Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Zanzibar and Mexico City

For one person, living is cheaper in Zanzibar: $579 a month against $1,548 in Mexico City, rent and utilities included – about $11,600 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

28

Cost of Living Index in Zanzibar
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Zanzibar Living Index
75

Cost of Living Index in Mexico City
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Mexico City Living Index

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Zanzibar

🇹🇿 Tanzania

$579

/mo nomad

Mexico City

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,548

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $579 in Zanzibar versus $1,548 in Mexico City.

Zanzibar $579
Mexico City $1,548

Estimated couple costs with rent: $864 in Zanzibar versus $2,436 in Mexico City.

Zanzibar $864
Mexico City $2,436

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $1,148 in Zanzibar versus $3,323 in Mexico City.

Zanzibar $1,148
Mexico City $3,323

Living in Zanzibar costs roughly 63% less than in Mexico City, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

The two cities straddle the global median: Zanzibar is 57% below, Mexico City is 14% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$4.70 TZS 12.3K

$11.02 MX$204

-57.35%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$22.08 TZS 57.8K

$48.68 MX$900

-54.64%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$5.59 TZS 14.6K

$10.90 MX$201

-48.72%

Cappuccino

$2.20 TZS 5,769

$3.68 MX$68.1

-40.22%

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

$0.58 TZS 1,520

$1.63 MX$30.18

-64.42%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.30 TZS 776

$1.25 MX$23.07

-76.00%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$1.86 TZS 4,879

$3.25 MX$60.1

-42.77%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.58 TZS 6,764

$5.53 MX$102

-53.35%

Milk (1 liter)

$2.11 TZS 5,521

$1.70 MX$31.50

24.12%

White Bread (500g)

$0.71 TZS 1,859

$3.02 MX$55.8

-76.49%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$0.79 TZS 2,058

$1.92 MX$35.53

-58.85%

Eggs

$2.71 TZS 7,092

$2.73 MX$50.5

-0.73%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$7.58 TZS 19.9K

$11.77 MX$218

-35.60%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$2.21 TZS 5,776

$9.53 MX$176

-76.81%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$5.87 TZS 15.4K

$14.41 MX$266

-59.26%

Apples (1kg)

$2.78 TZS 7,271

$3.02 MX$55.8

-7.95%

Banana (1kg)

$1.15 TZS 3,001

$1.89 MX$35.01

-39.15%

Oranges (1kg)

$0.78 TZS 2,050

$1.99 MX$36.70

-60.80%

Tomato (1kg)

$0.55 TZS 1,428

$2.19 MX$40.38

-74.89%

Potato (1kg)

$0.90 TZS 2,351

$1.92 MX$35.43

-53.13%

Onion (1kg)

$1.55 TZS 4,063

$1.87 MX$34.49

-17.11%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.76 TZS 2,003

$1.44 MX$26.62

-47.22%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.49 TZS 1,274

$1.27 MX$23.39

-61.42%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$2.08 TZS 5,445

$5.22 MX$96.4

-60.15%

Wine (Bottle)

$9.55 TZS 25.0K

$16.17 MX$299

-40.94%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.50 TZS 3,921

$1.90 MX$35.03

-21.05%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.35 TZS 3,536

$4.22 MX$78.0

-68.01%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.31 TZS 825

$0.34 MX$6.30

-8.82%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$19.65 MX$363

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.69 TZS 9,672

$2.00 MX$36.90

84.50%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.73 TZS 1,920

$0.52 MX$9.67

40.38%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$2.66 TZS 6,964

$5.34 MX$98.7

-50.19%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.21 TZS 3,180

$1.52 MX$28.13

-20.39%

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

$22.1K MX$408.0K

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

$48.9K TZS 128.1M

$24.5K MX$452.9K

99.60%

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

$74.3 TZS 194.6K

$61.1 MX$1,129

21.68%

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

$11.29 TZS 29.6K

$28.58 MX$528

-60.50%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$48.43 TZS 126.8K

$34.47 MX$637

40.50%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$28.77 TZS 75.3K

$56.4 MX$1,042

-48.95%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$24.88 MX$460

Cinema Ticket

$9.26 TZS 24.3K

$6.66 MX$123

39.04%

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

$427 MX$7,891

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$11.6K MX$215.0K

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$13.12 TZS 34.3K

$67.8 MX$1,253

-80.65%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$16.88 TZS 44.2K

$52.0 MX$960

-67.51%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$15.05 TZS 39.4K

$106 MX$1,959

-85.81%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$13.05 TZS 34.2K

$113 MX$2,080

-88.40%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$147 TZS 385.1K

$1,025 MX$18.9K

-85.65%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$100 TZS 262.1K

$654 MX$12.1K

-84.71%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$198 TZS 518.2K

$2,308 MX$42.7K

-91.43%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$148 TZS 388.8K

$1,242 MX$22.9K

-88.05%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$37.8K TZS 99.1M

$3,613 MX$66.8K

947.43%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$11.5K TZS 30.1M

$1,936 MX$35.8K

494.51%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$312 TZS 816.7K

$964 MX$17.8K

-67.65%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

11.3

-11.50%

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

Last update for Zanzibar: October 18, 2026

Last update for Mexico City: October 20, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Groceries & Markets

Zanzibar

$164 28.3%

Mexico City

$318 20.6% 93.8% $154

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Zanzibar

$134 23.2%

Mexico City

$124 8% 7.4% $9.9

Accommodation & Living

Zanzibar

$100 17.3%

Mexico City

$654 42.3% 554% $554

Eating Out

Zanzibar

$99 17.1%

Mexico City

$204 13.2% 106% $105

Sport & Entertainment

Zanzibar

$47 8.2%

Mexico City

$70 4.5% 47.4% $22

Clothing & Footwear

Zanzibar

$26 4.5%

Mexico City

$152 9.8% 482% $126

Getting Around

Zanzibar

$8.6 * 1.5%

Mexico City

$26 1.7% 197% $17

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 $147 in Zanzibar and $1,025 in Mexico City. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Mexico City pays 209% 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: $22.00 in Zanzibar vs $49.00 in Mexico City for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $164 vs $318 per month, with Zanzibar cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇹🇿 Zanzibar

🇲🇽 Mexico City

🕒 Local time

15:33 3:33 PM

06:33 6:33 AM

9 h behind Zanzibar

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

709,809

9,209,944 Capital

💱 Currency

Tanzanian Shilling TZS Sh

Mexican Peso MXN $

📈 Exchange rate

10,000 TZS = 3.82 USD

10,000 TZS = 3.4 EUR

100 MXN = 5.41 USD

100 MXN = 4.81 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

MXN, USD, EUR to TZS – Tanzanian Shilling Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇹🇿 Tanzanian Shilling (Sh)

Tanzanian Shilling exchange rates as of October 20, 2026: 1 USD = 2,619 TZS (10,000 TZS = 3.82 USD). 1 EUR = 2,944 TZS (10,000 TZS = 3.4 EUR).

Mexican Peso exchange rates as of October 20, 2026: 1 USD = 18.48 MXN (100 MXN = 5.41 USD). 1 EUR = 20.77 MXN (100 MXN = 4.81 EUR).

USD to TZS in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Zanzibar Mexico City 15,280 km ≈ 20 h nonstop flight

From you

Zanzibar
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

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

Zanzibar and Mexico City differ by about 167% in total monthly costs ($579 vs $1,548 including rent). Zanzibar is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

On paper, salaries run 209% 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: $147 in Zanzibar versus $1,025 in Mexico City. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Dining out is cheaper in Zanzibar – a meal for two runs $22.00 versus $49.00 in Mexico City. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

All in, you'll spend $579 per month in Zanzibar versus $1,548 in Mexico City – a 167% gap that adds up to real savings over time for anyone picking the cheaper option.

At $579 in Zanzibar versus $1,548 in Mexico City, a $1,000 budget is realistic in Zanzibar but tight or insufficient in Mexico City. The gap between the two cities makes Zanzibar 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 Zanzibar gentler on the wallet – expenses run 167% less than in Mexico City. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.