Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Palembang and Mexico City

For one person, living is cheaper in Palembang: $615 a month against $1,567 in Mexico City, rent and utilities included – about $11,400 less a year. Rent and utilities account for about half of the difference.

30

Cost of Living Index in Palembang
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Palembang Living Index
76

Cost of Living Index in Mexico City
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Mexico City Living Index

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Palembang

🇮🇩 Indonesia

$615

/mo nomad

Mexico City

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,567

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Palembang 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 Palembang and in Mexico City actually costs, broken down by who's living it.

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $615 in Palembang versus $1,567 in Mexico City.

Palembang $615
Mexico City $1,567

Estimated couple costs with rent: $980 in Palembang versus $2,450 in Mexico City.

Palembang $980
Mexico City $2,450

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $1,344 in Palembang versus $3,333 in Mexico City.

Palembang $1,344
Mexico City $3,333

Living in Palembang costs roughly 61% less than in Mexico City, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Palembang is 54% below, Mexico City is 16% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$1.14 Rp 20.4K

$10.75 MX$199

-89.40%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$16.00 Rp 287.9K

$50.3 MX$929

-68.16%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$2.82 Rp 50.8K

$11.10 MX$205

-74.59%

Cappuccino

$1.29 Rp 23.1K

$3.68 MX$68.1

-64.95%

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

$0.84 Rp 15.1K

$1.65 MX$30.42

-49.09%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.25 Rp 4,503

$1.30 MX$24.08

-80.77%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$1.70 Rp 30.6K

$3.32 MX$61.3

-48.80%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.27 Rp 58.9K

$5.54 MX$102

-40.97%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.12 Rp 20.1K

$1.77 MX$32.68

-36.72%

White Bread (500g)

$1.15 Rp 20.6K

$3.05 MX$56.4

-62.30%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$0.82 Rp 14.7K

$2.01 MX$37.20

-59.20%

Eggs

$1.22 Rp 22.0K

$2.77 MX$51.1

-55.96%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$7.24 Rp 130.4K

$11.91 MX$220

-39.21%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$2.99 Rp 53.9K

$9.33 MX$172

-67.95%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$7.44 Rp 133.9K

$15.02 MX$278

-50.47%

Apples (1kg)

$2.24 Rp 40.3K

$3.08 MX$56.8

-27.27%

Banana (1kg)

$1.11 Rp 20.0K

$1.95 MX$35.97

-43.08%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.47 Rp 26.5K

$2.03 MX$37.54

-27.59%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.37 Rp 24.6K

$2.21 MX$40.92

-38.01%

Potato (1kg)

$1.17 Rp 21.1K

$2.02 MX$37.41

-42.08%

Onion (1kg)

$1.95 Rp 35.0K

$1.82 MX$33.67

7.14%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.65 Rp 11.7K

$1.52 MX$28.07

-57.24%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.44 Rp 7,856

$1.28 MX$23.65

-65.63%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$2.21 Rp 39.8K

$5.27 MX$97.4

-58.06%

Wine (Bottle)

$21.49 Rp 386.7K

$16.12 MX$298

33.31%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.88 Rp 33.9K

$1.95 MX$36.05

-3.59%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.94 Rp 52.9K

$4.25 MX$78.6

-30.82%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.44 Rp 7,878

$0.31 MX$5.82

41.94%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$19.85 MX$367

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$0.53 Rp 9,526

$2.00 MX$36.93

-73.50%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.40 Rp 7,284

$0.53 MX$9.86

-24.53%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$2.84 Rp 51.2K

$5.62 MX$104

-49.47%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$0.82 Rp 14.8K

$1.52 MX$28.07

-46.05%

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

$23.2K Rp 417.8M

$21.0K MX$388.7K

10.35%

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

$31.6K Rp 568.7M

$25.2K MX$465.3K

25.48%

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

$71.6 Rp 1.3M

$62.5 MX$1,155

14.53%

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

$4.39 Rp 79.0K

$28.77 MX$532

-84.74%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$19.20 Rp 345.5K

$34.45 MX$637

-44.27%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$19.72 Rp 355.0K

$57.1 MX$1,055

-65.46%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$7.99 Rp 143.8K

$24.81 MX$458

-67.80%

Cinema Ticket

$2.85 Rp 51.4K

$6.67 MX$123

-57.27%

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

$90.1 Rp 1.6M

$431 MX$7,964

-79.09%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$8,423 Rp 151.6M

$11.7K MX$216.9K

-28.25%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$42.78 Rp 770.0K

$70.8 MX$1,308

-39.57%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$28.77 Rp 517.8K

$51.8 MX$958

-44.49%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$74.6 Rp 1.3M

$109 MX$2,011

-31.50%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$69.3 Rp 1.2M

$112 MX$2,076

-38.27%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$230 Rp 4.1M

$1,051 MX$19.4K

-78.13%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$147 Rp 2.6M

$665 MX$12.3K

-77.87%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$532 Rp 9.6M

$2,346 MX$43.3K

-77.32%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$361 Rp 6.5M

$1,227 MX$22.7K

-70.56%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$1,254 Rp 22.6M

$3,554 MX$65.7K

-64.72%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$886 Rp 15.9M

$1,977 MX$36.5K

-55.18%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$309 Rp 5.6M

$975 MX$18.0K

-68.29%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

9.46

11.3

-16.28%

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

Last update for Palembang: October 11, 2026

Last update for Mexico City: October 11, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Groceries & Markets

Palembang

$194 31.5%

Mexico City

$323 20.6% 66.4% $129

Accommodation & Living

Palembang

$147 23.9%

Mexico City

$665 42.4% 352% $518

Clothing & Footwear

Palembang

$97 15.8%

Mexico City

$155 9.9% 59.6% $58

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Palembang

$95 15.5%

Mexico City

$126 8% 32.1% $31

Eating Out

Palembang

$52 8.5%

Mexico City

$203 13% 288% $151

Sport & Entertainment

Palembang

$25 4.1%

Mexico City

$70 4.5% 177% $45

Getting Around

Palembang

$4.3 * 0.7%

Mexico City

$26 1.6% 500% $21

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 $230 in Palembang and $1,051 in Mexico City. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Mexico City pays 215% 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: $16.00 in Palembang vs $50.0 in Mexico City for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $194 vs $323 per month, with Palembang cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇮🇩 Palembang

🇲🇽 Mexico City

🕒 Local time

17:45 5:45 PM

04:45 4:45 AM

13 h behind Palembang

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

1,708,413

9,209,944 Capital

💱 Currency

Indonesian Rupiah IDR Rp

Mexican Peso MXN $

📈 Exchange rate

100,000 IDR = 5.56 USD

100,000 IDR = 4.94 EUR

100 MXN = 5.41 USD

100 MXN = 4.81 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

MXN, USD, EUR to IDR – Indonesian Rupiah Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇮🇩 Indonesian Rupiah (Rp)

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

Mexican Peso exchange rates as of October 18, 2026: 1 USD = 18.48 MXN (100 MXN = 5.41 USD). 1 EUR = 20.77 MXN (100 MXN = 4.81 EUR).

USD to IDR in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Palembang Mexico City 16,840 km ≈ 22 h nonstop flight

From you

Palembang
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

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

Palembang and Mexico City differ by about 155% in total monthly costs ($615 vs $1,567 including rent). Palembang is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

On paper, salaries run 215% 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: $230 in Palembang versus $1,051 in Mexico City. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $90.1 in Palembang versus $431 in Mexico City. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Dining out is cheaper in Palembang – a meal for two runs $16.00 versus $50.0 in Mexico City. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

At $615 in Palembang versus $1,567 in Mexico City, a $1,500 budget is realistic in Palembang but tight or insufficient in Mexico City. The gap between the two cities makes Palembang 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 Palembang gentler on the wallet – expenses run 155% less than in Mexico City. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.