Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Mexico City and Sentul

For one person, living is cheaper in Sentul: $869 a month against $1,608 in Mexico City, rent and utilities included – about $8,900 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
43

Cost of Living Index in Sentul
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Sentul Living Index

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Mexico City

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,608

/mo nomad

Sentul

🇲🇾 Malaysia

$869

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,608 in Mexico City versus $869 in Sentul.

Mexico City $1,608
Sentul $869

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,549 in Mexico City versus $1,351 in Sentul.

Mexico City $2,549
Sentul $1,351

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,490 in Mexico City versus $1,833 in Sentul.

Mexico City $3,490
Sentul $1,833

Living in Mexico City is roughly 85% more expensive than in Sentul, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

The two cities straddle the global median: Mexico City is 18% above, Sentul is 36% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$10.62 MX$198

$3.58 MYR 14.59

196.65%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$48.35 MX$901

$22.02 MYR 89.7

119.57%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$10.35 MX$193

$4.75 MYR 19.34

117.89%

Cappuccino

$3.69 MX$68.8

$2.93 MYR 11.94

25.94%

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

$1.67 MX$31.07

$0.82 MYR 3.35

103.66%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.27 MX$23.59

$0.51 MYR 2.09

149.02%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.19 MX$59.5

$3.27 MYR 13.33

-2.45%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$5.31 MX$98.9

$5.82 MYR 23.71

-8.76%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.72 MX$32.15

$1.72 MYR 7.03

White Bread (500g)

$3.04 MX$56.7

$1.02 MYR 4.15

198.04%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.94 MX$36.19

$1.44 MYR 5.87

34.72%

Eggs

$2.89 MX$53.8

$1.73 MYR 7.05

67.05%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$10.97 MX$205

$9.77 MYR 39.80

12.28%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.25 MX$172

$3.35 MYR 13.66

176.12%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$15.13 MX$282

$9.69 MYR 39.47

56.14%

Apples (1kg)

$3.05 MX$56.8

$3.30 MYR 13.46

-7.58%

Banana (1kg)

$1.94 MX$36.19

$1.67 MYR 6.82

16.17%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.03 MX$37.75

$2.74 MYR 11.15

-25.91%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.31 MX$43.15

$1.60 MYR 6.52

44.38%

Potato (1kg)

$2.04 MX$37.94

$1.42 MYR 5.78

43.66%

Onion (1kg)

$1.80 MX$33.55

$1.68 MYR 6.83

7.14%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.48 MX$27.58

$1.33 MYR 5.43

11.28%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.27 MX$23.63

$0.54 MYR 2.20

135.19%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$5.30 MX$98.9

$4.33 MYR 17.66

22.40%

Wine (Bottle)

$16.10 MX$300

$13.96 MYR 56.9

15.33%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.98 MX$36.97

$2.67 MYR 10.89

-25.84%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.25 MX$79.3

$3.04 MYR 12.38

39.80%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.31 MX$5.69

$0.84 MYR 3.42

-63.10%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$19.73 MX$368

$12.36 MYR 50.4

59.63%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.84 MX$34.25

$1.02 MYR 4.15

80.39%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.53 MX$9.94

$0.38 MYR 1.56

39.47%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$5.30 MX$98.7

$8.91 MYR 36.30

-40.52%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.51 MX$28.16

$0.80 MYR 3.25

88.75%

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

$21.8K MX$405.5K

$43.9K MYR 178.9K

-50.47%

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

$24.0K MX$447.1K

$35.2K MYR 143.5K

-31.91%

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

$63.0 MX$1,174

$48.67 MYR 198

29.40%

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

$27.39 MX$511

$8.10 MYR 32.99

238.15%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$35.67 MX$665

$26.45 MYR 108

34.86%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$58.9 MX$1,099

$38.55 MYR 157

52.89%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$23.64 MX$441

$7.36 MYR 30.00

221.20%

Cinema Ticket

$6.40 MX$119

$4.86 MYR 19.79

31.69%

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

$432 MX$8,045

$234 MYR 953

84.54%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$11.4K MX$212.9K

$4,527 MYR 18.4K

152.32%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$68.2 MX$1,272

$52.0 MYR 212

31.27%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$53.1 MX$990

$16.61 MYR 67.7

219.87%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$108 MX$2,009

$78.4 MYR 320

37.40%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$117 MX$2,186

$85.6 MYR 349

36.97%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,113 MX$20.8K

$426 MYR 1,736

161.37%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$710 MX$13.2K

$275 MYR 1,122

158.07%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,588 MX$48.2K

$825 MYR 3,362

213.68%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,406 MX$26.2K

$528 MYR 2,152

166.22%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,631 MX$67.7K

$2,029 MYR 8,269

78.91%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$2,135 MX$39.8K

$1,176 MYR 4,792

81.53%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$946 MX$17.6K

$872 MYR 3,552

8.54%

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 Sentul: October 24, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Mexico City

$710 44.2%

Sentul

$275 31.7% 61.3% $435

Groceries & Markets

Mexico City

$320 19.9%

Sentul

$228 26.2% 28.8% $92

Eating Out

Mexico City

$199 12.4%

Sentul

$111 12.8% 43.9% $87

Clothing & Footwear

Mexico City

$156 9.7%

Sentul

$105 12.1% 32.8% $51

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Mexico City

$126 7.8%

Sentul

$83 9.6% 34% $43

Sport & Entertainment

Mexico City

$72 4.5%

Sentul

$48 5.6% 32.7% $23

Getting Around

Mexico City

$25 1.6%

Sentul

$19 2.2% 26.7% $6.8

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,113 in Mexico City and $426 in Sentul. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Mexico City pays 9% more on average. The extra income cushions the higher costs, though housing choices and lifestyle decide how much of the gap is truly closed.

Dining out: $48 in Mexico City vs $22 in Sentul for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $320 vs $228 per month, with Sentul cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇲🇽 Mexico City

🇲🇾 Sentul

🕒 Local time

14:36 2:36 PM

04:36 4:36 AM

14 h ahead of Mexico City

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

9,209,944 Capital

100,000

💱 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 Sentul 16,620 km ≈ 21 h nonstop flight

From you

Mexico City
Sentul

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 Sentul: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Total monthly costs including rent come to $1,608 in Mexico City and $869 in Sentul, so Sentul is about 46% cheaper – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

Average pay runs 9% higher in Mexico City, which matters when comparing affordability. Whether that higher income actually nets you more depends on your spending habits and housing choices.

Rent for a central apartment: $1,113 in Mexico City versus $426 in Sentul. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

A monthly transit pass in Sentul runs roughly 37% less than in Mexico City. The price difference matters if you commute daily and watch your budget.

Childcare runs $432 in Mexico City versus $234 in Sentul. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Both cities are expensive relative to $800. Sentul 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 Sentul gentler on the wallet – expenses run 46% less than in Mexico City. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.