Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Mexico City and Lausanne

For one person, living is cheaper in Mexico City: $1,608 a month against $3,837 in Lausanne, rent and utilities included – about $26,700 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
183

Cost of Living Index in Lausanne
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Lausanne Living Index

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Mexico City

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,608

/mo nomad

Lausanne

🇨🇭 Switzerland

$3,837

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,608 in Mexico City versus $3,837 in Lausanne.

Mexico City $1,608
Lausanne $3,837

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,549 in Mexico City versus $5,789 in Lausanne.

Mexico City $2,549
Lausanne $5,789

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,490 in Mexico City versus $7,741 in Lausanne.

Mexico City $3,490
Lausanne $7,741

Living in Mexico City costs roughly 58% less than in Lausanne, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Both cities are pricier than the global median: Mexico City 18% above, Lausanne 182% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$10.62 MX$198

$30.81 CHF 25.56

-65.53%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$48.35 MX$901

$116 CHF 96.0

-58.23%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$10.35 MX$193

$17.81 CHF 14.77

-41.89%

Cappuccino

$3.69 MX$68.8

$6.13 CHF 5.08

-39.80%

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

$1.67 MX$31.07

$5.17 CHF 4.29

-67.70%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.27 MX$23.59

$4.15 CHF 3.44

-69.40%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.19 MX$59.5

$10.14 CHF 8.42

-68.54%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$5.31 MX$98.9

$9.59 CHF 7.95

-44.63%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.72 MX$32.15

$2.22 CHF 1.84

-22.52%

White Bread (500g)

$3.04 MX$56.7

$3.81 CHF 3.16

-20.21%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.94 MX$36.19

$3.28 CHF 2.72

-40.85%

Eggs

$2.89 MX$53.8

$7.24 CHF 6.00

-60.08%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$10.97 MX$205

$24.40 CHF 20.24

-55.04%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.25 MX$172

$27.51 CHF 22.82

-66.38%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$15.13 MX$282

$39.81 CHF 33.02

-61.99%

Apples (1kg)

$3.05 MX$56.8

$3.54 CHF 2.93

-13.84%

Banana (1kg)

$1.94 MX$36.19

$2.15 CHF 1.78

-9.77%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.03 MX$37.75

$2.49 CHF 2.07

-18.47%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.31 MX$43.15

$4.49 CHF 3.73

-48.55%

Potato (1kg)

$2.04 MX$37.94

$1.86 CHF 1.54

9.68%

Onion (1kg)

$1.80 MX$33.55

$1.94 CHF 1.61

-7.22%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.48 MX$27.58

$1.99 CHF 1.65

-25.63%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.27 MX$23.63

$1.69 CHF 1.40

-24.85%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$5.30 MX$98.9

$10.99 CHF 9.12

-51.77%

Wine (Bottle)

$16.10 MX$300

$14.96 CHF 12.41

7.62%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.98 MX$36.97

$2.64 CHF 2.19

-25.00%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.25 MX$79.3

$3.13 CHF 2.60

35.78%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.31 MX$5.69

$4.68 CHF 3.88

-93.38%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$19.73 MX$368

$96.1 CHF 79.7

-79.46%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.84 MX$34.25

$7.94 CHF 6.58

-76.83%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.53 MX$9.94

$4.45 CHF 3.69

-88.09%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$5.30 MX$98.7

$83.5 CHF 69.2

-93.65%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.51 MX$28.16

$2.31 CHF 1.91

-34.63%

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

$21.8K MX$405.5K

$39.4K CHF 32.7K

-44.79%

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

$24.0K MX$447.1K

$39.6K CHF 32.8K

-39.37%

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

$63.0 MX$1,174

$299 CHF 248

-78.93%

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

$27.39 MX$511

$37.02 CHF 30.71

-26.01%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$35.67 MX$665

$52.2 CHF 43.26

-31.60%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$58.9 MX$1,099

$70.6 CHF 58.6

-16.56%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$23.64 MX$441

$48.90 CHF 40.56

-51.66%

Cinema Ticket

$6.40 MX$119

$24.49 CHF 20.32

-73.87%

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

$432 MX$8,045

$2,960 CHF 2,455

-85.42%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$11.4K MX$212.9K

$36.8K CHF 30.5K

-68.93%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$68.2 MX$1,272

$143 CHF 119

-52.36%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$53.1 MX$990

$78.8 CHF 65.4

-32.58%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$108 MX$2,009

$139 CHF 116

-22.73%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$117 MX$2,186

$213 CHF 177

-44.96%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,113 MX$20.8K

$2,369 CHF 1,966

-53.01%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$710 MX$13.2K

$1,863 CHF 1,545

-61.86%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,588 MX$48.2K

$4,244 CHF 3,520

-39.01%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,406 MX$26.2K

$3,230 CHF 2,680

-56.48%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,631 MX$67.7K

$18.4K CHF 15.3K

-80.27%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$2,135 MX$39.8K

$13.6K CHF 11.2K

-84.25%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$946 MX$17.6K

$6,587 CHF 5,465

-85.64%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

11.35

1.95

482.05%

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

Last update for Mexico City: October 25, 2026

Last update for Lausanne: October 27, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Mexico City

$710 44.2%

Lausanne

$1.9K 48.6% 162% $1.2K

Groceries & Markets

Mexico City

$320 19.9%

Lausanne

$583 15.2% 82.3% $263

Eating Out

Mexico City

$199 12.4%

Lausanne

$481 12.5% 142% $282

Clothing & Footwear

Mexico City

$156 9.7%

Lausanne

$259 6.7% 65.9% $103

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Mexico City

$126 7.8%

Lausanne

$388 10.1% 208% $262

Sport & Entertainment

Mexico City

$72 4.5%

Lausanne

$120 3.1% 66.8% $48

Getting Around

Mexico City

$25 1.6%

Lausanne

$145 3.8% 469% $120

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,113 in Mexico City and $2,369 in Lausanne. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Lausanne pays about 7 times more on average. How far that income stretches comes down to housing choices and lifestyle.

Dining out: $48 in Mexico City vs $116 in Lausanne for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $320 vs $583 per month, with Mexico City cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇲🇽 Mexico City

🇨🇭 Lausanne

🕒 Local time

13:03 1:03 PM

20:03 8:03 PM

7 h ahead of Mexico City

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

9,209,944 Capital

133,521

💱 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 Lausanne 9,590 km ≈ 12 h nonstop flight

From you

Mexico City
Lausanne

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 Lausanne: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Mexico City and Lausanne differ by about 139% in total monthly costs ($1,608 vs $3,837 including rent). Mexico City is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

On paper, salaries run 86% lower in Mexico City. That’s worth factoring in alongside costs, though remote workers earning in a stronger currency may not notice the difference at all.

Rent for a central apartment: $1,113 in Mexico City versus $2,369 in Lausanne. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Dining out is cheaper in Mexico City – a meal for two runs $48 versus $116 in Lausanne. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

All in, you’ll spend $1,608 per month in Mexico City versus $3,837 in Lausanne – a 139% gap that adds up to real savings over time for anyone picking the cheaper option.

At $1,608 in Mexico City versus $3,837 in Lausanne, a $3,000 budget is realistic in Mexico City but tight or insufficient in Lausanne. The gap between the two cities makes Mexico City the clear choice for anyone on this budget.

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

Expats usually find Mexico City gentler on the wallet – expenses run 58% less than in Lausanne. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.