MX$23.18
$1.38 R 22.59
-2.90%
Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)
$0.28 MX$4.83
$0.93 R 15.26
-69.89%
Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)
$5.33 MX$92.6
$4.37 R 71.6
21.97%
Gasoline (1 liter)
$1.34 MX$23.27
$1.20 R 19.68
11.67%
Midsize Hatchback 1.4l (Volkswagen Golf, Toyota Prius, Honda Civic, etc)
$19.1K MX$332.0K
$21.6K R 354.1K
-11.42%
Compact Sedan 1.6l (Toyota Corolla, Mazda3, Kia K4, Hyundai Elantra, etc)
$23.9K MX$414.5K
$24.0K R 393.7K
-0.52%
🧾 Monthly Utilities & Internet
Mexico City
Cape Town
Difference
Utilities for 2 People in 2-bedroom Apartment (Heating, Electricity, Gas, Water, Garbage) (85m2)
$39.86 MX$692
$101 R 1,664
-60.71%
SIM Card Monthly Plan (Calls and 10GB+ Data)
$26.78 MX$465
$32.97 R 541
-18.77%
Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)
$29.36 MX$510
$40.85 R 670
-28.13%
🎉 Sport & Entertainment
Mexico City
Cape Town
Difference
Gym Membership (Monthly)
$53.4 MX$927
$42.59 R 698
25.45%
Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)
$26.09 MX$453
$7.89 R 129
230.67%
Cinema Ticket
$6.40 MX$111
$6.62 R 109
-3.32%
🧸 Childcare & Education
Mexico City
Cape Town
Difference
Preschool or Kindergarten, Full Day, Private, 1 Child (Monthly)
$440 MX$7,647
$213 R 3,490
106.99%
International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)
$10.8K MX$186.6K
$5,331 R 87.4K
101.68%
👕👟 Clothing & Footwear
Mexico City
Cape Town
Difference
Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)
$57.6 MX$1,000
$54.6 R 896
5.47%
Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)
$45.02 MX$781
$33.27 R 546
35.32%
Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)
$104 MX$1,801
$114 R 1,878
-9.40%
Men's Leather Business Shoes
$108 MX$1,874
$84.0 R 1,377
28.53%
🏠 Accommodation & Living
Mexico City
Cape Town
Difference
1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)
$1,013 MX$17.6K
$767 R 12.6K
32.12%
1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)
$630 MX$10.9K
$525 R 8,604
20.00%
3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)
$2,162 MX$37.5K
$1,440 R 23.6K
50.10%
3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)
$1,222 MX$21.2K
$1,008 R 16.5K
21.23%
Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)
$3,793 MX$65.8K
$2,240 R 36.7K
69.29%
Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)
$2,332 MX$40.5K
$1,451 R 23.8K
60.73%
💵 Salaries & Financials
Mexico City
Cape Town
Difference
Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)
$1,075 MX$18.7K
$1,707 R 28.0K
-37.02%
20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)
11.34
11.77
-3.65%

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

Last update for Mexico City: April 11, 2026

Last update for Cape Town: April 14, 2026

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

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