Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Mexico City and Kuala Terengganu

For one person, living is cheaper in Kuala Terengganu: $924 a month against $1,567 in Mexico City, rent and utilities included – about $7,700 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

76

Cost of Living Index in Mexico City
Learn more

Mexico City Living Index
45

Cost of Living Index in Kuala Terengganu
Learn more

Kuala Terengganu Living Index

Jump to prices

Mexico City

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,567

/mo nomad

Kuala Terengganu

🇲🇾 Malaysia

$924

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Mexico City and in Kuala Terengganu

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,567 in Mexico City versus $924 in Kuala Terengganu.

Mexico City $1,567
Kuala Terengganu $924

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,450 in Mexico City versus $1,372 in Kuala Terengganu.

Mexico City $2,450
Kuala Terengganu $1,372

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,333 in Mexico City versus $1,821 in Kuala Terengganu.

Mexico City $3,333
Kuala Terengganu $1,821

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

The two cities straddle the global median: Mexico City is 16% above, Kuala Terengganu is 32% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$10.75 MX$199

$2.49 MYR 10.15

331.73%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$50.3 MX$929

$23.06 MYR 94.1

117.91%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.10 MX$205

$4.72 MYR 19.25

135.17%

Cappuccino

$3.68 MX$68.1

$2.72 MYR 11.08

35.29%

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

$1.65 MX$30.42

$0.47 MYR 1.90

251.06%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.30 MX$24.08

$0.28 MYR 1.14

364.29%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.32 MX$61.3

$3.56 MYR 14.52

-6.74%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$5.54 MX$102

$4.18 MYR 17.05

32.54%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.77 MX$32.68

$1.70 MYR 6.94

4.12%

White Bread (500g)

$3.05 MX$56.4

$1.02 MYR 4.15

199.02%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.01 MX$37.20

$1.28 MYR 5.22

57.03%

Eggs

$2.77 MX$51.1

$2.13 MYR 8.68

30.05%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$11.91 MX$220

$15.66 MYR 63.9

-23.95%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.33 MX$172

$4.35 MYR 17.73

114.48%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$15.02 MX$278

$8.41 MYR 34.29

78.60%

Apples (1kg)

$3.08 MX$56.8

$3.36 MYR 13.73

-8.33%

Banana (1kg)

$1.95 MX$35.97

$1.61 MYR 6.59

21.12%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.03 MX$37.54

$2.10 MYR 8.59

-3.33%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.21 MX$40.92

$1.50 MYR 6.13

47.33%

Potato (1kg)

$2.02 MX$37.41

$1.47 MYR 6.01

37.41%

Onion (1kg)

$1.82 MX$33.67

$1.09 MYR 4.45

66.97%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.52 MX$28.07

$1.00 MYR 4.09

52.00%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.28 MX$23.65

$0.53 MYR 2.17

141.51%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$5.27 MX$97.4

$4.46 MYR 18.18

18.16%

Wine (Bottle)

$16.12 MX$298

$17.84 MYR 72.8

-9.64%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.95 MX$36.05

$2.92 MYR 11.91

-33.22%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.25 MX$78.6

$4.82 MYR 19.66

-11.83%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.31 MX$5.82

$0.67 MYR 2.75

-53.73%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$19.85 MX$367

$10.62 MYR 43.31

86.91%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$2.00 MX$36.93

$1.27 MYR 5.20

57.48%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.53 MX$9.86

$0.46 MYR 1.89

15.22%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$5.62 MX$104

$6.55 MYR 26.73

-14.20%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.52 MX$28.07

$0.90 MYR 3.65

68.89%

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

$21.0K MX$388.7K

$43.8K MYR 178.8K

-52.01%

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

$25.2K MX$465.3K

$32.1K MYR 131.0K

-21.58%

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

$62.5 MX$1,155

$45.25 MYR 185

38.10%

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

$28.77 MX$532

$8.79 MYR 35.87

227.30%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$34.45 MX$637

$25.10 MYR 102

37.25%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$57.1 MX$1,055

$44.04 MYR 180

29.65%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$24.81 MX$458

$7.97 MYR 32.49

211.29%

Cinema Ticket

$6.67 MX$123

$4.81 MYR 19.61

38.67%

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

$431 MX$7,964

$172 MYR 701

150.63%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$11.7K MX$216.9K

$6,936 MYR 28.3K

69.26%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$70.8 MX$1,308

$57.5 MYR 235

23.05%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$51.8 MX$958

$36.37 MYR 148

42.51%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$109 MX$2,011

$86.5 MYR 353

25.90%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$112 MX$2,076

$68.0 MYR 278

65.08%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,051 MX$19.4K

$361 MYR 1,472

191.42%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$665 MX$12.3K

$312 MYR 1,275

112.83%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,346 MX$43.3K

$722 MYR 2,946

224.87%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,227 MX$22.7K

$471 MYR 1,923

160.19%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,554 MX$65.7K

$2,073 MYR 8,456

71.45%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,977 MX$36.5K

$1,145 MYR 4,669

72.73%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$975 MX$18.0K

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

11.3

4.06

178.33%

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

Last update for Mexico City: October 11, 2026

Last update for Kuala Terengganu: October 10, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Mexico City

$665 42.4%

Kuala Terengganu

$312 33.8% 53% $353

Groceries & Markets

Mexico City

$323 20.6%

Kuala Terengganu

$254 27.5% 21.2% $69

Eating Out

Mexico City

$203 13%

Kuala Terengganu

$96 10.4% 52.8% $107

Clothing & Footwear

Mexico City

$155 9.9%

Kuala Terengganu

$112 12.1% 27.7% $43

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Mexico City

$126 8%

Kuala Terengganu

$79 8.6% 37% $47

Sport & Entertainment

Mexico City

$70 4.5%

Kuala Terengganu

$54 5.8% 23.8% $17

Getting Around

Mexico City

$26 1.6%

Kuala Terengganu

$17 1.8% 34.4% $8.9

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,051 in Mexico City and $361 in Kuala Terengganu. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Dining out: $50.0 in Mexico City vs $23.00 in Kuala Terengganu for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $323 vs $254 per month, with Kuala Terengganu cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇲🇽 Mexico City

🇲🇾 Kuala Terengganu

🕒 Local time

19:46 7:46 PM

09:46 9:46 AM

14 h ahead of Mexico City

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

9,209,944 Capital

375,424

💱 Currency

Mexican Peso MXN $

Malaysian Ringgit MYR RM

📈 Exchange rate

100 MXN = 5.41 USD

100 MXN = 4.81 EUR

1 MYR = 0.245 USD

1 MYR = 0.218 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 October 19, 2026: 1 USD = 18.48 MXN (100 MXN = 5.41 USD). 1 EUR = 20.77 MXN (100 MXN = 4.81 EUR).

Malaysian Ringgit exchange rates as of October 19, 2026: 1 USD = 4.08 MYR (1 MYR = 0.245 USD). 1 EUR = 4.59 MYR (1 MYR = 0.218 EUR).

USD to MXN in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Mexico City Kuala Terengganu 16,340 km ≈ 21 h nonstop flight

From you

Mexico City
Kuala Terengganu

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 Kuala Terengganu: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Mexico City and Kuala Terengganu differ by about 70% in total monthly costs ($1,567 vs $924 including rent). Kuala Terengganu is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

You'd need roughly $2,351 in Mexico City and $1,386 in Kuala Terengganu 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: $1,051 in Mexico City versus $361 in Kuala Terengganu. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

All in, you'll spend $1,567 per month in Mexico City versus $924 in Kuala Terengganu – a 70% gap that adds up to real savings over time for anyone picking the cheaper option.

A monthly transit pass in Kuala Terengganu runs roughly 87% less than in Mexico City. Both cities have functional networks, but the price difference matters if you're watching your budget.

At $924 in Kuala Terengganu versus $1,567 in Mexico City, a $2,000 budget is realistic in Kuala Terengganu but tight or insufficient in Mexico City. The gap between the two cities makes Kuala Terengganu 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.

Safety-wise, Mexico City and Kuala Terengganu are on par. Petty crime is typical for cities this size, and most residents feel comfortable going about their daily routines in either place.

Expats usually find Kuala Terengganu gentler on the wallet – expenses run 70% less than in Mexico City. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.