Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Mexico City and Maputo

For one person, living is cheaper in Maputo: $1,127 a month against $1,608 in Mexico City, rent and utilities included – about $5,800 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
54

Cost of Living Index in Maputo
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Maputo Living Index

Jump to prices

Mexico City

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,608

/mo nomad

Maputo

🇲🇿 Mozambique

$1,127

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

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

A single person spends $1,608 per month in Mexico City vs $1,127 in Maputo, rent included.

Mexico City $1,608
Maputo $1,127

A couple spends around $2,549 per month in Mexico City vs $1,729 in Maputo, rent included.

Mexico City $2,549
Maputo $1,729

A family of three spends $3,490 per month in Mexico City vs $2,331 in Maputo, rent included.

Mexico City $3,490
Maputo $2,331

Mexico City costs about 43% more than Maputo, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Mexico City sits 18% above the global median, while Maputo is 17% below – they fall on opposite sides of the world average.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$10.62 MX$199

$10.08 MZN 637

5.36%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$48.35 MX$908

$63.4 MZN 4,010

-23.74%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$10.35 MX$194

$7.01 MZN 443

47.65%

Cappuccino

$3.69 MX$69.3

$2.17 MZN 137

70.05%

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

$1.67 MX$31.29

$0.81 MZN 51.5

106.17%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.27 MX$23.76

$0.69 MZN 43.66

84.06%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.19 MX$59.9

$1.60 MZN 101

99.37%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$5.31 MX$99.6

$2.39 MZN 151

122.18%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.72 MX$32.38

$1.60 MZN 101

7.50%

White Bread (500g)

$3.04 MX$57.1

$0.99 MZN 62.4

207.07%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.94 MX$36.44

$1.59 MZN 101

22.01%

Eggs

$2.89 MX$54.2

$2.47 MZN 156

17.00%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$10.97 MX$206

$20.84 MZN 1,318

-47.36%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.25 MX$174

$5.70 MZN 361

62.28%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$15.13 MX$284

$5.68 MZN 360

166.37%

Apples (1kg)

$3.05 MX$57.2

$1.97 MZN 125

54.82%

Banana (1kg)

$1.94 MX$36.45

$0.76 MZN 48.10

155.26%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.03 MX$38.02

$1.68 MZN 106

20.83%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.31 MX$43.46

$1.09 MZN 69.0

111.93%

Potato (1kg)

$2.04 MX$38.21

$1.00 MZN 63.3

104.00%

Onion (1kg)

$1.80 MX$33.79

$0.81 MZN 51.1

122.22%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.48 MX$27.77

$0.98 MZN 62.2

51.02%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.27 MX$23.80

$0.85 MZN 54.0

49.41%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$5.30 MX$99.6

$2.78 MZN 176

90.65%

Wine (Bottle)

$16.10 MX$302

$10.18 MZN 644

58.15%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.98 MX$37.23

$1.01 MZN 64.0

96.04%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.25 MX$79.8

$1.29 MZN 81.5

229.46%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.31 MX$5.73

$0.22 MZN 13.89

40.91%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$19.73 MX$371

$23.85 MZN 1,508

-17.27%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.84 MX$34.50

$1.60 MZN 101

15.00%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.53 MX$10.02

$1.19 MZN 75.5

-55.46%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$5.30 MX$99.4

$24.69 MZN 1,562

-78.53%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.51 MX$28.36

$1.36 MZN 86.2

11.03%

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

$21.8K MX$408.4K

$31.3K MZN 2.0M

-30.56%

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

$24.0K MX$450.3K

$23.0K MZN 1.5M

4.31%

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

$63.0 MX$1,182

$70.3 MZN 4,444

-10.36%

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

$27.39 MX$514

$7.64 MZN 483

258.51%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$35.67 MX$670

$88.1 MZN 5,573

-59.51%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$58.9 MX$1,107

$42.70 MZN 2,701

38.03%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$23.64 MX$444

$26.59 MZN 1,682

-11.09%

Cinema Ticket

$6.40 MX$120

$7.69 MZN 486

-16.78%

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

$432 MX$8,103

$174 MZN 11.0K

148.76%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$11.4K MX$214.5K

$5,168 MZN 326.9K

121.03%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$68.2 MX$1,281

$50.2 MZN 3,177

35.79%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$53.1 MX$997

$56.0 MZN 3,540

-5.09%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$108 MX$2,023

$79.6 MZN 5,035

35.39%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$117 MX$2,202

$79.2 MZN 5,007

48.12%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,113 MX$20.9K

$547 MZN 34.6K

103.59%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$710 MX$13.3K

$381 MZN 24.1K

86.38%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,588 MX$48.6K

$1,059 MZN 67.0K

144.28%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,406 MX$26.4K

$558 MZN 35.3K

152.01%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,631 MX$68.2K

$4,188 MZN 264.9K

-13.29%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$2,135 MX$40.1K

$2,047 MZN 129.5K

4.31%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$946 MX$17.8K

$326 MZN 20.6K

190.16%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

11.35

-54.60%

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

Last update for Mexico City: October 25, 2026

Last update for Maputo: October 26, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Mexico City

$710 44.2%

Maputo

$381 33.8% 46.3% $329

Groceries & Markets

Mexico City

$320 19.9%

Maputo

$224 19.9% 30% $96

Eating Out

Mexico City

$199 12.4%

Maputo

$147 13% 26.2% $52

Clothing & Footwear

Mexico City

$156 9.7%

Maputo

$119 10.6% 23.5% $37

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Mexico City

$126 7.8%

Maputo

$166 14.7% 31.7% $40

Sport & Entertainment

Mexico City

$72 4.5%

Maputo

$58 5.2% 19% $14

Getting Around

Mexico City

$25 1.6%

Maputo

$32 2.9% 26.8% $6.8

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $1,113 in Mexico City versus $547 in Maputo. Rent is usually the largest line item in a monthly budget, so the gap here sets the tone for the overall comparison.

Salaries in Mexico City are about 2.9 times higher. Purchasing power depends on which expenses matter most to you.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $48 in Mexico City versus $63 in Maputo. Groceries tell a different story – $320 in Mexico City vs $224 in Maputo – so Maputo wins on supermarket bills even if dining out costs more.

Good to know

🇲🇽 Mexico City

🇲🇿 Maputo

🕒 Local time

05:41 5:41 AM

13:41 1:41 PM

8 h ahead of Mexico City

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

9,209,944 Capital

1,244,227 Capital

💱 Currency

Mexican Peso MXN $

Mozambican Metical MZN MT

📈 Exchange rate

100 MXN = 5.33 USD

100 MXN = 4.77 EUR

100 MZN = 1.58 USD

100 MZN = 1.42 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

MZN, 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).

Mozambican Metical exchange rates as of November 1, 2026: 1 USD = 63.25 MZN (100 MZN = 1.58 USD). 1 EUR = 70.62 MZN (100 MZN = 1.42 EUR).

USD to MXN in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Mexico City Maputo 15,030 km ≈ 19 h nonstop flight

From you

Mexico City
Maputo

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 Maputo: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Monthly costs with rent: $1,608 in Mexico City, $1,127 in Maputo – Maputo comes out roughly 30% cheaper. Outside of rent, the biggest gap is in groceries.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $2,412 per month in Mexico City and $1,690 in Maputo. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

Rent is clearly cheaper in Maputo, especially for central apartments: a one-bedroom in the center costs $547 there versus $1,113 in Mexico City.

Kindergarten costs $432 per month in Mexico City and $174 in Maputo. For families with young kids, this one expense can tip the scales when choosing between the two cities.

Groceries cost about 43% more in Mexico City, though the gap depends on what you buy.

$2,000 covers both cities comfortably – all-in costs are $1,608 in Mexico City and $1,127 in Maputo, leaving budget for savings and extras in both cases.

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

If budget matters most, go with Maputo. If higher salaries or specific career opportunities are the priority, Mexico City makes more sense. Both are solid long-term options with distinct trade-offs.