Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Osaka and Mexico City

For one person, living is cheaper in Osaka: $1,396 a month against $1,608 in Mexico City, rent and utilities included – about $2,500 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

67

Cost of Living Index in Osaka
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Osaka Living Index
78

Cost of Living Index in Mexico City
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Mexico City Living Index

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Osaka

🇯🇵 Japan

$1,396

/mo nomad

Mexico City

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,608

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Real prices from locals and on-the-ground checks – rent, groceries, transit and the daily extras. Here's what a month in Osaka and in Mexico City actually costs, broken down by who's living it.

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,396 in Osaka versus $1,608 in Mexico City.

Osaka $1,396
Mexico City $1,608

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,027 in Osaka versus $2,549 in Mexico City.

Osaka $2,027
Mexico City $2,549

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $2,658 in Osaka versus $3,490 in Mexico City.

Osaka $2,658
Mexico City $3,490

Living in Osaka costs roughly 13% less than in Mexico City, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Both cities are pricier than the global median: Osaka 3% above, Mexico City 18% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$6.50 ¥1,027

$10.62 MX$198

-38.79%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$31.93 ¥5,041

$48.35 MX$901

-33.96%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$5.15 ¥813

$10.35 MX$193

-50.24%

Cappuccino

$3.03 ¥478

$3.69 MX$68.8

-17.89%

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

$1.39 ¥220

$1.67 MX$31.07

-16.77%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.71 ¥113

$1.27 MX$23.59

-44.09%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.75 ¥434

$3.19 MX$59.5

-13.79%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.89 ¥614

$5.31 MX$98.9

-26.74%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.46 ¥230

$1.72 MX$32.15

-15.12%

White Bread (500g)

$1.30 ¥205

$3.04 MX$56.7

-57.24%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$5.46 ¥863

$1.94 MX$36.19

181.44%

Eggs

$2.03 ¥321

$2.89 MX$53.8

-29.76%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$9.63 ¥1,520

$10.97 MX$205

-12.22%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.45 ¥1,492

$9.25 MX$172

2.16%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$18.58 ¥2,933

$15.13 MX$282

22.80%

Apples (1kg)

$3.39 ¥535

$3.05 MX$56.8

11.15%

Banana (1kg)

$2.00 ¥316

$1.94 MX$36.19

3.09%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.09 ¥329

$2.03 MX$37.75

2.96%

Tomato (1kg)

$4.14 ¥654

$2.31 MX$43.15

79.22%

Potato (1kg)

$1.57 ¥247

$2.04 MX$37.94

-23.04%

Onion (1kg)

$1.17 ¥185

$1.80 MX$33.55

-35.00%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.37 ¥217

$1.48 MX$27.58

-7.43%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.81 ¥128

$1.27 MX$23.63

-36.22%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.02 ¥635

$5.30 MX$98.9

-24.15%

Wine (Bottle)

$9.72 ¥1,535

$16.10 MX$300

-39.63%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.94 ¥306

$1.98 MX$36.97

-2.02%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.19 ¥503

$4.25 MX$79.3

-24.94%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.35 ¥213

$0.31 MX$5.69

335.48%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$32.79 ¥5,178

$19.73 MX$368

66.19%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.90 ¥616

$1.84 MX$34.25

111.96%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$3.26 ¥515

$0.53 MX$9.94

515.09%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$21.50 ¥3,395

$5.30 MX$98.7

305.66%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.11 ¥176

$1.51 MX$28.16

-26.49%

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

$22.3K ¥3.5M

$21.8K MX$405.5K

2.60%

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

$14.9K ¥2.3M

$24.0K MX$447.1K

-38.09%

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

$141 ¥22.3K

$63.0 MX$1,174

123.86%

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

$24.00 ¥3,790

$27.39 MX$511

-12.38%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$30.50 ¥4,815

$35.67 MX$665

-14.49%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$51.7 ¥8,168

$58.9 MX$1,099

-12.23%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$18.86 ¥2,978

$23.64 MX$441

-20.22%

Cinema Ticket

$12.85 ¥2,028

$6.40 MX$119

100.78%

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

$709 ¥111.9K

$432 MX$8,045

64.17%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$13.2K ¥2.1M

$11.4K MX$212.9K

15.95%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$48.77 ¥7,700

$68.2 MX$1,272

-28.51%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$30.94 ¥4,885

$53.1 MX$990

-41.77%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$72.9 ¥11.5K

$108 MX$2,009

-32.34%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$90.8 ¥14.3K

$117 MX$2,186

-22.61%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$732 ¥115.6K

$1,113 MX$20.8K

-34.25%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$516 ¥81.5K

$710 MX$13.2K

-27.37%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,693 ¥267.3K

$2,588 MX$48.2K

-34.59%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$773 ¥122.1K

$1,406 MX$26.2K

-45.01%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$6,542 ¥1.0M

$3,631 MX$67.7K

80.17%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$3,063 ¥483.6K

$2,135 MX$39.8K

43.46%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$2,363 ¥373.1K

$946 MX$17.6K

149.73%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

2.21

11.35

-80.53%

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

Last update for Osaka: October 25, 2026

Last update for Mexico City: October 25, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Osaka

$516 37%

Mexico City

$710 44.2% 37.7% $194

Groceries & Markets

Osaka

$305 21.9%

Mexico City

$320 19.9% 4.7% $14

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Osaka

$195 14%

Mexico City

$126 7.8% 35.5% $69

Eating Out

Osaka

$134 9.6%

Mexico City

$199 12.4% 48.5% $65

Clothing & Footwear

Osaka

$110 7.9%

Mexico City

$156 9.7% 42.3% $46

Sport & Entertainment

Osaka

$77 5.6%

Mexico City

$72 4.5% 7.3% $5.7

Getting Around

Osaka

$58 4.2%

Mexico City

$25 1.6% 56.4% $33

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $732 in Osaka and $1,113 in Mexico City. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Osaka pays about 2.5 times more on average while also being the cheaper of the two. The combined effect is a noticeably stronger local purchasing power.

Dining out: $32 in Osaka vs $48 in Mexico City for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $305 vs $320 per month, with Osaka cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇯🇵 Osaka

🇲🇽 Mexico City

🕒 Local time

07:13 7:13 AM

16:13 4:13 PM

15 h behind Osaka

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

2,691,185

9,209,944 Capital

💱 Currency

Japanese Yen JPY ¥

Mexican Peso MXN $

📈 Exchange rate

1,000 JPY = 6.33 USD

1,000 JPY = 5.69 EUR

100 MXN = 5.36 USD

100 MXN = 4.82 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

MXN, USD, EUR to JPY – Japanese Yen Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇯🇵 Japanese Yen (¥)

Japanese Yen exchange rates as of October 28, 2026: 1 USD = 158 JPY (1,000 JPY = 6.33 USD). 1 EUR = 176 JPY (1,000 JPY = 5.69 EUR).

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).

USD to JPY in detail →

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Between locations

Osaka Mexico City 11,680 km ≈ 15 h nonstop flight

From you

Osaka
Mexico City

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

Osaka vs Mexico City: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Total monthly costs including rent come to $1,396 in Osaka and $1,608 in Mexico City, so Osaka is about 13% cheaper – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

Average pay in Osaka is about 2.5 times higher, 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: $732 in Osaka versus $1,113 in Mexico City. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

A monthly transit pass in Mexico City runs roughly 40% less than in Osaka. The price difference matters if you commute daily and watch your budget.

Childcare runs $709 in Osaka versus $432 in Mexico City. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Either city works on $2,000 a month, though Osaka gives you more room to save. At this income level, the choice is more about lifestyle than financial pressure.

Both work as nomad bases, but Osaka delivers better value at $1,396 monthly. If stretching your runway or maximizing savings is the goal, the price difference makes Osaka hard to pass up.