Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Mexico City and Maseru

For one person, living is cheaper in Maseru: $669 a month against $1,548 in Mexico City, rent and utilities included – about $10,500 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

75

Cost of Living Index in Mexico City
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Mexico City Living Index
33

Cost of Living Index in Maseru
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Maseru Living Index

Jump to prices

Mexico City

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,548

/mo nomad

Maseru

🇱🇸 Lesotho

$669

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,548 in Mexico City versus $669 in Maseru.

Mexico City $1,548
Maseru $669

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,436 in Mexico City versus $1,123 in Maseru.

Mexico City $2,436
Maseru $1,123

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,323 in Mexico City versus $1,576 in Maseru.

Mexico City $3,323
Maseru $1,576

Living in Mexico City is roughly 131% more expensive than in Maseru, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

The two cities straddle the global median: Mexico City is 14% above, Maseru is 51% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$11.02 MX$204

$8.87 LSL 146

24.24%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$48.68 MX$900

$23.91 LSL 395

103.60%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$10.90 MX$201

$8.34 LSL 138

30.70%

Cappuccino

$3.68 MX$68.1

$1.99 LSL 32.92

84.92%

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

$1.63 MX$30.18

$1.11 LSL 18.32

46.85%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.25 MX$23.07

$0.88 LSL 14.55

42.05%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.25 MX$60.1

$1.79 LSL 29.49

81.56%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$5.53 MX$102

$2.46 LSL 40.51

124.80%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.70 MX$31.50

$1.18 LSL 19.50

44.07%

White Bread (500g)

$3.02 MX$55.8

$0.87 LSL 14.42

247.13%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.92 MX$35.53

$1.80 LSL 29.75

6.67%

Eggs

$2.73 MX$50.5

$1.53 LSL 25.27

78.43%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$11.77 MX$218

$6.55 LSL 108

79.69%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.53 MX$176

$6.15 LSL 101

54.96%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$14.41 MX$266

$6.31 LSL 104

128.37%

Apples (1kg)

$3.02 MX$55.8

$1.94 LSL 31.96

55.67%

Banana (1kg)

$1.89 MX$35.01

$2.29 LSL 37.85

-17.47%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.99 MX$36.70

$2.77 LSL 45.67

-28.16%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.19 MX$40.38

$2.39 LSL 39.48

-8.37%

Potato (1kg)

$1.92 MX$35.43

$1.55 LSL 25.62

23.87%

Onion (1kg)

$1.87 MX$34.49

$1.67 LSL 27.53

11.98%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.44 MX$26.62

$1.55 LSL 25.50

-7.10%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.27 MX$23.39

$0.80 LSL 13.13

58.75%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$5.22 MX$96.4

$5.08 LSL 83.9

2.76%

Wine (Bottle)

$16.17 MX$299

$7.24 LSL 119

123.34%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.90 MX$35.03

$1.04 LSL 17.18

82.69%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.22 MX$78.0

$1.53 LSL 25.30

175.82%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.34 MX$6.30

$0.82 LSL 13.55

-58.54%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$19.65 MX$363

$30.08 LSL 496

-34.67%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$2.00 MX$36.90

$0.75 LSL 12.43

166.67%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.52 MX$9.67

$0.70 LSL 11.52

-25.71%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$5.34 MX$98.7

$3.69 LSL 60.9

44.72%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.52 MX$28.13

$1.32 LSL 21.71

15.15%

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

$22.1K MX$408.0K

$21.2K LSL 349.9K

4.12%

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

$24.5K MX$452.9K

$16.6K LSL 274.0K

47.58%

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

$61.1 MX$1,129

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

$28.58 MX$528

$14.55 LSL 240

96.43%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$34.47 MX$637

$38.75 LSL 639

-11.05%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$56.4 MX$1,042

$23.08 LSL 381

144.19%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$24.88 MX$460

Cinema Ticket

$6.66 MX$123

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

$427 MX$7,891

$52.7 LSL 870

709.71%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$11.6K MX$215.0K

$1,219 LSL 20.1K

854.61%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$67.8 MX$1,253

$45.86 LSL 757

47.84%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$52.0 MX$960

$57.2 LSL 944

-9.18%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$106 MX$1,959

$104 LSL 1,714

2.09%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$113 MX$2,080

$150 LSL 2,478

-25.05%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,025 MX$18.9K

$92.8 LSL 1,531

1004.35%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$654 MX$12.1K

$56.7 LSL 935

1054.69%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,308 MX$42.7K

$444 LSL 7,330

419.61%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,242 MX$22.9K

$170 LSL 2,800

631.83%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,613 MX$66.8K

$391 LSL 6,453

823.67%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,936 MX$35.8K

$527 LSL 8,696

267.30%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$964 MX$17.8K

$622 LSL 10.3K

55.01%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

11.3

8.5

32.94%

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

Last update for Mexico City: October 20, 2026

Last update for Maseru: October 19, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Mexico City

$654 42.3%

Maseru

$57 8.5% 91.3% $598

Groceries & Markets

Mexico City

$318 20.6%

Maseru

$196 29.3% 38.3% $122

Eating Out

Mexico City

$204 13.2%

Maseru

$142 21.2% 30.5% $62

Clothing & Footwear

Mexico City

$152 9.8%

Maseru

$161 24% 5.5% $8.4

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Mexico City

$124 8%

Maseru

$53 * 8% 57.1% $71

Sport & Entertainment

Mexico City

$70 4.5%

Maseru

$23 * 3.5% 66.9% $47

Getting Around

Mexico City

$26 1.7%

Maseru

$38 5.6% 46.7% $12

Categories marked with * are only partly priced – their share counts the items that do have prices.

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,025 in Mexico City and $92.8 in Maseru. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Mexico City pays 55% more on average. The extra income cushions the higher costs, though housing choices and lifestyle decide how much of the gap is truly closed.

Dining out: $49.00 in Mexico City vs $24.00 in Maseru for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $318 vs $196 per month, with Maseru cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇲🇽 Mexico City

🇱🇸 Maseru

🕒 Local time

10:11 10:11 AM

18:11 6:11 PM

8 h ahead of Mexico City

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

9,209,944 Capital

227,880 Capital

💱 Currency

Mexican Peso MXN $

Lesotho Loti LSL L

📈 Exchange rate

100 MXN = 5.41 USD

100 MXN = 4.81 EUR

100 LSL = 6.06 USD

100 LSL = 5.39 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

LSL, USD, EUR to MXN – Mexican Peso Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇲🇽 Mexican Peso ($)

Mexican Peso exchange rates as of October 20, 2026: 1 USD = 18.48 MXN (100 MXN = 5.41 USD). 1 EUR = 20.77 MXN (100 MXN = 4.81 EUR).

Lesotho Loti exchange rates as of October 20, 2026: 1 USD = 16.5 LSL (100 LSL = 6.06 USD). 1 EUR = 18.55 LSL (100 LSL = 5.39 EUR).

USD to MXN in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Mexico City Maseru 14,540 km ≈ 19 h nonstop flight

From you

Mexico City
Maseru

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 Maseru: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Mexico City and Maseru differ by about 131% in total monthly costs ($1,548 vs $669 including rent). Maseru is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

Average pay runs 55% higher in Mexico City, which matters when comparing affordability. Whether that higher income actually nets you more depends on your spending habits and housing choices.

Rent for a central apartment: $1,025 in Mexico City versus $92.8 in Maseru. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Dining out is cheaper in Maseru – a meal for two runs $24.00 versus $49.00 in Mexico City. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

All in, you'll spend $1,548 per month in Mexico City versus $669 in Maseru – a 131% gap that adds up to real savings over time for anyone picking the cheaper option.

At $669 in Maseru versus $1,548 in Mexico City, a $2,000 budget is realistic in Maseru but tight or insufficient in Mexico City. The gap between the two cities makes Maseru 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.

Expats usually find Maseru gentler on the wallet – expenses run 131% less than in Mexico City. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.