Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Chisinau and Aguascalientes

For one person, living is cheaper in Aguascalientes: $1,084 a month against $1,316 in Chisinau, rent and utilities included – about $2,800 less a year. Higher rent and utilities in Chisinau outweigh lower spending on other living expenses.

63

Cost of Living Index in Chisinau
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Chisinau Living Index
52

Cost of Living Index in Aguascalientes
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Aguascalientes Living Index

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Chisinau

🇲🇩 Moldova

$1,316

/mo nomad

Aguascalientes

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,084

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Chisinau and in Aguascalientes

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,316 in Chisinau versus $1,084 in Aguascalientes.

Chisinau $1,316
Aguascalientes $1,084

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,991 in Chisinau versus $1,720 in Aguascalientes.

Chisinau $1,991
Aguascalientes $1,720

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $2,666 in Chisinau versus $2,355 in Aguascalientes.

Chisinau $2,666
Aguascalientes $2,355

Living in Chisinau is roughly 21% more expensive than in Aguascalientes, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in clothing.

Both cities sit below the global median: Chisinau 3% lower, Aguascalientes 20% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$11.34 MDL 202

$12.56 MX$236

-9.71%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$56.7 MDL 1,010

$42.51 MX$798

33.29%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$8.14 MDL 145

$6.83 MX$128

19.18%

Cappuccino

$2.19 MDL 39.06

$3.70 MX$69.4

-40.81%

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

$1.22 MDL 21.67

$1.66 MX$31.09

-26.51%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.90 MDL 15.99

$1.21 MX$22.64

-25.62%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.20 MDL 39.24

$2.21 MX$41.49

-0.45%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.92 MDL 34.27

$3.26 MX$61.3

-41.10%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.26 MDL 22.54

$1.46 MX$27.42

-13.70%

White Bread (500g)

$0.71 MDL 12.74

$2.23 MX$41.87

-68.16%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.40 MDL 24.93

$1.46 MX$27.42

-4.11%

Eggs

$2.72 MDL 48.47

$2.37 MX$44.57

14.77%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$9.70 MDL 173

$7.74 MX$145

25.32%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$5.00 MDL 89.2

$8.38 MX$157

-40.33%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$8.77 MDL 156

$11.17 MX$210

-21.49%

Apples (1kg)

$0.97 MDL 17.33

$2.22 MX$41.69

-56.31%

Banana (1kg)

$1.93 MDL 34.44

$1.31 MX$24.59

47.33%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.01 MDL 35.89

$1.53 MX$28.78

31.37%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.16 MDL 38.44

$1.69 MX$31.64

27.81%

Potato (1kg)

$0.65 MDL 11.63

$1.54 MX$28.85

-57.79%

Onion (1kg)

$0.56 MDL 10.03

$1.37 MX$25.69

-59.12%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.30 MDL 23.14

$1.02 MX$19.13

27.45%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.89 MDL 15.93

$0.83 MX$15.53

7.23%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$3.31 MDL 59.0

$4.30 MX$80.7

-23.02%

Wine (Bottle)

$4.82 MDL 85.9

$8.77 MX$165

-45.04%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.22 MDL 21.66

$1.78 MX$33.44

-31.46%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.89 MDL 33.72

$3.39 MX$63.7

-44.25%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.38 MDL 6.73

$0.58 MX$10.81

-34.48%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$13.55 MDL 242

$29.38 MX$552

-53.88%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$2.27 MDL 40.46

$1.18 MX$22.14

92.37%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.34 MDL 6.13

$1.13 MX$21.19

-69.91%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$4.94 MDL 88.1

$10.94 MX$205

-54.84%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.65 MDL 29.47

$1.49 MX$27.94

10.74%

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

$29.8K MDL 531.9K

$24.5K MX$459.7K

21.82%

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

$27.6K MDL 492.9K

$23.6K MX$443.3K

17.08%

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

$241 MDL 4,289

$55.2 MX$1,036

335.92%

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

$9.32 MDL 166

$24.45 MX$459

-61.88%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$10.33 MDL 184

$24.00 MX$451

-56.96%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$42.89 MDL 765

$30.44 MX$572

40.90%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$20.55 MDL 366

$21.61 MX$406

-4.91%

Cinema Ticket

$8.33 MDL 149

$5.10 MX$95.8

63.33%

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

$430 MDL 7,660

$210 MX$3,945

104.44%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$5,720 MDL 102.0K

$2,885 MX$54.2K

98.28%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$78.1 MDL 1,392

$54.1 MX$1,016

44.31%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$45.91 MDL 819

$38.42 MX$721

19.50%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$112 MDL 2,006

$103 MX$1,930

9.45%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$117 MDL 2,083

$68.8 MX$1,291

69.92%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$691 MDL 12.3K

$496 MX$9,316

39.24%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$463 MDL 8,252

$349 MX$6,561

32.43%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,257 MDL 22.4K

$772 MX$14.5K

62.80%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$803 MDL 14.3K

$622 MX$11.7K

28.96%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,585 MDL 46.1K

$1,149 MX$21.6K

124.89%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,861 MDL 33.2K

$1,155 MX$21.7K

61.17%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$864 MDL 15.4K

$864 MX$16.2K

-0.00%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

9.17

11.2

-18.12%

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

Last update for Chisinau: October 26, 2026

Last update for Aguascalientes: October 26, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Chisinau

$463 35.2%

Aguascalientes

$349 32.2% 24.5% $113

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Chisinau

$260 19.8%

Aguascalientes

$104 9.6% 60.2% $157

Groceries & Markets

Chisinau

$190 14.5%

Aguascalientes

$239 22% 25.5% $49

Eating Out

Chisinau

$165 12.5%

Aguascalientes

$194 17.9% 18% $30

Clothing & Footwear

Chisinau

$159 12.1%

Aguascalientes

$119 11% 25.3% $40

Sport & Entertainment

Chisinau

$60 4.5%

Aguascalientes

$41 3.8% 31.7% $19

Getting Around

Chisinau

$19 1.5%

Aguascalientes

$39 3.6% 102% $19

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $691 in Chisinau and $496 in Aguascalientes. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Dining out: $57 in Chisinau vs $43 in Aguascalientes. Groceries flip the comparison at $190 vs $239, with Chisinau cheaper for home cooking.

Good to know

🇲🇩 Chisinau

🇲🇽 Aguascalientes

🕒 Local time

01:08 1:08 AM

17:08 5:08 PM

8 h behind Chisinau

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

750,000 Capital

863,893

💱 Currency

Moldovan Leu MDL L

Mexican Peso MXN $

📈 Exchange rate

100 MDL = 5.61 USD

100 MDL = 5.02 EUR

100 MXN = 5.33 USD

100 MXN = 4.77 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

MXN, USD, EUR to MDL – Moldovan Leu Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇲🇩 Moldovan Leu (L)

Moldovan Leu exchange rates as of November 1, 2026: 1 USD = 17.83 MDL (100 MDL = 5.61 USD). 1 EUR = 19.91 MDL (100 MDL = 5.02 EUR).

Mexican Peso exchange rates as of November 1, 2026: 1 USD = 18.77 MXN (100 MXN = 5.33 USD). 1 EUR = 20.96 MXN (100 MXN = 4.77 EUR).

USD to MDL in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Chisinau Aguascalientes 10,920 km ≈ 14 h nonstop flight

From you

Chisinau
Aguascalientes

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

Chisinau vs Aguascalientes: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Aguascalientes is about 18% cheaper overall, especially in clothing and leisure. That difference adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

You’d need roughly $1,974 in Chisinau and $1,627 in Aguascalientes 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: $691 in Chisinau versus $496 in Aguascalientes. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

A monthly transit pass in Chisinau runs roughly 54% less than in Aguascalientes. The price difference matters if you commute daily and watch your budget.

Childcare runs $430 in Chisinau versus $210 in Aguascalientes. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Either city works on $1,500 a month, though Aguascalientes gives you more room to save. At this income level, the choice is more about lifestyle than financial pressure.

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.