Cost of living comparison

compared to

South Africa vs. Mexico City Cost of Living Summary

South Africa is 13.2% cheaper than Mexico City.

Restaurants: pay 33.7% less in South Africa
Groceries: pay 33.4% less in South Africa
Transportation: pay 75.3% more in South Africa
Housing: pay 13.5% more in South Africa
Childcare: pay 61.7% less in South Africa
Entertainment and Sports: pay 30.9% less in South Africa
Clothing: pay 21.4% less in South Africa

The cost of transportation and housing in South Africa are more expensive than in Mexico City. Expenses including childcare, restaurants, groceries, entertainment and sports, and clothing are lower in South Africa. Notably, transportation is significantly more expensive in South Africa.

South Africa vs. Mexico City Cost Breakdown

If you lived in South Africa instead of Mexico City, you would:

Display currency: USD

pay 33.7% less for restaurants

	Mexico City	South Africa
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$10.86 MX$197.31	$9.33 ZAR157.99	-14.0%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$8.82 MX$160.32	$5.11 ZAR86.54	-42.0%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$1.73 MX$31.47	$1.03 ZAR17.46	-40.4%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$1.30 MX$23.70	$0.80 ZAR13.59	-38.4%
Average			-33.7%

Mexico City vs. South Africa - Cost of restaurants

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pay 33.4% less for groceries

	Mexico City	South Africa
Bread 1 loaf	$2.63 MX$47.71	$1.00 ZAR16.97	-61.8%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$5.04 MX$91.60	$3.88 ZAR65.75	-22.9%
Milk (1 gallon)	$6.54 MX$118.83	$4.37 ZAR73.98	-33.2%
Eggs 1 dozen	$2.61 MX$47.38	$2.33 ZAR39.49	-10.5%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$3.80 MX$69.15	$2.13 ZAR36.12	-43.9%
Apples (1 lb)	$1.37 MX$24.88	$0.73 ZAR12.33	-46.8%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.80 MX$14.54	$0.65 ZAR11.04	-18.5%
Oranges (1 lb)	$0.97 MX$17.69	$0.68 ZAR11.57	-29.8%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$0.91 MX$16.47	$0.71 ZAR12.00	-21.7%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$0.96 MX$17.42	$0.59 ZAR9.91	-38.9%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.99 MX$18.07	$0.60 ZAR10.16	-39.7%
Average			-33.4%

Mexico City vs. South Africa - Cost of groceries

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pay 75.3% more for transportation

	Mexico City	South Africa
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$5.14 MX$93.37	$4.92 ZAR83.33	-4.2%
Monthly public transit pass	$19.54 MX$355.17	$56.18 ZAR950.86	+187.5%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$20,030.45 MX$364,045.47	$21,394.82 ZAR362,135.06	+6.8%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$4.42 MX$80.42	$9.34 ZAR158.05	+111.0%
Average			+75.3%

Mexico City vs. South Africa - Cost of transportation

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pay 13.5% more for housing

	Mexico City	South Africa
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$30.93 MX$562.20	$39.36 ZAR666.17	+27.2%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$1,079.15 MX$19,613.07	$404.16 ZAR6,840.92	-62.5%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$677.25 MX$12,308.67	$361.59 ZAR6,120.39	-46.6%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$37.36 MX$679.03	$88.13 ZAR1,491.68	+135.9%
Average			+13.5%

Mexico City vs. South Africa - Cost of housing

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pay 61.7% less for childcare

	Mexico City	South Africa
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$430.39 MX$7,822.12	$173.48 ZAR2,936.29	-59.7%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$10,897.53 MX$198,058.25	$3,962.11 ZAR67,063.83	-63.6%
Average			-61.7%

Mexico City vs. South Africa - Cost of childcare

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pay 30.9% less for entertainment and sports

	Mexico City	South Africa
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$3.26 MX$59.19	$2.18 ZAR36.86	-33.1%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$3.81 MX$69.31	$2.05 ZAR34.68	-46.3%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$4.34 MX$78.93	$2.96 ZAR50.17	-31.8%
Monthly membership at local gym	$58.44 MX$1,062.21	$30.26 ZAR512.21	-48.2%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$6.51 MX$118.39	$6.85 ZAR115.92	+5.1%
Average			-30.9%

Mexico City vs. South Africa - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 21.4% less for clothing

	Mexico City	South Africa
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$60.95 MX$1,107.65	$50.74 ZAR858.89	-16.7%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$48.08 MX$873.77	$32.75 ZAR554.38	-31.9%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$105.72 MX$1,921.42	$94.19 ZAR1,594.31	-10.9%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$110.91 MX$2,015.75	$81.80 ZAR1,384.49	-26.3%
Average			-21.4%

Mexico City vs. South Africa - Cost of clothing

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The statistics used to build this comparison are calculated using data from users just like you. We average the price of thousands of data points entered by users across the world. Learn more about our data sources. Page last updated: December 2025

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