Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Mbarara and Mexico City

For one person, living is cheaper in Mbarara: $488 a month against $1,608 in Mexico City, rent and utilities included – about $13,400 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

23

Cost of Living Index in Mbarara
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Mbarara Living Index
78

Cost of Living Index in Mexico City
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Mexico City Living Index

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Mbarara

🇺🇬 Uganda

$488

/mo nomad

Mexico City

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,608

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

A single person spends $488 per month in Mbarara vs $1,608 in Mexico City, rent included.

Mbarara $488
Mexico City $1,608

A couple spends around $776 per month in Mbarara vs $2,549 in Mexico City, rent included.

Mbarara $776
Mexico City $2,549

A family of three spends $1,063 per month in Mbarara vs $3,490 in Mexico City, rent included.

Mbarara $1,063
Mexico City $3,490

Mbarara is about 70% cheaper than Mexico City, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Mbarara sits 64% below the global median, while Mexico City is 18% above – they fall on opposite sides of the world average.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$2.35 UGX 10.3K

$10.62 MX$198

-77.87%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$24.42 UGX 107.0K

$48.35 MX$901

-49.49%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$7.07 UGX 31.0K

$10.35 MX$193

-31.69%

Cappuccino

$2.43 UGX 10.6K

$3.69 MX$68.7

-34.15%

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

$0.34 UGX 1,502

$1.67 MX$31.05

-79.64%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.27 UGX 1,190

$1.27 MX$23.58

-78.74%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$1.22 UGX 5,332

$3.19 MX$59.5

-61.76%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.83 UGX 8,018

$5.31 MX$98.9

-65.54%

Milk (1 liter)

$0.50 UGX 2,177

$1.72 MX$32.13

-70.93%

White Bread (500g)

$0.93 UGX 4,083

$3.04 MX$56.6

-69.41%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.17 UGX 5,130

$1.94 MX$36.17

-39.69%

Eggs

$1.53 UGX 6,682

$2.89 MX$53.8

-47.06%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$4.23 UGX 18.5K

$10.97 MX$204

-61.44%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$4.51 UGX 19.7K

$9.25 MX$172

-51.24%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$3.46 UGX 15.1K

$15.13 MX$282

-77.13%

Apples (1kg)

$2.00 UGX 8,780

$3.05 MX$56.8

-34.43%

Banana (1kg)

$1.24 UGX 5,434

$1.94 MX$36.17

-36.08%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.30 UGX 5,706

$2.03 MX$37.73

-35.96%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.19 UGX 5,199

$2.31 MX$43.12

-48.48%

Potato (1kg)

$1.23 UGX 5,389

$2.04 MX$37.91

-39.71%

Onion (1kg)

$1.17 UGX 5,125

$1.80 MX$33.53

-35.00%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.72 UGX 3,158

$1.48 MX$27.56

-51.35%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.51 UGX 2,218

$1.27 MX$23.62

-59.84%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$2.43 UGX 10.6K

$5.30 MX$98.8

-54.15%

Wine (Bottle)

$7.39 UGX 32.4K

$16.10 MX$300

-54.10%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.08 UGX 4,730

$1.98 MX$36.95

-45.45%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.81 UGX 7,949

$4.25 MX$79.2

-57.41%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.70 UGX 3,056

$0.31 MX$5.68

125.81%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$19.73 MX$368

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$0.46 UGX 2,035

$1.84 MX$34.23

-75.00%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.29 UGX 1,266

$0.53 MX$9.94

-45.28%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$3.03 UGX 13.3K

$5.30 MX$98.7

-42.83%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.37 UGX 5,981

$1.51 MX$28.14

-9.27%

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

$7,154 UGX 31.3M

$21.8K MX$405.3K

-67.11%

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

$7,202 UGX 31.5M

$24.0K MX$446.9K

-69.97%

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

$69.2 UGX 302.9K

$63.0 MX$1,173

9.80%

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

$11.20 UGX 49.1K

$27.39 MX$510

-59.11%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$33.55 UGX 146.9K

$35.67 MX$664

-5.94%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$17.82 UGX 78.0K

$58.9 MX$1,098

-69.77%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$23.64 MX$441

Cinema Ticket

$7.15 UGX 31.3K

$6.40 MX$119

11.72%

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

$247 UGX 1.1M

$432 MX$8,041

-42.79%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$8,140 UGX 35.7M

$11.4K MX$212.8K

-28.74%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$13.66 UGX 59.8K

$68.2 MX$1,271

-79.98%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$12.69 UGX 55.6K

$53.1 MX$990

-76.12%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$31.67 UGX 138.7K

$108 MX$2,008

-70.62%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$42.04 UGX 184.2K

$117 MX$2,185

-64.15%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$83.7 UGX 366.4K

$1,113 MX$20.7K

-92.49%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$73.0 UGX 319.5K

$710 MX$13.2K

-89.73%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$231 UGX 1.0M

$2,588 MX$48.2K

-91.07%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$171 UGX 749.8K

$1,406 MX$26.2K

-87.82%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,631 MX$67.6K

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$2,135 MX$39.8K

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$946 MX$17.6K

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

20.75

11.35

82.82%

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

Last update for Mbarara: October 25, 2026

Last update for Mexico City: October 25, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Groceries & Markets

Mbarara

$138 28.3%

Mexico City

$320 19.9% 131% $181

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Mbarara

$114 23.3%

Mexico City

$126 7.8% 10.7% $12

Eating Out

Mbarara

$81 16.7%

Mexico City

$199 12.4% 144% $117

Accommodation & Living

Mbarara

$73 14.9%

Mexico City

$710 44.2% 874% $638

Clothing & Footwear

Mbarara

$45 9.2%

Mexico City

$156 9.7% 246% $111

Sport & Entertainment

Mbarara

$32 6.6%

Mexico City

$72 4.5% 123% $40

Getting Around

Mbarara

$4.7 * 1%

Mexico City

$25 1.6% 442% $21

Categories marked with * are only partly priced – their share counts the items that do have prices.

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $84 in Mbarara versus $1,113 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 $24 in Mbarara versus $48 in Mexico City. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $138 vs $320 – making Mbarara the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇺🇬 Mbarara

🇲🇽 Mexico City

🕒 Local time

07:26 7:26 AM

22:26 10:26 PM

9 h behind Mbarara

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

195,013

9,209,944 Capital

💱 Currency

Ugandan Shilling UGX Sh

Mexican Peso MXN $

📈 Exchange rate

10,000 UGX = 2.28 USD

10,000 UGX = 2.05 EUR

100 MXN = 5.37 USD

100 MXN = 4.82 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

MXN, USD, EUR to UGX – Ugandan Shilling Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇺🇬 Ugandan Shilling (Sh)

Ugandan Shilling exchange rates as of October 29, 2026: 1 USD = 4,380 UGX (10,000 UGX = 2.28 USD). 1 EUR = 4,876 UGX (10,000 UGX = 2.05 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 UGX in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Mbarara Mexico City 14,160 km ≈ 18 h nonstop flight

From you

Mbarara
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

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

Yes – Mexico City is pricier by about 229%, and outside of rent the gap shows up most in groceries.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $732 per month in Mbarara and $2,412 in Mexico City. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

Rent is clearly cheaper in Mbarara, especially for central apartments: a one-bedroom in the center costs $84 there versus $1,113 in Mexico City.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $24 in Mbarara and $48 in Mexico City. That’s a good indicator of the overall restaurant and café pricing gap between the two cities.

Groceries cost about 131% more in Mexico City, though the gap depends on what you buy.

A $1,000 monthly budget goes further in Mbarara, where all-in costs run around $488, than in Mexico City at $1,608. In Mbarara it covers expenses comfortably, while in Mexico City it requires careful planning or may not stretch far enough.

Families tend to lean toward Mbarara – lower housing and cheaper childcare make a real difference, especially on a single income or when paying for private education.