Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Mexico City and Cape Town

For one person, living costs are similar in Mexico City and in Cape Town: $1,608 and $1,556 a month, rent and utilities included.

78

Cost of Living Index in Mexico City
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Mexico City Living Index
75

Cost of Living Index in Cape Town
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Cape Town Living Index

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Mexico City

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,608

/mo nomad

Cape Town

🇿🇦 South Africa

$1,556

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Mexico City and in Cape Town

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

A single person spends $1,608 per month in Mexico City vs $1,556 in Cape Town, rent included.

Mexico City $1,608
Cape Town $1,556

A couple spends around $2,549 per month in Mexico City vs $2,432 in Cape Town, rent included.

Mexico City $2,549
Cape Town $2,432

A family of three spends $3,490 per month in Mexico City vs $3,307 in Cape Town, rent included.

Mexico City $3,490
Cape Town $3,307

Mexico City costs about 3% more than Cape Town, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Both Mexico City and Cape Town sit above the global median – Mexico City by 18%, Cape Town by 14%.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$10.62 MX$198

$12.09 R 202

-12.16%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$48.35 MX$901

$44.34 R 739

9.04%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$10.35 MX$193

$6.15 R 102

68.29%

Cappuccino

$3.69 MX$68.8

$2.36 R 39.30

56.36%

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

$1.67 MX$31.07

$1.26 R 21.06

32.54%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.27 MX$23.59

$1.00 R 16.59

27.00%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.19 MX$59.5

$3.08 R 51.3

3.57%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$5.31 MX$98.9

$3.70 R 61.6

43.51%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.72 MX$32.15

$1.34 R 22.41

28.36%

White Bread (500g)

$3.04 MX$56.7

$1.19 R 19.89

155.46%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.94 MX$36.19

$2.10 R 35.01

-7.62%

Eggs

$2.89 MX$53.8

$3.05 R 50.8

-5.25%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$10.97 MX$205

$8.73 R 146

25.66%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.25 MX$172

$6.97 R 116

32.71%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$15.13 MX$282

$9.39 R 157

61.13%

Apples (1kg)

$3.05 MX$56.8

$1.89 R 31.44

61.38%

Banana (1kg)

$1.94 MX$36.19

$1.88 R 31.32

3.19%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.03 MX$37.75

$1.69 R 28.08

20.12%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.31 MX$43.15

$2.04 R 34.07

13.24%

Potato (1kg)

$2.04 MX$37.94

$1.57 R 26.12

29.94%

Onion (1kg)

$1.80 MX$33.55

$1.48 R 24.65

21.62%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.48 MX$27.58

$1.28 R 21.36

15.62%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.27 MX$23.63

$1.19 R 19.81

6.72%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$5.30 MX$98.9

$3.63 R 60.5

46.01%

Wine (Bottle)

$16.10 MX$300

$6.17 R 103

160.94%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.98 MX$36.97

$1.39 R 23.14

42.45%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.25 MX$79.3

$2.18 R 36.33

94.95%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.31 MX$5.69

$1.37 R 22.83

-77.37%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$19.73 MX$368

$61.3 R 1,021

-67.80%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.84 MX$34.25

$0.57 R 9.58

222.81%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.53 MX$9.94

$1.48 R 24.62

-64.19%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$5.30 MX$98.7

$4.90 R 81.6

8.16%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.51 MX$28.16

$1.58 R 26.29

-4.43%

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

$21.8K MX$405.5K

$34.7K R 578.4K

-37.33%

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

$24.0K MX$447.1K

$34.1K R 568.2K

-29.66%

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

$63.0 MX$1,174

$117 R 1,948

-46.13%

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

$27.39 MX$511

$28.35 R 472

-3.39%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$35.67 MX$665

$40.58 R 676

-12.10%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$58.9 MX$1,099

$48.54 R 809

21.43%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$23.64 MX$441

$10.80 R 180

118.89%

Cinema Ticket

$6.40 MX$119

$9.11 R 152

-29.75%

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

$432 MX$8,045

$302 R 5,032

42.93%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$11.4K MX$212.9K

$6,720 R 112.0K

69.99%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$68.2 MX$1,272

$55.2 R 920

23.52%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$53.1 MX$990

$32.70 R 545

62.48%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$108 MX$2,009

$118 R 1,964

-8.57%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$117 MX$2,186

$104 R 1,731

12.89%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,113 MX$20.8K

$1,041 R 17.3K

6.98%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$710 MX$13.2K

$691 R 11.5K

2.83%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,588 MX$48.2K

$1,981 R 33.0K

30.64%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,406 MX$26.2K

$1,388 R 23.1K

1.32%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,631 MX$67.7K

$2,420 R 40.3K

50.05%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$2,135 MX$39.8K

$1,552 R 25.9K

37.59%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$946 MX$17.6K

$1,576 R 26.3K

-39.96%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

11.35

10.97

3.46%

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

Last update for Mexico City: October 25, 2026

Last update for Cape Town: October 24, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Mexico City

$710 44.2%

Cape Town

$691 44.4% 2.8% $20

Groceries & Markets

Mexico City

$320 19.9%

Cape Town

$224 14.4% 30% $96

Eating Out

Mexico City

$199 12.4%

Cape Town

$175 11.3% 11.7% $23

Clothing & Footwear

Mexico City

$156 9.7%

Cape Town

$139 9% 10.6% $17

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Mexico City

$126 7.8%

Cape Town

$186 11.9% 47.4% $60

Sport & Entertainment

Mexico City

$72 4.5%

Cape Town

$67 4.3% 6.9% $5

Getting Around

Mexico City

$25 1.6%

Cape Town

$75 4.8% 194% $49

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $1,113 in Mexico City versus $1,041 in Cape Town. Rent is usually the largest line item in a monthly budget, so the gap here sets the tone for the overall comparison.

Salaries run about 67% higher in Cape Town, which reinforces the cost advantage – you earn more and spend less. Purchasing power leans clearly in its favor.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $48 in Mexico City versus $44 in Cape Town. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $320 vs $224 – making Cape Town the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇲🇽 Mexico City

🇿🇦 Cape Town

🕒 Local time

13:03 1:03 PM

21:03 9:03 PM

8 h ahead of Mexico City

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

9,209,944 Capital

3,740,026 Capital

💱 Currency

Mexican Peso MXN $

South African Rand ZAR R

📈 Exchange rate

100 MXN = 5.36 USD

100 MXN = 4.82 EUR

100 ZAR = 6 USD

100 ZAR = 5.39 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 28, 2026: 1 USD = 18.64 MXN (100 MXN = 5.36 USD). 1 EUR = 20.75 MXN (100 MXN = 4.82 EUR).

South African Rand exchange rates as of October 28, 2026: 1 USD = 16.66 ZAR (100 ZAR = 6 USD). 1 EUR = 18.55 ZAR (100 ZAR = 5.39 EUR).

USD to MXN in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Mexico City Cape Town 13,700 km ≈ 18 h nonstop flight

From you

Mexico City
Cape Town

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 Cape Town: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Mexico City costs about 3% more than Cape Town, and outside of rent the gap comes mainly from groceries. That’s enough to noticeably affect everyday spending and lifestyle for anyone choosing between the two.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $2,412 per month in Mexico City and $2,335 in Cape Town. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

A central 1-bedroom goes for about $1,113 in Mexico City and $1,041 in Cape Town. The gap holds across neighborhoods – outer areas show a similar spread, just at lower price points.

Monthly expenses with rent come to $1,608 in Mexico City and $1,556 in Cape Town. That’s a gap of about 3%.

Public transport costs about 68% less in Mexico City. For daily commuters, that gap adds up to noticeable savings over a year.

$1,000 is a stretch for both – monthly costs hit $1,608 in Mexico City and $1,556 in Cape Town. You’ll need shared housing and careful budgeting no matter which city you pick.

For digital nomads, it depends on budget. Cape Town costs $1,556 versus $1,608 in Mexico City. Both have workable remote work infrastructure, but the cost gap matters when income varies month to month.