Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Acapulco and Lima

For one person, living is cheaper in Acapulco: $859 a month against $1,012 in Lima, rent and utilities included – about $1,800 less a year. Higher rent and utilities in Lima outweigh lower spending on other living expenses.

42

Cost of Living Index in Acapulco
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Acapulco Living Index
49

Cost of Living Index in Lima
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Lima Living Index

Jump to prices

Acapulco

🇲🇽 Mexico

$859

/mo nomad

Lima

🇵🇪 Peru

$1,012

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Acapulco and in Lima

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

A single person spends $859 per month in Acapulco vs $1,012 in Lima, rent included.

Acapulco $859
Lima $1,012

A couple spends around $1,435 per month in Acapulco vs $1,589 in Lima, rent included.

Acapulco $1,435
Lima $1,589

A family of three spends $2,012 per month in Acapulco vs $2,167 in Lima, rent included.

Acapulco $2,012
Lima $2,167

Acapulco is about 15% cheaper than Lima, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Both Acapulco and Lima are more affordable than the global median – Acapulco 36% lower, Lima 25% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$9.48 MX$175

$4.40 PEN 15.10

115.45%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$37.64 MX$696

$35.17 PEN 121

7.02%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.97 MX$221

$6.89 PEN 23.65

73.73%

Cappuccino

$3.76 MX$69.5

$3.26 PEN 11.20

15.34%

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

$1.63 MX$30.10

$1.12 PEN 3.84

45.54%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.66 MX$30.65

$0.62 PEN 2.11

167.74%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.00 MX$55.4

$2.65 PEN 9.09

13.21%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.79 MX$88.4

$4.41 PEN 15.15

8.62%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.59 MX$29.36

$1.63 PEN 5.61

-2.45%

White Bread (500g)

$2.89 MX$53.5

$2.56 PEN 8.78

12.89%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.68 MX$31.11

$1.35 PEN 4.65

24.44%

Eggs

$1.79 MX$33.06

$2.90 PEN 9.96

-38.28%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$6.64 MX$123

$8.85 PEN 30.38

-24.97%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$8.04 MX$149

$5.98 PEN 20.52

34.45%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$10.78 MX$199

$9.78 PEN 33.59

10.22%

Apples (1kg)

$4.58 MX$84.7

$2.05 PEN 7.02

123.41%

Banana (1kg)

$1.65 MX$30.46

$1.06 PEN 3.66

55.66%

Oranges (1kg)

$3.38 MX$62.5

$1.35 PEN 4.64

150.37%

Tomato (1kg)

$3.13 MX$57.9

$1.50 PEN 5.15

108.67%

Potato (1kg)

$3.47 MX$64.2

$0.88 PEN 3.03

294.32%

Onion (1kg)

$2.96 MX$54.7

$0.92 PEN 3.15

221.74%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.31 MX$24.12

$0.89 PEN 3.07

47.19%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.78 MX$14.46

$0.90 PEN 3.10

-13.33%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$8.16 MX$151

$5.90 PEN 20.27

38.31%

Wine (Bottle)

$6.66 MX$123

$8.52 PEN 29.26

-21.83%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.12 MX$20.74

$1.88 PEN 6.45

-40.43%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.70 MX$49.94

$3.22 PEN 11.05

-16.15%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.88 MX$16.27

$0.68 PEN 2.33

29.41%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$26.86 PEN 92.2

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$4.85 MX$89.6

$3.81 PEN 13.09

27.30%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$2.02 PEN 6.93

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$7.11 PEN 24.41

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.47 MX$27.16

$1.72 PEN 5.91

-14.53%

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

$21.1K MX$389.7K

$22.3K PEN 76.6K

-5.47%

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

$24.8K MX$458.4K

$25.5K PEN 87.6K

-2.74%

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

$39.89 MX$737

$73.1 PEN 251

-45.41%

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

$14.81 MX$274

$16.35 PEN 56.2

-9.42%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$21.72 MX$401

$27.47 PEN 94.3

-20.93%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$19.02 MX$351

$31.90 PEN 110

-40.38%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$13.85 MX$256

$19.41 PEN 66.7

-28.65%

Cinema Ticket

$3.87 MX$71.6

$7.05 PEN 24.23

-45.11%

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

$162 MX$2,994

$182 PEN 627

-11.20%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$13.0K PEN 44.8K

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$64.4 MX$1,191

$53.8 PEN 185

19.78%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$44.58 MX$824

$34.32 PEN 118

29.90%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$107 MX$1,985

$82.8 PEN 284

29.68%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$83.2 MX$1,538

$78.2 PEN 269

6.37%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$519 MX$9,593

$721 PEN 2,476

-28.01%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$150 MX$2,763

$343 PEN 1,179

-56.47%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$956 MX$17.7K

$1,219 PEN 4,186

-21.54%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$331 MX$6,118

$651 PEN 2,235

-49.12%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,414 PEN 8,292

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,357 PEN 4,660

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$449 MX$8,293

$648 PEN 2,226

-30.75%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

11.6

8.94

29.75%

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

Last update for Acapulco: October 11, 2026

Last update for Lima: October 11, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Groceries & Markets

Acapulco

$269 31.3%

Lima

$226 22.3% 15.8% $43

Eating Out

Acapulco

$195 22.7%

Lima

$124 12.3% 36.3% $71

Accommodation & Living

Acapulco

$150 17.4%

Lima

$343 33.9% 130% $194

Clothing & Footwear

Acapulco

$135 15.7%

Lima

$112 11.1% 16.8% $23

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Acapulco

$76 8.9%

Lima

$117 11.6% 53% $40

Sport & Entertainment

Acapulco

$27 3.1%

Lima

$46 4.6% 71.9% $19

Getting Around

Acapulco

$8.4 * 1%

Lima

$43 4.3% 420% $35

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

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $519 in Acapulco versus $721 in Lima. Rent is usually the largest line item in a monthly budget, so the gap here sets the tone for the overall comparison.

Salaries run about 44% higher in Lima, which partly offsets the higher cost of living there. Purchasing power depends on which expenses matter most to you.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $38.00 in Acapulco versus $35.00 in Lima. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $269 vs $226 – making Lima the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇲🇽 Acapulco

🇵🇪 Lima

🕒 Local time

08:54 8:54 AM

09:54 9:54 AM

1 h ahead of Acapulco

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

658,609

9,989,369 Capital

💱 Currency

Mexican Peso MXN $

Peruvian Sol PEN S/

📈 Exchange rate

100 MXN = 5.41 USD

100 MXN = 4.81 EUR

1 PEN = 0.291 USD

1 PEN = 0.259 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

PEN, USD, EUR to MXN – Mexican Peso Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇲🇽 Mexican Peso ($)

Mexican Peso exchange rates as of October 18, 2026: 1 USD = 18.48 MXN (100 MXN = 5.41 USD). 1 EUR = 20.77 MXN (100 MXN = 4.81 EUR).

Peruvian Sol exchange rates as of October 18, 2026: 1 USD = 3.43 PEN (1 PEN = 0.291 USD). 1 EUR = 3.86 PEN (1 PEN = 0.259 EUR).

USD to MXN in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Acapulco Lima 4,080 km ≈ 6 h nonstop flight

From you

Acapulco
Lima

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

Acapulco vs Lima: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Lima costs about 18% more than Acapulco, and outside of rent the gap comes mainly from eating out. That's enough to noticeably affect everyday spending and lifestyle for anyone choosing between the two.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $1,288 per month in Acapulco and $1,518 in Lima. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

Rent is clearly cheaper in Acapulco, especially for central apartments. Housing is actually the single biggest factor behind the overall cost gap between these two cities.

Monthly expenses with rent come to $859 in Acapulco and $1,012 in Lima. That's a gap of about 18%.

Kindergarten costs $162 per month in Acapulco and $182 in Lima. For families with young kids, this one expense can tip the scales when choosing between the two cities.

A $1,000 monthly budget goes further in Acapulco, where all-in costs run around $859, than in Lima at $1,012. In Acapulco it covers expenses comfortably, while in Lima it requires careful planning or may not stretch far enough.

For digital nomads, it depends on budget. Acapulco costs $859 versus $1,012 in Lima. Both have workable remote work infrastructure, but the cost gap matters when income varies month to month.

If budget matters most, go with Acapulco. If higher salaries, better infrastructure, or specific career opportunities are the priority, Lima makes more sense. Both are solid long-term options with distinct trade-offs.