Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Mexico City and Kota Kinabalu

For one person, living is cheaper in Kota Kinabalu: $946 a month against $1,608 in Mexico City, rent and utilities included – about $7,900 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
46

Cost of Living Index in Kota Kinabalu
Learn more

Kota Kinabalu Living Index

Jump to prices

Mexico City

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,608

/mo nomad

Kota Kinabalu

🇲🇾 Malaysia

$946

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Mexico City and in Kota Kinabalu

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,608 in Mexico City versus $946 in Kota Kinabalu.

Mexico City $1,608
Kota Kinabalu $946

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,549 in Mexico City versus $1,398 in Kota Kinabalu.

Mexico City $2,549
Kota Kinabalu $1,398

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,490 in Mexico City versus $1,850 in Kota Kinabalu.

Mexico City $3,490
Kota Kinabalu $1,850

Living in Mexico City is roughly 70% more expensive than in Kota Kinabalu, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Mexico City is 18% above, Kota Kinabalu is 30% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$10.62 MX$200

$3.63 MYR 14.72

192.56%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$48.35 MX$909

$19.53 MYR 79.2

147.57%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$10.35 MX$194

$4.75 MYR 19.24

117.89%

Cappuccino

$3.69 MX$69.4

$2.61 MYR 10.57

41.38%

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

$1.67 MX$31.32

$0.55 MYR 2.22

203.64%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.27 MX$23.78

$0.30 MYR 1.21

323.33%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.19 MX$60.0

$2.47 MYR 10.00

29.15%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$5.31 MX$99.7

$3.63 MYR 14.72

46.28%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.72 MX$32.41

$1.81 MYR 7.32

-4.97%

White Bread (500g)

$3.04 MX$57.1

$1.32 MYR 5.36

130.30%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.94 MX$36.48

$2.26 MYR 9.16

-14.16%

Eggs

$2.89 MX$54.3

$3.53 MYR 14.30

-18.13%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$10.97 MX$206

$28.39 MYR 115

-61.36%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.25 MX$174

$3.76 MYR 15.25

146.01%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$15.13 MX$284

$6.62 MYR 26.82

128.55%

Apples (1kg)

$3.05 MX$57.3

$2.24 MYR 9.09

36.16%

Banana (1kg)

$1.94 MX$36.48

$1.45 MYR 5.88

33.79%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.03 MX$38.06

$1.99 MYR 8.08

2.01%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.31 MX$43.50

$1.98 MYR 8.04

16.67%

Potato (1kg)

$2.04 MX$38.25

$1.74 MYR 7.07

17.24%

Onion (1kg)

$1.80 MX$33.83

$2.05 MYR 8.29

-12.20%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.48 MX$27.80

$0.94 MYR 3.81

57.45%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.27 MX$23.82

$0.48 MYR 1.94

164.58%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$5.30 MX$99.7

$4.91 MYR 19.89

7.94%

Wine (Bottle)

$16.10 MX$303

$15.67 MYR 63.5

2.74%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.98 MX$37.27

$3.82 MYR 15.47

-48.17%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.25 MX$79.9

$2.40 MYR 9.74

77.08%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.31 MX$5.73

$0.19 MYR 0.77

63.16%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$19.73 MX$371

$25.16 MYR 102

-21.58%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.84 MX$34.53

$2.01 MYR 8.13

-8.46%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.53 MX$10.03

$0.23 MYR 0.93

130.43%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$5.30 MX$99.5

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.51 MX$28.39

$0.77 MYR 3.14

96.10%

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

$21.8K MX$408.8K

$44.7K MYR 181.3K

-51.35%

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

$24.0K MX$450.8K

$35.3K MYR 143.2K

-32.10%

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

$63.0 MX$1,184

$70.5 MYR 286

-10.67%

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

$27.39 MX$515

$9.30 MYR 37.69

194.52%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$35.67 MX$670

$32.18 MYR 130

10.85%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$58.9 MX$1,108

$35.85 MYR 145

64.41%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$23.64 MX$444

$3.04 MYR 12.34

677.63%

Cinema Ticket

$6.40 MX$120

$5.21 MYR 21.13

22.84%

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

$432 MX$8,111

$142 MYR 578

202.96%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$11.4K MX$214.7K

$6,866 MYR 27.8K

66.37%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$68.2 MX$1,282

$82.7 MYR 335

-17.48%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$53.1 MX$999

$37.42 MYR 152

41.98%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$108 MX$2,026

$92.8 MYR 376

16.19%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$117 MX$2,204

$49.47 MYR 201

137.05%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,113 MX$20.9K

$619 MYR 2,511

79.73%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$710 MX$13.4K

$253 MYR 1,026

180.66%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,588 MX$48.6K

$708 MYR 2,870

265.54%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,406 MX$26.4K

$376 MYR 1,523

274.33%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,631 MX$68.2K

$1,810 MYR 7,339

100.57%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$2,135 MX$40.1K

$1,097 MYR 4,447

94.63%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$946 MX$17.8K

$584 MYR 2,366

62.14%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

11.35

3.9

191.03%

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

Last update for Mexico City: October 25, 2026

Last update for Kota Kinabalu: October 26, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Mexico City

$710 44.2%

Kota Kinabalu

$253 26.8% 64.4% $457

Groceries & Markets

Mexico City

$320 19.9%

Kota Kinabalu

$290 30.7% 9.2% $29

Eating Out

Mexico City

$199 12.4%

Kota Kinabalu

$98 10.3% 50.9% $101

Clothing & Footwear

Mexico City

$156 9.7%

Kota Kinabalu

$118 12.5% 24.3% $38

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Mexico City

$126 7.8%

Kota Kinabalu

$112 11.8% 11.2% $14

Sport & Entertainment

Mexico City

$72 4.5%

Kota Kinabalu

$46 4.9% 35.5% $25

Getting Around

Mexico City

$25 1.6%

Kota Kinabalu

$29 3.1% 14.2% $3.6

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,113 in Mexico City and $619 in Kota Kinabalu. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Mexico City pays 62% 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: $48 in Mexico City vs $20 in Kota Kinabalu for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $320 vs $290 per month, with Kota Kinabalu cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇲🇽 Mexico City

🇲🇾 Kota Kinabalu

🕒 Local time

01:33 1:33 AM

15:33 3:33 PM

14 h ahead of Mexico City

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

9,209,944 Capital

500,425

💱 Currency

Mexican Peso MXN $

Malaysian Ringgit MYR RM

📈 Exchange rate

100 MXN = 5.32 USD

100 MXN = 4.77 EUR

1 MYR = 0.247 USD

1 MYR = 0.221 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 = 18.79 MXN (100 MXN = 5.32 USD). 1 EUR = 20.97 MXN (100 MXN = 4.77 EUR).

Malaysian Ringgit exchange rates as of November 2, 2026: 1 USD = 4.05 MYR (1 MYR = 0.247 USD). 1 EUR = 4.52 MYR (1 MYR = 0.221 EUR).

USD to MXN in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Mexico City Kota Kinabalu 15,240 km ≈ 20 h nonstop flight

From you

Mexico City
Kota Kinabalu

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 Kota Kinabalu: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Kota Kinabalu wins on cost – living expenses run 41% lower than in Mexico City. Housing and daily spending are where you’ll feel the difference most, making Kota Kinabalu the obvious pick if budget is a priority.

Average pay runs 62% 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: $1,113 in Mexico City versus $619 in Kota Kinabalu. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

A monthly transit pass in Mexico City runs roughly 22% less than in Kota Kinabalu. The price difference matters if you commute daily and watch your budget.

Childcare runs $432 in Mexico City versus $142 in Kota Kinabalu. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Both cities are expensive relative to $800. Kota Kinabalu is the more realistic option, but even there you’ll need to be disciplined with housing, food, and fun money.

Both work as nomad bases, but Kota Kinabalu delivers better value at $946 monthly. If stretching your runway or maximizing savings is the goal, the price difference makes Kota Kinabalu hard to pass up.

It comes down to priorities – Kota Kinabalu wins on affordability, Mexico City on earning potential. Factor in climate, language, visa rules, and proximity to places that matter to you before deciding.