Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Mexico City and Craiova

For one person, living is cheaper in Craiova: $1,217 a month against $1,608 in Mexico City, rent and utilities included – about $4,700 less a year. Other living expenses account for most of the difference.

78

Cost of Living Index in Mexico City
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Mexico City Living Index
58

Cost of Living Index in Craiova
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Craiova Living Index

Jump to prices

Mexico City

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,608

/mo nomad

Craiova

🇷🇴 Romania

$1,217

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,608 in Mexico City versus $1,217 in Craiova.

Mexico City $1,608
Craiova $1,217

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,549 in Mexico City versus $1,869 in Craiova.

Mexico City $2,549
Craiova $1,869

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,490 in Mexico City versus $2,520 in Craiova.

Mexico City $3,490
Craiova $2,520

Living in Mexico City is roughly 32% more expensive than in Craiova, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

The two cities straddle the global median: Mexico City is 18% above, Craiova is 11% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$10.62 MX$200

$7.14 RON 34.15

48.74%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$48.35 MX$909

$41.37 RON 198

16.87%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$10.35 MX$194

$7.45 RON 35.64

38.93%

Cappuccino

$3.69 MX$69.4

$2.71 RON 12.98

36.16%

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

$1.67 MX$31.32

$2.23 RON 10.65

-25.11%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.27 MX$23.78

$1.77 RON 8.46

-28.25%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.19 MX$60.0

$2.24 RON 10.71

42.41%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$5.31 MX$99.7

$3.51 RON 16.80

51.28%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.72 MX$32.41

$1.27 RON 6.09

35.43%

White Bread (500g)

$3.04 MX$57.1

$0.82 RON 3.93

270.73%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.94 MX$36.48

$1.42 RON 6.77

36.62%

Eggs

$2.89 MX$54.3

$3.26 RON 15.57

-11.35%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$10.97 MX$206

$7.21 RON 34.51

52.15%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.25 MX$174

$6.47 RON 30.95

42.97%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$15.13 MX$284

$11.49 RON 55.0

31.68%

Apples (1kg)

$3.05 MX$57.3

$0.95 RON 4.53

221.05%

Banana (1kg)

$1.94 MX$36.48

$1.50 RON 7.16

29.33%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.03 MX$38.06

$1.45 RON 6.94

40.00%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.31 MX$43.50

$1.80 RON 8.62

28.33%

Potato (1kg)

$2.04 MX$38.25

$0.76 RON 3.65

168.42%

Onion (1kg)

$1.80 MX$33.83

$0.89 RON 4.28

102.25%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.48 MX$27.80

$0.73 RON 3.51

102.74%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.27 MX$23.82

$0.77 RON 3.67

64.94%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$5.30 MX$99.7

$6.59 RON 31.51

-19.58%

Wine (Bottle)

$16.10 MX$303

$6.34 RON 30.33

153.94%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.98 MX$37.27

$1.20 RON 5.76

65.00%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.25 MX$79.9

$1.46 RON 7.00

191.10%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.31 MX$5.73

$0.88 RON 4.20

-64.77%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$19.73 MX$371

$25.16 RON 120

-21.58%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.84 MX$34.53

$0.61 RON 2.93

201.64%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.53 MX$10.03

$0.65 RON 3.09

-18.46%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$5.30 MX$99.5

$6.37 RON 30.49

-16.80%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.51 MX$28.39

$1.90 RON 9.11

-20.53%

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

$21.8K MX$408.8K

$28.9K RON 138.1K

-24.66%

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

$24.0K MX$450.8K

$25.8K RON 123.6K

-7.16%

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

$63.0 MX$1,184

$216 RON 1,036

-70.90%

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

$27.39 MX$515

$9.24 RON 44.23

196.43%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$35.67 MX$670

$11.57 RON 55.4

208.30%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$58.9 MX$1,108

$38.59 RON 185

52.73%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$23.64 MX$444

$21.52 RON 103

9.85%

Cinema Ticket

$6.40 MX$120

$7.28 RON 34.81

-12.09%

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

$432 MX$8,111

$411 RON 1,964

5.14%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$11.4K MX$214.7K

$8,047 RON 38.5K

41.97%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$68.2 MX$1,282

$62.9 RON 301

8.44%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$53.1 MX$999

$50.6 RON 242

5.04%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$108 MX$2,026

$82.8 RON 396

30.20%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$117 MX$2,204

$103 RON 495

13.41%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,113 MX$20.9K

$532 RON 2,544

109.43%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$710 MX$13.4K

$418 RON 2,002

69.79%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,588 MX$48.6K

$910 RON 4,352

184.55%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,406 MX$26.4K

$829 RON 3,966

69.60%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,631 MX$68.2K

$2,703 RON 12.9K

34.32%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$2,135 MX$40.1K

$1,988 RON 9,509

7.42%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$946 MX$17.8K

$914 RON 4,374

3.50%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

11.35

6.84

65.94%

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

Last update for Mexico City: October 25, 2026

Last update for Craiova: October 26, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Mexico City

$710 44.2%

Craiova

$418 34.4% 41.1% $292

Groceries & Markets

Mexico City

$320 19.9%

Craiova

$194 16% 39.2% $125

Eating Out

Mexico City

$199 12.4%

Craiova

$146 12% 26.4% $52

Clothing & Footwear

Mexico City

$156 9.7%

Craiova

$135 11.1% 13.5% $21

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Mexico City

$126 7.8%

Craiova

$237 19.5% 88.3% $111

Sport & Entertainment

Mexico City

$72 4.5%

Craiova

$53 4.4% 25.9% $19

Getting Around

Mexico City

$25 1.6%

Craiova

$33 2.7% 27.7% $7

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,113 in Mexico City and $532 in Craiova. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Mexico City pays 4% 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 $41 in Craiova for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $320 vs $194 per month, with Craiova cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇲🇽 Mexico City

🇷🇴 Craiova

🕒 Local time

22:09 10:09 PM

06:09 6:09 AM

8 h ahead of Mexico City

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

9,209,944 Capital

269,506

💱 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 Craiova 10,870 km ≈ 14 h nonstop flight

From you

Mexico City
Craiova

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 Craiova: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Craiova wins on cost – living expenses run 24% lower than in Mexico City. Housing and daily spending are where you’ll feel the difference most, making Craiova the obvious pick if budget is a priority.

Average pay runs 4% 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 $532 in Craiova. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

All in, you’ll spend $1,608 per month in Mexico City versus $1,217 in Craiova – Craiova is about 24% cheaper, which adds up to real savings over time.

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

Both cities are expensive relative to $1,000. Craiova 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.

It comes down to priorities – Craiova wins on affordability, Mexico City on earning potential. Factor in climate, language, visa rules, and proximity to places that matter to you before deciding.