Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Cuautla and Lima

For one person, living is cheaper in Lima: $1,012 a month against $1,253 in Cuautla, rent and utilities included – about $2,900 less a year. Other living expenses account for most of the difference.

59

Cost of Living Index in Cuautla
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Cuautla Living Index
49

Cost of Living Index in Lima
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Lima Living Index

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Cuautla

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,253

/mo nomad

Lima

🇵🇪 Peru

$1,012

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Cuautla 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 Cuautla and in Lima actually costs, broken down by who's living it.

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,253 in Cuautla versus $1,012 in Lima.

Cuautla $1,253
Lima $1,012

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,999 in Cuautla versus $1,589 in Lima.

Cuautla $1,999
Lima $1,589

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $2,745 in Cuautla versus $2,167 in Lima.

Cuautla $2,745
Lima $2,167

Living in Cuautla is roughly 24% more expensive than in Lima, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Both cities sit below the global median: Cuautla 7% lower, Lima 25% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$11.03 MX$204

$4.40 PEN 15.10

150.68%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$64.2 MX$1,186

$35.17 PEN 121

82.54%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$9.42 MX$174

$6.89 PEN 23.65

36.72%

Cappuccino

$3.71 MX$68.5

$3.26 PEN 11.20

13.80%

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

$1.63 MX$30.20

$1.12 PEN 3.84

45.54%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.04 MX$19.22

$0.62 PEN 2.11

67.74%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.27 MX$60.5

$2.65 PEN 9.09

23.40%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$5.54 MX$102

$4.41 PEN 15.15

25.62%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.92 MX$35.52

$1.63 PEN 5.61

17.79%

White Bread (500g)

$2.79 MX$51.6

$2.56 PEN 8.78

8.98%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.94 MX$35.82

$1.35 PEN 4.65

43.70%

Eggs

$2.75 MX$50.8

$2.90 PEN 9.96

-5.17%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$8.75 MX$162

$8.85 PEN 30.38

-1.13%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.17 MX$169

$5.98 PEN 20.52

53.34%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$13.77 MX$255

$9.78 PEN 33.59

40.80%

Apples (1kg)

$3.39 MX$62.7

$2.05 PEN 7.02

65.37%

Banana (1kg)

$1.60 MX$29.55

$1.06 PEN 3.66

50.94%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.14 MX$39.45

$1.35 PEN 4.64

58.52%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.94 MX$35.78

$1.50 PEN 5.15

29.33%

Potato (1kg)

$1.86 MX$34.37

$0.88 PEN 3.03

111.36%

Onion (1kg)

$1.76 MX$32.51

$0.92 PEN 3.15

91.30%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.51 MX$27.96

$0.89 PEN 3.07

69.66%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.19 MX$22.07

$0.90 PEN 3.10

32.22%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.50 MX$83.2

$5.90 PEN 20.27

-23.73%

Wine (Bottle)

$17.50 MX$323

$8.52 PEN 29.26

105.40%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.24 MX$41.32

$1.88 PEN 6.45

19.15%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.95 MX$73.0

$3.22 PEN 11.05

22.67%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.63 MX$11.60

$0.68 PEN 2.33

-7.35%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$26.86 PEN 92.2

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.23 MX$59.6

$3.81 PEN 13.09

-15.22%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$2.54 MX$47.02

$2.02 PEN 6.93

25.74%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$11.09 MX$205

$7.11 PEN 24.41

55.98%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.31 MX$24.22

$1.72 PEN 5.91

-23.84%

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

$20.8K MX$384.9K

$22.3K PEN 76.6K

-6.63%

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

$24.0K MX$444.0K

$25.5K PEN 87.6K

-5.78%

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

$58.8 MX$1,087

$73.1 PEN 251

-19.50%

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

$26.84 MX$496

$16.35 PEN 56.2

64.16%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$24.52 MX$453

$27.47 PEN 94.3

-10.74%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$36.29 MX$671

$31.90 PEN 110

13.76%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$20.97 MX$387

$19.41 PEN 66.7

8.04%

Cinema Ticket

$7.36 MX$136

$7.05 PEN 24.23

4.40%

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

$263 MX$4,865

$182 PEN 627

44.28%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$5,033 MX$93.0K

$13.0K PEN 44.8K

-61.40%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$51.9 MX$959

$53.8 PEN 185

-3.50%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$45.28 MX$837

$34.32 PEN 118

31.93%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$99.8 MX$1,844

$82.8 PEN 284

20.47%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$98.4 MX$1,817

$78.2 PEN 269

25.70%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$645 MX$11.9K

$721 PEN 2,476

-10.60%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$434 MX$8,019

$343 PEN 1,179

26.36%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,182 MX$21.8K

$1,219 PEN 4,186

-3.00%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$736 MX$13.6K

$651 PEN 2,235

13.05%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$1,712 MX$31.6K

$2,414 PEN 8,292

-29.11%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,075 MX$19.9K

$1,357 PEN 4,660

-20.76%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$648 PEN 2,226

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

11.99

8.94

34.12%

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

Last update for Cuautla: October 13, 2026

Last update for Lima: October 11, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Cuautla

$434 34.6%

Lima

$343 33.9% 20.9% $91

Groceries & Markets

Cuautla

$308 24.6%

Lima

$226 22.3% 26.5% $82

Eating Out

Cuautla

$199 15.9%

Lima

$124 12.3% 37.7% $75

Clothing & Footwear

Cuautla

$133 10.6%

Lima

$112 11.1% 15.6% $21

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Cuautla

$110 8.8%

Lima

$117 11.6% 6.1% $6.7

Sport & Entertainment

Cuautla

$51 4.1%

Lima

$46 4.6% 9.8% $5

Getting Around

Cuautla

$18 * 1.5%

Lima

$43 4.3% 136% $25

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

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $645 in Cuautla and $721 in Lima. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Dining out: $64.0 in Cuautla vs $35.00 in Lima for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $308 vs $226 per month, with Lima cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇲🇽 Cuautla

🇵🇪 Lima

🕒 Local time

04:14 4:14 AM

05:14 5:14 AM

1 h ahead of Cuautla

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

157,336

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

Cuautla Lima 4,190 km ≈ 6 h nonstop flight

From you

Cuautla
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

Cuautla vs Lima: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Lima is cheaper overall, especially in groceries, eating out, and clothing. The 24% gap adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

You'd need roughly $1,880 in Cuautla and $1,518 in Lima to live well. The gap comes down to housing and overall price levels. Both cities are liveable on less, but these numbers represent actual comfort.

Rent for a central apartment: $645 in Cuautla versus $721 in Lima. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $263 in Cuautla versus $182 in Lima. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Dining out is cheaper in Lima – a meal for two runs $35.00 versus $64.0 in Cuautla. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

At $1,012 in Lima versus $1,253 in Cuautla, a $2,000 budget is realistic in Lima but tight or insufficient in Cuautla. The gap between the two cities makes Lima the clear choice for anyone on this budget.

For families, Lima is more practical. Housing and childcare are both notably cheaper than in Cuautla, and the savings on those two alone free up budget for education, activities, and family trips.

Expats usually find Lima gentler on the wallet – expenses run 24% less than in Cuautla. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.