Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Mexico City and Zug

For one person, living is cheaper in Mexico City: $1,548 a month against $4,837 in Zug, rent and utilities included – about $39,500 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

75

Cost of Living Index in Mexico City
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Mexico City Living Index
236

Cost of Living Index in Zug
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Zug Living Index

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Mexico City

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,548

/mo nomad

Zug

🇨🇭 Switzerland

$4,837

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,548 in Mexico City versus $4,837 in Zug.

Mexico City $1,548
Zug $4,837

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,436 in Mexico City versus $7,605 in Zug.

Mexico City $2,436
Zug $7,605

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,323 in Mexico City versus $10.4K in Zug.

Mexico City $3,323
Zug $10.4K

Living in Mexico City costs roughly 68% less than in Zug, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Both cities are pricier than the global median: Mexico City 14% above, Zug 257% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$11.02 MX$204

$36.92 CHF 30.56

-70.15%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$48.68 MX$903

$178 CHF 148

-72.71%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$10.90 MX$202

$23.76 CHF 19.66

-54.12%

Cappuccino

$3.68 MX$68.3

$7.12 CHF 5.90

-48.31%

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

$1.63 MX$30.30

$6.16 CHF 5.10

-73.54%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.25 MX$23.16

$6.03 CHF 4.99

-79.27%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.25 MX$60.3

$9.45 CHF 7.82

-65.61%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$5.53 MX$103

$7.71 CHF 6.38

-28.27%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.70 MX$31.62

$2.19 CHF 1.81

-22.37%

White Bread (500g)

$3.02 MX$56.0

$4.00 CHF 3.31

-24.50%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.92 MX$35.67

$4.14 CHF 3.43

-53.62%

Eggs

$2.73 MX$50.7

$7.88 CHF 6.52

-65.36%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$11.77 MX$218

$27.44 CHF 22.71

-57.11%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.53 MX$177

$31.40 CHF 25.99

-69.65%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$14.41 MX$267

$41.61 CHF 34.44

-65.37%

Apples (1kg)

$3.02 MX$56.0

$3.72 CHF 3.08

-18.82%

Banana (1kg)

$1.89 MX$35.14

$1.95 CHF 1.62

-3.08%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.99 MX$36.84

$2.83 CHF 2.34

-29.68%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.19 MX$40.54

$5.35 CHF 4.43

-59.07%

Potato (1kg)

$1.92 MX$35.56

$2.04 CHF 1.69

-5.88%

Onion (1kg)

$1.87 MX$34.63

$2.21 CHF 1.83

-15.38%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.44 MX$26.72

$2.40 CHF 1.99

-40.00%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.27 MX$23.48

$1.33 CHF 1.10

-4.51%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$5.22 MX$96.8

$10.94 CHF 9.06

-52.29%

Wine (Bottle)

$16.17 MX$300

$17.81 CHF 14.74

-9.21%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.90 MX$35.17

$2.95 CHF 2.44

-35.59%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.22 MX$78.3

$3.88 CHF 3.21

8.76%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.34 MX$6.33

$4.88 CHF 4.04

-93.03%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$19.65 MX$365

$161 CHF 133

-87.76%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$2.00 MX$37.04

$8.84 CHF 7.32

-77.38%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.52 MX$9.71

$6.17 CHF 5.11

-91.57%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$5.34 MX$99.1

$36.93 CHF 30.56

-85.54%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.52 MX$28.24

$2.23 CHF 1.84

-31.84%

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

$22.1K MX$409.5K

$38.5K CHF 31.8K

-42.60%

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

$24.5K MX$454.7K

$39.7K CHF 32.8K

-38.23%

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

$61.1 MX$1,133

$276 CHF 229

-77.91%

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

$28.58 MX$530

$38.12 CHF 31.55

-25.03%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$34.47 MX$639

$61.7 CHF 51.1

-44.14%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$56.4 MX$1,046

$121 CHF 99.9

-53.29%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$24.88 MX$462

$32.40 CHF 26.81

-23.21%

Cinema Ticket

$6.66 MX$124

$23.71 CHF 19.62

-71.91%

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

$427 MX$7,922

$4,240 CHF 3,509

-89.93%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$11.6K MX$215.9K

$35.1K CHF 29.0K

-66.83%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$67.8 MX$1,258

$168 CHF 139

-59.53%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$52.0 MX$964

$67.5 CHF 55.9

-23.06%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$106 MX$1,967

$154 CHF 127

-31.10%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$113 MX$2,088

$272 CHF 225

-58.56%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,025 MX$19.0K

$3,874 CHF 3,206

-73.55%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$654 MX$12.1K

$2,575 CHF 2,131

-74.59%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,308 MX$42.8K

$6,833 CHF 5,655

-66.22%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,242 MX$23.0K

$4,953 CHF 4,099

-74.92%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,613 MX$67.0K

$31.1K CHF 25.7K

-88.37%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,936 MX$35.9K

$21.2K CHF 17.5K

-90.85%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$964 MX$17.9K

$7,434 CHF 6,153

-87.03%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

11.3

1.9

494.74%

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

Last update for Mexico City: October 20, 2026

Last update for Zug: October 18, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Mexico City

$654 42.3%

Zug

$2.6K 53.2% 294% $1.9K

Groceries & Markets

Mexico City

$318 20.6%

Zug

$637 13.2% 100% $319

Eating Out

Mexico City

$204 13.2%

Zug

$564 11.7% 177% $360

Clothing & Footwear

Mexico City

$152 9.8%

Zug

$297 6.2% 95.2% $145

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Mexico City

$124 8%

Zug

$376 7.8% 203% $252

Sport & Entertainment

Mexico City

$70 4.5%

Zug

$168 3.5% 141% $98

Getting Around

Mexico City

$26 1.7%

Zug

$220 4.5% 757% $194

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,025 in Mexico City and $3,874 in Zug. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Zug pays about 7.7 times more on average. How far that income stretches comes down to housing choices and lifestyle.

Dining out: $49 in Mexico City vs $178 in Zug for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $318 vs $637 per month, with Mexico City cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇲🇽 Mexico City

🇨🇭 Zug

🕒 Local time

19:37 7:37 PM

02:37 2:37 AM

7 h ahead of Mexico City

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

9,209,944 Capital

29,251

💱 Currency

Mexican Peso MXN $

Swiss Franc CHF Fr

📈 Exchange rate

100 MXN = 5.39 USD

100 MXN = 4.81 EUR

1 CHF = 1.21 USD

1 CHF = 1.08 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

CHF, USD, EUR to MXN – Mexican Peso Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇲🇽 Mexican Peso ($)

Mexican Peso exchange rates as of October 27, 2026: 1 USD = 18.55 MXN (100 MXN = 5.39 USD). 1 EUR = 20.77 MXN (100 MXN = 4.81 EUR).

Swiss Franc exchange rates as of October 27, 2026: 1 USD = 0.828 CHF (1 CHF = 1.21 USD). 1 EUR = 0.927 CHF (1 CHF = 1.08 EUR).

USD to MXN in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Mexico City Zug 9,690 km ≈ 13 h nonstop flight

From you

Mexico City
Zug

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 Zug: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Mexico City and Zug differ by about 212% in total monthly costs ($1,548 vs $4,837 including rent). Mexico City is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

On paper, salaries run 87% 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: $1,025 in Mexico City versus $3,874 in Zug. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

A monthly transit pass in Mexico City runs roughly 88% less than in Zug. Both cities have functional networks, but the price difference matters if you’re watching your budget.

Childcare runs $427 in Mexico City versus $4,240 in Zug. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

At $1,548 in Mexico City versus $4,837 in Zug, a $2,000 budget is realistic in Mexico City but tight or insufficient in Zug. The gap between the two cities makes Mexico City 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 Mexico City gentler on the wallet – expenses run 68% less than in Zug. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.