Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Lima and Playa del Carmen

For one person, living is cheaper in Lima: $1,012 a month against $1,210 in Playa del Carmen, rent and utilities included – about $2,400 less a year. Other living expenses account for most of the difference.

49

Cost of Living Index in Lima
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Lima Living Index
59

Cost of Living Index in Playa del Carmen
Learn more

Playa del Carmen Living Index

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Lima

🇵🇪 Peru

$1,012

/mo nomad

Playa del Carmen

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,210

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Lima and in Playa del Carmen

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 Playa del Carmen actually costs, broken down by who's living it.

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,012 in Lima versus $1,210 in Playa del Carmen.

Lima $1,012
Playa del Carmen $1,210

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,589 in Lima versus $2,113 in Playa del Carmen.

Lima $1,589
Playa del Carmen $2,113

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $2,167 in Lima versus $3,016 in Playa del Carmen.

Lima $2,167
Playa del Carmen $3,016

Living in Lima costs roughly 16% less than in Playa del Carmen, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Both cities sit below the global median: Lima 25% lower, Playa del Carmen 10% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$4.40 PEN 15.10

$10.76 MX$199

-59.11%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$35.17 PEN 121

$43.03 MX$795

-18.27%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$6.89 PEN 23.65

$11.79 MX$218

-41.56%

Cappuccino

$3.26 PEN 11.20

$3.87 MX$71.4

-15.76%

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

$1.12 PEN 3.84

$1.37 MX$25.29

-18.25%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.62 PEN 2.11

$0.84 MX$15.44

-26.19%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.65 PEN 9.09

$3.10 MX$57.3

-14.52%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.41 PEN 15.15

$5.07 MX$93.6

-13.02%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.63 PEN 5.61

$1.44 MX$26.55

13.19%

White Bread (500g)

$2.56 PEN 8.78

$2.23 MX$41.23

14.80%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.35 PEN 4.65

$1.47 MX$27.17

-8.16%

Eggs

$2.90 PEN 9.96

$2.53 MX$46.71

14.62%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$8.85 PEN 30.38

$7.30 MX$135

21.23%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$5.98 PEN 20.52

$7.86 MX$145

-23.92%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$9.78 PEN 33.59

$12.79 MX$236

-23.53%

Apples (1kg)

$2.05 PEN 7.02

$2.90 MX$53.6

-29.31%

Banana (1kg)

$1.06 PEN 3.66

$1.44 MX$26.53

-26.39%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.35 PEN 4.64

$2.55 MX$47.07

-47.06%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.50 PEN 5.15

$2.06 MX$38.03

-27.18%

Potato (1kg)

$0.88 PEN 3.03

$2.00 MX$36.97

-56.00%

Onion (1kg)

$0.92 PEN 3.15

$2.01 MX$37.07

-54.23%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.89 PEN 3.07

$1.19 MX$22.02

-25.21%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.90 PEN 3.10

$1.26 MX$23.23

-28.57%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$5.90 PEN 20.27

$4.40 MX$81.4

34.09%

Wine (Bottle)

$8.52 PEN 29.26

$9.59 MX$177

-11.16%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.88 PEN 6.45

$1.59 MX$29.41

18.24%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.22 PEN 11.05

$2.81 MX$51.9

14.59%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.68 PEN 2.33

$0.57 MX$10.47

19.30%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$26.86 PEN 92.2

$27.82 MX$514

-3.45%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.81 PEN 13.09

$4.98 MX$92.1

-23.49%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$2.02 PEN 6.93

$3.50 MX$64.6

-42.29%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$7.11 PEN 24.41

$5.40 MX$99.8

31.67%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.72 PEN 5.91

$1.47 MX$27.08

17.01%

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

$22.3K PEN 76.6K

$21.0K MX$387.8K

6.31%

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

$25.5K PEN 87.6K

$23.9K MX$441.8K

6.68%

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

$73.1 PEN 251

$84.2 MX$1,556

-13.23%

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

$16.35 PEN 56.2

$23.99 MX$443

-31.85%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$27.47 PEN 94.3

$29.02 MX$536

-5.34%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$31.90 PEN 110

$63.0 MX$1,164

-49.35%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$19.41 PEN 66.7

$29.14 MX$539

-33.39%

Cinema Ticket

$7.05 PEN 24.23

$4.94 MX$91.3

42.71%

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

$182 PEN 627

$204 MX$3,763

-10.38%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$13.0K PEN 44.8K

$3,941 MX$72.8K

230.89%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$53.8 PEN 185

$43.60 MX$806

23.37%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$34.32 PEN 118

$43.12 MX$797

-20.41%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$82.8 PEN 284

$75.8 MX$1,400

9.30%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$78.2 PEN 269

$88.6 MX$1,637

-11.68%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$721 PEN 2,476

$1,008 MX$18.6K

-28.48%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$343 PEN 1,179

$374 MX$6,911

-8.18%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,219 PEN 4,186

$1,708 MX$31.6K

-28.66%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$651 PEN 2,235

$1,106 MX$20.4K

-41.17%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,414 PEN 8,292

$3,944 MX$72.9K

-38.79%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,357 PEN 4,660

$6,169 MX$114.0K

-78.00%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$648 PEN 2,226

$754 MX$13.9K

-14.07%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

8.94

11.45

-21.92%

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

Last update for Lima: October 11, 2026

Last update for Playa del Carmen: October 10, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Lima

$343 33.9%

Playa del Carmen

$374 30.9% 8.9% $31

Groceries & Markets

Lima

$226 22.3%

Playa del Carmen

$258 21.4% 14.4% $33

Eating Out

Lima

$124 12.3%

Playa del Carmen

$202 16.7% 63.1% $78

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Lima

$117 11.6%

Playa del Carmen

$137 11.3% 17.4% $20

Clothing & Footwear

Lima

$112 11.1%

Playa del Carmen

$113 9.3% 0.8% $0.9

Sport & Entertainment

Lima

$46 4.6%

Playa del Carmen

$73 6% 58.4% $27

Getting Around

Lima

$43 4.3%

Playa del Carmen

$53 4.3% 20.9% $9.1

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $721 in Lima and $1,008 in Playa del Carmen. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Playa del Carmen pays 16% 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 $43.00 in Playa del Carmen for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $226 vs $258 per month, with Lima cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇵🇪 Lima

🇲🇽 Playa del Carmen

🕒 Local time

09:04 9:04 AM

Same time as Lima

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

9,989,369 Capital

149,923

💱 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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Highest

Between locations

Lima Playa del Carmen 3,800 km ≈ 5 h nonstop flight

From you

Lima
Playa del Carmen

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 Playa del Carmen: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Lima and Playa del Carmen differ by about 20% in total monthly costs ($1,012 vs $1,210 including rent). Lima is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

On paper, salaries run 16% lower in Playa del Carmen. 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 $1,008 in Playa del Carmen. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $182 in Lima versus $204 in Playa del Carmen. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Supermarket bills run roughly 14% higher in Playa del Carmen. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

At $1,012 in Lima versus $1,210 in Playa del Carmen, a $2,000 budget is realistic in Lima but tight or insufficient in Playa del Carmen. 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 20% less than in Playa del Carmen. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.