Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Mexico City and Budaiya

For one person, living is cheaper in Budaiya: $812 a month against $1,608 in Mexico City, rent and utilities included – about $9,600 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
39

Cost of Living Index in Budaiya
Learn more

Budaiya Living Index

Jump to prices

Mexico City

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,608

/mo nomad

Budaiya

🇧🇭 Bahrain

$812

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,608 in Mexico City versus $812 in Budaiya.

Mexico City $1,608
Budaiya $812

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,549 in Mexico City versus $1,288 in Budaiya.

Mexico City $2,549
Budaiya $1,288

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,490 in Mexico City versus $1,763 in Budaiya.

Mexico City $3,490
Budaiya $1,763

Living in Mexico City is roughly 98% more expensive than in Budaiya, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

The two cities straddle the global median: Mexico City is 18% above, Budaiya is 40% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$10.62 MX$198

$5.44 BHD 2.05

95.22%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$48.35 MX$901

$52.2 BHD 19.67

-7.29%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$10.35 MX$193

$6.61 BHD 2.49

56.58%

Cappuccino

$3.69 MX$68.8

$5.03 BHD 1.90

-26.64%

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

$1.67 MX$31.07

$0.84 BHD 0.32

98.81%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.27 MX$23.59

$0.28 BHD 0.11

353.57%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.19 MX$59.5

$6.78 BHD 2.56

-52.95%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$5.31 MX$98.9

$9.98 BHD 3.77

-46.79%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.72 MX$32.15

$1.39 BHD 0.52

23.74%

White Bread (500g)

$3.04 MX$56.7

$1.05 BHD 0.40

189.52%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.94 MX$36.19

$2.39 BHD 0.90

-18.83%

Eggs

$2.89 MX$53.8

$2.24 BHD 0.84

29.02%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$10.97 MX$205

$8.45 BHD 3.19

29.82%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.25 MX$172

$6.59 BHD 2.49

40.36%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$15.13 MX$282

$8.45 BHD 3.19

79.05%

Apples (1kg)

$3.05 MX$56.8

$2.35 BHD 0.89

29.79%

Banana (1kg)

$1.94 MX$36.19

$2.22 BHD 0.84

-12.61%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.03 MX$37.75

$1.94 BHD 0.73

4.64%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.31 MX$43.15

$1.45 BHD 0.55

59.31%

Potato (1kg)

$2.04 MX$37.94

$1.02 BHD 0.38

100.00%

Onion (1kg)

$1.80 MX$33.55

$1.43 BHD 0.54

25.87%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.48 MX$27.58

$1.53 BHD 0.58

-3.27%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.27 MX$23.63

$0.79 BHD 0.30

60.76%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$5.30 MX$98.9

$5.37 BHD 2.03

-1.30%

Wine (Bottle)

$16.10 MX$300

$18.20 BHD 6.87

-11.54%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.98 MX$36.97

$3.68 BHD 1.39

-46.20%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.25 MX$79.3

$2.60 BHD 0.98

63.46%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.31 MX$5.69

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$19.73 MX$368

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.84 MX$34.25

$5.22 BHD 1.97

-64.75%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.53 MX$9.94

$3.43 BHD 1.29

-84.55%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$5.30 MX$98.7

$16.15 BHD 6.09

-67.18%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.51 MX$28.16

$0.69 BHD 0.26

118.84%

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

$21.8K MX$405.5K

$26.5K BHD 9,987

-17.84%

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

$24.0K MX$447.1K

$19.9K BHD 7,509

20.49%

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

$63.0 MX$1,174

$151 BHD 57.0

-58.29%

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

$27.39 MX$511

$24.28 BHD 9.16

12.81%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$35.67 MX$665

$34.89 BHD 13.16

2.24%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$58.9 MX$1,099

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$23.64 MX$441

Cinema Ticket

$6.40 MX$119

$10.40 BHD 3.92

-38.46%

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

$432 MX$8,045

$614 BHD 232

-29.68%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$11.4K MX$212.9K

$10.9K BHD 4,129

4.36%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$68.2 MX$1,272

$50.6 BHD 19.08

34.88%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$53.1 MX$990

$57.2 BHD 21.56

-7.05%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$108 MX$2,009

$89.5 BHD 33.74

20.48%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$117 MX$2,186

$88.8 BHD 33.50

32.06%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,113 MX$20.8K

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$710 MX$13.2K

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,588 MX$48.2K

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,406 MX$26.2K

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,631 MX$67.7K

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 %)

11.35

6.21

82.77%

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

Last update for Mexico City: October 25, 2026

Last update for Budaiya: October 25, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Mexico City

$710 44.2%

Budaiya

- * 0% 100%

Groceries & Markets

Mexico City

$320 19.9%

Budaiya

$248 30.6% 22.3% $71

Eating Out

Mexico City

$199 12.4%

Budaiya

$182 22.4% 8.3% $16

Clothing & Footwear

Mexico City

$156 9.7%

Budaiya

$129 15.8% 17.4% $27

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Mexico City

$126 7.8%

Budaiya

$210 25.9% 66.8% $84

Sport & Entertainment

Mexico City

$72 4.5%

Budaiya

$21 * 2.6% 71% $51

Getting Around

Mexico City

$25 1.6%

Budaiya

$22 * 2.8% 12.1% $3.1

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

Cost Breakdown

Dining out: $48 in Mexico City vs $52 in Budaiya. Groceries flip the comparison at $320 vs $248, with Budaiya cheaper for home cooking.

Good to know

🇲🇽 Mexico City

🇧🇭 Budaiya

🕒 Local time

17:47 5:47 PM

02:47 2:47 AM

9 h ahead of Mexico City

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

9,209,944 Capital

30,702

💱 Currency

Mexican Peso MXN $

Bahraini Dinar BHD .د.ب

📈 Exchange rate

100 MXN = 5.36 USD

100 MXN = 4.82 EUR

1 BHD = 2.65 USD

1 BHD = 2.38 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

BHD, 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).

Bahraini Dinar exchange rates as of October 28, 2026: 1 USD = 0.377 BHD (1 BHD = 2.65 USD). 1 EUR = 0.42 BHD (1 BHD = 2.38 EUR).

USD to MXN in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Mexico City Budaiya 13,970 km ≈ 18 h nonstop flight

From you

Mexico City
Budaiya

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 Budaiya: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Budaiya wins on cost – living expenses run 49% lower than in Mexico City. Housing and daily spending are where you’ll feel the difference most, making Budaiya the obvious pick if budget is a priority.

You’d need roughly $2,412 in Mexico City and $1,219 in Budaiya to live well. The gap comes down to housing and overall price levels. Both cities are liveable on less, but these numbers represent actual comfort.

Supermarket bills run roughly 29% higher in Mexico City. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

All in, you’ll spend $1,608 per month in Mexico City versus $812 in Budaiya – Budaiya is about 49% cheaper, which adds up to real savings over time.

Both cities are expensive relative to $800. Budaiya is the more realistic option, but even there you’ll need to be disciplined with housing, food, and fun money.