Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Mexico City and Matola

For one person, living is cheaper in Matola: $999 a month against $1,608 in Mexico City, rent and utilities included – about $7,300 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
48

Cost of Living Index in Matola
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Matola Living Index

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Mexico City

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,608

/mo nomad

Matola

🇲🇿 Mozambique

$999

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

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

A single person spends $1,608 per month in Mexico City vs $999 in Matola, rent included.

Mexico City $1,608
Matola $999

A couple spends around $2,549 per month in Mexico City vs $1,523 in Matola, rent included.

Mexico City $2,549
Matola $1,523

A family of three spends $3,490 per month in Mexico City vs $2,048 in Matola, rent included.

Mexico City $3,490
Matola $2,048

Mexico City costs about 61% more than Matola, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Mexico City sits 18% above the global median, while Matola is 27% below – they fall on opposite sides of the world average.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$10.62 MX$199

$7.80 MZN 493

36.15%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$48.35 MX$906

$62.6 MZN 3,960

-22.78%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$10.35 MX$194

$7.34 MZN 464

41.01%

Cappuccino

$3.69 MX$69.2

$1.59 MZN 100

132.08%

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

$1.67 MX$31.23

$0.82 MZN 52.0

103.66%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.27 MX$23.71

$0.67 MZN 42.67

89.55%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.19 MX$59.8

$1.18 MZN 74.8

170.34%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$5.31 MX$99.5

$1.54 MZN 97.5

244.81%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.72 MX$32.32

$1.59 MZN 101

8.18%

White Bread (500g)

$3.04 MX$57.0

$0.99 MZN 62.6

207.07%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.94 MX$36.38

$1.59 MZN 101

22.01%

Eggs

$2.89 MX$54.1

$1.93 MZN 122

49.74%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$10.97 MX$206

$13.47 MZN 852

-18.56%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.25 MX$173

$5.82 MZN 368

58.93%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$15.13 MX$283

$4.76 MZN 301

217.86%

Apples (1kg)

$3.05 MX$57.1

$1.97 MZN 125

54.82%

Banana (1kg)

$1.94 MX$36.38

$0.62 MZN 39.38

212.90%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.03 MX$37.95

$1.64 MZN 103

23.78%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.31 MX$43.38

$1.03 MZN 65.4

124.27%

Potato (1kg)

$2.04 MX$38.14

$1.00 MZN 63.5

104.00%

Onion (1kg)

$1.80 MX$33.73

$0.74 MZN 47.08

143.24%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.48 MX$27.72

$0.95 MZN 60.1

55.79%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.27 MX$23.75

$0.53 MZN 33.64

139.62%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$5.30 MX$99.4

$2.89 MZN 183

83.39%

Wine (Bottle)

$16.10 MX$302

$7.21 MZN 456

123.30%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.98 MX$37.16

$0.97 MZN 61.3

104.12%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.25 MX$79.7

$1.21 MZN 76.8

251.24%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.31 MX$5.72

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$19.73 MX$370

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.84 MX$34.44

$1.61 MZN 102

14.29%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.53 MX$10.00

$1.20 MZN 76.1

-55.83%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$5.30 MX$99.2

$24.12 MZN 1,525

-78.03%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.51 MX$28.31

$1.40 MZN 88.5

7.86%

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

$21.8K MX$407.7K

$31.4K MZN 2.0M

-30.76%

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

$24.0K MX$449.5K

$22.5K MZN 1.4M

6.45%

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

$63.0 MX$1,180

$39.21 MZN 2,480

60.62%

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

$27.39 MX$513

$7.64 MZN 483

258.51%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$35.67 MX$668

$77.9 MZN 4,926

-54.20%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$58.9 MX$1,105

$39.09 MZN 2,473

50.78%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$23.64 MX$443

Cinema Ticket

$6.40 MX$120

$7.60 MZN 481

-15.79%

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

$432 MX$8,088

$173 MZN 10.9K

149.68%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$11.4K MX$214.1K

$5,041 MZN 318.8K

126.62%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$68.2 MX$1,278

$49.21 MZN 3,113

38.63%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$53.1 MX$996

$56.0 MZN 3,539

-5.06%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$108 MX$2,020

$79.2 MZN 5,011

36.03%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$117 MX$2,198

$77.4 MZN 4,898

51.43%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,113 MX$20.9K

$462 MZN 29.2K

141.05%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$710 MX$13.3K

$391 MZN 24.7K

81.84%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,588 MX$48.5K

$696 MZN 44.0K

272.09%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,406 MX$26.3K

$552 MZN 34.9K

154.86%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,631 MX$68.0K

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$2,135 MX$40.0K

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$946 MX$17.7K

$307 MZN 19.4K

208.51%

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 Matola: October 27, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Mexico City

$710 44.2%

Matola

$391 39.1% 45% $320

Groceries & Markets

Mexico City

$320 19.9%

Matola

$185 18.6% 42% $134

Eating Out

Mexico City

$199 12.4%

Matola

$118 11.9% 40.4% $80

Clothing & Footwear

Mexico City

$156 9.7%

Matola

$118 11.8% 24.4% $38

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Mexico City

$126 7.8%

Matola

$125 12.5% 1% $1.3

Sport & Entertainment

Mexico City

$72 4.5%

Matola

$54 5.4% 24.3% $17

Getting Around

Mexico City

$25 1.6%

Matola

$7.6 * 0.8% 70.1% $18

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

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $1,113 in Mexico City versus $462 in Matola. 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 3.1 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 Matola. Groceries tell a different story – $320 in Mexico City vs $185 in Matola – so Matola wins on supermarket bills even if dining out costs more.

Good to know

🇲🇽 Mexico City

🇲🇿 Matola

🕒 Local time

18:08 6:08 PM

02:08 2:08 AM

8 h ahead of Mexico City

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

9,209,944 Capital

675,422

💱 Currency

Mexican Peso MXN $

Mozambican Metical MZN MT

📈 Exchange rate

100 MXN = 5.34 USD

100 MXN = 4.76 EUR

100 MZN = 1.58 USD

100 MZN = 1.41 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 3, 2026: 1 USD = 18.74 MXN (100 MXN = 5.34 USD). 1 EUR = 21 MXN (100 MXN = 4.76 EUR).

Mozambican Metical exchange rates as of November 3, 2026: 1 USD = 63.25 MZN (100 MZN = 1.58 USD). 1 EUR = 70.89 MZN (100 MZN = 1.41 EUR).

USD to MXN in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Mexico City Matola 15,020 km ≈ 19 h nonstop flight

From you

Mexico City
Matola

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 Matola: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Monthly costs with rent: $1,608 in Mexico City, $999 in Matola – Matola comes out roughly 38% 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 $1,498 in Matola. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

Rent is clearly cheaper in Matola, especially for central apartments: a one-bedroom in the center costs $462 there versus $1,113 in Mexico City.

Monthly expenses with rent come to $1,608 in Mexico City and $999 in Matola. That makes Matola about 38% cheaper.

Kindergarten costs $432 per month in Mexico City and $173 in Matola. For families with young kids, this one expense can tip the scales when choosing between the two cities.

A $1,200 monthly budget goes further in Matola, where all-in costs run around $999, than in Mexico City at $1,608. In Matola it covers expenses comfortably, while in Mexico City it requires careful planning or may not stretch far enough.

Families tend to lean toward Matola – 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 Matola. 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.