Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Mexico City and Putrajaya

For one person, living is cheaper in Putrajaya: $813 a month against $1,608 in Mexico City, rent and utilities included – about $9,500 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
39

Cost of Living Index in Putrajaya
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Putrajaya Living Index

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Mexico City

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,608

/mo nomad

Putrajaya

🇲🇾 Malaysia

$813

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,608 in Mexico City versus $813 in Putrajaya.

Mexico City $1,608
Putrajaya $813

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,549 in Mexico City versus $1,227 in Putrajaya.

Mexico City $2,549
Putrajaya $1,227

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,490 in Mexico City versus $1,640 in Putrajaya.

Mexico City $3,490
Putrajaya $1,640

Living in Mexico City is roughly 98% more expensive than in Putrajaya, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

The two cities straddle the global median: Mexico City is 18% above, Putrajaya is 40% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$10.62 MX$199

$3.58 MYR 14.52

196.65%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$48.35 MX$908

$18.03 MYR 73.2

168.16%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$10.35 MX$194

$4.48 MYR 18.18

131.03%

Cappuccino

$3.69 MX$69.3

$2.89 MYR 11.71

27.68%

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

$1.67 MX$31.29

$0.82 MYR 3.34

103.66%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.27 MX$23.76

$0.39 MYR 1.59

225.64%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.19 MX$59.9

$3.69 MYR 14.97

-13.55%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$5.31 MX$99.6

$4.73 MYR 19.19

12.26%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.72 MX$32.38

$1.75 MYR 7.09

-1.71%

White Bread (500g)

$3.04 MX$57.1

$1.09 MYR 4.44

178.90%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.94 MX$36.44

$1.43 MYR 5.81

35.66%

Eggs

$2.89 MX$54.2

$1.71 MYR 6.94

69.01%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$10.97 MX$206

$7.72 MYR 31.33

42.10%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.25 MX$174

$4.70 MYR 19.08

96.81%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$15.13 MX$284

$9.58 MYR 38.86

57.93%

Apples (1kg)

$3.05 MX$57.2

$2.46 MYR 10.00

23.98%

Banana (1kg)

$1.94 MX$36.45

$1.49 MYR 6.04

30.20%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.03 MX$38.02

$2.22 MYR 9.00

-8.56%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.31 MX$43.46

$1.63 MYR 6.62

41.72%

Potato (1kg)

$2.04 MX$38.21

$1.39 MYR 5.64

46.76%

Onion (1kg)

$1.80 MX$33.79

$1.43 MYR 5.81

25.87%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.48 MX$27.77

$1.37 MYR 5.55

8.03%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.27 MX$23.80

$0.52 MYR 2.10

144.23%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$5.30 MX$99.6

$4.30 MYR 17.43

23.26%

Wine (Bottle)

$16.10 MX$302

$13.35 MYR 54.2

20.60%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.98 MX$37.23

$2.98 MYR 12.10

-33.56%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.25 MX$79.8

$3.01 MYR 12.19

41.20%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.31 MX$5.73

$0.69 MYR 2.82

-55.07%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$19.73 MX$371

$12.13 MYR 49.19

62.65%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.84 MX$34.50

$0.94 MYR 3.81

95.74%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.53 MX$10.02

$0.47 MYR 1.93

12.77%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$5.30 MX$99.4

$9.75 MYR 39.55

-45.64%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.51 MX$28.36

$0.69 MYR 2.80

118.84%

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

$21.8K MX$408.4K

$42.8K MYR 173.6K

-49.15%

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

$24.0K MX$450.3K

$34.4K MYR 139.4K

-30.19%

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

$63.0 MX$1,182

$52.5 MYR 213

19.98%

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

$27.39 MX$514

$11.02 MYR 44.72

148.55%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$35.67 MX$670

$22.68 MYR 92.0

57.28%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$58.9 MX$1,107

$35.81 MYR 145

64.59%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$23.64 MX$444

$9.28 MYR 37.64

154.74%

Cinema Ticket

$6.40 MX$120

$5.03 MYR 20.40

27.24%

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

$432 MX$8,103

$243 MYR 984

77.98%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$11.4K MX$214.5K

$4,555 MYR 18.5K

150.78%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$68.2 MX$1,281

$54.4 MYR 221

25.47%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$53.1 MX$997

$16.78 MYR 68.1

216.63%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$108 MX$2,023

$80.2 MYR 325

34.46%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$117 MX$2,202

$87.0 MYR 353

34.75%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,113 MX$20.9K

$345 MYR 1,398

223.16%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$710 MX$13.3K

$225 MYR 914

215.34%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,588 MX$48.6K

$633 MYR 2,570

308.60%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,406 MX$26.4K

$370 MYR 1,501

279.89%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,631 MX$68.2K

$2,682 MYR 10.9K

35.37%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$2,135 MX$40.1K

$1,783 MYR 7,235

19.72%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$946 MX$17.8K

$1,029 MYR 4,176

-8.09%

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 Putrajaya: October 26, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Mexico City

$710 44.2%

Putrajaya

$225 27.7% 68.3% $485

Groceries & Markets

Mexico City

$320 19.9%

Putrajaya

$221 27.2% 30.8% $99

Eating Out

Mexico City

$199 12.4%

Putrajaya

$109 13.5% 44.9% $89

Clothing & Footwear

Mexico City

$156 9.7%

Putrajaya

$107 13.2% 31.2% $49

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Mexico City

$126 7.8%

Putrajaya

$86 10.6% 31.6% $40

Sport & Entertainment

Mexico City

$72 4.5%

Putrajaya

$46 5.6% 36.1% $26

Getting Around

Mexico City

$25 1.6%

Putrajaya

$18 2.2% 28.4% $7.2

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,113 in Mexico City and $345 in Putrajaya. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Putrajaya pays 9% 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 Putrajaya for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $320 vs $221 per month, with Putrajaya cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇲🇽 Mexico City

🇲🇾 Putrajaya

🕒 Local time

06:01 6:01 AM

20:01 8:01 PM

14 h ahead of Mexico City

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

9,209,944 Capital

109,202

💱 Currency

Mexican Peso MXN $

Malaysian Ringgit MYR RM

📈 Exchange rate

100 MXN = 5.33 USD

100 MXN = 4.77 EUR

1 MYR = 0.246 USD

1 MYR = 0.221 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 1, 2026: 1 USD = 18.77 MXN (100 MXN = 5.33 USD). 1 EUR = 20.96 MXN (100 MXN = 4.77 EUR).

Malaysian Ringgit exchange rates as of November 1, 2026: 1 USD = 4.06 MYR (1 MYR = 0.246 USD). 1 EUR = 4.53 MYR (1 MYR = 0.221 EUR).

USD to MXN in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Mexico City Putrajaya 16,650 km ≈ 21 h nonstop flight

From you

Mexico City
Putrajaya

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 Putrajaya: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Total monthly costs including rent come to $1,608 in Mexico City and $813 in Putrajaya, so Putrajaya is about 49% cheaper – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

On paper, salaries run 8% 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 $345 in Putrajaya. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

A monthly transit pass in Putrajaya runs roughly 39% less than in Mexico City. The price difference matters if you commute daily and watch your budget.

Childcare runs $432 in Mexico City versus $243 in Putrajaya. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Both cities are expensive relative to $800. Putrajaya 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 Putrajaya gentler on the wallet – expenses run 49% less than in Mexico City. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.