Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Manama and Mexico City

For one person, living is cheaper in Manama: $1,561 a month against $1,608 in Mexico City, rent and utilities included – about $560 less a year. The total is higher in Mexico City despite lower rent and utilities.

75

Cost of Living Index in Manama
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Manama Living Index
78

Cost of Living Index in Mexico City
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Mexico City Living Index

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Manama

🇧🇭 Bahrain

$1,561

/mo nomad

Mexico City

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,608

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,561 in Manama versus $1,608 in Mexico City.

Manama $1,561
Mexico City $1,608

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,442 in Manama versus $2,549 in Mexico City.

Manama $2,442
Mexico City $2,549

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,323 in Manama versus $3,490 in Mexico City.

Manama $3,323
Mexico City $3,490

Living in Manama costs roughly 3% less than in Mexico City, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Both cities are pricier than the global median: Manama 15% above, Mexico City 18% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$5.17 BHD 1.95

$10.62 MX$198

-51.32%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$53.4 BHD 20.14

$48.35 MX$901

10.42%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$7.22 BHD 2.72

$10.35 MX$193

-30.24%

Cappuccino

$5.01 BHD 1.89

$3.69 MX$68.7

35.77%

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

$0.88 BHD 0.33

$1.67 MX$31.05

-47.31%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.32 BHD 0.12

$1.27 MX$23.58

-74.80%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$6.48 BHD 2.45

$3.19 MX$59.5

103.13%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$10.09 BHD 3.81

$5.31 MX$98.9

90.02%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.39 BHD 0.52

$1.72 MX$32.13

-19.19%

White Bread (500g)

$1.05 BHD 0.40

$3.04 MX$56.6

-65.46%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.33 BHD 0.88

$1.94 MX$36.17

20.10%

Eggs

$2.22 BHD 0.84

$2.89 MX$53.8

-23.18%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$8.62 BHD 3.25

$10.97 MX$204

-21.42%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$6.58 BHD 2.48

$9.25 MX$172

-28.86%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$8.38 BHD 3.16

$15.13 MX$282

-44.61%

Apples (1kg)

$2.39 BHD 0.90

$3.05 MX$56.8

-21.64%

Banana (1kg)

$2.31 BHD 0.87

$1.94 MX$36.17

19.07%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.94 BHD 0.73

$2.03 MX$37.73

-4.43%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.38 BHD 0.52

$2.31 MX$43.12

-40.26%

Potato (1kg)

$1.01 BHD 0.38

$2.04 MX$37.91

-50.49%

Onion (1kg)

$1.36 BHD 0.51

$1.80 MX$33.53

-24.44%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.56 BHD 0.59

$1.48 MX$27.56

5.41%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.84 BHD 0.32

$1.27 MX$23.62

-33.86%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$5.26 BHD 1.98

$5.30 MX$98.8

-0.75%

Wine (Bottle)

$18.18 BHD 6.86

$16.10 MX$300

12.92%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$3.63 BHD 1.37

$1.98 MX$36.95

83.33%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.66 BHD 1.01

$4.25 MX$79.2

-37.41%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.78 BHD 0.29

$0.31 MX$5.68

151.61%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$36.65 BHD 13.83

$19.73 MX$368

85.76%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$5.18 BHD 1.95

$1.84 MX$34.23

181.52%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$3.42 BHD 1.29

$0.53 MX$9.94

545.28%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$15.82 BHD 5.97

$5.30 MX$98.7

198.49%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$0.66 BHD 0.25

$1.51 MX$28.14

-56.29%

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

$25.9K BHD 9,753

$21.8K MX$405.3K

18.86%

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

$19.3K BHD 7,296

$24.0K MX$446.9K

-19.36%

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

$153 BHD 57.6

$63.0 MX$1,173

142.25%

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

$24.67 BHD 9.30

$27.39 MX$510

-9.93%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$35.29 BHD 13.31

$35.67 MX$664

-1.07%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$68.9 BHD 25.99

$58.9 MX$1,098

16.90%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$30.13 BHD 11.36

$23.64 MX$441

27.45%

Cinema Ticket

$10.78 BHD 4.07

$6.40 MX$119

68.44%

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

$622 BHD 235

$432 MX$8,041

44.17%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$10.9K BHD 4,126

$11.4K MX$212.8K

-4.24%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$50.1 BHD 18.90

$68.2 MX$1,271

-26.55%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$58.0 BHD 21.89

$53.1 MX$990

9.24%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$89.1 BHD 33.61

$108 MX$2,008

-17.33%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$88.7 BHD 33.45

$117 MX$2,185

-24.39%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,004 BHD 379

$1,113 MX$20.7K

-9.80%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$638 BHD 241

$710 MX$13.2K

-10.23%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,052 BHD 774

$2,588 MX$48.2K

-20.72%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,303 BHD 491

$1,406 MX$26.2K

-7.32%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,590 BHD 977

$3,631 MX$67.6K

-28.67%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,974 BHD 744

$2,135 MX$39.8K

-7.56%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$2,384 BHD 899

$946 MX$17.6K

151.97%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

6.21

11.35

-45.29%

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

Last update for Manama: 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

Manama

$638 40.9%

Mexico City

$710 44.2% 11.4% $73

Groceries & Markets

Manama

$249 16%

Mexico City

$320 19.9% 28.4% $71

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Manama

$213 13.6%

Mexico City

$126 7.8% 40.7% $86

Eating Out

Manama

$181 11.6%

Mexico City

$199 12.4% 10% $18

Clothing & Footwear

Manama

$129 8.2%

Mexico City

$156 9.7% 21.1% $27

Sport & Entertainment

Manama

$90 5.8%

Mexico City

$72 4.5% 20.7% $19

Getting Around

Manama

$62 4%

Mexico City

$25 1.6% 59% $37

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,004 in Manama and $1,113 in Mexico City. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Manama pays about 2.5 times more on average while also being the cheaper of the two. The combined effect is a noticeably stronger local purchasing power.

Dining out: $53 in Manama vs $48 in Mexico City. Groceries flip the comparison at $249 vs $320, with Manama cheaper for home cooking.

Good to know

🇧🇭 Manama

🇲🇽 Mexico City

🕒 Local time

05:13 5:13 AM

20:13 8:13 PM

9 h behind Manama

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

157,474 Capital

9,209,944 Capital

💱 Currency

Bahraini Dinar BHD .د.ب

Mexican Peso MXN $

📈 Exchange rate

1 BHD = 2.65 USD

1 BHD = 2.38 EUR

100 MXN = 5.37 USD

100 MXN = 4.82 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

MXN, USD, EUR to BHD – Bahraini Dinar Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇧🇭 Bahraini Dinar (.د.ب)

Bahraini Dinar exchange rates as of October 29, 2026: 1 USD = 0.377 BHD (1 BHD = 2.65 USD). 1 EUR = 0.42 BHD (1 BHD = 2.38 EUR).

Mexican Peso exchange rates as of October 29, 2026: 1 USD = 18.63 MXN (100 MXN = 5.37 USD). 1 EUR = 20.74 MXN (100 MXN = 4.82 EUR).

USD to BHD in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Manama Mexico City 13,980 km ≈ 18 h nonstop flight

From you

Manama
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

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

Manama wins on cost – living expenses run 3% lower than in Mexico City. Housing and daily spending are where you’ll feel the difference most, making Manama the obvious pick if budget is a priority.

Average pay in Manama is about 2.5 times higher, which matters when comparing affordability. Whether that higher income actually nets you more depends on your spending habits and housing choices.

Rent for a central apartment: $1,004 in Manama versus $1,113 in Mexico City. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

A monthly transit pass in Mexico City runs roughly 46% less than in Manama. The price difference matters if you commute daily and watch your budget.

Childcare runs $622 in Manama versus $432 in Mexico City. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

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