Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Puchong and Mexico City

For one person, living is cheaper in Puchong: $987 a month against $1,608 in Mexico City, rent and utilities included – about $7,500 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

45

Cost of Living Index in Puchong
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Puchong Living Index
78

Cost of Living Index in Mexico City
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Mexico City Living Index

Jump to prices

Puchong

🇲🇾 Malaysia

$987

/mo nomad

Mexico City

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,608

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $987 in Puchong versus $1,608 in Mexico City.

Puchong $987
Mexico City $1,608

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,477 in Puchong versus $2,549 in Mexico City.

Puchong $1,477
Mexico City $2,549

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $1,967 in Puchong versus $3,490 in Mexico City.

Puchong $1,967
Mexico City $3,490

Living in Puchong costs roughly 39% less than in Mexico City, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Puchong is 27% below, Mexico City is 18% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$3.77 MYR 15.37

$10.62 MX$198

-64.50%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$18.54 MYR 75.5

$48.35 MX$901

-61.65%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$5.00 MYR 20.37

$10.35 MX$193

-51.69%

Cappuccino

$3.01 MYR 12.26

$3.69 MX$68.8

-18.43%

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

$0.83 MYR 3.40

$1.67 MX$31.07

-50.30%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.59 MYR 2.42

$1.27 MX$23.59

-53.54%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$4.34 MYR 17.68

$3.19 MX$59.5

36.05%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$6.30 MYR 25.66

$5.31 MX$98.9

18.64%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.96 MYR 8.00

$1.72 MX$32.15

13.95%

White Bread (500g)

$1.06 MYR 4.34

$3.04 MX$56.7

-65.13%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.45 MYR 5.90

$1.94 MX$36.19

-25.26%

Eggs

$1.54 MYR 6.28

$2.89 MX$53.8

-46.71%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$13.73 MYR 56.0

$10.97 MX$205

25.16%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$4.44 MYR 18.11

$9.25 MX$172

-52.00%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$10.14 MYR 41.30

$15.13 MX$282

-32.98%

Apples (1kg)

$3.35 MYR 13.64

$3.05 MX$56.8

9.84%

Banana (1kg)

$1.69 MYR 6.88

$1.94 MX$36.19

-12.89%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.34 MYR 9.52

$2.03 MX$37.75

15.27%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.57 MYR 6.42

$2.31 MX$43.15

-32.03%

Potato (1kg)

$1.48 MYR 6.02

$2.04 MX$37.94

-27.45%

Onion (1kg)

$1.37 MYR 5.58

$1.80 MX$33.55

-23.89%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.25 MYR 5.08

$1.48 MX$27.58

-15.54%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.56 MYR 2.27

$1.27 MX$23.63

-55.91%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.35 MYR 17.74

$5.30 MX$98.9

-17.92%

Wine (Bottle)

$14.46 MYR 58.9

$16.10 MX$300

-10.19%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.99 MYR 12.20

$1.98 MX$36.97

51.01%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.01 MYR 12.28

$4.25 MX$79.3

-29.18%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.71 MYR 2.89

$0.31 MX$5.69

129.03%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$12.31 MYR 50.2

$19.73 MX$368

-37.61%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.00 MYR 4.07

$1.84 MX$34.25

-45.65%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.76 MYR 3.09

$0.53 MX$9.94

43.40%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$4.75 MYR 19.35

$5.30 MX$98.7

-10.38%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$0.88 MYR 3.60

$1.51 MX$28.16

-41.72%

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

$43.2K MYR 176.2K

$21.8K MX$405.5K

98.79%

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

$35.3K MYR 143.6K

$24.0K MX$447.1K

46.97%

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

$53.3 MYR 217

$63.0 MX$1,174

-15.37%

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

$9.63 MYR 39.23

$27.39 MX$511

-64.84%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$28.75 MYR 117

$35.67 MX$665

-19.40%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$31.24 MYR 127

$58.9 MX$1,099

-47.00%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$6.46 MYR 26.33

$23.64 MX$441

-72.67%

Cinema Ticket

$5.01 MYR 20.42

$6.40 MX$119

-21.72%

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

$236 MYR 961

$432 MX$8,045

-45.37%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$12.3K MYR 50.3K

$11.4K MX$212.9K

8.01%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$64.1 MYR 261

$68.2 MX$1,272

-6.01%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$42.51 MYR 173

$53.1 MX$990

-19.99%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$84.1 MYR 343

$108 MX$2,009

-21.95%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$97.1 MYR 396

$117 MX$2,186

-17.18%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$354 MYR 1,443

$1,113 MX$20.8K

-68.19%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$335 MYR 1,363

$710 MX$13.2K

-52.90%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$725 MYR 2,955

$2,588 MX$48.2K

-71.98%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$562 MYR 2,291

$1,406 MX$26.2K

-60.01%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$1,985 MYR 8,089

$3,631 MX$67.7K

-45.33%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,200 MYR 4,888

$2,135 MX$39.8K

-43.81%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,340 MYR 5,460

$946 MX$17.6K

41.62%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

4.17

11.35

-63.26%

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

Last update for Puchong: October 27, 2026

Last update for Mexico City: October 25, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Puchong

$335 33.9%

Mexico City

$710 44.2% 112% $376

Groceries & Markets

Puchong

$249 25.2%

Mexico City

$320 19.9% 28.4% $71

Clothing & Footwear

Puchong

$130 13.1%

Mexico City

$156 9.7% 20.3% $26

Eating Out

Puchong

$121 12.3%

Mexico City

$199 12.4% 63.7% $77

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Puchong

$92 9.3%

Mexico City

$126 7.8% 37.5% $34

Sport & Entertainment

Puchong

$41 4.2%

Mexico City

$72 4.5% 73.8% $30

Getting Around

Puchong

$20 2%

Mexico City

$25 1.6% 27.6% $5.5

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $354 in Puchong and $1,113 in Mexico City. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Puchong pays 42% more on average while also being the cheaper of the two. The combined effect is a noticeably stronger local purchasing power.

Dining out: $19 in Puchong vs $48 in Mexico City for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $249 vs $320 per month, with Puchong cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇲🇾 Puchong

🇲🇽 Mexico City

🕒 Local time

23:49 11:49 PM

09:49 9:49 AM

14 h behind Puchong

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

400,000

9,209,944 Capital

💱 Currency

Malaysian Ringgit MYR RM

Mexican Peso MXN $

📈 Exchange rate

1 MYR = 0.245 USD

1 MYR = 0.221 EUR

100 MXN = 5.36 USD

100 MXN = 4.82 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

MXN, USD, EUR to MYR – Malaysian Ringgit Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇲🇾 Malaysian Ringgit (RM)

Malaysian Ringgit exchange rates as of October 28, 2026: 1 USD = 4.07 MYR (1 MYR = 0.245 USD). 1 EUR = 4.53 MYR (1 MYR = 0.221 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 MYR in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Puchong Mexico City 16,640 km ≈ 21 h nonstop flight

From you

Puchong
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

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

Puchong and Mexico City differ by about 63% in total monthly costs ($987 vs $1,608 including rent). Puchong is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

Average pay runs 42% higher in Puchong, 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: $354 in Puchong 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 Puchong runs roughly 38% less than in Mexico City. Both cities have functional networks, but the price difference matters if you’re watching your budget.

Childcare runs $236 in Puchong versus $432 in Mexico City. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Both cities are expensive relative to $800. Puchong is the more realistic option, but even there you’ll need to be disciplined with housing, food, and fun money.

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 Puchong gentler on the wallet – expenses run 39% less than in Mexico City. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.