Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Rabat and Mexico City

For one person, living is cheaper in Mexico City: $1,567 a month against $1,928 in Rabat, rent and utilities included – about $4,300 less a year. Higher rent and utilities in Rabat outweigh lower spending on other living expenses.

88

Cost of Living Index in Rabat
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Rabat Living Index
76

Cost of Living Index in Mexico City
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Mexico City Living Index

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Rabat

🇲🇹 Malta

$1,928

/mo nomad

Mexico City

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,567

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,928 in Rabat versus $1,567 in Mexico City.

Rabat $1,928
Mexico City $1,567

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,701 in Rabat versus $2,450 in Mexico City.

Rabat $2,701
Mexico City $2,450

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,474 in Rabat versus $3,333 in Mexico City.

Rabat $3,474
Mexico City $3,333

Living in Rabat is roughly 23% more expensive than in Mexico City, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Both cities are pricier than the global median: Rabat 43% above, Mexico City 16% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$16.55 €14.72

$10.75 MX$199

53.95%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$50.4 €44.82

$50.3 MX$929

0.28%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.19 €9.96

$11.10 MX$205

0.81%

Cappuccino

$2.25 €2.00

$3.68 MX$68.1

-38.86%

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

$2.48 €2.20

$1.65 MX$30.42

50.30%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.69 €1.51

$1.30 MX$24.08

30.00%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.33 €2.97

$3.32 MX$61.3

0.30%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.43 €3.05

$5.54 MX$102

-38.09%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.11 €0.99

$1.77 MX$32.68

-37.29%

White Bread (500g)

$1.34 €1.19

$3.05 MX$56.4

-56.07%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.26 €2.01

$2.01 MX$37.20

12.44%

Eggs

$3.50 €3.11

$2.77 MX$51.1

26.35%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$7.97 €7.09

$11.91 MX$220

-33.08%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$7.87 €7.00

$9.33 MX$172

-15.65%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$12.51 €11.13

$15.02 MX$278

-16.71%

Apples (1kg)

$4.12 €3.67

$3.08 MX$56.8

33.77%

Banana (1kg)

$2.18 €1.94

$1.95 MX$35.97

11.79%

Oranges (1kg)

$3.55 €3.16

$2.03 MX$37.54

74.88%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.21 €1.97

$2.21 MX$40.92

Potato (1kg)

$1.15 €1.02

$2.02 MX$37.41

-43.07%

Onion (1kg)

$1.14 €1.01

$1.82 MX$33.67

-37.36%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.09 €0.97

$1.52 MX$28.07

-28.29%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.09 €0.97

$1.28 MX$23.65

-14.84%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$6.80 €6.05

$5.27 MX$97.4

29.03%

Wine (Bottle)

$8.23 €7.32

$16.12 MX$298

-48.95%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.76 €1.57

$1.95 MX$36.05

-9.74%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.44 €2.17

$4.25 MX$78.6

-42.59%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$2.71 €2.41

$0.31 MX$5.82

774.19%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$19.85 MX$367

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$5.73 €5.09

$2.00 MX$36.93

186.50%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$2.21 €1.96

$0.53 MX$9.86

316.98%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$26.77 €23.81

$5.62 MX$104

376.33%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.51 €1.34

$1.52 MX$28.07

-0.66%

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

$37.7K €33.6K

$21.0K MX$388.7K

79.48%

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

$38.6K €34.3K

$25.2K MX$465.3K

53.36%

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

$101 €90.2

$62.5 MX$1,155

62.27%

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

$12.17 €10.82

$28.77 MX$532

-57.70%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$42.85 €38.12

$34.45 MX$637

24.38%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$62.1 €55.3

$57.1 MX$1,055

8.77%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$22.18 €19.73

$24.81 MX$458

-10.60%

Cinema Ticket

$10.09 €8.98

$6.67 MX$123

51.27%

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

$369 €328

$431 MX$7,964

-14.39%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$11.3K €10.0K

$11.7K MX$216.9K

-3.87%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$86.2 €76.7

$70.8 MX$1,308

21.80%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$27.60 €24.55

$51.8 MX$958

-46.75%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$73.7 €65.6

$109 MX$2,011

-32.27%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$76.8 €68.3

$112 MX$2,076

-31.62%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,051 €934

$1,051 MX$19.4K

-0.07%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,049 €933

$665 MX$12.3K

57.72%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,735 €1,543

$2,346 MX$43.3K

-26.03%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,460 €1,299

$1,227 MX$22.7K

19.04%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$4,396 €3,910

$3,554 MX$65.7K

23.70%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$3,149 €2,801

$1,977 MX$36.5K

59.28%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,318 €1,173

$975 MX$18.0K

35.26%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

2.9

11.3

-74.34%

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

Last update for Rabat: October 10, 2026

Last update for Mexico City: October 11, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Rabat

$1K 54.4%

Mexico City

$665 42.4% 36.6% $384

Groceries & Markets

Rabat

$261 13.5%

Mexico City

$323 20.6% 23.8% $62

Eating Out

Rabat

$233 12.1%

Mexico City

$203 13% 13% $30

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Rabat

$156 8.1%

Mexico City

$126 8% 19.6% $31

Clothing & Footwear

Rabat

$119 6.2%

Mexico City

$155 9.9% 30.1% $36

Sport & Entertainment

Rabat

$82 4.3%

Mexico City

$70 4.5% 14.4% $12

Getting Around

Rabat

$28 * 1.4%

Mexico City

$26 1.6% 6.6% $1.8

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

Rabat pays 35% 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: $50.0 in Rabat vs $50.0 in Mexico City for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $261 vs $323 per month, with Rabat cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇲🇹 Rabat

🇲🇽 Mexico City

🕒 Local time

16:05 4:05 PM

08:05 8:05 AM

8 h behind Rabat

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

11,497

9,209,944 Capital

💱 Currency

Euro EUR €

Mexican Peso MXN $

📈 Exchange rate

1 EUR = 1.12 USD

100 MXN = 5.41 USD

100 MXN = 4.81 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

MXN, USD to EUR – Euro Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇪🇺 Euro (€)

Euro exchange rates as of October 19, 2026: 1 USD = 0.889 EUR (1 EUR = 1.12 USD).

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 EUR in detail →

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Between locations

Rabat Mexico City 10,710 km ≈ 14 h nonstop flight

From you

Rabat
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

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

Rabat and Mexico City differ by about 23% in total monthly costs ($1,928 vs $1,567 including rent). Mexico City is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

Average pay runs 35% higher in Rabat, 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: $1,051 in Rabat versus $1,051 in Mexico City. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $369 in Rabat 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 Mexico City – a meal for two runs $50.0 versus $50.0 in Rabat. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

At $1,567 in Mexico City versus $1,928 in Rabat, a $2,000 budget is realistic in Mexico City but tight or insufficient in Rabat. 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.

Safety-wise, Rabat and Mexico City are on par. Petty crime is typical for cities this size, and most residents feel comfortable going about their daily routines in either place.

Expats usually find Mexico City gentler on the wallet – expenses run 23% less than in Rabat. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.