Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Mexico City and Macao

For one person, living is cheaper in Mexico City: $1,608 a month against $2,158 in Macao, rent and utilities included – about $6,600 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
104

Cost of Living Index in Macao
Learn more

Macao Living Index

Jump to prices

Mexico City

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,608

/mo nomad

Macao

🇲🇴 Macao (China)

$2,158

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,608 in Mexico City versus $2,158 in Macao.

Mexico City $1,608
Macao $2,158

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,549 in Mexico City versus $3,053 in Macao.

Mexico City $2,549
Macao $3,053

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,490 in Mexico City versus $3,948 in Macao.

Mexico City $3,490
Macao $3,948

Living in Mexico City costs roughly 25% less than in Macao, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Both cities are pricier than the global median: Mexico City 18% above, Macao 59% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$10.62 MX$199

$6.37 MOP 51.5

66.72%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$48.35 MX$908

$55.4 MOP 447

-12.68%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$10.35 MX$194

$5.76 MOP 46.56

79.69%

Cappuccino

$3.69 MX$69.3

$4.97 MOP 40.18

-25.75%

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

$1.67 MX$31.29

$1.05 MOP 8.46

59.05%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.27 MX$23.76

$0.78 MOP 6.33

62.82%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.19 MX$59.9

$5.66 MOP 45.72

-43.64%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$5.31 MX$99.6

$7.34 MOP 59.3

-27.66%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.72 MX$32.38

$3.12 MOP 25.18

-44.87%

White Bread (500g)

$3.04 MX$57.1

$1.71 MOP 13.78

77.78%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.94 MX$36.44

$1.72 MOP 13.89

12.79%

Eggs

$2.89 MX$54.2

$3.50 MOP 28.25

-17.43%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$10.97 MX$206

$15.90 MOP 128

-31.01%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.25 MX$174

$19.42 MOP 157

-52.37%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$15.13 MX$284

$29.46 MOP 238

-48.64%

Apples (1kg)

$3.05 MX$57.2

$2.58 MOP 20.84

18.22%

Banana (1kg)

$1.94 MX$36.45

$2.86 MOP 23.08

-32.17%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.03 MX$38.02

$1.89 MOP 15.24

7.41%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.31 MX$43.46

$2.44 MOP 19.73

-5.33%

Potato (1kg)

$2.04 MX$38.21

$3.95 MOP 31.94

-48.35%

Onion (1kg)

$1.80 MX$33.79

$2.94 MOP 23.74

-38.78%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.48 MX$27.77

$0.62 MOP 5.00

138.71%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.27 MX$23.80

$1.14 MOP 9.21

11.40%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$5.30 MX$99.6

$6.64 MOP 53.7

-20.18%

Wine (Bottle)

$16.10 MX$302

$12.16 MOP 98.2

32.40%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.98 MX$37.23

$1.78 MOP 14.41

11.24%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.25 MX$79.8

$2.31 MOP 18.68

83.98%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.31 MX$5.73

$0.71 MOP 5.76

-56.34%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$19.73 MX$371

$22.93 MOP 185

-13.96%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.84 MX$34.50

$2.66 MOP 21.53

-30.83%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.53 MX$10.02

$1.24 MOP 9.99

-57.26%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$5.30 MX$99.4

$15.00 MOP 121

-64.67%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.51 MX$28.36

$1.76 MOP 14.21

-14.20%

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

$21.8K MX$408.4K

$31.1K MOP 251.4K

-30.08%

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

$24.0K MX$450.3K

$31.4K MOP 253.5K

-23.55%

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

$63.0 MX$1,182

$122 MOP 989

-48.52%

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

$27.39 MX$514

$24.02 MOP 194

14.03%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$35.67 MX$670

$36.91 MOP 298

-3.36%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$58.9 MX$1,107

$95.6 MOP 772

-38.35%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$23.64 MX$444

$3.64 MOP 29.43

549.45%

Cinema Ticket

$6.40 MX$120

$14.43 MOP 117

-55.65%

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

$432 MX$8,103

$1,194 MOP 9,646

-63.85%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$11.4K MX$214.5K

$19.4K MOP 156.7K

-41.12%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$68.2 MX$1,281

$68.8 MOP 556

-0.87%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$53.1 MX$997

$33.15 MOP 268

60.27%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$108 MX$2,023

$91.5 MOP 739

17.83%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$117 MX$2,202

$136 MOP 1,095

-13.50%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,113 MX$20.9K

$1,095 MOP 8,850

1.66%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$710 MX$13.3K

$1,065 MOP 8,605

-33.30%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,588 MX$48.6K

$2,089 MOP 16.9K

23.89%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,406 MX$26.4K

$1,452 MOP 11.7K

-3.18%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,631 MX$68.2K

$9,783 MOP 79.0K

-62.88%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$2,135 MX$40.1K

$6,861 MOP 55.4K

-68.88%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$946 MX$17.8K

$2,042 MOP 16.5K

-53.66%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

11.35

278.33%

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

Last update for Mexico City: October 25, 2026

Last update for Macao: October 24, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Mexico City

$710 44.2%

Macao

$1.1K 49.4% 49.9% $355

Groceries & Markets

Mexico City

$320 19.9%

Macao

$424 19.6% 32.6% $104

Eating Out

Mexico City

$199 12.4%

Macao

$178 8.3% 10.3% $20

Clothing & Footwear

Mexico City

$156 9.7%

Macao

$148 6.9% 5% $7.8

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Mexico City

$126 7.8%

Macao

$183 8.5% 45.4% $57

Sport & Entertainment

Mexico City

$72 4.5%

Macao

$124 5.8% 73.5% $53

Getting Around

Mexico City

$25 1.6%

Macao

$35 1.6% 36% $9.2

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,113 in Mexico City and $1,095 in Macao. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Macao pays about 2.2 times more on average. How far that income stretches comes down to housing choices and lifestyle.

Dining out: $48 in Mexico City vs $55 in Macao for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $320 vs $424 per month, with Mexico City cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇲🇽 Mexico City

🇲🇴 Macao

🕒 Local time

14:32 2:32 PM

04:32 4:32 AM

14 h ahead of Mexico City

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

9,209,944 Capital

622,567 Capital

💱 Currency

Mexican Peso MXN $

Macanese Pataca MOP P

📈 Exchange rate

100 MXN = 5.33 USD

100 MXN = 4.77 EUR

1 MOP = 0.124 USD

1 MOP = 0.111 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

MOP, USD, EUR to MXN – Mexican Peso Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇲🇽 Mexican Peso ($)

Mexican Peso exchange rates as of November 1, 2026: 1 USD = 18.77 MXN (100 MXN = 5.33 USD). 1 EUR = 20.96 MXN (100 MXN = 4.77 EUR).

Macanese Pataca exchange rates as of November 1, 2026: 1 USD = 8.08 MOP (1 MOP = 0.124 USD). 1 EUR = 9.02 MOP (1 MOP = 0.111 EUR).

USD to MXN in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Mexico City Macao 14,180 km ≈ 18 h nonstop flight

From you

Mexico City
Macao

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 Macao: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Mexico City wins on cost – living expenses run 25% lower than in Macao. Housing and daily spending are where you’ll feel the difference most, making Mexico City the obvious pick if budget is a priority.

On paper, salaries run 54% 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 $1,095 in Macao. 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 $55 in Macao. 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 $2,158 in Macao – Mexico City is about 25% cheaper, which adds up to real savings over time.

Either city works on $3,000 a month, though Mexico City gives you more room to save. At this income level, the choice is more about lifestyle than financial pressure.

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.

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