City comparison
Cost of living in Cape Town vs Mexico City
One person needs about €1,260 a month in Cape Town and €1,284 in Mexico City, rent included — Cape Town is 2% cheaper overall.
Salary you'd need to keep the same lifestyle
Enter your current net monthly pay. We scale it by the full cost basket — rent, groceries, transport, utilities, eating out and internet.
To live in Mexico City the way you live in Cape Town on €3,000, you need
€3,057/ month net
2% more than today (+€57)
- Cape Town today
- Basket €1,260 · left over €1,740 (58%)
- Mexico City at the matched salary
- Basket €1,284 · left over €1,773 (58%)
Local pay context: average tech net pay covers the basket 148% over in Mexico City (adequate) vs 143% in Cape Town. Purchasing power index · How we calculate this
🇿🇦 Cape Town
Mountain-and-ocean setting at a discount; load-shedding is the hidden cost.
Monthly budget: €1,260
Sources: Eurostat, Harmonised price indices (2025) · 0 community reports
🇲🇽 Mexico City
Great food, US time zones, and rents rising quickly in Roma and Condesa.
Monthly budget: €1,284
Sources: Eurostat, Harmonised price indices (2025) · 0 community reports
Should you move to Cape Town or Mexico City?
On salary, Mexico City pays more for tech roles (€1,900 versus €1,800 a month), so the money left over after costs is €616 in Mexico City at the top end.
Rent drives most of the gap: €750 in Cape Town against €850 in Mexico City. Groceries, transport and utilities move far less between the two.
For remote workers, the nomad index scores Cape Town at 74 and Mexico City at 78 — see the full nomad index and our data methodology.