Last update: Nov 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Mexico City and Onesti

For one person, living is cheaper in Onesti: $1,042 a month against $1,674 in Mexico City, rent and utilities included – about $7,600 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

80

Cost of Living Index in Mexico City
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Mexico City Living Index
51

Cost of Living Index in Onesti
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Onesti Living Index

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Mexico City

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,674

/mo nomad

Onesti

🇷🇴 Romania

$1,042

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,674 in Mexico City versus $1,042 in Onesti.

Mexico City $1,674
Onesti $1,042

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,606 in Mexico City versus $1,597 in Onesti.

Mexico City $2,606
Onesti $1,597

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,537 in Mexico City versus $2,153 in Onesti.

Mexico City $3,537
Onesti $2,153

Living in Mexico City is roughly 61% more expensive than in Onesti, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

The two cities straddle the global median: Mexico City is 24% above, Onesti is 23% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$10.59 MX$197

$10.35 RON 49.20

2.32%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$52.0 MX$967

$41.83 RON 199

24.22%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$10.73 MX$200

$7.13 RON 33.88

50.49%

Cappuccino

$3.80 MX$70.6

$2.97 RON 14.11

27.95%

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

$1.61 MX$30.01

$2.20 RON 10.47

-26.82%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.21 MX$22.55

$1.78 RON 8.45

-32.02%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.18 MX$59.1

$3.16 RON 15.03

0.63%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$5.44 MX$101

$3.72 RON 17.69

46.24%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.72 MX$31.96

$1.04 RON 4.92

65.38%

White Bread (500g)

$2.97 MX$55.2

$1.34 RON 6.38

121.64%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.93 MX$35.84

$1.92 RON 9.14

0.52%

Eggs

$2.77 MX$51.6

$2.94 RON 13.96

-5.78%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$11.67 MX$217

$7.46 RON 35.46

56.43%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.48 MX$176

$6.56 RON 31.18

44.51%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$15.37 MX$286

$10.11 RON 48.07

52.03%

Apples (1kg)

$3.10 MX$57.8

$1.03 RON 4.90

200.97%

Banana (1kg)

$1.96 MX$36.49

$1.45 RON 6.89

35.17%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.98 MX$36.88

$1.68 RON 8.00

17.86%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.34 MX$43.46

$2.06 RON 9.81

13.59%

Potato (1kg)

$2.02 MX$37.66

$0.80 RON 3.80

152.50%

Onion (1kg)

$1.82 MX$33.95

$0.82 RON 3.89

121.95%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.54 MX$28.74

$1.12 RON 5.32

37.50%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.31 MX$24.42

$0.61 RON 2.88

114.75%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$5.35 MX$99.6

$6.32 RON 30.06

-15.35%

Wine (Bottle)

$16.19 MX$301

$5.34 RON 25.38

203.18%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.96 MX$36.46

$1.34 RON 6.35

46.27%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.35 MX$81.0

$2.14 RON 10.15

103.27%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.30 MX$5.67

$0.70 RON 3.30

-57.14%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$19.49 MX$363

$22.70 RON 108

-14.14%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.92 MX$35.68

$0.80 RON 3.81

140.00%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.47 MX$8.80

$0.88 RON 4.16

-46.59%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$5.41 MX$101

$8.57 RON 40.74

-36.87%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.48 MX$27.61

$1.43 RON 6.81

3.50%

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

$21.4K MX$397.7K

$28.5K RON 135.6K

-25.08%

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

$23.8K MX$442.1K

$26.1K RON 124.1K

-9.01%

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

$62.0 MX$1,154

$186 RON 882

-66.59%

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

$28.47 MX$530

$7.43 RON 35.31

283.18%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$34.11 MX$635

$8.70 RON 41.34

292.07%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$58.4 MX$1,087

$36.79 RON 175

58.71%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$24.50 MX$456

$20.40 RON 97.0

20.10%

Cinema Ticket

$6.59 MX$123

$8.50 RON 40.41

-22.47%

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

$434 MX$8,081

$389 RON 1,848

11.66%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$14.0K MX$261.2K

$7,819 RON 37.2K

79.50%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$68.4 MX$1,272

$37.62 RON 179

81.69%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$54.8 MX$1,020

$39.20 RON 186

39.80%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$111 MX$2,063

$94.7 RON 450

17.03%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$116 MX$2,158

$91.9 RON 437

26.17%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,179 MX$21.9K

$406 RON 1,931

190.30%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$771 MX$14.3K

$261 RON 1,242

195.01%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,570 MX$47.8K

$653 RON 3,102

293.85%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,420 MX$26.4K

$464 RON 2,203

206.23%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,586 MX$66.7K

$1,929 RON 9,170

85.86%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$2,064 MX$38.4K

$1,329 RON 6,315

55.35%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,003 MX$18.7K

$634 RON 3,015

58.10%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

11.35

7.18

58.08%

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

Last update for Mexico City: November 1, 2026

Last update for Onesti: November 1, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Mexico City

$771 46.1%

Onesti

$261 25.1% 66.1% $510

Groceries & Markets

Mexico City

$324 19.3%

Onesti

$197 18.9% 39.1% $127

Eating Out

Mexico City

$201 12%

Onesti

$179 17.2% 10.7% $22

Clothing & Footwear

Mexico City

$158 9.4%

Onesti

$119 11.4% 24.7% $39

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Mexico City

$125 7.4%

Onesti

$202 19.4% 61.9% $77

Sport & Entertainment

Mexico City

$72 4.3%

Onesti

$54 5.2% 24.8% $18

Getting Around

Mexico City

$25 1.5%

Onesti

$31 2.9% 22.7% $5.7

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,179 in Mexico City and $406 in Onesti. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Mexico City pays 58% 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: $52 in Mexico City vs $42 in Onesti for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $324 vs $197 per month, with Onesti cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇲🇽 Mexico City

🇷🇴 Onesti

🕒 Local time

21:18 9:18 PM

05:18 5:18 AM

8 h ahead of Mexico City

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

9,209,944 Capital

57,333

💱 Currency

Mexican Peso MXN $

Romanian Leu RON lei

📈 Exchange rate

100 MXN = 5.37 USD

100 MXN = 4.77 EUR

1 RON = 0.21 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 5, 2026: 1 USD = 18.61 MXN (100 MXN = 5.37 USD). 1 EUR = 20.95 MXN (100 MXN = 4.77 EUR).

Romanian Leu exchange rates as of November 5, 2026: 1 USD = 4.75 RON (1 RON = 0.21 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 Onesti 10,920 km ≈ 14 h nonstop flight

From you

Mexico City
Onesti

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 Onesti: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Total monthly costs including rent come to $1,674 in Mexico City and $1,042 in Onesti, so Onesti is about 38% cheaper – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

Average pay runs 58% 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: $1,179 in Mexico City versus $406 in Onesti. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

A monthly transit pass in Mexico City runs roughly 14% less than in Onesti. The price difference matters if you commute daily and watch your budget.

Childcare runs $434 in Mexico City versus $389 in Onesti. 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. Onesti 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 – Onesti wins on affordability, Mexico City on earning potential. Factor in climate, language, visa rules, and proximity to places that matter to you before deciding.