Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Mexico City and Surabaya

For one person, living is cheaper in Surabaya: $674 a month against $1,548 in Mexico City, rent and utilities included – about $10,500 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

75

Cost of Living Index in Mexico City
Learn more

Mexico City Living Index
33

Cost of Living Index in Surabaya
Learn more

Surabaya Living Index

Jump to prices

Mexico City

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,548

/mo nomad

Surabaya

🇮🇩 Indonesia

$674

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,548 in Mexico City versus $674 in Surabaya.

Mexico City $1,548
Surabaya $674

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,436 in Mexico City versus $1,173 in Surabaya.

Mexico City $2,436
Surabaya $1,173

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,323 in Mexico City versus $1,672 in Surabaya.

Mexico City $3,323
Surabaya $1,672

Living in Mexico City is roughly 130% more expensive than in Surabaya, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Mexico City is 14% above, Surabaya is 50% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$11.02 MX$204

$1.63 Rp 29.3K

576.07%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$48.68 MX$900

$11.26 Rp 202.7K

332.33%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$10.90 MX$201

$3.14 Rp 56.5K

247.13%

Cappuccino

$3.68 MX$68.1

$1.56 Rp 28.0K

135.90%

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

$1.63 MX$30.18

$0.55 Rp 9,867

196.36%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.25 MX$23.07

$0.26 Rp 4,619

380.77%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.25 MX$60.1

$2.16 Rp 38.9K

50.46%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$5.53 MX$102

$4.14 Rp 74.5K

33.57%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.70 MX$31.50

$1.25 Rp 22.5K

36.00%

White Bread (500g)

$3.02 MX$55.8

$1.27 Rp 22.9K

137.80%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.92 MX$35.53

$0.83 Rp 15.0K

131.33%

Eggs

$2.73 MX$50.5

$1.18 Rp 21.2K

131.36%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$11.77 MX$218

$7.75 Rp 139.4K

51.87%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.53 MX$176

$3.08 Rp 55.5K

209.42%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$14.41 MX$266

$7.75 Rp 139.4K

85.94%

Apples (1kg)

$3.02 MX$55.8

$2.02 Rp 36.3K

49.50%

Banana (1kg)

$1.89 MX$35.01

$1.29 Rp 23.2K

46.51%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.99 MX$36.70

$1.89 Rp 34.0K

5.29%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.19 MX$40.38

$1.49 Rp 26.9K

46.98%

Potato (1kg)

$1.92 MX$35.43

$1.36 Rp 24.4K

41.18%

Onion (1kg)

$1.87 MX$34.49

$1.90 Rp 34.2K

-1.58%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.44 MX$26.62

$0.89 Rp 16.0K

61.80%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.27 MX$23.39

$0.39 Rp 7,029

225.64%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$5.22 MX$96.4

$1.98 Rp 35.7K

163.64%

Wine (Bottle)

$16.17 MX$299

$25.14 Rp 452.5K

-35.68%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.90 MX$35.03

$1.74 Rp 31.3K

9.20%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.22 MX$78.0

$2.83 Rp 50.9K

49.12%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.34 MX$6.30

$0.35 Rp 6,237

-2.86%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$19.65 MX$363

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$2.00 MX$36.90

$0.46 Rp 8,282

334.78%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.52 MX$9.67

$0.42 Rp 7,542

23.81%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$5.34 MX$98.7

$2.58 Rp 46.4K

106.98%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.52 MX$28.13

$0.88 Rp 15.8K

72.73%

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

$22.1K MX$408.0K

$24.6K Rp 443.1M

-10.32%

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

$24.5K MX$452.9K

$32.3K Rp 581.0M

-24.06%

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

$61.1 MX$1,129

$87.3 Rp 1.6M

-30.06%

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

$28.58 MX$528

$4.57 Rp 82.2K

525.38%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$34.47 MX$637

$19.05 Rp 342.9K

80.94%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$56.4 MX$1,042

$17.92 Rp 322.6K

214.51%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$24.88 MX$460

$6.66 Rp 119.9K

273.57%

Cinema Ticket

$6.66 MX$123

$2.64 Rp 47.5K

152.27%

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

$427 MX$7,891

$277 Rp 5.0M

54.10%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$11.6K MX$215.0K

$9,324 Rp 167.8M

24.81%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$67.8 MX$1,253

$70.9 Rp 1.3M

-4.37%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$52.0 MX$960

$38.58 Rp 694.4K

34.68%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$106 MX$1,959

$80.8 Rp 1.5M

31.27%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$113 MX$2,080

$75.1 Rp 1.4M

49.81%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,025 MX$18.9K

$282 Rp 5.1M

262.86%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$654 MX$12.1K

$144 Rp 2.6M

353.49%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,308 MX$42.7K

$1,238 Rp 22.3M

86.40%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,242 MX$22.9K

$601 Rp 10.8M

106.64%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,613 MX$66.8K

$2,161 Rp 38.9M

67.20%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,936 MX$35.8K

$1,072 Rp 19.3M

80.61%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$964 MX$17.8K

$271 Rp 4.9M

256.40%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

11.3

7.5

50.67%

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

Last update for Mexico City: October 20, 2026

Last update for Surabaya: October 20, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Mexico City

$654 42.3%

Surabaya

$144 21.4% 77.9% $510

Groceries & Markets

Mexico City

$318 20.6%

Surabaya

$209 31% 34.4% $109

Eating Out

Mexico City

$204 13.2%

Surabaya

$63 9.4% 68.9% $140

Clothing & Footwear

Mexico City

$152 9.8%

Surabaya

$119 17.7% 21.6% $33

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Mexico City

$124 8%

Surabaya

$111 16.5% 10.6% $13

Sport & Entertainment

Mexico City

$70 4.5%

Surabaya

$23 3.4% 66.7% $47

Getting Around

Mexico City

$26 1.7%

Surabaya

$3.9 * 0.6% 84.6% $22

Categories marked with * are only partly priced – their share counts the items that do have prices.

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,025 in Mexico City and $282 in Surabaya. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Mexico City pays 256% 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: $49.00 in Mexico City vs $11.00 in Surabaya for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $318 vs $209 per month, with Surabaya cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇲🇽 Mexico City

🇮🇩 Surabaya

🕒 Local time

08:24 8:24 AM

21:24 9:24 PM

13 h ahead of Mexico City

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

9,209,944 Capital

2,765,487

💱 Currency

Mexican Peso MXN $

Indonesian Rupiah IDR Rp

📈 Exchange rate

100 MXN = 5.41 USD

100 MXN = 4.81 EUR

100,000 IDR = 5.56 USD

100,000 IDR = 4.94 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

IDR, USD, EUR to MXN – Mexican Peso Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇲🇽 Mexican Peso ($)

Mexican Peso exchange rates as of October 20, 2026: 1 USD = 18.48 MXN (100 MXN = 5.41 USD). 1 EUR = 20.77 MXN (100 MXN = 4.81 EUR).

Indonesian Rupiah exchange rates as of October 20, 2026: 1 USD = 18,000 IDR (100,000 IDR = 5.56 USD). 1 EUR = 20,236 IDR (100,000 IDR = 4.94 EUR).

USD to MXN in detail →

On the map

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Highest

Between locations

Mexico City Surabaya 16,320 km ≈ 21 h nonstop flight

From you

Mexico City
Surabaya

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 Surabaya: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Mexico City and Surabaya differ by about 130% in total monthly costs ($1,548 vs $674 including rent). Surabaya is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

Average pay runs 256% 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: $1,025 in Mexico City versus $282 in Surabaya. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $427 in Mexico City versus $277 in Surabaya. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Dining out is cheaper in Surabaya – a meal for two runs $11.00 versus $49.00 in Mexico City. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

At $674 in Surabaya versus $1,548 in Mexico City, a $2,000 budget is realistic in Surabaya but tight or insufficient in Mexico City. The gap between the two cities makes Surabaya 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 Surabaya gentler on the wallet – expenses run 130% less than in Mexico City. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.