Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Mexico City and Pietermaritzburg

For one person, living is cheaper in Pietermaritzburg: $1,033 a month against $1,608 in Mexico City, rent and utilities included – about $6,900 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
50

Cost of Living Index in Pietermaritzburg
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Pietermaritzburg Living Index

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Mexico City

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,608

/mo nomad

Pietermaritzburg

🇿🇦 South Africa

$1,033

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,608 in Mexico City versus $1,033 in Pietermaritzburg.

Mexico City $1,608
Pietermaritzburg $1,033

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,549 in Mexico City versus $1,555 in Pietermaritzburg.

Mexico City $2,549
Pietermaritzburg $1,555

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,490 in Mexico City versus $2,077 in Pietermaritzburg.

Mexico City $3,490
Pietermaritzburg $2,077

Living in Mexico City is roughly 56% more expensive than in Pietermaritzburg, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

The two cities straddle the global median: Mexico City is 18% above, Pietermaritzburg is 24% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$10.62 MX$199

$7.74 R 129

37.21%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$48.35 MX$904

$35.63 R 593

35.70%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$10.35 MX$193

$5.80 R 96.4

78.45%

Cappuccino

$3.69 MX$69.0

$2.36 R 39.21

56.36%

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

$1.67 MX$31.14

$1.16 R 19.37

43.97%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.27 MX$23.65

$1.03 R 17.12

23.30%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.19 MX$59.7

$2.15 R 35.72

48.37%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$5.31 MX$99.2

$2.51 R 41.69

111.55%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.72 MX$32.23

$1.33 R 22.13

29.32%

White Bread (500g)

$3.04 MX$56.8

$0.92 R 15.30

230.43%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.94 MX$36.27

$1.70 R 28.26

14.12%

Eggs

$2.89 MX$54.0

$3.16 R 52.6

-8.54%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$10.97 MX$205

$7.22 R 120

51.94%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.25 MX$173

$4.94 R 82.1

87.25%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$15.13 MX$283

$6.36 R 106

137.89%

Apples (1kg)

$3.05 MX$57.0

$2.04 R 33.94

49.51%

Banana (1kg)

$1.94 MX$36.27

$1.94 R 32.23

Oranges (1kg)

$2.03 MX$37.85

$2.32 R 38.68

-12.50%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.31 MX$43.25

$2.03 R 33.85

13.79%

Potato (1kg)

$2.04 MX$38.03

$1.78 R 29.63

14.61%

Onion (1kg)

$1.80 MX$33.63

$1.81 R 30.04

-0.55%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.48 MX$27.64

$1.49 R 24.74

-0.67%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.27 MX$23.69

$1.04 R 17.26

22.12%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$5.30 MX$99.1

$3.14 R 52.2

68.79%

Wine (Bottle)

$16.10 MX$301

$3.92 R 65.3

310.71%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.98 MX$37.06

$1.42 R 23.66

39.44%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.25 MX$79.5

$1.75 R 29.16

142.86%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.31 MX$5.70

$2.86 R 47.62

-89.16%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$19.73 MX$369

$19.71 R 328

0.10%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.84 MX$34.34

$1.59 R 26.48

15.72%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.53 MX$9.97

$1.06 R 17.66

-50.00%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$5.30 MX$99.0

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.51 MX$28.23

$1.44 R 23.92

4.86%

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

$21.8K MX$406.5K

$26.5K R 441.6K

-18.05%

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

$24.0K MX$448.2K

$26.8K R 445.6K

-10.44%

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

$63.0 MX$1,177

$205 R 3,410

-69.27%

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

$27.39 MX$512

$32.46 R 540

-15.62%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$35.67 MX$666

$37.19 R 619

-4.09%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$58.9 MX$1,101

$43.80 R 729

34.57%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$23.64 MX$442

$3.05 R 50.8

675.08%

Cinema Ticket

$6.40 MX$120

$4.84 R 80.5

32.23%

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

$432 MX$8,065

$177 R 2,945

143.85%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$11.4K MX$213.5K

$5,103 R 84.9K

123.87%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$68.2 MX$1,275

$56.7 R 943

20.34%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$53.1 MX$993

$34.35 R 572

54.67%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$108 MX$2,014

$114 R 1,894

-5.35%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$117 MX$2,191

$69.9 R 1,163

67.79%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,113 MX$20.8K

$216 R 3,601

414.48%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$710 MX$13.3K

$217 R 3,607

227.67%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,588 MX$48.4K

$576 R 9,583

349.34%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,406 MX$26.3K

$405 R 6,742

246.95%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,631 MX$67.8K

$5,914 R 98.4K

-38.60%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$2,135 MX$39.9K

$148 R 2,466

1340.63%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$946 MX$17.7K

$1,058 R 17.6K

-10.53%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

11.35

11.67

-2.74%

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

Last update for Mexico City: October 25, 2026

Last update for Pietermaritzburg: October 24, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Mexico City

$710 44.2%

Pietermaritzburg

$217 21% 69.5% $494

Groceries & Markets

Mexico City

$320 19.9%

Pietermaritzburg

$194 18.8% 39.1% $125

Eating Out

Mexico City

$199 12.4%

Pietermaritzburg

$132 12.8% 33.5% $67

Clothing & Footwear

Mexico City

$156 9.7%

Pietermaritzburg

$124 12% 20.7% $32

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Mexico City

$126 7.8%

Pietermaritzburg

$275 26.6% 118% $149

Sport & Entertainment

Mexico City

$72 4.5%

Pietermaritzburg

$53 5.2% 25.5% $18

Getting Around

Mexico City

$25 1.6%

Pietermaritzburg

$38 3.7% 49.5% $13

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,113 in Mexico City and $216 in Pietermaritzburg. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Pietermaritzburg pays 12% more on average while also being the cheaper of the two. The combined effect is a noticeably stronger local purchasing power.

Dining out: $48 in Mexico City vs $36 in Pietermaritzburg for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $320 vs $194 per month, with Pietermaritzburg cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇲🇽 Mexico City

🇿🇦 Pietermaritzburg

🕒 Local time

06:01 6:01 AM

14:01 2:01 PM

8 h ahead of Mexico City

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

9,209,944 Capital

618,536

💱 Currency

Mexican Peso MXN $

South African Rand ZAR R

📈 Exchange rate

100 MXN = 5.35 USD

100 MXN = 4.81 EUR

100 ZAR = 6.01 USD

100 ZAR = 5.4 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

ZAR, USD, EUR to MXN – Mexican Peso Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇲🇽 Mexican Peso ($)

Mexican Peso exchange rates as of October 28, 2026: 1 USD = 18.69 MXN (100 MXN = 5.35 USD). 1 EUR = 20.8 MXN (100 MXN = 4.81 EUR).

South African Rand exchange rates as of October 28, 2026: 1 USD = 16.64 ZAR (100 ZAR = 6.01 USD). 1 EUR = 18.52 ZAR (100 ZAR = 5.4 EUR).

USD to MXN in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Mexico City Pietermaritzburg 14,820 km ≈ 19 h nonstop flight

From you

Mexico City
Pietermaritzburg

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 Pietermaritzburg: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Mexico City and Pietermaritzburg differ by about 56% in total monthly costs ($1,608 vs $1,033 including rent). Pietermaritzburg is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

On paper, salaries run 11% lower in Mexico City. That’s worth factoring in alongside costs, though remote workers earning in a stronger currency may not notice the difference at all.

Rent for a central apartment: $1,113 in Mexico City versus $216 in Pietermaritzburg. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $432 in Mexico City versus $177 in Pietermaritzburg. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Dining out is cheaper in Pietermaritzburg – a meal for two runs $36 versus $48 in Mexico City. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

Either city works on $2,000 a month, though Pietermaritzburg gives you more room to save. At this income level, the choice is more about lifestyle than financial pressure.

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.