Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Mexico City and Palembang

For one person, living is cheaper in Palembang: $615 a month against $1,567 in Mexico City, rent and utilities included – about $11,400 less a year. Rent and utilities account for about half of the difference.

76

Cost of Living Index in Mexico City
Learn more

Mexico City Living Index
30

Cost of Living Index in Palembang
Learn more

Palembang Living Index

Jump to prices

Mexico City

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,567

/mo nomad

Palembang

🇮🇩 Indonesia

$615

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,567 in Mexico City versus $615 in Palembang.

Mexico City $1,567
Palembang $615

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,450 in Mexico City versus $980 in Palembang.

Mexico City $2,450
Palembang $980

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,333 in Mexico City versus $1,344 in Palembang.

Mexico City $3,333
Palembang $1,344

Living in Mexico City is roughly 155% more expensive than in Palembang, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Mexico City is 16% above, Palembang is 54% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$10.75 MX$199

$1.14 Rp 20.4K

842.98%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$50.3 MX$929

$16.00 Rp 287.9K

214.06%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.10 MX$205

$2.82 Rp 50.8K

293.62%

Cappuccino

$3.68 MX$68.1

$1.29 Rp 23.1K

185.27%

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

$1.65 MX$30.42

$0.84 Rp 15.1K

96.43%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.30 MX$24.08

$0.25 Rp 4,503

420.00%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.32 MX$61.3

$1.70 Rp 30.6K

95.29%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$5.54 MX$102

$3.27 Rp 58.9K

69.42%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.77 MX$32.68

$1.12 Rp 20.1K

58.04%

White Bread (500g)

$3.05 MX$56.4

$1.15 Rp 20.6K

165.22%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.01 MX$37.20

$0.82 Rp 14.7K

145.12%

Eggs

$2.77 MX$51.1

$1.22 Rp 22.0K

127.05%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$11.91 MX$220

$7.24 Rp 130.4K

64.50%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.33 MX$172

$2.99 Rp 53.9K

212.04%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$15.02 MX$278

$7.44 Rp 133.9K

101.88%

Apples (1kg)

$3.08 MX$56.8

$2.24 Rp 40.3K

37.50%

Banana (1kg)

$1.95 MX$35.97

$1.11 Rp 20.0K

75.68%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.03 MX$37.54

$1.47 Rp 26.5K

38.10%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.21 MX$40.92

$1.37 Rp 24.6K

61.31%

Potato (1kg)

$2.02 MX$37.41

$1.17 Rp 21.1K

72.65%

Onion (1kg)

$1.82 MX$33.67

$1.95 Rp 35.0K

-6.67%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.52 MX$28.07

$0.65 Rp 11.7K

133.85%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.28 MX$23.65

$0.44 Rp 7,856

190.91%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$5.27 MX$97.4

$2.21 Rp 39.8K

138.46%

Wine (Bottle)

$16.12 MX$298

$21.49 Rp 386.7K

-24.99%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.95 MX$36.05

$1.88 Rp 33.9K

3.72%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.25 MX$78.6

$2.94 Rp 52.9K

44.56%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.31 MX$5.82

$0.44 Rp 7,878

-29.55%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$19.85 MX$367

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$2.00 MX$36.93

$0.53 Rp 9,526

277.36%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.53 MX$9.86

$0.40 Rp 7,284

32.50%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$5.62 MX$104

$2.84 Rp 51.2K

97.89%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.52 MX$28.07

$0.82 Rp 14.8K

85.37%

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

$21.0K MX$388.7K

$23.2K Rp 417.8M

-9.38%

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

$25.2K MX$465.3K

$31.6K Rp 568.7M

-20.31%

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

$62.5 MX$1,155

$71.6 Rp 1.3M

-12.69%

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

$28.77 MX$532

$4.39 Rp 79.0K

555.35%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$34.45 MX$637

$19.20 Rp 345.5K

79.43%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$57.1 MX$1,055

$19.72 Rp 355.0K

189.55%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$24.81 MX$458

$7.99 Rp 143.8K

210.51%

Cinema Ticket

$6.67 MX$123

$2.85 Rp 51.4K

134.04%

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

$431 MX$7,964

$90.1 Rp 1.6M

378.20%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$11.7K MX$216.9K

$8,423 Rp 151.6M

39.38%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$70.8 MX$1,308

$42.78 Rp 770.0K

65.47%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$51.8 MX$958

$28.77 Rp 517.8K

80.15%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$109 MX$2,011

$74.6 Rp 1.3M

45.98%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$112 MX$2,076

$69.3 Rp 1.2M

61.98%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,051 MX$19.4K

$230 Rp 4.1M

357.19%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$665 MX$12.3K

$147 Rp 2.6M

351.91%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,346 MX$43.3K

$532 Rp 9.6M

340.90%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,227 MX$22.7K

$361 Rp 6.5M

239.63%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,554 MX$65.7K

$1,254 Rp 22.6M

183.45%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,977 MX$36.5K

$886 Rp 15.9M

123.12%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$975 MX$18.0K

$309 Rp 5.6M

215.39%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

11.3

9.46

19.45%

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

Last update for Mexico City: October 11, 2026

Last update for Palembang: October 11, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Mexico City

$665 42.4%

Palembang

$147 23.9% 77.9% $518

Groceries & Markets

Mexico City

$323 20.6%

Palembang

$194 31.5% 39.9% $129

Eating Out

Mexico City

$203 13%

Palembang

$52 8.5% 74.2% $151

Clothing & Footwear

Mexico City

$155 9.9%

Palembang

$97 15.8% 37.3% $58

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Mexico City

$126 8%

Palembang

$95 15.5% 24.3% $31

Sport & Entertainment

Mexico City

$70 4.5%

Palembang

$25 4.1% 63.9% $45

Getting Around

Mexico City

$26 1.6%

Palembang

$4.3 * 0.7% 83.3% $21

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 $1,051 in Mexico City and $230 in Palembang. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Mexico City pays 215% 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: $50.0 in Mexico City vs $16.00 in Palembang for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $323 vs $194 per month, with Palembang cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇲🇽 Mexico City

🇮🇩 Palembang

🕒 Local time

06:43 6:43 AM

19:43 7:43 PM

13 h ahead of Mexico City

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

9,209,944 Capital

1,708,413

💱 Currency

Mexican Peso MXN $

Indonesian Rupiah IDR Rp

📈 Exchange rate

100 MXN = 5.41 USD

100 MXN = 4.81 EUR

100,000 IDR = 5.56 USD

100,000 IDR = 4.94 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

IDR, USD, EUR to MXN – Mexican Peso Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇲🇽 Mexican Peso ($)

Mexican Peso exchange rates as of October 18, 2026: 1 USD = 18.48 MXN (100 MXN = 5.41 USD). 1 EUR = 20.77 MXN (100 MXN = 4.81 EUR).

Indonesian Rupiah exchange rates as of October 18, 2026: 1 USD = 18,000 IDR (100,000 IDR = 5.56 USD). 1 EUR = 20,236 IDR (100,000 IDR = 4.94 EUR).

USD to MXN in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Mexico City Palembang 16,840 km ≈ 22 h nonstop flight

From you

Mexico City
Palembang

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 Palembang: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Mexico City and Palembang differ by about 155% in total monthly costs ($1,567 vs $615 including rent). Palembang is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

Average pay runs 215% 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: $1,051 in Mexico City versus $230 in Palembang. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $431 in Mexico City versus $90.1 in Palembang. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Dining out is cheaper in Palembang – a meal for two runs $16.00 versus $50.0 in Mexico City. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

At $615 in Palembang versus $1,567 in Mexico City, a $1,500 budget is realistic in Palembang but tight or insufficient in Mexico City. The gap between the two cities makes Palembang 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 Palembang gentler on the wallet – expenses run 155% less than in Mexico City. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.