Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Al-mawsil and Baghdad

For one person, living is cheaper in Al-mawsil: $598 a month against $1,048 in Baghdad, rent and utilities included – about $5,400 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

29

Cost of Living Index in Al-mawsil
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Al-mawsil Living Index
50

Cost of Living Index in Baghdad
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Baghdad Living Index

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Al-mawsil

🇮🇶 Iraq

$598

/mo nomad

Baghdad

🇮🇶 Iraq

$1,048

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Al-mawsil and in Baghdad

Real prices from locals and on-the-ground checks – rent, groceries, transit and the daily extras. Here's what a month in Al-mawsil and in Baghdad actually costs, broken down by who's living it.

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $598 in Al-mawsil versus $1,048 in Baghdad.

Al-mawsil $598
Baghdad $1,048

Estimated couple costs with rent: $903 in Al-mawsil versus $1,508 in Baghdad.

Al-mawsil $903
Baghdad $1,508

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $1,207 in Al-mawsil versus $1,968 in Baghdad.

Al-mawsil $1,207
Baghdad $1,968

Living in Al-mawsil costs roughly 43% less than in Baghdad, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Both cities sit below the global median: Al-mawsil 56% lower, Baghdad 23% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$4.07 IQD 6,148

$4.54 IQD 6,866

-10.35%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$10.40 IQD 15.7K

$26.64 IQD 40.3K

-60.96%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$5.01 IQD 7,571

$6.47 IQD 9,781

-22.57%

Cappuccino

$0.64 IQD 974

$2.68 IQD 4,054

-76.12%

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

$0.35 IQD 522

$0.39 IQD 584

-10.26%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.18 IQD 279

$0.20 IQD 302

-10.00%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$0.87 IQD 1,311

$3.31 IQD 5,009

-73.72%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.36 IQD 2,051

$3.22 IQD 4,866

-57.76%

Milk (1 liter)

$0.64 IQD 970

$0.92 IQD 1,390

-30.43%

White Bread (500g)

$0.65 IQD 978

$0.71 IQD 1,078

-8.45%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$0.55 IQD 830

$1.32 IQD 1,999

-58.33%

Eggs

$0.95 IQD 1,440

$1.71 IQD 2,577

-44.44%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$7.19 IQD 10.9K

$3.30 IQD 4,989

117.88%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$2.88 IQD 4,353

$4.15 IQD 6,269

-30.60%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$8.14 IQD 12.3K

$12.24 IQD 18.5K

-33.50%

Apples (1kg)

$0.64 IQD 963

$1.00 IQD 1,513

-36.00%

Banana (1kg)

$0.64 IQD 972

$0.98 IQD 1,487

-34.69%

Oranges (1kg)

$0.48 IQD 728

$0.95 IQD 1,440

-49.47%

Tomato (1kg)

$0.22 IQD 331

$0.68 IQD 1,021

-67.65%

Potato (1kg)

$0.25 IQD 375

$0.58 IQD 877

-56.90%

Onion (1kg)

$0.31 IQD 474

$0.57 IQD 854

-45.61%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.60 IQD 911

$0.60 IQD 903

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.49 IQD 740

$0.61 IQD 927

-19.67%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$1.61 IQD 2,439

$1.67 IQD 2,531

-3.59%

Wine (Bottle)

$10.94 IQD 16.5K

$11.64 IQD 17.6K

-6.01%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.45 IQD 2,195

$1.99 IQD 3,005

-27.14%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.80 IQD 2,714

$1.96 IQD 2,962

-8.16%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.31 IQD 475

$0.32 IQD 480

-3.13%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$26.19 IQD 39.6K

$20.04 IQD 30.3K

30.69%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.61 IQD 2,438

$2.02 IQD 3,045

-20.30%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.60 IQD 2,420

$1.30 IQD 1,964

23.08%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$3.98 IQD 6,021

$6.67 IQD 10.1K

-40.33%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$0.31 IQD 472

$0.58 IQD 870

-46.55%

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

$13.0K IQD 19.7M

$16.5K IQD 25.0M

-21.24%

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

$15.3K IQD 23.2M

$16.7K IQD 25.2M

-8.12%

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

$93.7 IQD 141.5K

$188 IQD 284.5K

-50.27%

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

$12.00 IQD 18.1K

$19.25 IQD 29.1K

-37.66%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$22.95 IQD 34.7K

$37.51 IQD 56.7K

-38.82%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$37.48 IQD 56.6K

$39.97 IQD 60.4K

-6.23%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$6.48 IQD 9,784

$18.38 IQD 27.8K

-64.74%

Cinema Ticket

$6.42 IQD 9,708

$9.70 IQD 14.7K

-33.81%

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

$301 IQD 455.1K

$145 IQD 219.6K

107.22%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$604 IQD 912.4K

$3,297 IQD 5.0M

-81.69%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$16.49 IQD 24.9K

$25.60 IQD 38.7K

-35.59%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$12.99 IQD 19.6K

$33.32 IQD 50.3K

-61.01%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$60.0 IQD 90.6K

$60.2 IQD 90.9K

-0.38%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$15.65 IQD 23.6K

$41.85 IQD 63.2K

-62.60%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$211 IQD 318.8K

$537 IQD 811.6K

-60.73%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$139 IQD 209.6K

$364 IQD 550.5K

-61.93%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$369 IQD 557.1K

$963 IQD 1.5M

-61.71%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$309 IQD 466.9K

$624 IQD 943.1K

-50.50%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$851 IQD 1.3M

$4,276 IQD 6.5M

-80.09%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$435 IQD 657.4K

$1,379 IQD 2.1M

-68.46%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$521 IQD 787.2K

$518 IQD 782.8K

0.57%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

2.53

4.12

-38.59%

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

Last update for Al-mawsil: October 25, 2026

Last update for Baghdad: October 24, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Al-mawsil

$139 23.2%

Baghdad

$364 34.8% 163% $226

Groceries & Markets

Al-mawsil

$132 22%

Baghdad

$164 15.6% 24.2% $32

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Al-mawsil

$129 21.5%

Baghdad

$245 23.4% 90.6% $116

Eating Out

Al-mawsil

$64 10.8%

Baghdad

$113 10.8% 75.7% $49

Sport & Entertainment

Al-mawsil

$50 8.4%

Baghdad

$59 5.7% 18% $9.1

Clothing & Footwear

Al-mawsil

$47 7.9%

Baghdad

$72 6.9% 53.2% $25

Getting Around

Al-mawsil

$37 6.2%

Baghdad

$30 2.9% 19.5% $7.2

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $211 in Al-mawsil and $537 in Baghdad. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Dining out: $10 in Al-mawsil vs $27 in Baghdad for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $132 vs $164 per month, with Al-mawsil cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇮🇶 Al-mawsil

🇮🇶 Baghdad

🕒 Local time

17:55 5:55 PM

Same time as Al-mawsil

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

1,683,000

7,216,040 Capital

💱 Currency

Iraqi Dinar IQD ع.د

📈 Exchange rate

10,000 IQD = 6.62 USD

10,000 IQD = 5.93 EUR

10,000 IQD = 6.62 USD

10,000 IQD = 5.93 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

On the map

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Al-mawsil Baghdad 360 km

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Al-mawsil
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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

Al-mawsil vs Baghdad: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Al-mawsil is about 43% cheaper overall, especially in eating out, groceries, and clothing. That difference adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

You’d need roughly $897 in Al-mawsil and $1,572 in Baghdad to live well. The gap comes down to housing and overall price levels. Both cities are liveable on less, but these numbers represent actual comfort.

Rent for a central apartment: $211 in Al-mawsil versus $537 in Baghdad. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $301 in Al-mawsil versus $145 in Baghdad. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Supermarket bills run roughly 24% higher in Baghdad. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

At $598 in Al-mawsil versus $1,048 in Baghdad, a $1,000 budget is realistic in Al-mawsil but tight or insufficient in Baghdad. The gap between the two cities makes Al-mawsil 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.