Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Mexico City and Port Elizabeth

For one person, living is cheaper in Port Elizabeth: $1,216 a month against $1,567 in Mexico City, rent and utilities included – about $4,200 less a year. Rent and utilities account for about half of the difference.

76

Cost of Living Index in Mexico City
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Mexico City Living Index
59

Cost of Living Index in Port Elizabeth
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Port Elizabeth Living Index

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Mexico City

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,567

/mo nomad

Port Elizabeth

🇿🇦 South Africa

$1,216

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Mexico City and in Port Elizabeth

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,567 in Mexico City versus $1,216 in Port Elizabeth.

Mexico City $1,567
Port Elizabeth $1,216

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,450 in Mexico City versus $1,835 in Port Elizabeth.

Mexico City $2,450
Port Elizabeth $1,835

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,333 in Mexico City versus $2,453 in Port Elizabeth.

Mexico City $3,333
Port Elizabeth $2,453

Living in Mexico City is roughly 29% more expensive than in Port Elizabeth, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

The two cities straddle the global median: Mexico City is 16% above, Port Elizabeth is 10% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$10.75 MX$199

$11.00 R 181

-2.27%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$50.3 MX$929

$41.67 R 687

20.59%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.10 MX$205

$5.84 R 96.2

90.07%

Cappuccino

$3.68 MX$68.1

$2.17 R 35.81

69.59%

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

$1.65 MX$30.42

$1.03 R 16.91

60.19%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.30 MX$24.08

$0.76 R 12.59

71.05%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.32 MX$61.3

$2.69 R 44.37

23.42%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$5.54 MX$102

$3.24 R 53.3

70.99%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.77 MX$32.68

$1.12 R 18.39

58.04%

White Bread (500g)

$3.05 MX$56.4

$1.04 R 17.20

193.27%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.01 MX$37.20

$1.51 R 24.94

33.11%

Eggs

$2.77 MX$51.1

$2.81 R 46.35

-1.42%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$11.91 MX$220

$8.58 R 141

38.81%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.33 MX$172

$5.33 R 87.7

75.05%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$15.02 MX$278

$8.36 R 138

79.67%

Apples (1kg)

$3.08 MX$56.8

$2.19 R 36.04

40.64%

Banana (1kg)

$1.95 MX$35.97

$1.49 R 24.58

30.87%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.03 MX$37.54

$1.70 R 28.04

19.41%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.21 MX$40.92

$1.81 R 29.74

22.10%

Potato (1kg)

$2.02 MX$37.41

$1.66 R 27.41

21.69%

Onion (1kg)

$1.82 MX$33.67

$1.45 R 23.83

25.52%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.52 MX$28.07

$1.26 R 20.72

20.63%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.28 MX$23.65

$0.99 R 16.39

29.29%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$5.27 MX$97.4

$3.26 R 53.8

61.66%

Wine (Bottle)

$16.12 MX$298

$4.82 R 79.4

234.44%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.95 MX$36.05

$1.27 R 20.99

53.54%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.25 MX$78.6

$1.82 R 30.00

133.52%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.31 MX$5.82

$1.10 R 18.17

-71.82%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$19.85 MX$367

$36.67 R 604

-45.87%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$2.00 MX$36.93

$2.04 R 33.68

-1.96%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.53 MX$9.86

$0.50 R 8.25

6.00%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$5.62 MX$104

$8.45 R 139

-33.49%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.52 MX$28.07

$1.48 R 24.38

2.70%

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

$21.0K MX$388.7K

$35.8K R 589.5K

-41.22%

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

$25.2K MX$465.3K

$34.1K R 562.5K

-26.25%

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

$62.5 MX$1,155

$125 R 2,058

-49.98%

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

$28.77 MX$532

$34.90 R 575

-17.56%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$34.45 MX$637

$44.55 R 734

-22.67%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$57.1 MX$1,055

$32.20 R 530

77.33%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$24.81 MX$458

$23.27 R 383

6.62%

Cinema Ticket

$6.67 MX$123

$10.74 R 177

-37.90%

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

$431 MX$7,964

$177 R 2,924

142.86%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$11.7K MX$216.9K

$6,046 R 99.6K

94.17%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$70.8 MX$1,308

$72.4 R 1,193

-2.28%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$51.8 MX$958

$38.28 R 631

35.40%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$109 MX$2,011

$110 R 1,806

-0.74%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$112 MX$2,076

$95.6 R 1,574

17.54%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,051 MX$19.4K

$598 R 9,859

75.66%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$665 MX$12.3K

$415 R 6,838

60.23%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,346 MX$43.3K

$808 R 13.3K

190.14%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,227 MX$22.7K

$682 R 11.2K

79.83%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,554 MX$65.7K

$764 R 12.6K

364.91%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,977 MX$36.5K

$522 R 8,604

278.54%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$975 MX$18.0K

$1,625 R 26.8K

-40.01%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

11.3

11.94

-5.36%

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

Last update for Mexico City: October 11, 2026

Last update for Port Elizabeth: October 13, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Mexico City

$665 42.4%

Port Elizabeth

$415 34.1% 37.6% $250

Groceries & Markets

Mexico City

$323 20.6%

Port Elizabeth

$197 16.2% 39.1% $126

Eating Out

Mexico City

$203 13%

Port Elizabeth

$159 13.1% 21.8% $44

Clothing & Footwear

Mexico City

$155 9.9%

Port Elizabeth

$142 11.7% 8.1% $13

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Mexico City

$126 8%

Port Elizabeth

$204 16.8% 62.6% $79

Sport & Entertainment

Mexico City

$70 4.5%

Port Elizabeth

$54 4.4% 23.8% $17

Getting Around

Mexico City

$26 1.6%

Port Elizabeth

$46 3.8% 77% $20

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,051 in Mexico City and $598 in Port Elizabeth. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Port Elizabeth pays 67% more on average while also being the cheaper of the two. The combined effect is a noticeably stronger local purchasing power.

Dining out: $50.0 in Mexico City vs $42.00 in Port Elizabeth for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $323 vs $197 per month, with Port Elizabeth cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇲🇽 Mexico City

🇿🇦 Port Elizabeth

🕒 Local time

06:35 6:35 AM

14:35 2:35 PM

8 h ahead of Mexico City

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

9,209,944 Capital

1,050,000

💱 Currency

Mexican Peso MXN $

South African Rand ZAR R

📈 Exchange rate

100 MXN = 5.41 USD

100 MXN = 4.81 EUR

100 ZAR = 6.07 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 19, 2026: 1 USD = 18.48 MXN (100 MXN = 5.41 USD). 1 EUR = 20.77 MXN (100 MXN = 4.81 EUR).

South African Rand exchange rates as of October 19, 2026: 1 USD = 16.48 ZAR (100 ZAR = 6.07 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 Port Elizabeth 14,360 km ≈ 18 h nonstop flight

From you

Mexico City
Port Elizabeth

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 Port Elizabeth: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Mexico City and Port Elizabeth differ by about 29% in total monthly costs ($1,567 vs $1,216 including rent). Port Elizabeth is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

On paper, salaries run 67% lower in Port Elizabeth. 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: $1,051 in Mexico City versus $598 in Port Elizabeth. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

A monthly transit pass in Port Elizabeth runs roughly 85% less than in Mexico City. Both cities have functional networks, but the price difference matters if you're watching your budget.

Childcare runs $431 in Mexico City versus $177 in Port Elizabeth. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

At $1,216 in Port Elizabeth versus $1,567 in Mexico City, a $1,000 budget is realistic in Port Elizabeth but tight or insufficient in Mexico City. The gap between the two cities makes Port Elizabeth 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 Port Elizabeth gentler on the wallet – expenses run 29% less than in Mexico City. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.