Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Mexico City and Arad, Romania

Name: Arad
Address: Arad, RO

For one person, living is cheaper in Arad: $944 a month against $1,608 in Mexico City, rent and utilities included – about $8,000 less a year. Rent and utilities account for about half of the difference.

78

Cost of Living Index in Mexico City
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Mexico City Living Index
45

Cost of Living Index in Arad
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Arad Living Index

Jump to prices

Mexico City

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,608

/mo nomad

Arad

🇷🇴 Romania

$944

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Mexico City and in Arad

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 Arad actually costs, broken down by who's living it.

A single person spends $1,608 per month in Mexico City vs $944 in Arad, rent included.

Mexico City $1,608
Arad $944

A couple spends around $2,549 per month in Mexico City vs $1,403 in Arad, rent included.

Mexico City $2,549
Arad $1,403

A family of three spends $3,490 per month in Mexico City vs $1,862 in Arad, rent included.

Mexico City $3,490
Arad $1,862

Mexico City costs about 70% more than Arad, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Mexico City sits 18% above the global median, while Arad is 31% below – they fall on opposite sides of the world average.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$10.62 MX$200

$8.53 RON 40.83

24.50%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$48.35 MX$909

$32.88 RON 157

47.05%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$10.35 MX$194

$7.33 RON 35.07

41.20%

Cappuccino

$3.69 MX$69.4

$2.50 RON 11.98

47.60%

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

$1.67 MX$31.32

$1.50 RON 7.18

11.33%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.27 MX$23.78

$1.53 RON 7.33

-16.99%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.19 MX$60.0

$2.07 RON 9.90

54.11%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$5.31 MX$99.7

$2.49 RON 11.91

113.25%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.72 MX$32.41

$1.17 RON 5.61

47.01%

White Bread (500g)

$3.04 MX$57.1

$1.23 RON 5.88

147.15%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.94 MX$36.48

$1.74 RON 8.32

11.49%

Eggs

$2.89 MX$54.3

$2.68 RON 12.82

7.84%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$10.97 MX$206

$7.29 RON 34.87

50.48%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.25 MX$174

$4.94 RON 23.63

87.25%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$15.13 MX$284

$10.10 RON 48.30

49.80%

Apples (1kg)

$3.05 MX$57.3

$1.68 RON 8.06

81.55%

Banana (1kg)

$1.94 MX$36.48

$1.75 RON 8.37

10.86%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.03 MX$38.06

$1.72 RON 8.22

18.02%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.31 MX$43.50

$1.41 RON 6.74

63.83%

Potato (1kg)

$2.04 MX$38.25

$0.79 RON 3.76

158.23%

Onion (1kg)

$1.80 MX$33.83

$0.87 RON 4.15

106.90%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.48 MX$27.80

$1.21 RON 5.79

22.31%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.27 MX$23.82

$0.81 RON 3.89

56.79%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$5.30 MX$99.7

$5.91 RON 28.26

-10.32%

Wine (Bottle)

$16.10 MX$303

$5.86 RON 28.03

174.74%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.98 MX$37.27

$1.23 RON 5.89

60.98%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.25 MX$79.9

$1.75 RON 8.39

142.86%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.31 MX$5.73

$0.86 RON 4.10

-63.95%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$19.73 MX$371

$21.94 RON 105

-10.07%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.84 MX$34.53

$0.78 RON 3.73

135.90%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.53 MX$10.03

$1.03 RON 4.91

-48.54%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$5.30 MX$99.5

$10.33 RON 49.43

-48.69%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.51 MX$28.39

$1.86 RON 8.92

-18.82%

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

$21.8K MX$408.8K

$28.2K RON 135.1K

-22.95%

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

$24.0K MX$450.8K

$25.4K RON 121.7K

-5.69%

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

$63.0 MX$1,184

$125 RON 596

-49.43%

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

$27.39 MX$515

$8.33 RON 39.85

228.81%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$35.67 MX$670

$7.13 RON 34.11

400.28%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$58.9 MX$1,108

$35.51 RON 170

65.98%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$23.64 MX$444

$31.53 RON 151

-25.02%

Cinema Ticket

$6.40 MX$120

$5.24 RON 25.09

22.14%

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

$432 MX$8,111

$160 RON 765

169.93%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$11.4K MX$214.7K

$3,827 RON 18.3K

198.47%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$68.2 MX$1,282

$41.21 RON 197

65.54%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$53.1 MX$999

$21.08 RON 101

152.04%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$108 MX$2,026

$68.7 RON 329

56.79%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$117 MX$2,204

$73.2 RON 350

60.14%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,113 MX$20.9K

$420 RON 2,008

165.31%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$710 MX$13.4K

$296 RON 1,416

140.06%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,588 MX$48.6K

$512 RON 2,449

405.62%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,406 MX$26.4K

$417 RON 1,995

237.24%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,631 MX$68.2K

$1,825 RON 8,732

98.94%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$2,135 MX$40.1K

$1,309 RON 6,263

63.10%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$946 MX$17.8K

$923 RON 4,416

2.52%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

11.35

7.35

54.42%

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

Last update for Mexico City: October 25, 2026

Last update for Arad: October 25, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Mexico City

$710 44.2%

Arad

$296 31.4% 58.3% $415

Groceries & Markets

Mexico City

$320 19.9%

Arad

$191 20.3% 40.1% $128

Eating Out

Mexico City

$199 12.4%

Arad

$148 15.7% 25.6% $51

Clothing & Footwear

Mexico City

$156 9.7%

Arad

$92 9.7% 41% $64

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Mexico City

$126 7.8%

Arad

$140 14.8% 11.1% $14

Sport & Entertainment

Mexico City

$72 4.5%

Arad

$46 4.9% 35.9% $26

Getting Around

Mexico City

$25 1.6%

Arad

$31 3.3% 22.8% $5.8

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $1,113 in Mexico City versus $420 in Arad. 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 $33 in Arad. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $320 vs $191 – making Arad the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇲🇽 Mexico City

🇷🇴 Arad

🕒 Local time

20:39 8:39 PM

04:39 4:39 AM

8 h ahead of Mexico City

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

9,209,944 Capital

159,074

💱 Currency

Mexican Peso MXN $

Romanian Leu RON lei

📈 Exchange rate

100 MXN = 5.32 USD

100 MXN = 4.77 EUR

1 RON = 0.209 USD

1 RON = 0.187 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

RON, USD, EUR to MXN – Mexican Peso Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇲🇽 Mexican Peso ($)

Mexican Peso exchange rates as of November 2, 2026: 1 USD = 18.79 MXN (100 MXN = 5.32 USD). 1 EUR = 20.98 MXN (100 MXN = 4.77 EUR).

Romanian Leu exchange rates as of November 2, 2026: 1 USD = 4.78 RON (1 RON = 0.209 USD). 1 EUR = 5.34 RON (1 RON = 0.187 EUR).

USD to MXN in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Mexico City Arad 10,590 km ≈ 14 h nonstop flight

From you

Mexico City
Arad

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 Arad: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Mexico City costs about 70% more than Arad, and outside of rent the gap comes mainly from groceries. That’s enough to noticeably affect everyday spending and lifestyle for anyone choosing between the two.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $2,412 per month in Mexico City and $1,417 in Arad. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

Rent is clearly cheaper in Arad, especially for central apartments: a one-bedroom in the center costs $420 there versus $1,113 in Mexico City.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $48 in Mexico City and $33 in Arad. That’s a good indicator of the overall restaurant and café pricing gap between the two cities.

Monthly expenses with rent come to $1,608 in Mexico City and $944 in Arad. That makes Arad about 41% cheaper.

$800 is a stretch for both – monthly costs hit $1,608 in Mexico City and $944 in Arad. You’ll need shared housing and careful budgeting no matter which city you pick.

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