Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Mexico City and Mbarara

For one person, living is cheaper in Mbarara: $488 a month against $1,608 in Mexico City, rent and utilities included – about $13,400 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
23

Cost of Living Index in Mbarara
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Mbarara Living Index

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Mexico City

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,608

/mo nomad

Mbarara

🇺🇬 Uganda

$488

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

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

A single person spends $1,608 per month in Mexico City vs $488 in Mbarara, rent included.

Mexico City $1,608
Mbarara $488

A couple spends around $2,549 per month in Mexico City vs $776 in Mbarara, rent included.

Mexico City $2,549
Mbarara $776

A family of three spends $3,490 per month in Mexico City vs $1,063 in Mbarara, rent included.

Mexico City $3,490
Mbarara $1,063

Mexico City costs about 229% more than Mbarara, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Mexico City sits 18% above the global median, while Mbarara is 64% below – they fall on opposite sides of the world average.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$10.62 MX$198

$2.35 UGX 10.3K

351.91%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$48.35 MX$901

$24.42 UGX 107.0K

97.99%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$10.35 MX$193

$7.07 UGX 31.0K

46.39%

Cappuccino

$3.69 MX$68.7

$2.43 UGX 10.6K

51.85%

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

$1.67 MX$31.05

$0.34 UGX 1,502

391.18%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.27 MX$23.58

$0.27 UGX 1,190

370.37%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.19 MX$59.5

$1.22 UGX 5,332

161.48%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$5.31 MX$98.9

$1.83 UGX 8,018

190.16%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.72 MX$32.13

$0.50 UGX 2,177

244.00%

White Bread (500g)

$3.04 MX$56.6

$0.93 UGX 4,083

226.88%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.94 MX$36.17

$1.17 UGX 5,130

65.81%

Eggs

$2.89 MX$53.8

$1.53 UGX 6,682

88.89%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$10.97 MX$204

$4.23 UGX 18.5K

159.34%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.25 MX$172

$4.51 UGX 19.7K

105.10%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$15.13 MX$282

$3.46 UGX 15.1K

337.28%

Apples (1kg)

$3.05 MX$56.8

$2.00 UGX 8,780

52.50%

Banana (1kg)

$1.94 MX$36.17

$1.24 UGX 5,434

56.45%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.03 MX$37.73

$1.30 UGX 5,706

56.15%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.31 MX$43.12

$1.19 UGX 5,199

94.12%

Potato (1kg)

$2.04 MX$37.91

$1.23 UGX 5,389

65.85%

Onion (1kg)

$1.80 MX$33.53

$1.17 UGX 5,125

53.85%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.48 MX$27.56

$0.72 UGX 3,158

105.56%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.27 MX$23.62

$0.51 UGX 2,218

149.02%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$5.30 MX$98.8

$2.43 UGX 10.6K

118.11%

Wine (Bottle)

$16.10 MX$300

$7.39 UGX 32.4K

117.86%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.98 MX$36.95

$1.08 UGX 4,730

83.33%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.25 MX$79.2

$1.81 UGX 7,949

134.81%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.31 MX$5.68

$0.70 UGX 3,056

-55.71%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$19.73 MX$368

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.84 MX$34.23

$0.46 UGX 2,035

300.00%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.53 MX$9.94

$0.29 UGX 1,266

82.76%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$5.30 MX$98.7

$3.03 UGX 13.3K

74.92%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.51 MX$28.14

$1.37 UGX 5,981

10.22%

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

$21.8K MX$405.3K

$7,154 UGX 31.3M

204.08%

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

$24.0K MX$446.9K

$7,202 UGX 31.5M

233.03%

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

$63.0 MX$1,173

$69.2 UGX 302.9K

-8.92%

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

$27.39 MX$510

$11.20 UGX 49.1K

144.55%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$35.67 MX$664

$33.55 UGX 146.9K

6.32%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$58.9 MX$1,098

$17.82 UGX 78.0K

230.75%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$23.64 MX$441

Cinema Ticket

$6.40 MX$119

$7.15 UGX 31.3K

-10.49%

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

$432 MX$8,041

$247 UGX 1.1M

74.79%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$11.4K MX$212.8K

$8,140 UGX 35.7M

40.33%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$68.2 MX$1,271

$13.66 UGX 59.8K

399.41%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$53.1 MX$990

$12.69 UGX 55.6K

318.68%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$108 MX$2,008

$31.67 UGX 138.7K

240.32%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$117 MX$2,185

$42.04 UGX 184.2K

178.95%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,113 MX$20.7K

$83.7 UGX 366.4K

1230.91%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$710 MX$13.2K

$73.0 UGX 319.5K

873.90%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,588 MX$48.2K

$231 UGX 1.0M

1019.90%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,406 MX$26.2K

$171 UGX 749.8K

721.22%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,631 MX$67.6K

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

20.75

-45.30%

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

Last update for Mexico City: October 25, 2026

Last update for Mbarara: October 25, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Mexico City

$710 44.2%

Mbarara

$73 14.9% 89.7% $638

Groceries & Markets

Mexico City

$320 19.9%

Mbarara

$138 28.3% 56.8% $181

Eating Out

Mexico City

$199 12.4%

Mbarara

$81 16.7% 59% $117

Clothing & Footwear

Mexico City

$156 9.7%

Mbarara

$45 9.2% 71.1% $111

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Mexico City

$126 7.8%

Mbarara

$114 23.3% 9.6% $12

Sport & Entertainment

Mexico City

$72 4.5%

Mbarara

$32 6.6% 55.2% $40

Getting Around

Mexico City

$25 1.6%

Mbarara

$4.7 * 1% 81.5% $21

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 $84 in Mbarara. 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 $24 in Mbarara. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $320 vs $138 – making Mbarara the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇲🇽 Mexico City

🇺🇬 Mbarara

🕒 Local time

23:26 11:26 PM

08:26 8:26 AM

9 h ahead of Mexico City

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

9,209,944 Capital

195,013

💱 Currency

Mexican Peso MXN $

Ugandan Shilling UGX Sh

📈 Exchange rate

100 MXN = 5.37 USD

100 MXN = 4.82 EUR

10,000 UGX = 2.28 USD

10,000 UGX = 2.05 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

UGX, USD, EUR to MXN – Mexican Peso Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇲🇽 Mexican Peso ($)

Mexican Peso exchange rates as of October 29, 2026: 1 USD = 18.63 MXN (100 MXN = 5.37 USD). 1 EUR = 20.74 MXN (100 MXN = 4.82 EUR).

Ugandan Shilling exchange rates as of October 29, 2026: 1 USD = 4,380 UGX (10,000 UGX = 2.28 USD). 1 EUR = 4,876 UGX (10,000 UGX = 2.05 EUR).

USD to MXN in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Mexico City Mbarara 14,160 km ≈ 18 h nonstop flight

From you

Mexico City
Mbarara

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 Mbarara: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Yes – Mexico City is pricier by about 229%, and outside of rent the gap shows up most in groceries.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $2,412 per month in Mexico City and $732 in Mbarara. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

Rent is clearly cheaper in Mbarara, especially for central apartments: a one-bedroom in the center costs $84 there versus $1,113 in Mexico City.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $48 in Mexico City and $24 in Mbarara. That’s a good indicator of the overall restaurant and café pricing gap between the two cities.

Groceries cost about 131% more in Mexico City, though the gap depends on what you buy.

A $1,000 monthly budget goes further in Mbarara, where all-in costs run around $488, than in Mexico City at $1,608. In Mbarara it covers expenses comfortably, while in Mexico City it requires careful planning or may not stretch far enough.

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