Last update: Nov 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Mexico City and Mbabane

For one person, living is cheaper in Mbabane: $756 a month against $1,674 in Mexico City, rent and utilities included – about $11,000 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

80

Cost of Living Index in Mexico City
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Mexico City Living Index
36

Cost of Living Index in Mbabane
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Mbabane Living Index

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Mexico City

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,674

/mo nomad

Mbabane

🇸🇿 Eswatini

$756

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

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

A single person spends $1,674 per month in Mexico City vs $756 in Mbabane, rent included.

Mexico City $1,674
Mbabane $756

A couple spends around $2,606 per month in Mexico City vs $1,214 in Mbabane, rent included.

Mexico City $2,606
Mbabane $1,214

A family of three spends $3,537 per month in Mexico City vs $1,672 in Mbabane, rent included.

Mexico City $3,537
Mbabane $1,672

Mexico City costs about 121% more than Mbabane, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Mexico City sits 24% above the global median, while Mbabane is 44% below – they fall on opposite sides of the world average.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$10.59 MX$197

$10.17 SZL 169

4.13%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$52.0 MX$967

$33.37 SZL 556

55.71%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$10.73 MX$200

$6.02 SZL 100

78.24%

Cappuccino

$3.80 MX$70.6

$2.61 SZL 43.40

45.59%

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

$1.61 MX$30.01

$1.11 SZL 18.52

45.05%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.21 MX$22.55

$0.57 SZL 9.43

112.28%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.18 MX$59.1

$2.08 SZL 34.65

52.88%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$5.44 MX$101

$2.35 SZL 39.17

131.49%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.72 MX$31.96

$1.52 SZL 25.37

13.16%

White Bread (500g)

$2.97 MX$55.2

$0.85 SZL 14.13

249.41%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.93 MX$35.84

$1.67 SZL 27.87

15.57%

Eggs

$2.77 MX$51.6

$1.78 SZL 29.69

55.62%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$11.67 MX$217

$10.87 SZL 181

7.36%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.48 MX$176

$5.61 SZL 93.3

68.98%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$15.37 MX$286

$5.22 SZL 87.0

194.44%

Apples (1kg)

$3.10 MX$57.8

$1.75 SZL 29.10

77.14%

Banana (1kg)

$1.96 MX$36.49

$0.66 SZL 10.99

196.97%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.98 MX$36.88

$1.21 SZL 20.09

63.64%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.34 MX$43.46

$1.41 SZL 23.43

65.96%

Potato (1kg)

$2.02 MX$37.66

$1.25 SZL 20.86

61.60%

Onion (1kg)

$1.82 MX$33.95

$1.48 SZL 24.72

22.97%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.54 MX$28.74

$0.67 SZL 11.13

129.85%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.31 MX$24.42

$0.77 SZL 12.79

70.13%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$5.35 MX$99.6

$2.77 SZL 46.18

93.14%

Wine (Bottle)

$16.19 MX$301

$6.13 SZL 102

164.11%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.96 MX$36.46

$1.60 SZL 26.57

22.50%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.35 MX$81.0

$1.64 SZL 27.25

165.24%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.30 MX$5.67

$0.74 SZL 12.30

-59.46%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$19.49 MX$363

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.92 MX$35.68

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.47 MX$8.80

$1.43 SZL 23.78

-67.13%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$5.41 MX$101

$3.09 SZL 51.5

75.08%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.48 MX$27.61

$1.33 SZL 22.12

11.28%

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

$21.4K MX$397.7K

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

$23.8K MX$442.1K

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

$62.0 MX$1,154

$65.2 SZL 1,086

-4.94%

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

$28.47 MX$530

$37.37 SZL 622

-23.82%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$34.11 MX$635

$26.65 SZL 444

27.99%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$58.4 MX$1,087

$22.34 SZL 372

161.37%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$24.50 MX$456

$3.08 SZL 51.3

695.45%

Cinema Ticket

$6.59 MX$123

$3.52 SZL 58.6

87.22%

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

$434 MX$8,081

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$14.0K MX$261.2K

$6,211 SZL 103.4K

125.96%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$68.4 MX$1,272

$34.83 SZL 580

96.24%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$54.8 MX$1,020

$15.14 SZL 252

261.96%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$111 MX$2,063

$69.4 SZL 1,156

59.70%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$116 MX$2,158

$54.4 SZL 905

113.41%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,179 MX$21.9K

$267 SZL 4,447

341.58%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$771 MX$14.3K

$176 SZL 2,937

336.93%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,570 MX$47.8K

$451 SZL 7,509

469.89%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,420 MX$26.4K

$357 SZL 5,945

297.57%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,586 MX$66.7K

$488 SZL 8,129

634.44%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$2,064 MX$38.4K

$363 SZL 6,040

468.99%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,003 MX$18.7K

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

11.35

7.25

56.55%

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

Last update for Mexico City: November 1, 2026

Last update for Mbabane: November 1, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Mexico City

$771 46.1%

Mbabane

$176 23.3% 77.1% $594

Groceries & Markets

Mexico City

$324 19.3%

Mbabane

$181 23.9% 44.2% $143

Eating Out

Mexico City

$201 12%

Mbabane

$153 20.2% 24% $48

Clothing & Footwear

Mexico City

$158 9.4%

Mbabane

$78 10.3% 50.4% $79

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Mexico City

$125 7.4%

Mbabane

$129 17.1% 3.7% $4.6

Sport & Entertainment

Mexico City

$72 4.3%

Mbabane

$29 3.9% 58.9% $42

Getting Around

Mexico City

$25 1.5%

Mbabane

$10 * 1.3% 59.6% $15

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

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $1,179 in Mexico City versus $267 in Mbabane. Rent is usually the largest line item in a monthly budget, so the gap here sets the tone for the overall comparison.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $52 in Mexico City versus $33 in Mbabane. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $324 vs $181 – making Mbabane the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇲🇽 Mexico City

🇸🇿 Mbabane

🕒 Local time

19:35 7:35 PM

03:35 3:35 AM

8 h ahead of Mexico City

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

9,209,944 Capital

94,874 Capital

💱 Currency

Mexican Peso MXN $

Eswatini Lilangeni SZL L

📈 Exchange rate

100 MXN = 5.37 USD

100 MXN = 4.81 EUR

100 SZL = 6.01 USD

100 SZL = 5.37 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

SZL, USD, EUR to MXN – Mexican Peso Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇲🇽 Mexican Peso ($)

Mexican Peso exchange rates as of November 4, 2026: 1 USD = 18.61 MXN (100 MXN = 5.37 USD). 1 EUR = 20.81 MXN (100 MXN = 4.81 EUR).

Eswatini Lilangeni exchange rates as of November 4, 2026: 1 USD = 16.65 SZL (100 SZL = 6.01 USD). 1 EUR = 18.62 SZL (100 SZL = 5.37 EUR).

USD to MXN in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Mexico City Mbabane 14,890 km ≈ 19 h nonstop flight

From you

Mexico City
Mbabane

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 Mbabane: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Mexico City costs about 121% more than Mbabane, and outside of rent the gap comes mainly from groceries. That’s enough to noticeably affect everyday spending and lifestyle for anyone choosing between the two.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $2,510 per month in Mexico City and $1,135 in Mbabane. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

Rent is clearly cheaper in Mbabane, especially for central apartments: a one-bedroom in the center costs $267 there versus $1,179 in Mexico City.

Monthly expenses with rent come to $1,674 in Mexico City and $756 in Mbabane. That makes Mbabane about 55% cheaper.

Groceries cost about 79% more in Mexico City, though the gap depends on what you buy.

It depends on your priorities. Mexico City has an edge in some lifestyle areas, with costs from $756 in Mbabane to $1,674 in Mexico City. Climate, culture, job market, and personal taste all factor in.