Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Sarawak and Mexico City

For one person, living is cheaper in Sarawak: $954 a month against $1,608 in Mexico City, rent and utilities included – about $7,800 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

45

Cost of Living Index in Sarawak
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Sarawak Living Index
78

Cost of Living Index in Mexico City
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Mexico City Living Index

Jump to prices

Sarawak

🇲🇾 Malaysia

$954

/mo nomad

Mexico City

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,608

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $954 in Sarawak versus $1,608 in Mexico City.

Sarawak $954
Mexico City $1,608

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,408 in Sarawak versus $2,549 in Mexico City.

Sarawak $1,408
Mexico City $2,549

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $1,862 in Sarawak versus $3,490 in Mexico City.

Sarawak $1,862
Mexico City $3,490

Living in Sarawak costs roughly 41% less than in Mexico City, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Sarawak is 30% below, Mexico City is 18% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$3.58 MYR 14.60

$10.62 MX$198

-66.29%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$19.96 MYR 81.3

$48.35 MX$901

-58.72%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$4.70 MYR 19.16

$10.35 MX$193

-54.59%

Cappuccino

$2.96 MYR 12.06

$3.69 MX$68.8

-19.78%

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

$0.77 MYR 3.13

$1.67 MX$31.07

-53.89%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.39 MYR 1.59

$1.27 MX$23.59

-69.29%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.95 MYR 16.08

$3.19 MX$59.5

23.82%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.57 MYR 18.63

$5.31 MX$98.9

-13.94%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.75 MYR 7.13

$1.72 MX$32.15

1.74%

White Bread (500g)

$1.22 MYR 4.98

$3.04 MX$56.7

-59.87%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.36 MYR 5.53

$1.94 MX$36.19

-29.90%

Eggs

$2.26 MYR 9.20

$2.89 MX$53.8

-21.80%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$14.46 MYR 58.9

$10.97 MX$205

31.81%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$4.07 MYR 16.58

$9.25 MX$172

-56.00%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$9.85 MYR 40.13

$15.13 MX$282

-34.90%

Apples (1kg)

$2.90 MYR 11.81

$3.05 MX$56.8

-4.92%

Banana (1kg)

$1.45 MYR 5.89

$1.94 MX$36.19

-25.26%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.38 MYR 9.72

$2.03 MX$37.75

17.24%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.31 MYR 5.34

$2.31 MX$43.15

-43.29%

Potato (1kg)

$1.23 MYR 5.02

$2.04 MX$37.94

-39.71%

Onion (1kg)

$1.24 MYR 5.06

$1.80 MX$33.55

-31.11%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.11 MYR 4.50

$1.48 MX$27.58

-25.00%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.46 MYR 1.89

$1.27 MX$23.63

-63.78%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.27 MYR 17.41

$5.30 MX$98.9

-19.43%

Wine (Bottle)

$16.86 MYR 68.7

$16.10 MX$300

4.72%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.93 MYR 11.94

$1.98 MX$36.97

47.98%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.03 MYR 16.40

$4.25 MX$79.3

-5.18%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.75 MYR 3.05

$0.31 MX$5.69

141.94%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$10.56 MYR 43.04

$19.73 MX$368

-46.48%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.12 MYR 4.55

$1.84 MX$34.25

-39.13%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.51 MYR 2.08

$0.53 MX$9.94

-3.77%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$6.93 MYR 28.22

$5.30 MX$98.7

30.75%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$0.77 MYR 3.15

$1.51 MX$28.16

-49.01%

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

$50.4K MYR 205.2K

$21.8K MX$405.5K

131.55%

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

$39.9K MYR 162.5K

$24.0K MX$447.1K

66.25%

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

$52.9 MYR 216

$63.0 MX$1,174

-15.96%

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

$10.66 MYR 43.43

$27.39 MX$511

-61.08%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$29.13 MYR 119

$35.67 MX$665

-18.33%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$40.05 MYR 163

$58.9 MX$1,099

-32.05%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$7.22 MYR 29.42

$23.64 MX$441

-69.46%

Cinema Ticket

$5.60 MYR 22.83

$6.40 MX$119

-12.50%

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

$241 MYR 981

$432 MX$8,045

-44.19%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$6,956 MYR 28.3K

$11.4K MX$212.9K

-39.10%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$58.1 MYR 237

$68.2 MX$1,272

-14.91%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$29.97 MYR 122

$53.1 MX$990

-43.59%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$87.0 MYR 354

$108 MX$2,009

-19.30%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$75.9 MYR 309

$117 MX$2,186

-35.29%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$410 MYR 1,669

$1,113 MX$20.8K

-63.20%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$318 MYR 1,297

$710 MX$13.2K

-55.19%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$704 MYR 2,870

$2,588 MX$48.2K

-72.78%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$491 MYR 2,000

$1,406 MX$26.2K

-65.08%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,170 MYR 8,841

$3,631 MX$67.7K

-40.24%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,323 MYR 5,393

$2,135 MX$39.8K

-38.01%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$349 MYR 1,420

$946 MX$17.6K

-63.16%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

4.06

11.35

-64.23%

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

Last update for Sarawak: October 24, 2026

Last update for Mexico City: October 25, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Sarawak

$318 33.4%

Mexico City

$710 44.2% 123% $392

Groceries & Markets

Sarawak

$249 26.1%

Mexico City

$320 19.9% 28.2% $70

Clothing & Footwear

Sarawak

$113 11.8%

Mexico City

$156 9.7% 38.1% $43

Eating Out

Sarawak

$112 11.7%

Mexico City

$199 12.4% 77.6% $87

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Sarawak

$93 9.7%

Mexico City

$126 7.8% 35.9% $33

Sport & Entertainment

Sarawak

$51 5.4%

Mexico City

$72 4.5% 40% $20

Getting Around

Sarawak

$17 1.8%

Mexico City

$25 1.6% 47.8% $8.2

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $410 in Sarawak and $1,113 in Mexico City. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Mexico City pays about 2.7 times more on average. How far that income stretches comes down to housing choices and lifestyle.

Dining out: $20 in Sarawak vs $48 in Mexico City for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $249 vs $320 per month, with Sarawak cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇲🇾 Sarawak

🇲🇽 Mexico City

🕒 Local time

02:50 2:50 AM

12:50 12:50 PM

14 h behind Sarawak

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

9,209,944 Capital

💱 Currency

Malaysian Ringgit MYR RM

Mexican Peso MXN $

📈 Exchange rate

1 MYR = 0.245 USD

1 MYR = 0.22 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 = 4.54 MYR (1 MYR = 0.22 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

Sarawak Mexico City 16,040 km ≈ 21 h nonstop flight

From you

Sarawak
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

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

Sarawak and Mexico City differ by about 69% in total monthly costs ($954 vs $1,608 including rent). Sarawak is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

On paper, salaries run 63% lower in Sarawak. 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: $410 in Sarawak 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 Sarawak runs roughly 46% less than in Mexico City. Both cities have functional networks, but the price difference matters if you’re watching your budget.

Childcare runs $241 in Sarawak versus $432 in Mexico City. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

At $954 in Sarawak versus $1,608 in Mexico City, a $1,200 budget is realistic in Sarawak but tight or insufficient in Mexico City. The gap between the two cities makes Sarawak 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 Sarawak gentler on the wallet – expenses run 41% less than in Mexico City. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.