Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Lima and Monterrey

For one person, living is cheaper in Lima: $996 a month against $1,607 in Monterrey, rent and utilities included – about $7,300 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
79

Cost of Living Index in Monterrey
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Monterrey Living Index

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Lima

🇵🇪 Peru

$996

/mo nomad

Monterrey

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,607

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Lima and in Monterrey

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $996 in Lima versus $1,607 in Monterrey.

Lima $996
Monterrey $1,607

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,594 in Lima versus $2,512 in Monterrey.

Lima $1,594
Monterrey $2,512

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $2,191 in Lima versus $3,417 in Monterrey.

Lima $2,191
Monterrey $3,417

Living in Lima costs roughly 38% less than in Monterrey, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Lima is 26% below, Monterrey is 20% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$4.42 PEN 15.21

$13.75 MX$250

-67.85%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$35.04 PEN 121

$50.2 MX$913

-30.17%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$6.84 PEN 23.52

$11.13 MX$203

-38.54%

Cappuccino

$3.27 PEN 11.26

$4.04 MX$73.5

-19.06%

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

$1.10 PEN 3.80

$1.70 MX$31.00

-35.29%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.65 PEN 2.23

$0.99 MX$18.00

-34.34%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.58 PEN 8.88

$2.41 MX$43.80

7.05%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.47 PEN 15.39

$4.48 MX$81.6

-0.22%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.59 PEN 5.48

$1.92 MX$34.98

-17.19%

White Bread (500g)

$2.58 PEN 8.89

$2.89 MX$52.6

-10.73%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.36 PEN 4.67

$1.94 MX$35.34

-29.90%

Eggs

$2.95 PEN 10.14

$2.50 MX$45.47

18.00%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$9.10 PEN 31.30

$12.30 MX$224

-26.02%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$5.81 PEN 19.98

$9.33 MX$170

-37.73%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$9.83 PEN 33.80

$13.07 MX$238

-24.79%

Apples (1kg)

$2.01 PEN 6.92

$3.38 MX$61.5

-40.53%

Banana (1kg)

$1.08 PEN 3.70

$1.58 MX$28.75

-31.65%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.37 PEN 4.71

$2.20 MX$40.07

-37.73%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.48 PEN 5.08

$2.45 MX$44.48

-39.59%

Potato (1kg)

$0.96 PEN 3.32

$2.26 MX$41.09

-57.52%

Onion (1kg)

$0.85 PEN 2.93

$2.74 MX$49.89

-68.98%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.88 PEN 3.03

$1.53 MX$27.83

-42.48%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.87 PEN 2.98

$1.26 MX$22.94

-30.95%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$5.90 PEN 20.31

$4.84 MX$88.1

21.90%

Wine (Bottle)

$8.81 PEN 30.31

$13.59 MX$247

-35.17%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.92 PEN 6.59

$1.91 MX$34.69

0.52%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.20 PEN 11.02

$3.06 MX$55.8

4.58%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.68 PEN 2.33

$0.80 MX$14.47

-15.00%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$26.74 PEN 92.0

$31.77 MX$578

-15.83%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.81 PEN 13.10

$1.62 MX$29.50

135.19%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$2.04 PEN 7.02

$1.10 MX$19.99

85.45%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$7.14 PEN 24.57

$10.97 MX$199

-34.91%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.65 PEN 5.67

$1.52 MX$27.68

8.55%

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

$22.2K PEN 76.3K

$21.4K MX$388.7K

3.77%

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

$25.7K PEN 88.3K

$25.5K MX$463.3K

0.78%

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

$73.0 PEN 251

$120 MX$2,178

-38.99%

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

$16.26 PEN 55.9

$27.08 MX$493

-39.96%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$27.60 PEN 94.9

$26.70 MX$486

3.37%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$33.07 PEN 114

$31.15 MX$567

6.16%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$19.49 PEN 67.1

$21.95 MX$399

-11.21%

Cinema Ticket

$7.39 PEN 25.41

$5.14 MX$93.5

43.77%

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

$182 PEN 626

$688 MX$12.5K

-73.54%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$13.3K PEN 45.8K

$11.4K MX$207.9K

16.57%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$52.6 PEN 181

$71.9 MX$1,308

-26.93%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$34.23 PEN 118

$43.30 MX$788

-20.95%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$83.8 PEN 288

$112 MX$2,040

-25.29%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$79.0 PEN 272

$122 MX$2,216

-35.13%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$723 PEN 2,488

$957 MX$17.4K

-24.42%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$340 PEN 1,170

$670 MX$12.2K

-49.26%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,184 PEN 4,074

$1,887 MX$34.3K

-37.24%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$635 PEN 2,183

$1,305 MX$23.7K

-51.35%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,449 PEN 8,423

$4,159 MX$75.7K

-41.12%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,372 PEN 4,718

$2,437 MX$44.3K

-43.72%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$653 PEN 2,245

$1,133 MX$20.6K

-42.40%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

8.94

11.79

-24.17%

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

Last update for Lima: October 4, 2026

Last update for Monterrey: October 4, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Lima

$340 33.6%

Monterrey

$670 41.4% 97.1% $330

Groceries & Markets

Lima

$226 22.4%

Monterrey

$312 19.3% 38.1% $86

Eating Out

Lima

$124 12.3%

Monterrey

$224 13.8% 80.3% $100

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Lima

$117 11.6%

Monterrey

$174 10.7% 48.4% $57

Clothing & Footwear

Lima

$112 11.1%

Monterrey

$157 9.7% 39.9% $45

Sport & Entertainment

Lima

$48 4.7%

Monterrey

$41 2.6% 13.4% $6.4

Getting Around

Lima

$43 4.3%

Monterrey

$42 2.6% 3.2% $1.4

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $723 in Lima and $957 in Monterrey. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Monterrey pays 74% 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 Monterrey for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $226 vs $312 per month, with Lima cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇵🇪 Lima

🇲🇽 Monterrey

🕒 Local time

23:54 11:54 PM

22:54 10:54 PM

1 h behind Lima

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

9,989,369 Capital

1,142,994

💱 Currency

Peruvian Sol PEN S/

Mexican Peso MXN $

📈 Exchange rate

1 PEN = 0.291 USD

1 PEN = 0.259 EUR

100 MXN = 5.5 USD

100 MXN = 4.9 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 10, 2026: 1 USD = 3.44 PEN (1 PEN = 0.291 USD). 1 EUR = 3.86 PEN (1 PEN = 0.259 EUR).

Mexican Peso exchange rates as of October 10, 2026: 1 USD = 18.19 MXN (100 MXN = 5.5 USD). 1 EUR = 20.4 MXN (100 MXN = 4.9 EUR).

USD to PEN in detail →

On the map

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Highest

Between locations

Lima Monterrey 4,900 km ≈ 7 h nonstop flight

From you

Lima
Monterrey

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 Monterrey: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Lima and Monterrey differ by about 61% in total monthly costs ($996 vs $1,607 including rent). Lima is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

On paper, salaries run 74% lower in Monterrey. 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: $723 in Lima versus $957 in Monterrey. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $182 in Lima versus $688 in Monterrey. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Supermarket bills run roughly 38% higher in Monterrey. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

At $996 in Lima versus $1,607 in Monterrey, a $2,000 budget is realistic in Lima but tight or insufficient in Monterrey. 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 61% less than in Monterrey. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.