Cost of living comparison

Durban, South Africa

compared to

Mexico City, Mexico

Mexico City vs. Durban Cost of Living Summary

Mexico City is 32.4% more expensive than Durban.

Restaurants: pay 37.2% more in Mexico City
Groceries: pay 57.8% more in Mexico City
Transportation: pay 34.5% less in Mexico City
Housing: pay 26.6% more in Mexico City
Childcare: pay 76.6% more in Mexico City
Entertainment and Sports: pay 36.4% more in Mexico City
Clothing: pay 26.4% more in Mexico City

The cost of childcare, groceries, restaurants, entertainment and sports, housing, and clothing in Mexico City are more expensive than in Durban. Notably, childcare is significantly more expensive in Mexico City.

Mexico City vs. Durban Cost Breakdown

If you lived in Mexico City instead of Durban, you would:

Display currency: USD

pay 37.2% more for restaurants

	Durban	Mexico City
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$6.82 ZAR124.05	$9.93 MX$197.86	+45.7%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$4.54 ZAR82.70	$7.45 MX$148.40	+63.9%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$0.89 ZAR16.17	$1.08 MX$21.51	+21.5%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$0.66 ZAR11.93	$0.77 MX$15.40	+17.8%
Average			+37.2%

Durban vs. Mexico City - Cost of restaurants

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 57.8% more for groceries

	Durban	Mexico City
Bread 1 loaf	$0.95 ZAR17.36	$2.45 MX$48.87	+157.0%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$3.47 ZAR63.24	$4.87 MX$96.99	+40.1%
Milk (1 gallon)	$4.18 ZAR76.08	$5.51 MX$109.75	+31.7%
Eggs 1 dozen	$2.10 ZAR38.28	$2.18 MX$43.50	+3.8%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$2.01 ZAR36.55	$3.57 MX$71.16	+77.8%
Apples (1 lb)	$0.62 ZAR11.29	$1.22 MX$24.35	+96.9%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.54 ZAR9.90	$0.67 MX$13.34	+23.0%
Oranges (1 lb)	$0.52 ZAR9.42	$0.80 MX$15.92	+54.3%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$0.59 ZAR10.65	$0.83 MX$16.49	+41.4%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$0.55 ZAR10.03	$0.85 MX$16.96	+54.4%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.53 ZAR9.68	$0.83 MX$16.49	+55.6%
Average			+57.8%

Durban vs. Mexico City - Cost of groceries

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 34.5% less for transportation

	Durban	Mexico City
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$5.11 ZAR93.04	$4.64 MX$92.41	-9.3%
Monthly public transit pass	$39.07 ZAR711.14	$17.87 MX$356.15	-54.3%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$20,447.98 ZAR372,145.59	$18,615.02 MX$370,988.00	-9.0%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$10.11 ZAR184.01	$3.47 MX$69.25	-65.6%
Average			-34.5%

Durban vs. Mexico City - Cost of transportation

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 26.6% more for housing

	Durban	Mexico City
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$36.67 ZAR667.45	$24.38 MX$485.87	-33.5%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$355.22 ZAR6,464.84	$893.52 MX$17,807.42	+151.5%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$338.28 ZAR6,156.48	$544.24 MX$10,846.34	+60.9%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$109.90 ZAR2,000.16	$30.31 MX$604.09	-72.4%
Average			+26.6%

Durban vs. Mexico City - Cost of housing

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 76.6% more for childcare

	Durban	Mexico City
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$203.89 ZAR3,710.80	$381.33 MX$7,599.63	+87.0%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$5,070.34 ZAR92,278.32	$8,426.99 MX$167,945.68	+66.2%
Average			+76.6%

Durban vs. Mexico City - Cost of childcare

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 36.4% more for entertainment and sports

	Durban	Mexico City
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$1.82 ZAR33.08	$2.73 MX$54.41	+50.2%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$1.81 ZAR32.98	$3.01 MX$59.91	+65.9%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$2.84 ZAR51.69	$3.92 MX$78.15	+38.1%
Monthly membership at local gym	$36.16 ZAR658.15	$53.69 MX$1,069.96	+48.5%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$6.25 ZAR113.71	$4.96 MX$98.93	-20.6%
Average			+36.4%

Durban vs. Mexico City - Cost of entertainment and sports

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 26.4% more for clothing

	Durban	Mexico City
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$43.23 ZAR786.69	$56.36 MX$1,123.13	+30.4%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$29.50 ZAR536.91	$41.06 MX$818.29	+39.2%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$88.49 ZAR1,610.40	$91.99 MX$1,833.37	+4.0%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$69.58 ZAR1,266.26	$91.93 MX$1,832.11	+32.1%
Average			+26.4%

Durban vs. Mexico City - Cost of clothing

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

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: March 2025

More cost comparisons

Durban vs.

Berlin

Durban vs.

Cairo

Durban vs.

Madrid

Durban vs.

Phnom Penh

Durban vs.

Dublin

Durban vs.

Ottawa

Durban vs.

Athens

Durban vs.

Moscow

Share this

Compare countries by overall cost of living

See the cost of living in South Africa vs. Mexico. This provides a comparison of the average cost of living from cities within South Africa and Mexico.

Help us improve these prices

MyLifeElsewhere is a collaborative project. Please enter price information for your location to help assist us in making these comparisons more accurate. Learn more

Add prices for Durban

Add prices for Mexico City

ASK THE ELSEWHERE COMMUNITY

Join the Elsewhere community and ask a question about Mexico City or Durban. It's a free, question-and-answer based forum to discuss what life is like in countries and cities around the world.