Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Barlad and Mexico City

For one person, living is cheaper in Barlad: $975 a month against $1,548 in Mexico City, rent and utilities included – about $6,900 less a year. Rent and utilities account for about half of the difference.

47

Cost of Living Index in Barlad
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Barlad Living Index
75

Cost of Living Index in Mexico City
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Mexico City Living Index

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Barlad

🇷🇴 Romania

$975

/mo nomad

Mexico City

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,548

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

A single person spends $975 per month in Barlad vs $1,548 in Mexico City, rent included.

Barlad $975
Mexico City $1,548

A couple spends around $1,521 per month in Barlad vs $2,436 in Mexico City, rent included.

Barlad $1,521
Mexico City $2,436

A family of three spends $2,066 per month in Barlad vs $3,323 in Mexico City, rent included.

Barlad $2,066
Mexico City $3,323

Barlad is about 37% cheaper than Mexico City, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Barlad sits 28% below the global median, while Mexico City is 14% above – they fall on opposite sides of the world average.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$8.96 RON 42.41

$11.02 MX$204

-18.69%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$41.38 RON 196

$48.68 MX$900

-15.00%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$7.20 RON 34.06

$10.90 MX$201

-33.94%

Cappuccino

$2.41 RON 11.40

$3.68 MX$68.1

-34.51%

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

$1.85 RON 8.75

$1.63 MX$30.18

13.50%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.54 RON 7.27

$1.25 MX$23.07

23.20%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.17 RON 10.25

$3.25 MX$60.1

-33.23%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.69 RON 12.72

$5.53 MX$102

-51.36%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.34 RON 6.34

$1.70 MX$31.50

-21.18%

White Bread (500g)

$1.12 RON 5.31

$3.02 MX$55.8

-62.91%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.40 RON 6.63

$1.92 MX$35.53

-27.08%

Eggs

$3.39 RON 16.02

$2.73 MX$50.5

24.18%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$7.51 RON 35.53

$11.77 MX$218

-36.19%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$5.22 RON 24.69

$9.53 MX$176

-45.23%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$10.04 RON 47.49

$14.41 MX$266

-30.33%

Apples (1kg)

$1.04 RON 4.92

$3.02 MX$55.8

-65.56%

Banana (1kg)

$1.63 RON 7.73

$1.89 MX$35.01

-13.76%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.38 RON 6.54

$1.99 MX$36.70

-30.65%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.76 RON 8.31

$2.19 MX$40.38

-19.63%

Potato (1kg)

$0.79 RON 3.75

$1.92 MX$35.43

-58.85%

Onion (1kg)

$0.77 RON 3.65

$1.87 MX$34.49

-58.82%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.84 RON 3.99

$1.44 MX$26.62

-41.67%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.89 RON 4.20

$1.27 MX$23.39

-29.92%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$6.64 RON 31.41

$5.22 MX$96.4

27.20%

Wine (Bottle)

$5.58 RON 26.38

$16.17 MX$299

-65.49%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.20 RON 5.68

$1.90 MX$35.03

-36.84%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.62 RON 7.67

$4.22 MX$78.0

-61.61%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.51 RON 2.40

$0.34 MX$6.30

50.00%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$19.88 RON 94.0

$19.65 MX$363

1.17%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$0.72 RON 3.42

$2.00 MX$36.90

-64.00%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.73 RON 3.46

$0.52 MX$9.67

40.38%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$6.99 RON 33.08

$5.34 MX$98.7

30.90%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.75 RON 8.30

$1.52 MX$28.13

15.13%

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

$26.5K RON 125.3K

$22.1K MX$408.0K

20.01%

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

$25.1K RON 118.7K

$24.5K MX$452.9K

2.33%

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

$158 RON 748

$61.1 MX$1,129

158.83%

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

$8.87 RON 41.95

$28.58 MX$528

-68.96%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$8.36 RON 39.58

$34.47 MX$637

-75.75%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$34.02 RON 161

$56.4 MX$1,042

-39.64%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$18.05 RON 85.4

$24.88 MX$460

-27.45%

Cinema Ticket

$6.61 RON 31.28

$6.66 MX$123

-0.75%

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

$465 RON 2,202

$427 MX$7,891

8.98%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$7,715 RON 36.5K

$11.6K MX$215.0K

-33.70%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$62.0 RON 293

$67.8 MX$1,253

-8.63%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$34.81 RON 165

$52.0 MX$960

-33.01%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$72.7 RON 344

$106 MX$1,959

-31.41%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$86.2 RON 408

$113 MX$2,080

-23.44%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$407 RON 1,927

$1,025 MX$18.9K

-60.26%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$269 RON 1,271

$654 MX$12.1K

-58.93%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$651 RON 3,081

$2,308 MX$42.7K

-71.79%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$505 RON 2,387

$1,242 MX$22.9K

-59.38%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$1,755 RON 8,305

$3,613 MX$66.8K

-51.41%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,263 RON 5,976

$1,936 MX$35.8K

-34.75%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$964 MX$17.8K

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

6.97

11.3

-38.32%

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

Last update for Barlad: October 17, 2026

Last update for Mexico City: October 20, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Barlad

$269 27.6%

Mexico City

$654 42.3% 144% $386

Groceries & Markets

Barlad

$190 19.5%

Mexico City

$318 20.6% 67.3% $128

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Barlad

$175 18%

Mexico City

$124 8% 29.2% $51

Eating Out

Barlad

$152 15.6%

Mexico City

$204 13.2% 34.1% $52

Clothing & Footwear

Barlad

$115 11.8%

Mexico City

$152 9.8% 32.3% $37

Sport & Entertainment

Barlad

$47 4.9%

Mexico City

$70 4.5% 47.5% $22

Getting Around

Barlad

$26 2.7%

Mexico City

$26 1.7% 2.5% $0.7

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $407 in Barlad versus $1,025 in Mexico City. Rent is usually the largest line item in a monthly budget, so the gap here sets the tone for the overall comparison.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $41.00 in Barlad versus $49.00 in Mexico City. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $190 vs $318 – making Barlad the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇷🇴 Barlad

🇲🇽 Mexico City

🕒 Local time

10:37 10:37 AM

01:37 1:37 AM

9 h behind Barlad

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

77,518

9,209,944 Capital

💱 Currency

Romanian Leu RON lei

Mexican Peso MXN $

📈 Exchange rate

1 RON = 0.211 USD

1 RON = 0.188 EUR

100 MXN = 5.41 USD

100 MXN = 4.81 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

MXN, USD, EUR to RON – Romanian Leu Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇷🇴 Romanian Leu (lei)

Romanian Leu exchange rates as of October 22, 2026: 1 USD = 4.73 RON (1 RON = 0.211 USD). 1 EUR = 5.32 RON (1 RON = 0.188 EUR).

Mexican Peso exchange rates as of October 22, 2026: 1 USD = 18.48 MXN (100 MXN = 5.41 USD). 1 EUR = 20.77 MXN (100 MXN = 4.81 EUR).

USD to RON in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Barlad Mexico City 10,970 km ≈ 14 h nonstop flight

From you

Barlad
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

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

Monthly costs with rent: $975 in Barlad, $1,548 in Mexico City – roughly 59% apart. Outside of rent, the biggest gap is in groceries.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $1,462 per month in Barlad and $2,322 in Mexico City. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

Rent is clearly cheaper in Barlad, especially for central apartments. Housing is actually the single biggest factor behind the overall cost gap between these two cities.

Public transport costs about 1% less in Barlad. For daily commuters, that gap adds up to noticeable savings over a year.

Kindergarten costs $465 per month in Barlad and $427 in Mexico City. For families with young kids, this one expense can tip the scales when choosing between the two cities.

A $2,000 monthly budget goes further in Barlad, where all-in costs run around $975, than in Mexico City at $1,548. In Barlad it covers expenses comfortably, while in Mexico City it requires careful planning or may not stretch far enough.

It depends on your priorities. Mexico City has an edge in some lifestyle areas, with costs from $975 in Barlad to $1,548 in Mexico City. Climate, culture, job market, and personal taste all factor in.

Both have safer and rougher neighborhoods, but overall safety is comparable to other large cities. Neighborhood choice matters more than the city-level comparison – central, well-trafficked areas feel secure in both.

If budget matters most, go with Barlad. If higher salaries, better infrastructure, or specific career opportunities are the priority, Mexico City makes more sense. Both are solid long-term options with distinct trade-offs.