Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Riffa and Mexico City

For one person, living is cheaper in Riffa: $1,211 a month against $1,548 in Mexico City, rent and utilities included – about $4,000 less a year. Rent and utilities account for about half of the difference.

58

Cost of Living Index in Riffa
Learn more

Riffa Living Index
75

Cost of Living Index in Mexico City
Learn more

Mexico City Living Index

Jump to prices

Riffa

🇧🇭 Bahrain

$1,211

/mo nomad

Mexico City

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,548

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Real prices from locals and on-the-ground checks – rent, groceries, transit and the daily extras. Here's what a month in Riffa and in Mexico City actually costs, broken down by who's living it.

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,211 in Riffa versus $1,548 in Mexico City.

Riffa $1,211
Mexico City $1,548

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,868 in Riffa versus $2,436 in Mexico City.

Riffa $1,868
Mexico City $2,436

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $2,525 in Riffa versus $3,323 in Mexico City.

Riffa $2,525
Mexico City $3,323

Living in Riffa costs roughly 22% less than in Mexico City, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

The two cities straddle the global median: Riffa is 11% below, Mexico City is 14% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$5.23 BHD 1.97

$11.02 MX$204

-52.54%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$38.96 BHD 14.70

$48.68 MX$900

-19.97%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$6.08 BHD 2.30

$10.90 MX$201

-44.22%

Cappuccino

$4.04 BHD 1.52

$3.68 MX$68.1

9.78%

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

$0.68 BHD 0.26

$1.63 MX$30.18

-58.28%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.27 BHD 0.10

$1.25 MX$23.07

-78.40%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$6.43 BHD 2.43

$3.25 MX$60.1

97.85%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$8.16 BHD 3.08

$5.53 MX$102

47.56%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.38 BHD 0.52

$1.70 MX$31.50

-18.82%

White Bread (500g)

$0.63 BHD 0.24

$3.02 MX$55.8

-79.14%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.81 BHD 0.68

$1.92 MX$35.53

-5.73%

Eggs

$2.30 BHD 0.87

$2.73 MX$50.5

-15.75%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$7.84 BHD 2.96

$11.77 MX$218

-33.39%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$5.92 BHD 2.23

$9.53 MX$176

-37.88%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$8.38 BHD 3.16

$14.41 MX$266

-41.85%

Apples (1kg)

$2.31 BHD 0.87

$3.02 MX$55.8

-23.51%

Banana (1kg)

$1.73 BHD 0.65

$1.89 MX$35.01

-8.47%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.80 BHD 0.68

$1.99 MX$36.70

-9.55%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.05 BHD 0.40

$2.19 MX$40.38

-52.05%

Potato (1kg)

$1.00 BHD 0.38

$1.92 MX$35.43

-47.92%

Onion (1kg)

$0.67 BHD 0.25

$1.87 MX$34.49

-64.17%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.54 BHD 0.20

$1.44 MX$26.62

-62.50%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.55 BHD 0.21

$1.27 MX$23.39

-56.69%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$5.43 BHD 2.05

$5.22 MX$96.4

4.02%

Wine (Bottle)

$13.12 BHD 4.95

$16.17 MX$299

-18.86%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.80 BHD 0.68

$1.90 MX$35.03

-5.26%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.59 BHD 0.98

$4.22 MX$78.0

-38.63%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.81 BHD 0.31

$0.34 MX$6.30

138.24%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$35.72 BHD 13.48

$19.65 MX$363

81.78%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$5.44 BHD 2.05

$2.00 MX$36.90

172.00%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$3.42 BHD 1.29

$0.52 MX$9.67

557.69%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$10.40 BHD 3.93

$5.34 MX$98.7

94.76%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$0.49 BHD 0.19

$1.52 MX$28.13

-67.76%

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

$22.5K BHD 8,506

$22.1K MX$408.0K

2.09%

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

$20.1K BHD 7,597

$24.5K MX$452.9K

-17.87%

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

$133 BHD 50.3

$61.1 MX$1,129

118.22%

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

$24.43 BHD 9.22

$28.58 MX$528

-14.52%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$34.66 BHD 13.08

$34.47 MX$637

0.55%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$72.9 BHD 27.51

$56.4 MX$1,042

29.35%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$13.45 BHD 5.08

$24.88 MX$460

-45.94%

Cinema Ticket

$10.52 BHD 3.97

$6.66 MX$123

57.96%

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

$481 BHD 182

$427 MX$7,891

12.63%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$5,589 BHD 2,109

$11.6K MX$215.0K

-51.97%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$28.99 BHD 10.94

$67.8 MX$1,253

-57.24%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$21.34 BHD 8.06

$52.0 MX$960

-58.93%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$66.4 BHD 25.06

$106 MX$1,959

-37.38%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$39.70 BHD 14.98

$113 MX$2,080

-64.72%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$916 BHD 346

$1,025 MX$18.9K

-10.64%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$429 BHD 162

$654 MX$12.1K

-34.36%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,535 BHD 579

$2,308 MX$42.7K

-33.49%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$862 BHD 325

$1,242 MX$22.9K

-30.60%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,613 MX$66.8K

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,936 MX$35.8K

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,392 BHD 525

$964 MX$17.8K

44.34%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

5.5

11.3

-51.33%

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

Last update for Riffa: October 18, 2026

Last update for Mexico City: October 20, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Riffa

$429 35.5%

Mexico City

$654 42.3% 52.3% $225

Groceries & Markets

Riffa

$203 16.7%

Mexico City

$318 20.6% 56.9% $115

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Riffa

$192 15.9%

Mexico City

$124 8% 35.5% $68

Eating Out

Riffa

$161 13.3%

Mexico City

$204 13.2% 26.7% $43

Sport & Entertainment

Riffa

$94 7.8%

Mexico City

$70 4.5% 25.8% $24

Clothing & Footwear

Riffa

$70 5.8%

Mexico City

$152 9.8% 116% $82

Getting Around

Riffa

$61 5.1%

Mexico City

$26 1.7% 58.3% $36

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $916 in Riffa and $1,025 in Mexico City. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Riffa pays 44% more on average while also being the cheaper of the two. The combined effect is a noticeably stronger local purchasing power.

Dining out: $39.00 in Riffa vs $49.00 in Mexico City for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $203 vs $318 per month, with Riffa cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇧🇭 Riffa

🇲🇽 Mexico City

🕒 Local time

19:48 7:48 PM

10:48 10:48 AM

9 h behind Riffa

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

121,566

9,209,944 Capital

💱 Currency

Bahraini Dinar BHD .د.ب

Mexican Peso MXN $

📈 Exchange rate

1 BHD = 2.65 USD

1 BHD = 2.36 EUR

100 MXN = 5.41 USD

100 MXN = 4.81 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

MXN, USD, EUR to BHD – Bahraini Dinar Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇧🇭 Bahraini Dinar (.د.ب)

Bahraini Dinar exchange rates as of October 20, 2026: 1 USD = 0.377 BHD (1 BHD = 2.65 USD). 1 EUR = 0.424 BHD (1 BHD = 2.36 EUR).

Mexican Peso exchange rates as of October 20, 2026: 1 USD = 18.48 MXN (100 MXN = 5.41 USD). 1 EUR = 20.77 MXN (100 MXN = 4.81 EUR).

USD to BHD in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Riffa Mexico City 13,980 km ≈ 18 h nonstop flight

From you

Riffa
Mexico City

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

Riffa vs Mexico City: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Riffa and Mexico City differ by about 28% in total monthly costs ($1,211 vs $1,548 including rent). Riffa is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

Average pay runs 44% higher in Riffa, 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: $916 in Riffa versus $1,025 in Mexico City. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

A monthly transit pass in Riffa runs roughly 82% less than in Mexico City. Both cities have functional networks, but the price difference matters if you're watching your budget.

Childcare runs $481 in Riffa versus $427 in Mexico City. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

At $1,211 in Riffa versus $1,548 in Mexico City, a $1,500 budget is realistic in Riffa but tight or insufficient in Mexico City. The gap between the two cities makes Riffa the clear choice for anyone on this budget.

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.

Safety-wise, Riffa and Mexico City are on par. Petty crime is typical for cities this size, and most residents feel comfortable going about their daily routines in either place.

Expats usually find Riffa gentler on the wallet – expenses run 28% less than in Mexico City. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.