Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Mexico City and Putra Heights

For one person, living is cheaper in Putra Heights: $927 a month against $1,608 in Mexico City, rent and utilities included – about $8,200 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 Putra Heights
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Putra Heights Living Index

Jump to prices

Mexico City

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,608

/mo nomad

Putra Heights

🇲🇾 Malaysia

$927

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Mexico City and in Putra Heights

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,608 in Mexico City versus $927 in Putra Heights.

Mexico City $1,608
Putra Heights $927

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,549 in Mexico City versus $1,421 in Putra Heights.

Mexico City $2,549
Putra Heights $1,421

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,490 in Mexico City versus $1,915 in Putra Heights.

Mexico City $3,490
Putra Heights $1,915

Living in Mexico City is roughly 73% more expensive than in Putra Heights, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Mexico City is 18% above, Putra Heights is 32% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$10.62 MX$199

$3.77 MYR 15.35

181.70%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$48.35 MX$906

$18.15 MYR 73.9

166.39%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$10.35 MX$194

$4.90 MYR 19.95

111.22%

Cappuccino

$3.69 MX$69.2

$2.83 MYR 11.51

30.39%

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

$1.67 MX$31.23

$0.78 MYR 3.18

114.10%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.27 MX$23.71

$0.42 MYR 1.71

202.38%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.19 MX$59.8

$4.51 MYR 18.34

-29.27%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$5.31 MX$99.5

$6.23 MYR 25.38

-14.77%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.72 MX$32.32

$1.67 MYR 6.78

2.99%

White Bread (500g)

$3.04 MX$57.0

$1.07 MYR 4.34

184.11%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.94 MX$36.38

$1.43 MYR 5.84

35.66%

Eggs

$2.89 MX$54.1

$1.75 MYR 7.12

65.14%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$10.97 MX$206

$14.08 MYR 57.3

-22.09%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.25 MX$173

$4.56 MYR 18.56

102.85%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$15.13 MX$283

$10.18 MYR 41.44

48.62%

Apples (1kg)

$3.05 MX$57.1

$3.31 MYR 13.49

-7.85%

Banana (1kg)

$1.94 MX$36.38

$1.73 MYR 7.06

12.14%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.03 MX$37.95

$2.31 MYR 9.39

-12.12%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.31 MX$43.38

$1.50 MYR 6.09

54.00%

Potato (1kg)

$2.04 MX$38.14

$1.23 MYR 5.00

65.85%

Onion (1kg)

$1.80 MX$33.73

$1.36 MYR 5.53

32.35%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.48 MX$27.72

$1.13 MYR 4.61

30.97%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.27 MX$23.75

$0.55 MYR 2.22

130.91%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$5.30 MX$99.4

$4.40 MYR 17.93

20.45%

Wine (Bottle)

$16.10 MX$302

$14.20 MYR 57.8

13.38%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.98 MX$37.16

$2.95 MYR 12.01

-32.88%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.25 MX$79.7

$3.02 MYR 12.30

40.73%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.31 MX$5.72

$0.74 MYR 3.02

-58.11%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$19.73 MX$370

$12.19 MYR 49.61

61.85%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.84 MX$34.44

$0.95 MYR 3.86

93.68%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.53 MX$10.00

$0.71 MYR 2.87

-25.35%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$5.30 MX$99.2

$4.99 MYR 20.33

6.21%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.51 MX$28.31

$0.87 MYR 3.54

73.56%

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

$21.8K MX$407.7K

$44.4K MYR 180.9K

-51.06%

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

$24.0K MX$449.5K

$34.7K MYR 141.1K

-30.79%

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

$63.0 MX$1,180

$62.9 MYR 256

0.13%

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

$27.39 MX$513

$8.99 MYR 36.61

204.67%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$35.67 MX$668

$25.85 MYR 105

37.99%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$58.9 MX$1,105

$37.32 MYR 152

57.93%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$23.64 MX$443

$5.72 MYR 23.29

313.29%

Cinema Ticket

$6.40 MX$120

$5.01 MYR 20.37

27.74%

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

$432 MX$8,088

$241 MYR 981

79.00%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$11.4K MX$214.1K

$5,302 MYR 21.6K

115.47%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$68.2 MX$1,278

$54.1 MYR 220

26.10%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$53.1 MX$996

$16.45 MYR 67.0

222.98%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$108 MX$2,020

$79.9 MYR 325

34.88%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$117 MX$2,198

$97.9 MYR 399

19.76%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,113 MX$20.9K

$422 MYR 1,716

164.09%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$710 MX$13.3K

$286 MYR 1,164

148.53%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,588 MX$48.5K

$707 MYR 2,878

266.00%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,406 MX$26.3K

$546 MYR 2,223

157.44%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,631 MX$68.0K

$1,818 MYR 7,400

99.72%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$2,135 MX$40.0K

$1,236 MYR 5,031

72.75%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$946 MX$17.7K

$1,102 MYR 4,486

-14.15%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

11.35

4.06

179.56%

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

Last update for Mexico City: October 25, 2026

Last update for Putra Heights: October 27, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Mexico City

$710 44.2%

Putra Heights

$286 30.8% 59.8% $425

Groceries & Markets

Mexico City

$320 19.9%

Putra Heights

$246 26.5% 23% $74

Eating Out

Mexico City

$199 12.4%

Putra Heights

$119 12.8% 40.3% $80

Clothing & Footwear

Mexico City

$156 9.7%

Putra Heights

$112 12.1% 28.3% $44

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Mexico City

$126 7.8%

Putra Heights

$98 10.5% 22.5% $28

Sport & Entertainment

Mexico City

$72 4.5%

Putra Heights

$47 5.1% 34% $24

Getting Around

Mexico City

$25 1.6%

Putra Heights

$20 2.1% 22.9% $5.8

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,113 in Mexico City and $422 in Putra Heights. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Putra Heights pays 16% 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 $18 in Putra Heights for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $320 vs $246 per month, with Putra Heights cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇲🇽 Mexico City

🇲🇾 Putra Heights

🕒 Local time

12:22 12:22 PM

02:22 2:22 AM

14 h ahead of Mexico City

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

9,209,944 Capital

60,000

💱 Currency

Mexican Peso MXN $

Malaysian Ringgit MYR RM

📈 Exchange rate

100 MXN = 5.34 USD

100 MXN = 4.78 EUR

1 MYR = 0.246 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 November 2, 2026: 1 USD = 18.74 MXN (100 MXN = 5.34 USD). 1 EUR = 20.91 MXN (100 MXN = 4.78 EUR).

Malaysian Ringgit exchange rates as of November 2, 2026: 1 USD = 4.07 MYR (1 MYR = 0.246 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 Putra Heights 16,650 km ≈ 21 h nonstop flight

From you

Mexico City
Putra Heights

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 Putra Heights: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Total monthly costs including rent come to $1,608 in Mexico City and $927 in Putra Heights, so Putra Heights is about 42% cheaper – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

On paper, salaries run 14% 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 $422 in Putra Heights. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

A monthly transit pass in Putra Heights runs roughly 38% less than in Mexico City. The price difference matters if you commute daily and watch your budget.

Childcare runs $432 in Mexico City versus $241 in Putra Heights. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

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 Putra Heights gentler on the wallet – expenses run 42% less than in Mexico City. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.