Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Mexico City and Harare

For one person, living is cheaper in Harare: $1,018 a month against $1,548 in Mexico City, rent and utilities included – about $6,400 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
49

Cost of Living Index in Harare
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Harare Living Index

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Mexico City

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,548

/mo nomad

Harare

🇿🇼 Zimbabwe

$1,018

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,548 in Mexico City versus $1,018 in Harare.

Mexico City $1,548
Harare $1,018

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,436 in Mexico City versus $1,696 in Harare.

Mexico City $2,436
Harare $1,696

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,323 in Mexico City versus $2,375 in Harare.

Mexico City $3,323
Harare $2,375

Living in Mexico City is roughly 52% more expensive than in Harare, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

The two cities straddle the global median: Mexico City is 14% above, Harare is 25% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$11.02 MX$204

$9.95 ZWL 265

10.75%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$48.68 MX$900

$45.58 ZWL 1,213

6.80%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$10.90 MX$201

$5.63 ZWL 150

93.61%

Cappuccino

$3.68 MX$68.1

$2.98 ZWL 79.3

23.49%

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

$1.63 MX$30.18

$0.94 ZWL 24.95

73.40%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.25 MX$23.07

$0.45 ZWL 11.98

177.78%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.25 MX$60.1

$0.99 ZWL 26.31

228.28%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$5.53 MX$102

$1.95 ZWL 51.8

183.59%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.70 MX$31.50

$1.53 ZWL 40.78

11.11%

White Bread (500g)

$3.02 MX$55.8

$1.02 ZWL 27.05

196.08%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.92 MX$35.53

$1.66 ZWL 44.16

15.66%

Eggs

$2.73 MX$50.5

$1.98 ZWL 52.7

37.88%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$11.77 MX$218

$11.37 ZWL 303

3.52%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.53 MX$176

$5.40 ZWL 144

76.48%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$14.41 MX$266

$6.79 ZWL 181

112.22%

Apples (1kg)

$3.02 MX$55.8

$3.06 ZWL 81.4

-1.31%

Banana (1kg)

$1.89 MX$35.01

$1.63 ZWL 43.25

15.95%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.99 MX$36.70

$2.05 ZWL 54.6

-2.93%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.19 MX$40.38

$1.52 ZWL 40.50

44.08%

Potato (1kg)

$1.92 MX$35.43

$1.73 ZWL 46.09

10.98%

Onion (1kg)

$1.87 MX$34.49

$1.80 ZWL 47.94

3.89%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.44 MX$26.62

$1.29 ZWL 34.35

11.63%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.27 MX$23.39

$1.00 ZWL 26.67

27.00%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$5.22 MX$96.4

$1.95 ZWL 51.8

167.69%

Wine (Bottle)

$16.17 MX$299

$8.33 ZWL 222

94.12%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.90 MX$35.03

$1.38 ZWL 36.62

37.68%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.22 MX$78.0

$1.97 ZWL 52.4

114.21%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.34 MX$6.30

$0.98 ZWL 26.02

-65.31%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$19.65 MX$363

$60.8 ZWL 1,618

-67.69%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$2.00 MX$36.90

$3.88 ZWL 103

-48.45%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.52 MX$9.67

$2.05 ZWL 54.6

-74.63%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$5.34 MX$98.7

$5.12 ZWL 136

4.30%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.52 MX$28.13

$1.79 ZWL 47.75

-15.08%

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

$22.1K MX$408.0K

$21.9K ZWL 582.6K

0.83%

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

$24.5K MX$452.9K

$27.2K ZWL 722.7K

-9.75%

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

$61.1 MX$1,129

$50.7 ZWL 1,348

20.57%

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

$28.58 MX$528

$21.89 ZWL 583

30.56%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$34.47 MX$637

$69.5 ZWL 1,849

-50.39%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$56.4 MX$1,042

$47.15 ZWL 1,255

19.53%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$24.88 MX$460

$22.40 ZWL 596

11.07%

Cinema Ticket

$6.66 MX$123

$10.18 ZWL 271

-34.58%

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

$427 MX$7,891

$467 ZWL 12.4K

-8.49%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$11.6K MX$215.0K

$8,608 ZWL 229.1K

35.18%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$67.8 MX$1,253

$23.43 ZWL 623

189.37%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$52.0 MX$960

$21.48 ZWL 572

141.90%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$106 MX$1,959

$38.24 ZWL 1,018

177.28%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$113 MX$2,080

$40.39 ZWL 1,075

178.63%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,025 MX$18.9K

$384 ZWL 10.2K

167.00%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$654 MX$12.1K

$311 ZWL 8,284

110.15%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,308 MX$42.7K

$835 ZWL 22.2K

176.30%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,242 MX$22.9K

$743 ZWL 19.8K

67.11%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,613 MX$66.8K

$939 ZWL 25.0K

284.82%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,936 MX$35.8K

$393 ZWL 10.4K

393.09%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$964 MX$17.8K

$419 ZWL 11.2K

129.92%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

11.3

13.69

-17.46%

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

Last update for Mexico City: October 20, 2026

Last update for Harare: October 20, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Mexico City

$654 42.3%

Harare

$311 30.6% 52.4% $343

Groceries & Markets

Mexico City

$318 20.6%

Harare

$216 21.2% 32.1% $102

Eating Out

Mexico City

$204 13.2%

Harare

$147 14.4% 28.1% $57

Clothing & Footwear

Mexico City

$152 9.8%

Harare

$56 5.5% 63.5% $97

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Mexico City

$124 8%

Harare

$142 14% 14.4% $18

Sport & Entertainment

Mexico City

$70 4.5%

Harare

$68 6.6% 3.1% $2.2

Getting Around

Mexico City

$26 1.7%

Harare

$79 7.8% 208% $53

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,025 in Mexico City and $384 in Harare. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Mexico City pays 130% 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 $46.00 in Harare for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $318 vs $216 per month, with Harare cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇲🇽 Mexico City

🇿🇼 Harare

🕒 Local time

11:00 11:00 AM

19:00 7:00 PM

8 h ahead of Mexico City

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

9,209,944 Capital

1,606,000 Capital

💱 Currency

Mexican Peso MXN $

Zimbabwean Dollar ZWL $

📈 Exchange rate

100 MXN = 5.41 USD

100 MXN = 4.81 EUR

100 ZWL = 3.76 USD

100 ZWL = 3.34 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

ZWL, USD, EUR to MXN – Mexican Peso Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇲🇽 Mexican Peso ($)

Mexican Peso exchange rates as of October 20, 2026: 1 USD = 18.48 MXN (100 MXN = 5.41 USD). 1 EUR = 20.77 MXN (100 MXN = 4.81 EUR).

Zimbabwean Dollar exchange rates as of October 20, 2026: 1 USD = 26.61 ZWL (100 ZWL = 3.76 USD). 1 EUR = 29.92 ZWL (100 ZWL = 3.34 EUR).

USD to MXN in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Mexico City Harare 14,780 km ≈ 19 h nonstop flight

From you

Mexico City
Harare

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 Harare: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Harare is cheaper overall, especially in groceries, eating out, and clothing. The 52% gap adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

Average pay runs 130% higher in Mexico City, which matters when comparing affordability. Whether that higher income actually nets you more depends on your spending habits and housing choices.

Rent for a central apartment: $1,025 in Mexico City versus $384 in Harare. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $427 in Mexico City versus $467 in Harare. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Supermarket bills run roughly 47% higher in Mexico City. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

At $1,018 in Harare versus $1,548 in Mexico City, a $1,500 budget is realistic in Harare but tight or insufficient in Mexico City. The gap between the two cities makes Harare the clear choice for anyone on this budget.

For families, Harare is more practical. Housing and childcare are both notably cheaper than in Mexico City, and the savings on those two alone free up budget for education, activities, and family trips.

Expats usually find Harare gentler on the wallet – expenses run 52% less than in Mexico City. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.