Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Pekanbaru and Mexico City

For one person, living is cheaper in Pekanbaru: $628 a month against $1,567 in Mexico City, rent and utilities included – about $11,300 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

31

Cost of Living Index in Pekanbaru
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Pekanbaru Living Index
76

Cost of Living Index in Mexico City
Learn more

Mexico City Living Index

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Pekanbaru

🇮🇩 Indonesia

$628

/mo nomad

Mexico City

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,567

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $628 in Pekanbaru versus $1,567 in Mexico City.

Pekanbaru $628
Mexico City $1,567

Estimated couple costs with rent: $983 in Pekanbaru versus $2,450 in Mexico City.

Pekanbaru $983
Mexico City $2,450

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $1,339 in Pekanbaru versus $3,333 in Mexico City.

Pekanbaru $1,339
Mexico City $3,333

Living in Pekanbaru costs roughly 60% less than in Mexico City, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Pekanbaru is 53% below, Mexico City is 16% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$1.43 Rp 25.8K

$10.75 MX$199

-86.70%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$8.20 Rp 147.6K

$50.3 MX$929

-83.68%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$2.41 Rp 43.4K

$11.10 MX$205

-78.29%

Cappuccino

$1.30 Rp 23.3K

$3.68 MX$68.1

-64.67%

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

$0.58 Rp 10.4K

$1.65 MX$30.42

-64.85%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.33 Rp 5,954

$1.30 MX$24.08

-74.62%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.07 Rp 37.3K

$3.32 MX$61.3

-37.65%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.45 Rp 62.1K

$5.54 MX$102

-37.73%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.30 Rp 23.3K

$1.77 MX$32.68

-26.55%

White Bread (500g)

$1.15 Rp 20.6K

$3.05 MX$56.4

-62.30%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$0.89 Rp 16.1K

$2.01 MX$37.20

-55.72%

Eggs

$1.68 Rp 30.3K

$2.77 MX$51.1

-39.35%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$7.30 Rp 131.3K

$11.91 MX$220

-38.71%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$2.37 Rp 42.7K

$9.33 MX$172

-74.60%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$6.49 Rp 116.9K

$15.02 MX$278

-56.79%

Apples (1kg)

$2.70 Rp 48.5K

$3.08 MX$56.8

-12.34%

Banana (1kg)

$1.70 Rp 30.6K

$1.95 MX$35.97

-12.82%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.41 Rp 43.4K

$2.03 MX$37.54

18.72%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.27 Rp 22.8K

$2.21 MX$40.92

-42.53%

Potato (1kg)

$1.24 Rp 22.3K

$2.02 MX$37.41

-38.61%

Onion (1kg)

$1.91 Rp 34.3K

$1.82 MX$33.67

4.95%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.75 Rp 13.5K

$1.52 MX$28.07

-50.66%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.35 Rp 6,350

$1.28 MX$23.65

-72.66%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$2.16 Rp 38.9K

$5.27 MX$97.4

-59.01%

Wine (Bottle)

$21.45 Rp 386.0K

$16.12 MX$298

33.06%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.91 Rp 34.3K

$1.95 MX$36.05

-2.05%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.01 Rp 54.2K

$4.25 MX$78.6

-29.18%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.29 Rp 5,230

$0.31 MX$5.82

-6.45%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$8.44 Rp 152.0K

$19.85 MX$367

-57.48%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$0.92 Rp 16.6K

$2.00 MX$36.93

-54.00%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.40 Rp 7,154

$0.53 MX$9.86

-24.53%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$2.68 Rp 48.2K

$5.62 MX$104

-52.31%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$0.76 Rp 13.6K

$1.52 MX$28.07

-50.00%

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

$23.3K Rp 418.9M

$21.0K MX$388.7K

10.65%

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

$26.0K Rp 468.5M

$25.2K MX$465.3K

3.38%

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

$62.1 Rp 1.1M

$62.5 MX$1,155

-0.66%

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

$5.99 Rp 107.9K

$28.77 MX$532

-79.18%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$23.78 Rp 428.1K

$34.45 MX$637

-30.97%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$28.34 Rp 510.2K

$57.1 MX$1,055

-50.37%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$8.31 Rp 149.7K

$24.81 MX$458

-66.51%

Cinema Ticket

$3.03 Rp 54.6K

$6.67 MX$123

-54.57%

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

$96.0 Rp 1.7M

$431 MX$7,964

-77.72%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$7,773 Rp 139.9M

$11.7K MX$216.9K

-33.79%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$31.96 Rp 575.3K

$70.8 MX$1,308

-54.85%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$28.42 Rp 511.6K

$51.8 MX$958

-45.17%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$54.8 Rp 985.5K

$109 MX$2,011

-49.70%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$80.8 Rp 1.5M

$112 MX$2,076

-28.07%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$262 Rp 4.7M

$1,051 MX$19.4K

-75.10%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$145 Rp 2.6M

$665 MX$12.3K

-78.23%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$540 Rp 9.7M

$2,346 MX$43.3K

-76.97%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$356 Rp 6.4M

$1,227 MX$22.7K

-70.95%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$1,070 Rp 19.3M

$3,554 MX$65.7K

-69.89%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$807 Rp 14.5M

$1,977 MX$36.5K

-59.16%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$176 Rp 3.2M

$975 MX$18.0K

-81.94%

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 Pekanbaru: October 12, 2026

Last update for Mexico City: October 11, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Groceries & Markets

Pekanbaru

$201 32%

Mexico City

$323 20.6% 60.7% $122

Accommodation & Living

Pekanbaru

$145 23.1%

Mexico City

$665 42.4% 359% $520

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Pekanbaru

$92 14.6%

Mexico City

$126 8% 36.9% $34

Clothing & Footwear

Pekanbaru

$88 14%

Mexico City

$155 9.9% 75.5% $67

Eating Out

Pekanbaru

$55 8.8%

Mexico City

$203 13% 268% $148

Sport & Entertainment

Pekanbaru

$34 5.5%

Mexico City

$70 4.5% 105% $36

Getting Around

Pekanbaru

$13 2%

Mexico City

$26 1.6% 106% $13

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $262 in Pekanbaru and $1,051 in Mexico City. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Mexico City pays 454% 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: $8.00 in Pekanbaru vs $50.0 in Mexico City for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $201 vs $323 per month, with Pekanbaru cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇮🇩 Pekanbaru

🇲🇽 Mexico City

🕒 Local time

10:25 10:25 AM

21:25 9:25 PM

13 h behind Pekanbaru

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

1,020,308

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 19, 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 19, 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

Pekanbaru Mexico City 16,860 km ≈ 22 h nonstop flight

From you

Pekanbaru
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

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

Pekanbaru and Mexico City differ by about 150% in total monthly costs ($628 vs $1,567 including rent). Pekanbaru is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

On paper, salaries run 454% 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: $262 in Pekanbaru versus $1,051 in Mexico City. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

A monthly transit pass in Pekanbaru runs roughly 135% less than in Mexico City. Both cities have functional networks, but the price difference matters if you're watching your budget.

Childcare runs $96.0 in Pekanbaru versus $431 in Mexico City. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

At $628 in Pekanbaru versus $1,567 in Mexico City, a $1,500 budget is realistic in Pekanbaru but tight or insufficient in Mexico City. The gap between the two cities makes Pekanbaru 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 Pekanbaru gentler on the wallet – expenses run 150% less than in Mexico City. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.