Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Mexico City and Al Kut

For one person, living is cheaper in Al Kut: $660 a month against $1,608 in Mexico City, rent and utilities included – about $11,400 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

78

Cost of Living Index in Mexico City
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Mexico City Living Index
32

Cost of Living Index in Al Kut
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Al Kut Living Index

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Mexico City

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,608

/mo nomad

Al Kut

🇮🇶 Iraq

$660

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Mexico City and in Al Kut

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

A single person spends $1,608 per month in Mexico City vs $660 in Al Kut, rent included.

Mexico City $1,608
Al Kut $660

A couple spends around $2,549 per month in Mexico City vs $1,016 in Al Kut, rent included.

Mexico City $2,549
Al Kut $1,016

A family of three spends $3,490 per month in Mexico City vs $1,372 in Al Kut, rent included.

Mexico City $3,490
Al Kut $1,372

Mexico City costs about 144% more than Al Kut, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Mexico City sits 18% above the global median, while Al Kut is 52% below – they fall on opposite sides of the world average.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$10.62 MX$198

$4.05 IQD 6,122

162.22%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$48.35 MX$901

$18.78 IQD 28.4K

157.45%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$10.35 MX$193

$6.05 IQD 9,139

71.07%

Cappuccino

$3.69 MX$68.8

$2.51 IQD 3,795

47.01%

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

$1.67 MX$31.07

$0.39 IQD 583

328.21%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.27 MX$23.59

$0.23 IQD 342

452.17%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.19 MX$59.5

$2.84 IQD 4,294

12.32%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$5.31 MX$98.9

$2.67 IQD 4,030

98.88%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.72 MX$32.15

$1.02 IQD 1,543

68.63%

White Bread (500g)

$3.04 MX$56.7

$0.73 IQD 1,097

316.44%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.94 MX$36.19

$1.49 IQD 2,246

30.20%

Eggs

$2.89 MX$53.8

$1.60 IQD 2,411

80.63%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$10.97 MX$205

$3.85 IQD 5,821

184.94%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.25 MX$172

$3.58 IQD 5,410

158.38%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$15.13 MX$282

$11.64 IQD 17.6K

29.98%

Apples (1kg)

$3.05 MX$56.8

$0.91 IQD 1,376

235.16%

Banana (1kg)

$1.94 MX$36.19

$1.00 IQD 1,511

94.00%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.03 MX$37.75

$0.85 IQD 1,289

138.82%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.31 MX$43.15

$0.63 IQD 951

266.67%

Potato (1kg)

$2.04 MX$37.94

$0.55 IQD 837

270.91%

Onion (1kg)

$1.80 MX$33.55

$0.57 IQD 864

215.79%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.48 MX$27.58

$0.56 IQD 849

164.29%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.27 MX$23.63

$0.51 IQD 768

149.02%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$5.30 MX$98.9

$1.71 IQD 2,577

209.94%

Wine (Bottle)

$16.10 MX$300

$9.61 IQD 14.5K

67.53%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.98 MX$36.97

$1.36 IQD 2,055

45.59%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.25 MX$79.3

$1.93 IQD 2,918

120.21%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.31 MX$5.69

$0.33 IQD 493

-6.06%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$19.73 MX$368

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.84 MX$34.25

$1.88 IQD 2,848

-2.13%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.53 MX$9.94

$1.14 IQD 1,720

-53.51%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$5.30 MX$98.7

$5.53 IQD 8,349

-4.16%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.51 MX$28.16

$0.50 IQD 754

202.00%

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

$21.8K MX$405.5K

$14.1K IQD 21.3M

54.56%

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

$24.0K MX$447.1K

$15.4K IQD 23.3M

55.82%

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

$63.0 MX$1,174

$86.2 IQD 130.3K

-26.95%

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

$27.39 MX$511

$13.28 IQD 20.1K

106.25%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$35.67 MX$665

$29.34 IQD 44.3K

21.57%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$58.9 MX$1,099

$36.82 IQD 55.6K

60.08%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$23.64 MX$441

Cinema Ticket

$6.40 MX$119

$9.35 IQD 14.1K

-31.55%

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

$432 MX$8,045

$138 IQD 208.6K

212.59%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$11.4K MX$212.9K

$2,820 IQD 4.3M

305.08%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$68.2 MX$1,272

$20.90 IQD 31.6K

226.41%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$53.1 MX$990

$23.07 IQD 34.9K

130.30%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$108 MX$2,009

$58.9 IQD 88.9K

83.14%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$117 MX$2,186

$37.09 IQD 56.0K

216.18%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,113 MX$20.8K

$183 IQD 275.9K

509.80%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$710 MX$13.2K

$149 IQD 224.5K

378.20%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,588 MX$48.2K

$370 IQD 559.1K

599.45%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,406 MX$26.2K

$320 IQD 483.8K

339.08%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,631 MX$67.7K

$846 IQD 1.3M

329.11%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$2,135 MX$39.8K

$502 IQD 758.8K

325.12%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$946 MX$17.6K

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

11.35

4.12

175.49%

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

Last update for Mexico City: October 25, 2026

Last update for Al Kut: October 25, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Mexico City

$710 44.2%

Al Kut

$149 22.5% 79.1% $562

Groceries & Markets

Mexico City

$320 19.9%

Al Kut

$152 23.1% 52.3% $167

Eating Out

Mexico City

$199 12.4%

Al Kut

$103 15.6% 48.3% $96

Clothing & Footwear

Mexico City

$156 9.7%

Al Kut

$63 9.5% 59.6% $93

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Mexico City

$126 7.8%

Al Kut

$129 19.5% 2.2% $2.8

Sport & Entertainment

Mexico City

$72 4.5%

Al Kut

$56 8.4% 22.6% $16

Getting Around

Mexico City

$25 1.6%

Al Kut

$8.9 * 1.4% 65.1% $17

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

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $1,113 in Mexico City versus $183 in Al Kut. 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 $48 in Mexico City versus $19 in Al Kut. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $320 vs $152 – making Al Kut the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇲🇽 Mexico City

🇮🇶 Al Kut

🕒 Local time

09:11 9:11 AM

18:11 6:11 PM

9 h ahead of Mexico City

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

9,209,944 Capital

422,793

💱 Currency

Mexican Peso MXN $

Iraqi Dinar IQD ع.د

📈 Exchange rate

100 MXN = 5.36 USD

100 MXN = 4.82 EUR

10,000 IQD = 6.62 USD

10,000 IQD = 5.95 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

IQD, USD, EUR to MXN – Mexican Peso Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇲🇽 Mexican Peso ($)

Mexican Peso exchange rates as of October 28, 2026: 1 USD = 18.64 MXN (100 MXN = 5.36 USD). 1 EUR = 20.75 MXN (100 MXN = 4.82 EUR).

Iraqi Dinar exchange rates as of October 28, 2026: 1 USD = 1,511 IQD (10,000 IQD = 6.62 USD). 1 EUR = 1,682 IQD (10,000 IQD = 5.95 EUR).

USD to MXN in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Mexico City Al Kut 13,140 km ≈ 17 h nonstop flight

From you

Mexico City
Al Kut

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

Mexico City vs Al Kut: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Monthly costs with rent: $1,608 in Mexico City, $660 in Al Kut – roughly 144% apart. Outside of rent, the biggest gap is in groceries.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $2,412 per month in Mexico City and $990 in Al Kut. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

Rent is clearly cheaper in Al Kut, especially for central apartments: a one-bedroom in the center costs $183 there versus $1,113 in Mexico City.

Monthly expenses with rent come to $1,608 in Mexico City and $660 in Al Kut. That’s a gap of about 144%.

Kindergarten costs $432 per month in Mexico City and $138 in Al Kut. For families with young kids, this one expense can tip the scales when choosing between the two cities.

A $1,200 monthly budget goes further in Al Kut, where all-in costs run around $660, than in Mexico City at $1,608. In Al Kut it covers expenses comfortably, while in Mexico City it requires careful planning or may not stretch far enough.

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