Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Mexico City and Puchong

For one person, living is cheaper in Puchong: $987 a month against $1,608 in Mexico City, rent and utilities included – about $7,500 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
45

Cost of Living Index in Puchong
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Puchong Living Index

Jump to prices

Mexico City

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,608

/mo nomad

Puchong

🇲🇾 Malaysia

$987

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,608 in Mexico City versus $987 in Puchong.

Mexico City $1,608
Puchong $987

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,549 in Mexico City versus $1,477 in Puchong.

Mexico City $2,549
Puchong $1,477

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,490 in Mexico City versus $1,967 in Puchong.

Mexico City $3,490
Puchong $1,967

Living in Mexico City is roughly 63% more expensive than in Puchong, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Mexico City is 18% above, Puchong is 27% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$10.62 MX$198

$3.77 MYR 15.37

181.70%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$48.35 MX$901

$18.54 MYR 75.5

160.79%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$10.35 MX$193

$5.00 MYR 20.37

107.00%

Cappuccino

$3.69 MX$68.8

$3.01 MYR 12.26

22.59%

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

$1.67 MX$31.07

$0.83 MYR 3.40

101.20%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.27 MX$23.59

$0.59 MYR 2.42

115.25%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.19 MX$59.5

$4.34 MYR 17.68

-26.50%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$5.31 MX$98.9

$6.30 MYR 25.66

-15.71%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.72 MX$32.15

$1.96 MYR 8.00

-12.24%

White Bread (500g)

$3.04 MX$56.7

$1.06 MYR 4.34

186.79%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.94 MX$36.19

$1.45 MYR 5.90

33.79%

Eggs

$2.89 MX$53.8

$1.54 MYR 6.28

87.66%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$10.97 MX$205

$13.73 MYR 56.0

-20.10%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.25 MX$172

$4.44 MYR 18.11

108.33%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$15.13 MX$282

$10.14 MYR 41.30

49.21%

Apples (1kg)

$3.05 MX$56.8

$3.35 MYR 13.64

-8.96%

Banana (1kg)

$1.94 MX$36.19

$1.69 MYR 6.88

14.79%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.03 MX$37.75

$2.34 MYR 9.52

-13.25%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.31 MX$43.15

$1.57 MYR 6.42

47.13%

Potato (1kg)

$2.04 MX$37.94

$1.48 MYR 6.02

37.84%

Onion (1kg)

$1.80 MX$33.55

$1.37 MYR 5.58

31.39%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.48 MX$27.58

$1.25 MYR 5.08

18.40%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.27 MX$23.63

$0.56 MYR 2.27

126.79%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$5.30 MX$98.9

$4.35 MYR 17.74

21.84%

Wine (Bottle)

$16.10 MX$300

$14.46 MYR 58.9

11.34%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.98 MX$36.97

$2.99 MYR 12.20

-33.78%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.25 MX$79.3

$3.01 MYR 12.28

41.20%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.31 MX$5.69

$0.71 MYR 2.89

-56.34%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$19.73 MX$368

$12.31 MYR 50.2

60.28%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.84 MX$34.25

$1.00 MYR 4.07

84.00%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.53 MX$9.94

$0.76 MYR 3.09

-30.26%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$5.30 MX$98.7

$4.75 MYR 19.35

11.58%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.51 MX$28.16

$0.88 MYR 3.60

71.59%

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

$21.8K MX$405.5K

$43.2K MYR 176.2K

-49.70%

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

$24.0K MX$447.1K

$35.3K MYR 143.6K

-31.96%

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

$63.0 MX$1,174

$53.3 MYR 217

18.16%

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

$27.39 MX$511

$9.63 MYR 39.23

184.42%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$35.67 MX$665

$28.75 MYR 117

24.07%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$58.9 MX$1,099

$31.24 MYR 127

88.67%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$23.64 MX$441

$6.46 MYR 26.33

265.94%

Cinema Ticket

$6.40 MX$119

$5.01 MYR 20.42

27.74%

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

$432 MX$8,045

$236 MYR 961

83.05%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$11.4K MX$212.9K

$12.3K MYR 50.3K

-7.42%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$68.2 MX$1,272

$64.1 MYR 261

6.39%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$53.1 MX$990

$42.51 MYR 173

24.98%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$108 MX$2,009

$84.1 MYR 343

28.13%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$117 MX$2,186

$97.1 MYR 396

20.75%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,113 MX$20.8K

$354 MYR 1,443

214.37%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$710 MX$13.2K

$335 MYR 1,363

112.31%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,588 MX$48.2K

$725 MYR 2,955

256.87%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,406 MX$26.2K

$562 MYR 2,291

150.04%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,631 MX$67.7K

$1,985 MYR 8,089

82.90%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$2,135 MX$39.8K

$1,200 MYR 4,888

77.96%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$946 MX$17.6K

$1,340 MYR 5,460

-29.39%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

11.35

4.17

172.18%

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

Last update for Mexico City: October 25, 2026

Last update for Puchong: October 27, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Mexico City

$710 44.2%

Puchong

$335 33.9% 52.9% $376

Groceries & Markets

Mexico City

$320 19.9%

Puchong

$249 25.2% 22.1% $71

Eating Out

Mexico City

$199 12.4%

Puchong

$121 12.3% 38.9% $77

Clothing & Footwear

Mexico City

$156 9.7%

Puchong

$130 13.1% 16.9% $26

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Mexico City

$126 7.8%

Puchong

$92 9.3% 27.3% $34

Sport & Entertainment

Mexico City

$72 4.5%

Puchong

$41 4.2% 42.5% $30

Getting Around

Mexico City

$25 1.6%

Puchong

$20 2% 21.6% $5.5

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,113 in Mexico City and $354 in Puchong. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Puchong pays 42% 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 $19 in Puchong for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $320 vs $249 per month, with Puchong cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇲🇽 Mexico City

🇲🇾 Puchong

🕒 Local time

13:02 1:02 PM

03:02 3:02 AM

14 h ahead of Mexico City

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

9,209,944 Capital

400,000

💱 Currency

Mexican Peso MXN $

Malaysian Ringgit MYR RM

📈 Exchange rate

100 MXN = 5.36 USD

100 MXN = 4.82 EUR

1 MYR = 0.245 USD

1 MYR = 0.22 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

MYR, USD, EUR to MXN – Mexican Peso Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇲🇽 Mexican Peso ($)

Mexican Peso exchange rates as of October 28, 2026: 1 USD = 18.64 MXN (100 MXN = 5.36 USD). 1 EUR = 20.75 MXN (100 MXN = 4.82 EUR).

Malaysian Ringgit exchange rates as of October 28, 2026: 1 USD = 4.07 MYR (1 MYR = 0.245 USD). 1 EUR = 4.54 MYR (1 MYR = 0.22 EUR).

USD to MXN in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Mexico City Puchong 16,640 km ≈ 21 h nonstop flight

From you

Mexico City
Puchong

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 Puchong: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Mexico City and Puchong differ by about 63% in total monthly costs ($1,608 vs $987 including rent). Puchong is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

On paper, salaries run 29% 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 $354 in Puchong. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

A monthly transit pass in Puchong runs roughly 38% less than in Mexico City. Both cities have functional networks, but the price difference matters if you’re watching your budget.

Childcare runs $432 in Mexico City versus $236 in Puchong. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Both cities are expensive relative to $800. Puchong is the more realistic option, but even there you’ll need to be disciplined with housing, food, and fun money.

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 Puchong gentler on the wallet – expenses run 39% less than in Mexico City. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.