Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Mexico City and Kulim

For one person, living is cheaper in Kulim: $891 a month against $1,608 in Mexico City, rent and utilities included – about $8,600 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

78

Cost of Living Index in Mexico City
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Mexico City Living Index
45

Cost of Living Index in Kulim
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Kulim Living Index

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Mexico City

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,608

/mo nomad

Kulim

🇲🇾 Malaysia

$891

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

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

A single person spends $1,608 per month in Mexico City vs $891 in Kulim, rent included.

Mexico City $1,608
Kulim $891

A couple spends around $2,549 per month in Mexico City vs $1,374 in Kulim, rent included.

Mexico City $2,549
Kulim $1,374

A family of three spends $3,490 per month in Mexico City vs $1,857 in Kulim, rent included.

Mexico City $3,490
Kulim $1,857

Mexico City costs about 81% more than Kulim, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Mexico City sits 18% above the global median, while Kulim is 35% below – they fall on opposite sides of the world average.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$10.62 MX$198

$3.72 MYR 15.17

185.48%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$48.35 MX$901

$19.45 MYR 79.3

148.59%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$10.35 MX$193

$4.53 MYR 18.45

128.48%

Cappuccino

$3.69 MX$68.8

$2.89 MYR 11.76

27.68%

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

$1.67 MX$31.07

$0.78 MYR 3.19

114.10%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.27 MX$23.59

$0.42 MYR 1.70

202.38%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.19 MX$59.5

$3.90 MYR 15.90

-18.21%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$5.31 MX$98.9

$4.61 MYR 18.76

15.18%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.72 MX$32.15

$1.96 MYR 7.97

-12.24%

White Bread (500g)

$3.04 MX$56.7

$1.23 MYR 5.00

147.15%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.94 MX$36.19

$1.30 MYR 5.29

49.23%

Eggs

$2.89 MX$53.8

$2.23 MYR 9.07

29.60%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$10.97 MX$205

$12.68 MYR 51.7

-13.49%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.25 MX$172

$3.85 MYR 15.70

140.26%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$15.13 MX$282

$10.72 MYR 43.69

41.14%

Apples (1kg)

$3.05 MX$56.8

$3.05 MYR 12.42

Banana (1kg)

$1.94 MX$36.19

$1.89 MYR 7.68

2.65%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.03 MX$37.75

$2.55 MYR 10.37

-20.39%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.31 MX$43.15

$1.44 MYR 5.88

60.42%

Potato (1kg)

$2.04 MX$37.94

$1.19 MYR 4.83

71.43%

Onion (1kg)

$1.80 MX$33.55

$1.36 MYR 5.54

32.35%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.48 MX$27.58

$1.08 MYR 4.41

37.04%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.27 MX$23.63

$0.53 MYR 2.15

139.62%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$5.30 MX$98.9

$4.47 MYR 18.22

18.57%

Wine (Bottle)

$16.10 MX$300

$21.05 MYR 85.8

-23.52%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.98 MX$36.97

$3.07 MYR 12.49

-35.50%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.25 MX$79.3

$3.90 MYR 15.90

8.97%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.31 MX$5.69

$0.75 MYR 3.06

-58.67%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$19.73 MX$368

$12.64 MYR 51.5

56.09%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.84 MX$34.25

$1.04 MYR 4.23

76.92%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.53 MX$9.94

$0.56 MYR 2.28

-5.36%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$5.30 MX$98.7

$8.26 MYR 33.64

-35.84%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.51 MX$28.16

$0.74 MYR 3.00

104.05%

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

$21.8K MX$405.5K

$48.9K MYR 199.1K

-55.49%

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

$24.0K MX$447.1K

$30.9K MYR 125.9K

-22.40%

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

$63.0 MX$1,174

$45.19 MYR 184

39.37%

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

$27.39 MX$511

$8.70 MYR 35.44

214.83%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$35.67 MX$665

$25.83 MYR 105

38.10%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$58.9 MX$1,099

$36.10 MYR 147

63.27%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$23.64 MX$441

$7.37 MYR 30.04

220.76%

Cinema Ticket

$6.40 MX$119

$4.46 MYR 18.16

43.50%

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

$432 MX$8,045

$268 MYR 1,091

61.26%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$11.4K MX$212.9K

$7,096 MYR 28.9K

60.98%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$68.2 MX$1,272

$62.2 MYR 253

9.75%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$53.1 MX$990

$30.78 MYR 125

72.61%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$108 MX$2,009

$77.2 MYR 314

39.65%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$117 MX$2,186

$70.8 MYR 289

65.54%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,113 MX$20.8K

$419 MYR 1,707

165.72%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$710 MX$13.2K

$265 MYR 1,079

168.29%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,588 MX$48.2K

$763 MYR 3,110

239.08%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,406 MX$26.2K

$497 MYR 2,026

182.77%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,631 MX$67.7K

$2,141 MYR 8,723

69.61%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$2,135 MX$39.8K

$1,272 MYR 5,184

67.79%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$946 MX$17.6K

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

11.35

4.06

179.56%

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

Last update for Mexico City: October 25, 2026

Last update for Kulim: October 26, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Mexico City

$710 44.2%

Kulim

$265 29.7% 62.7% $446

Groceries & Markets

Mexico City

$320 19.9%

Kulim

$262 29.4% 18.1% $58

Eating Out

Mexico City

$199 12.4%

Kulim

$112 12.5% 43.9% $87

Clothing & Footwear

Mexico City

$156 9.7%

Kulim

$108 12.2% 30.4% $47

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Mexico City

$126 7.8%

Kulim

$80 9% 36.8% $46

Sport & Entertainment

Mexico City

$72 4.5%

Kulim

$45 5.1% 37.2% $27

Getting Around

Mexico City

$25 1.6%

Kulim

$19 2.2% 23.5% $6

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $1,113 in Mexico City versus $419 in Kulim. Rent is usually the largest line item in a monthly budget, so the gap here sets the tone for the overall comparison.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $48 in Mexico City versus $19 in Kulim. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $320 vs $262 – making Kulim the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇲🇽 Mexico City

🇲🇾 Kulim

🕒 Local time

06:10 6:10 AM

20:10 8:10 PM

14 h ahead of Mexico City

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

9,209,944 Capital

319,056

💱 Currency

Mexican Peso MXN $

Malaysian Ringgit MYR RM

📈 Exchange rate

100 MXN = 5.36 USD

100 MXN = 4.82 EUR

1 MYR = 0.245 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 October 28, 2026: 1 USD = 18.64 MXN (100 MXN = 5.36 USD). 1 EUR = 20.75 MXN (100 MXN = 4.82 EUR).

Malaysian Ringgit exchange rates as of October 28, 2026: 1 USD = 4.07 MYR (1 MYR = 0.245 USD). 1 EUR = 4.53 MYR (1 MYR = 0.221 EUR).

USD to MXN in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Mexico City Kulim 16,520 km ≈ 21 h nonstop flight

From you

Mexico City
Kulim

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 Kulim: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Mexico City costs about 81% more than Kulim, and outside of rent the gap comes mainly from eating out. 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 $1,336 in Kulim. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

Rent is clearly cheaper in Kulim, especially for central apartments: a one-bedroom in the center costs $419 there versus $1,113 in Mexico City.

Groceries cost about 22% more in Mexico City, though it depends on what you buy. Local produce may be comparable; imported and premium items show the biggest price gap.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $48 in Mexico City and $19 in Kulim. That’s a good indicator of the overall restaurant and café pricing gap between the two cities.

$800 is a stretch for both – monthly costs hit $1,608 in Mexico City and $891 in Kulim. You’ll need shared housing and careful budgeting no matter which city you pick.

Families tend to lean toward Kulim – lower housing and cheaper childcare make a real difference, especially on a single income or when paying for private education.

For expats, Kulim is the easier option financially – housing and daily costs are lower, and the 81% gap matters a lot on a fixed budget or early-career salary.