Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Craiova and Mexico City

For one person, living is cheaper in Craiova: $1,217 a month against $1,608 in Mexico City, rent and utilities included – about $4,700 less a year. Other living expenses account for most of the difference.

58

Cost of Living Index in Craiova
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Craiova Living Index
78

Cost of Living Index in Mexico City
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Mexico City Living Index

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Craiova

🇷🇴 Romania

$1,217

/mo nomad

Mexico City

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,608

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,217 in Craiova versus $1,608 in Mexico City.

Craiova $1,217
Mexico City $1,608

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,869 in Craiova versus $2,549 in Mexico City.

Craiova $1,869
Mexico City $2,549

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $2,520 in Craiova versus $3,490 in Mexico City.

Craiova $2,520
Mexico City $3,490

Living in Craiova costs roughly 24% less than in Mexico City, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

The two cities straddle the global median: Craiova is 11% below, Mexico City is 18% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$7.14 RON 34.11

$10.62 MX$199

-32.77%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$41.37 RON 198

$48.35 MX$908

-14.44%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$7.45 RON 35.60

$10.35 MX$194

-28.02%

Cappuccino

$2.71 RON 12.96

$3.69 MX$69.3

-26.56%

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

$2.23 RON 10.63

$1.67 MX$31.29

33.53%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.77 RON 8.45

$1.27 MX$23.76

39.37%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.24 RON 10.70

$3.19 MX$59.9

-29.78%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.51 RON 16.78

$5.31 MX$99.6

-33.90%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.27 RON 6.08

$1.72 MX$32.38

-26.16%

White Bread (500g)

$0.82 RON 3.92

$3.04 MX$57.1

-73.03%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.42 RON 6.76

$1.94 MX$36.44

-26.80%

Eggs

$3.26 RON 15.56

$2.89 MX$54.2

12.80%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$7.21 RON 34.47

$10.97 MX$206

-34.28%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$6.47 RON 30.92

$9.25 MX$174

-30.05%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$11.49 RON 54.9

$15.13 MX$284

-24.06%

Apples (1kg)

$0.95 RON 4.53

$3.05 MX$57.2

-68.85%

Banana (1kg)

$1.50 RON 7.15

$1.94 MX$36.45

-22.68%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.45 RON 6.93

$2.03 MX$38.02

-28.57%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.80 RON 8.61

$2.31 MX$43.46

-22.08%

Potato (1kg)

$0.76 RON 3.65

$2.04 MX$38.21

-62.75%

Onion (1kg)

$0.89 RON 4.27

$1.80 MX$33.79

-50.56%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.73 RON 3.50

$1.48 MX$27.77

-50.68%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.77 RON 3.66

$1.27 MX$23.80

-39.37%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$6.59 RON 31.47

$5.30 MX$99.6

24.34%

Wine (Bottle)

$6.34 RON 30.29

$16.10 MX$302

-60.62%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.20 RON 5.75

$1.98 MX$37.23

-39.39%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.46 RON 6.99

$4.25 MX$79.8

-65.65%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.88 RON 4.19

$0.31 MX$5.73

183.87%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$25.16 RON 120

$19.73 MX$371

27.52%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$0.61 RON 2.93

$1.84 MX$34.50

-66.85%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.65 RON 3.09

$0.53 MX$10.02

22.64%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$6.37 RON 30.46

$5.30 MX$99.4

20.19%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.90 RON 9.10

$1.51 MX$28.36

25.83%

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

$28.9K RON 138.0K

$21.8K MX$408.4K

32.73%

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

$25.8K RON 123.5K

$24.0K MX$450.3K

7.71%

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

$216 RON 1,034

$63.0 MX$1,182

243.70%

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

$9.24 RON 44.18

$27.39 MX$514

-66.27%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$11.57 RON 55.3

$35.67 MX$670

-67.56%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$38.59 RON 184

$58.9 MX$1,107

-34.53%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$21.52 RON 103

$23.64 MX$444

-8.97%

Cinema Ticket

$7.28 RON 34.77

$6.40 MX$120

13.75%

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

$411 RON 1,962

$432 MX$8,103

-4.89%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$8,047 RON 38.5K

$11.4K MX$214.5K

-29.56%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$62.9 RON 301

$68.2 MX$1,281

-7.78%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$50.6 RON 242

$53.1 MX$997

-4.80%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$82.8 RON 396

$108 MX$2,023

-23.20%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$103 RON 494

$117 MX$2,202

-11.83%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$532 RON 2,541

$1,113 MX$20.9K

-52.25%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$418 RON 2,000

$710 MX$13.3K

-41.10%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$910 RON 4,346

$2,588 MX$48.6K

-64.86%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$829 RON 3,961

$1,406 MX$26.4K

-41.04%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,703 RON 12.9K

$3,631 MX$68.2K

-25.55%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,988 RON 9,498

$2,135 MX$40.1K

-6.91%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$914 RON 4,368

$946 MX$17.8K

-3.38%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

6.84

11.35

-39.74%

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

Last update for Craiova: October 26, 2026

Last update for Mexico City: October 25, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Craiova

$418 34.4%

Mexico City

$710 44.2% 69.8% $292

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Craiova

$237 19.5%

Mexico City

$126 7.8% 46.9% $111

Groceries & Markets

Craiova

$194 16%

Mexico City

$320 19.9% 64.4% $125

Eating Out

Craiova

$146 12%

Mexico City

$199 12.4% 35.9% $52

Clothing & Footwear

Craiova

$135 11.1%

Mexico City

$156 9.7% 15.6% $21

Sport & Entertainment

Craiova

$53 4.4%

Mexico City

$72 4.5% 35% $19

Getting Around

Craiova

$33 2.7%

Mexico City

$25 1.6% 21.7% $7

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $532 in Craiova and $1,113 in Mexico City. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Mexico City pays 4% more on average. The extra income cushions the higher costs, though housing choices and lifestyle decide how much of the gap is truly closed.

Dining out: $41 in Craiova vs $48 in Mexico City for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $194 vs $320 per month, with Craiova cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇷🇴 Craiova

🇲🇽 Mexico City

🕒 Local time

12:17 12:17 PM

04:17 4:17 AM

8 h behind Craiova

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

269,506

9,209,944 Capital

💱 Currency

Romanian Leu RON lei

Mexican Peso MXN $

📈 Exchange rate

1 RON = 0.209 USD

1 RON = 0.187 EUR

100 MXN = 5.33 USD

100 MXN = 4.77 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 November 1, 2026: 1 USD = 4.78 RON (1 RON = 0.209 USD). 1 EUR = 5.34 RON (1 RON = 0.187 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 RON in detail →

On the map

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Highest

Between locations

Craiova Mexico City 10,870 km ≈ 14 h nonstop flight

From you

Craiova
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

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

Craiova wins on cost – living expenses run 24% lower than in Mexico City. Housing and daily spending are where you’ll feel the difference most, making Craiova the obvious pick if budget is a priority.

On paper, salaries run 3% lower in Craiova. That’s worth factoring in alongside costs, though remote workers earning in a stronger currency may not notice the difference at all.

Rent for a central apartment: $532 in Craiova versus $1,113 in Mexico City. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

All in, you’ll spend $1,217 per month in Craiova versus $1,608 in Mexico City – Craiova is about 24% cheaper, which adds up to real savings over time.

A monthly transit pass in Mexico City runs roughly 22% less than in Craiova. The price difference matters if you commute daily and watch your budget.

Both cities are expensive relative to $1,000. Craiova is the more realistic option, but even there you’ll need to be disciplined with housing, food, and fun money.

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.

It comes down to priorities – Craiova wins on affordability, Mexico City on earning potential. Factor in climate, language, visa rules, and proximity to places that matter to you before deciding.