Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Mexico City and Braila

For one person, living is cheaper in Braila: $1,143 a month against $1,608 in Mexico City, rent and utilities included – about $5,600 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
55

Cost of Living Index in Braila
Learn more

Braila Living Index

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Mexico City

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,608

/mo nomad

Braila

🇷🇴 Romania

$1,143

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,608 in Mexico City versus $1,143 in Braila.

Mexico City $1,608
Braila $1,143

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,549 in Mexico City versus $1,725 in Braila.

Mexico City $2,549
Braila $1,725

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,490 in Mexico City versus $2,308 in Braila.

Mexico City $3,490
Braila $2,308

Living in Mexico City is roughly 41% more expensive than in Braila, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

The two cities straddle the global median: Mexico City is 18% above, Braila is 16% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$10.62 MX$199

$18.68 RON 89.6

-43.15%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$48.35 MX$907

$39.07 RON 187

23.75%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$10.35 MX$194

$8.78 RON 42.08

17.88%

Cappuccino

$3.69 MX$69.2

$2.63 RON 12.61

40.30%

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

$1.67 MX$31.25

$2.06 RON 9.87

-18.93%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.27 MX$23.73

$1.70 RON 8.16

-25.29%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.19 MX$59.9

$1.63 RON 7.80

95.71%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$5.31 MX$99.5

$2.08 RON 9.96

155.29%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.72 MX$32.34

$1.82 RON 8.72

-5.49%

White Bread (500g)

$3.04 MX$57.0

$1.42 RON 6.82

114.08%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.94 MX$36.40

$1.47 RON 7.07

31.97%

Eggs

$2.89 MX$54.1

$3.36 RON 16.13

-13.99%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$10.97 MX$206

$8.71 RON 41.76

25.95%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.25 MX$173

$7.65 RON 36.66

20.92%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$15.13 MX$284

$9.51 RON 45.61

59.10%

Apples (1kg)

$3.05 MX$57.2

$0.95 RON 4.54

221.05%

Banana (1kg)

$1.94 MX$36.40

$1.46 RON 6.98

32.88%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.03 MX$37.98

$1.30 RON 6.25

56.15%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.31 MX$43.40

$1.15 RON 5.51

100.87%

Potato (1kg)

$2.04 MX$38.16

$0.84 RON 4.05

142.86%

Onion (1kg)

$1.80 MX$33.75

$0.72 RON 3.47

150.00%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.48 MX$27.74

$0.68 RON 3.26

117.65%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.27 MX$23.77

$0.79 RON 3.77

60.76%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$5.30 MX$99.4

$6.16 RON 29.53

-13.96%

Wine (Bottle)

$16.10 MX$302

$6.19 RON 29.70

160.10%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.98 MX$37.19

$1.02 RON 4.88

94.12%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.25 MX$79.7

$1.56 RON 7.47

172.44%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.31 MX$5.72

$0.61 RON 2.92

-49.18%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$19.73 MX$370

$15.47 RON 74.2

27.54%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.84 MX$34.45

$1.03 RON 4.95

78.64%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.53 MX$10.00

$0.72 RON 3.47

-26.39%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$5.30 MX$99.3

$6.77 RON 32.45

-21.71%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.51 MX$28.32

$1.58 RON 7.60

-4.43%

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

$21.8K MX$407.9K

$26.8K RON 128.4K

-18.74%

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

$24.0K MX$449.7K

$29.7K RON 142.3K

-19.19%

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

$63.0 MX$1,181

$138 RON 663

-54.43%

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

$27.39 MX$514

$8.19 RON 39.25

234.43%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$35.67 MX$669

$12.91 RON 61.9

176.30%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$58.9 MX$1,105

$32.14 RON 154

83.39%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$23.64 MX$443

$14.83 RON 71.1

59.41%

Cinema Ticket

$6.40 MX$120

$7.27 RON 34.88

-11.97%

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

$432 MX$8,092

$366 RON 1,755

17.96%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$11.4K MX$214.2K

$8,266 RON 39.6K

38.20%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$68.2 MX$1,279

$100 RON 480

-31.83%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$53.1 MX$996

$60.5 RON 290

-12.11%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$108 MX$2,021

$91.3 RON 438

18.06%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$117 MX$2,199

$123 RON 591

-4.77%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,113 MX$20.9K

$376 RON 1,804

195.94%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$710 MX$13.3K

$305 RON 1,463

132.83%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,588 MX$48.5K

$536 RON 2,571

382.74%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,406 MX$26.4K

$446 RON 2,140

215.12%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,631 MX$68.1K

$1,880 RON 9,015

93.14%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$2,135 MX$40.0K

$1,304 RON 6,252

63.75%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$946 MX$17.7K

$851 RON 4,079

11.23%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

11.35

8.3

36.75%

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

Last update for Mexico City: October 25, 2026

Last update for Braila: October 26, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Mexico City

$710 44.2%

Braila

$305 26.7% 57.1% $405

Groceries & Markets

Mexico City

$320 19.9%

Braila

$206 18% 35.6% $114

Eating Out

Mexico City

$199 12.4%

Braila

$235 20.5% 18.1% $36

Clothing & Footwear

Mexico City

$156 9.7%

Braila

$169 14.8% 8.2% $13

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Mexico City

$126 7.8%

Braila

$159 13.9% 26.4% $33

Sport & Entertainment

Mexico City

$72 4.5%

Braila

$47 4.1% 34.9% $25

Getting Around

Mexico City

$25 1.6%

Braila

$23 2% 11.4% $2.9

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,113 in Mexico City and $376 in Braila. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Mexico City pays 11% 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: $48 in Mexico City vs $39 in Braila for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $320 vs $206 per month, with Braila cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇲🇽 Mexico City

🇷🇴 Braila

🕒 Local time

12:10 12:10 PM

20:10 8:10 PM

8 h ahead of Mexico City

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

9,209,944 Capital

180,302

💱 Currency

Mexican Peso MXN $

Romanian Leu RON lei

📈 Exchange rate

100 MXN = 5.33 USD

100 MXN = 4.78 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 October 29, 2026: 1 USD = 18.75 MXN (100 MXN = 5.33 USD). 1 EUR = 20.92 MXN (100 MXN = 4.78 EUR).

Romanian Leu exchange rates as of October 29, 2026: 1 USD = 4.8 RON (1 RON = 0.209 USD). 1 EUR = 5.35 RON (1 RON = 0.187 EUR).

USD to MXN in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Mexico City Braila 11,060 km ≈ 14 h nonstop flight

From you

Mexico City
Braila

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 Braila: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Braila wins on cost – living expenses run 29% lower than in Mexico City. Housing and daily spending are where you’ll feel the difference most, making Braila the obvious pick if budget is a priority.

Average pay runs 11% higher in Mexico City, 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: $1,113 in Mexico City versus $376 in Braila. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

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

Childcare runs $432 in Mexico City versus $366 in Braila. 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. Braila 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.

Expats usually find Braila gentler on the wallet – expenses run 29% less than in Mexico City. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.