Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Mexico City and Cham

For one person, living is cheaper in Mexico City: $1,608 a month against $3,575 in Cham, rent and utilities included – about $23,600 less a year. Rent and utilities account for about half of the difference.

78

Cost of Living Index in Mexico City
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Mexico City Living Index
172

Cost of Living Index in Cham
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Cham Living Index

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Mexico City

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,608

/mo nomad

Cham

🇨🇭 Switzerland

$3,575

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,608 in Mexico City versus $3,575 in Cham.

Mexico City $1,608
Cham $3,575

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,549 in Mexico City versus $5,453 in Cham.

Mexico City $2,549
Cham $5,453

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,490 in Mexico City versus $7,331 in Cham.

Mexico City $3,490
Cham $7,331

Living in Mexico City costs roughly 55% less than in Cham, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Both cities are pricier than the global median: Mexico City 18% above, Cham 163% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$10.62 MX$198

$29.74 CHF 24.67

-64.29%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$48.35 MX$901

$122 CHF 101

-60.26%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$10.35 MX$193

$17.93 CHF 14.87

-42.28%

Cappuccino

$3.69 MX$68.8

$5.82 CHF 4.83

-36.60%

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

$1.67 MX$31.07

$5.32 CHF 4.42

-68.61%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.27 MX$23.59

$4.87 CHF 4.04

-73.92%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.19 MX$59.5

$8.45 CHF 7.01

-62.25%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$5.31 MX$98.9

$6.53 CHF 5.42

-18.68%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.72 MX$32.15

$2.13 CHF 1.76

-19.25%

White Bread (500g)

$3.04 MX$56.7

$3.76 CHF 3.12

-19.15%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.94 MX$36.19

$3.62 CHF 3.00

-46.41%

Eggs

$2.89 MX$53.8

$7.27 CHF 6.03

-60.25%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$10.97 MX$205

$26.38 CHF 21.88

-58.42%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.25 MX$172

$28.65 CHF 23.77

-67.71%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$15.13 MX$282

$42.06 CHF 34.89

-64.03%

Apples (1kg)

$3.05 MX$56.8

$3.91 CHF 3.25

-21.99%

Banana (1kg)

$1.94 MX$36.19

$2.15 CHF 1.78

-9.77%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.03 MX$37.75

$3.10 CHF 2.57

-34.52%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.31 MX$43.15

$4.58 CHF 3.80

-49.56%

Potato (1kg)

$2.04 MX$37.94

$2.25 CHF 1.87

-9.33%

Onion (1kg)

$1.80 MX$33.55

$2.24 CHF 1.86

-19.64%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.48 MX$27.58

$2.39 CHF 1.98

-38.08%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.27 MX$23.63

$1.11 CHF 0.92

14.41%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$5.30 MX$98.9

$11.02 CHF 9.15

-51.91%

Wine (Bottle)

$16.10 MX$300

$12.08 CHF 10.02

33.28%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.98 MX$36.97

$2.82 CHF 2.34

-29.79%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.25 MX$79.3

$3.10 CHF 2.58

37.10%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.31 MX$5.69

$5.13 CHF 4.26

-93.96%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$19.73 MX$368

$146 CHF 121

-86.49%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.84 MX$34.25

$4.44 CHF 3.69

-58.56%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.53 MX$9.94

$2.96 CHF 2.45

-82.09%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$5.30 MX$98.7

$59.7 CHF 49.49

-91.12%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.51 MX$28.16

$2.19 CHF 1.82

-31.05%

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

$21.8K MX$405.5K

$39.7K CHF 32.9K

-45.17%

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

$24.0K MX$447.1K

$39.9K CHF 33.1K

-39.90%

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

$63.0 MX$1,174

$286 CHF 237

-77.98%

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

$27.39 MX$511

$29.15 CHF 24.18

-6.04%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$35.67 MX$665

$54.8 CHF 45.49

-34.96%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$58.9 MX$1,099

$85.3 CHF 70.7

-30.86%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$23.64 MX$441

$40.01 CHF 33.19

-40.91%

Cinema Ticket

$6.40 MX$119

$22.10 CHF 18.34

-71.04%

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

$432 MX$8,045

$1,488 CHF 1,234

-70.99%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$11.4K MX$212.9K

$24.7K CHF 20.5K

-53.75%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$68.2 MX$1,272

$137 CHF 114

-50.23%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$53.1 MX$990

$54.0 CHF 44.76

-1.52%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$108 MX$2,009

$157 CHF 130

-31.39%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$117 MX$2,186

$249 CHF 206

-52.81%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,113 MX$20.8K

$1,780 CHF 1,477

-37.46%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$710 MX$13.2K

$1,566 CHF 1,299

-54.64%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,588 MX$48.2K

$2,896 CHF 2,402

-10.63%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,406 MX$26.2K

$2,704 CHF 2,243

-48.01%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,631 MX$67.7K

$13.0K CHF 10.8K

-72.11%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$2,135 MX$39.8K

$11.7K CHF 9,730

-81.80%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$946 MX$17.6K

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

11.35

2.03

459.11%

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

Last update for Mexico City: October 25, 2026

Last update for Cham: October 24, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Mexico City

$710 44.2%

Cham

$1.6K 43.8% 121% $856

Groceries & Markets

Mexico City

$320 19.9%

Cham

$597 16.7% 86.9% $278

Eating Out

Mexico City

$199 12.4%

Cham

$458 12.8% 130% $259

Clothing & Footwear

Mexico City

$156 9.7%

Cham

$268 7.5% 72.2% $113

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Mexico City

$126 7.8%

Cham

$370 10.4% 194% $244

Sport & Entertainment

Mexico City

$72 4.5%

Cham

$129 3.6% 80.4% $58

Getting Around

Mexico City

$25 1.6%

Cham

$186 5.2% 630% $160

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,113 in Mexico City and $1,780 in Cham. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Dining out: $48 in Mexico City vs $122 in Cham for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $320 vs $597 per month, with Mexico City cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇲🇽 Mexico City

🇨🇭 Cham

🕒 Local time

14:22 2:22 PM

21:22 9:22 PM

7 h ahead of Mexico City

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

9,209,944 Capital

17,060

💱 Currency

Mexican Peso MXN $

Swiss Franc CHF Fr

📈 Exchange rate

100 MXN = 5.36 USD

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

Swiss Franc exchange rates as of October 28, 2026: 1 USD = 0.83 CHF (1 CHF = 1.21 USD). 1 EUR = 0.924 CHF (1 CHF = 1.08 EUR).

USD to MXN in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Mexico City Cham 9,690 km ≈ 13 h nonstop flight

From you

Mexico City
Cham

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 Cham: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Mexico City is about 55% cheaper overall, especially in groceries, eating out, and transport. That difference adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

You’d need roughly $2,412 in Mexico City and $5,362 in Cham 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 $1,780 in Cham. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $432 in Mexico City versus $1,488 in Cham. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Supermarket bills run roughly 87% higher in Cham. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

At $1,608 in Mexico City versus $3,575 in Cham, a $3,000 budget is realistic in Mexico City but tight or insufficient in Cham. 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.

Expats usually find Mexico City gentler on the wallet – expenses run 55% less than in Cham. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.