Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Mexico City and Pretoria

For one person, living is cheaper in Pretoria: $1,328 a month against $1,567 in Mexico City, rent and utilities included – about $2,900 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

76

Cost of Living Index in Mexico City
Learn more

Mexico City Living Index
65

Cost of Living Index in Pretoria
Learn more

Pretoria Living Index

Jump to prices

Mexico City

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,567

/mo nomad

Pretoria

🇿🇦 South Africa

$1,328

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,567 in Mexico City versus $1,328 in Pretoria.

Mexico City $1,567
Pretoria $1,328

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,450 in Mexico City versus $2,017 in Pretoria.

Mexico City $2,450
Pretoria $2,017

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,333 in Mexico City versus $2,707 in Pretoria.

Mexico City $3,333
Pretoria $2,707

Living in Mexico City is roughly 18% more expensive than in Pretoria, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in transport.

The two cities straddle the global median: Mexico City is 16% above, Pretoria is 2% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$10.75 MX$199

$9.04 R 149

18.92%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$50.3 MX$929

$37.37 R 616

34.47%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.10 MX$205

$5.28 R 87.0

110.23%

Cappuccino

$3.68 MX$68.1

$2.33 R 38.34

57.94%

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

$1.65 MX$30.42

$1.09 R 17.89

51.38%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.30 MX$24.08

$0.89 R 14.72

46.07%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.32 MX$61.3

$2.58 R 42.58

28.68%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$5.54 MX$102

$3.24 R 53.5

70.99%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.77 MX$32.68

$1.19 R 19.62

48.74%

White Bread (500g)

$3.05 MX$56.4

$1.13 R 18.63

169.91%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.01 MX$37.20

$1.77 R 29.17

13.56%

Eggs

$2.77 MX$51.1

$2.55 R 42.00

8.63%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$11.91 MX$220

$8.20 R 135

45.24%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.33 MX$172

$4.82 R 79.5

93.57%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$15.02 MX$278

$7.45 R 123

101.61%

Apples (1kg)

$3.08 MX$56.8

$1.71 R 28.22

80.12%

Banana (1kg)

$1.95 MX$35.97

$1.61 R 26.46

21.12%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.03 MX$37.54

$1.78 R 29.30

14.04%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.21 MX$40.92

$1.62 R 26.66

36.42%

Potato (1kg)

$2.02 MX$37.41

$1.13 R 18.54

78.76%

Onion (1kg)

$1.82 MX$33.67

$1.18 R 19.39

54.24%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.52 MX$28.07

$1.17 R 19.33

29.91%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.28 MX$23.65

$1.33 R 21.97

-3.76%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$5.27 MX$97.4

$3.18 R 52.4

65.72%

Wine (Bottle)

$16.12 MX$298

$5.01 R 82.6

221.76%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.95 MX$36.05

$1.59 R 26.28

22.64%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.25 MX$78.6

$1.92 R 31.65

121.35%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.31 MX$5.82

$4.81 R 79.2

-93.56%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$19.85 MX$367

$176 R 2,893

-88.70%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$2.00 MX$36.93

$0.31 R 5.19

545.16%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.53 MX$9.86

$0.75 R 12.40

-29.33%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$5.62 MX$104

$14.28 R 235

-60.64%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.52 MX$28.07

$1.52 R 25.03

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

$21.0K MX$388.7K

$35.1K R 578.0K

-40.05%

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

$25.2K MX$465.3K

$33.3K R 549.0K

-24.43%

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

$62.5 MX$1,155

$152 R 2,505

-58.90%

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

$28.77 MX$532

$36.95 R 609

-22.14%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$34.45 MX$637

$37.42 R 617

-7.94%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$57.1 MX$1,055

$31.33 R 516

82.25%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$24.81 MX$458

$10.27 R 169

141.58%

Cinema Ticket

$6.67 MX$123

$7.46 R 123

-10.59%

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

$431 MX$7,964

$261 R 4,300

65.10%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$11.7K MX$216.9K

$7,812 R 128.7K

50.27%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$70.8 MX$1,308

$53.8 R 886

31.58%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$51.8 MX$958

$31.62 R 521

63.92%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$109 MX$2,011

$94.0 R 1,549

15.79%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$112 MX$2,076

$83.9 R 1,383

33.83%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,051 MX$19.4K

$456 R 7,514

130.49%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$665 MX$12.3K

$401 R 6,610

65.74%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,346 MX$43.3K

$981 R 16.2K

139.11%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,227 MX$22.7K

$749 R 12.3K

63.75%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,554 MX$65.7K

$875 R 14.4K

306.24%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,977 MX$36.5K

$692 R 11.4K

185.75%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$975 MX$18.0K

$1,420 R 23.4K

-31.35%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

11.3

11.34

-0.35%

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

Last update for Mexico City: October 11, 2026

Last update for Pretoria: October 12, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Mexico City

$665 42.4%

Pretoria

$401 30.2% 39.7% $264

Groceries & Markets

Mexico City

$323 20.6%

Pretoria

$193 14.6% 40.1% $129

Eating Out

Mexico City

$203 13%

Pretoria

$143 10.8% 29.3% $60

Clothing & Footwear

Mexico City

$155 9.9%

Pretoria

$119 8.9% 23.4% $36

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Mexico City

$126 8%

Pretoria

$226 17.1% 80.1% $101

Sport & Entertainment

Mexico City

$70 4.5%

Pretoria

$46 3.5% 34.4% $24

Getting Around

Mexico City

$26 1.6%

Pretoria

$199 15% 672% $173

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,051 in Mexico City and $456 in Pretoria. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Pretoria pays 46% 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 $37.00 in Pretoria for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $323 vs $193 per month, with Pretoria cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇲🇽 Mexico City

🇿🇦 Pretoria

🕒 Local time

03:08 3:08 AM

11:08 11:08 AM

8 h ahead of Mexico City

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

9,209,944 Capital

741,651 Capital

💱 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

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Mexico City Pretoria 14,600 km ≈ 19 h nonstop flight

From you

Mexico City
Pretoria

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 Pretoria: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Mexico City and Pretoria differ by about 18% in total monthly costs ($1,567 vs $1,328 including rent). Pretoria is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

On paper, salaries run 46% lower in Pretoria. 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 $456 in Pretoria. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

A monthly transit pass in Pretoria runs roughly 785% 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 $261 in Pretoria. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

At $1,328 in Pretoria versus $1,567 in Mexico City, a $1,500 budget is realistic in Pretoria but tight or insufficient in Mexico City. The gap between the two cities makes Pretoria 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 Pretoria gentler on the wallet – expenses run 18% less than in Mexico City. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.