Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Lima and Mexico City

For one person, living is cheaper in Lima: $1,012 a month against $1,567 in Mexico City, rent and utilities included – about $6,700 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

49

Cost of Living Index in Lima
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Lima Living Index
76

Cost of Living Index in Mexico City
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Mexico City Living Index

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Lima

🇵🇪 Peru

$1,012

/mo nomad

Mexico City

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,567

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,012 in Lima versus $1,567 in Mexico City.

Lima $1,012
Mexico City $1,567

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,589 in Lima versus $2,450 in Mexico City.

Lima $1,589
Mexico City $2,450

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $2,167 in Lima versus $3,333 in Mexico City.

Lima $2,167
Mexico City $3,333

Living in Lima costs roughly 35% less than in Mexico City, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

The two cities straddle the global median: Lima is 25% below, Mexico City is 16% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$4.40 PEN 15.10

$10.75 MX$199

-59.07%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$35.17 PEN 121

$50.3 MX$929

-30.01%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$6.89 PEN 23.65

$11.10 MX$205

-37.93%

Cappuccino

$3.26 PEN 11.20

$3.68 MX$68.1

-11.41%

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

$1.12 PEN 3.84

$1.65 MX$30.42

-32.12%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.62 PEN 2.11

$1.30 MX$24.08

-52.31%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.65 PEN 9.09

$3.32 MX$61.3

-20.18%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.41 PEN 15.15

$5.54 MX$102

-20.40%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.63 PEN 5.61

$1.77 MX$32.68

-7.91%

White Bread (500g)

$2.56 PEN 8.78

$3.05 MX$56.4

-16.07%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.35 PEN 4.65

$2.01 MX$37.20

-32.84%

Eggs

$2.90 PEN 9.96

$2.77 MX$51.1

4.69%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$8.85 PEN 30.38

$11.91 MX$220

-25.69%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$5.98 PEN 20.52

$9.33 MX$172

-35.91%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$9.78 PEN 33.59

$15.02 MX$278

-34.89%

Apples (1kg)

$2.05 PEN 7.02

$3.08 MX$56.8

-33.44%

Banana (1kg)

$1.06 PEN 3.66

$1.95 MX$35.97

-45.64%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.35 PEN 4.64

$2.03 MX$37.54

-33.50%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.50 PEN 5.15

$2.21 MX$40.92

-32.13%

Potato (1kg)

$0.88 PEN 3.03

$2.02 MX$37.41

-56.44%

Onion (1kg)

$0.92 PEN 3.15

$1.82 MX$33.67

-49.45%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.89 PEN 3.07

$1.52 MX$28.07

-41.45%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.90 PEN 3.10

$1.28 MX$23.65

-29.69%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$5.90 PEN 20.27

$5.27 MX$97.4

11.95%

Wine (Bottle)

$8.52 PEN 29.26

$16.12 MX$298

-47.15%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.88 PEN 6.45

$1.95 MX$36.05

-3.59%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.22 PEN 11.05

$4.25 MX$78.6

-24.24%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.68 PEN 2.33

$0.31 MX$5.82

119.35%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$26.86 PEN 92.2

$19.85 MX$367

35.31%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.81 PEN 13.09

$2.00 MX$36.93

90.50%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$2.02 PEN 6.93

$0.53 MX$9.86

281.13%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$7.11 PEN 24.41

$5.62 MX$104

26.51%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.72 PEN 5.91

$1.52 MX$28.07

13.16%

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

$22.3K PEN 76.6K

$21.0K MX$388.7K

6.08%

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

$25.5K PEN 87.6K

$25.2K MX$465.3K

1.29%

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

$73.1 PEN 251

$62.5 MX$1,155

16.93%

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

$16.35 PEN 56.2

$28.77 MX$532

-43.17%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$27.47 PEN 94.3

$34.45 MX$637

-20.26%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$31.90 PEN 110

$57.1 MX$1,055

-44.13%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$19.41 PEN 66.7

$24.81 MX$458

-21.77%

Cinema Ticket

$7.05 PEN 24.23

$6.67 MX$123

5.70%

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

$182 PEN 627

$431 MX$7,964

-57.66%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$13.0K PEN 44.8K

$11.7K MX$216.9K

11.08%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$53.8 PEN 185

$70.8 MX$1,308

-24.01%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$34.32 PEN 118

$51.8 MX$958

-33.78%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$82.8 PEN 284

$109 MX$2,011

-23.91%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$78.2 PEN 269

$112 MX$2,076

-30.34%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$721 PEN 2,476

$1,051 MX$19.4K

-31.40%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$343 PEN 1,179

$665 MX$12.3K

-48.36%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,219 PEN 4,186

$2,346 MX$43.3K

-48.04%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$651 PEN 2,235

$1,227 MX$22.7K

-46.94%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,414 PEN 8,292

$3,554 MX$65.7K

-32.06%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,357 PEN 4,660

$1,977 MX$36.5K

-31.36%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$648 PEN 2,226

$975 MX$18.0K

-33.51%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

8.94

11.3

-20.88%

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

Last update for Lima: October 11, 2026

Last update for Mexico City: October 11, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Lima

$343 33.9%

Mexico City

$665 42.4% 93.6% $322

Groceries & Markets

Lima

$226 22.3%

Mexico City

$323 20.6% 42.8% $97

Eating Out

Lima

$124 12.3%

Mexico City

$203 13% 63.7% $79

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Lima

$117 11.6%

Mexico City

$126 8% 7.5% $8.8

Clothing & Footwear

Lima

$112 11.1%

Mexico City

$155 9.9% 38% $43

Sport & Entertainment

Lima

$46 4.6%

Mexico City

$70 4.5% 53.1% $24

Getting Around

Lima

$43 4.3%

Mexico City

$26 1.6% 40.7% $18

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $721 in Lima and $1,051 in Mexico City. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Mexico City pays 50% 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: $35.00 in Lima vs $50.0 in Mexico City for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $226 vs $323 per month, with Lima cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇵🇪 Lima

🇲🇽 Mexico City

🕒 Local time

09:04 9:04 AM

08:04 8:04 AM

1 h behind Lima

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

9,989,369 Capital

9,209,944 Capital

💱 Currency

Peruvian Sol PEN S/

Mexican Peso MXN $

📈 Exchange rate

1 PEN = 0.291 USD

1 PEN = 0.259 EUR

100 MXN = 5.41 USD

100 MXN = 4.81 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

MXN, USD, EUR to PEN – Peruvian Sol Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇵🇪 Peruvian Sol (S/)

Peruvian Sol exchange rates as of October 19, 2026: 1 USD = 3.43 PEN (1 PEN = 0.291 USD). 1 EUR = 3.86 PEN (1 PEN = 0.259 EUR).

Mexican Peso exchange rates as of October 19, 2026: 1 USD = 18.48 MXN (100 MXN = 5.41 USD). 1 EUR = 20.77 MXN (100 MXN = 4.81 EUR).

USD to PEN in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Lima Mexico City 4,260 km ≈ 6 h nonstop flight

From you

Lima
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

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

Lima and Mexico City differ by about 55% in total monthly costs ($1,012 vs $1,567 including rent). Lima is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

On paper, salaries run 50% lower in Mexico City. That's worth factoring in alongside costs, though remote workers earning in a stronger currency may not notice the difference at all.

Rent for a central apartment: $721 in Lima versus $1,051 in Mexico City. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $182 in Lima versus $431 in Mexico City. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Supermarket bills run roughly 43% higher in Mexico City. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

At $1,012 in Lima versus $1,567 in Mexico City, a $2,000 budget is realistic in Lima but tight or insufficient in Mexico City. The gap between the two cities makes Lima 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.

Expats usually find Lima gentler on the wallet – expenses run 55% less than in Mexico City. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.