Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Lima and Tapachula

For one person, living is cheaper in Lima: $1,014 a month against $1,164 in Tapachula, rent and utilities included – about $1,800 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
54

Cost of Living Index in Tapachula
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Tapachula Living Index

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Lima

🇵🇪 Peru

$1,014

/mo nomad

Tapachula

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,164

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Lima and in Tapachula

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,014 in Lima versus $1,164 in Tapachula.

Lima $1,014
Tapachula $1,164

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,613 in Lima versus $1,828 in Tapachula.

Lima $1,613
Tapachula $1,828

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $2,211 in Lima versus $2,493 in Tapachula.

Lima $2,211
Tapachula $2,493

Living in Lima costs roughly 13% less than in Tapachula, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Both cities sit below the global median: Lima 25% lower, Tapachula 14% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$4.42 PEN 15.19

$10.44 MX$193

-57.66%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$34.56 PEN 119

$40.58 MX$750

-14.83%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$6.80 PEN 23.37

$7.90 MX$146

-13.92%

Cappuccino

$3.30 PEN 11.34

$3.71 MX$68.6

-11.05%

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

$1.06 PEN 3.64

$1.27 MX$23.45

-16.54%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.66 PEN 2.26

$1.16 MX$21.35

-43.10%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.54 PEN 8.71

$2.41 MX$44.58

5.39%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.24 PEN 14.55

$3.75 MX$69.3

13.07%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.58 PEN 5.43

$1.56 MX$28.77

1.28%

White Bread (500g)

$2.61 PEN 8.97

$2.65 MX$49.05

-1.51%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.34 PEN 4.60

$1.62 MX$29.96

-17.28%

Eggs

$2.93 PEN 10.08

$2.43 MX$44.94

20.58%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$9.45 PEN 32.45

$8.09 MX$149

16.81%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$5.75 PEN 19.75

$8.32 MX$154

-30.89%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$9.69 PEN 33.29

$11.49 MX$212

-15.67%

Apples (1kg)

$2.02 PEN 6.95

$2.31 MX$42.72

-12.55%

Banana (1kg)

$1.07 PEN 3.66

$1.58 MX$29.23

-32.28%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.37 PEN 4.70

$2.08 MX$38.50

-34.13%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.47 PEN 5.05

$1.83 MX$33.81

-19.67%

Potato (1kg)

$0.95 PEN 3.25

$1.89 MX$34.94

-49.74%

Onion (1kg)

$0.91 PEN 3.14

$1.81 MX$33.37

-49.72%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.90 PEN 3.10

$1.62 MX$29.91

-44.44%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.89 PEN 3.04

$1.09 MX$20.12

-18.35%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$5.74 PEN 19.71

$4.27 MX$79.0

34.43%

Wine (Bottle)

$9.21 PEN 31.64

$9.18 MX$170

0.33%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.84 PEN 6.31

$1.71 MX$31.66

7.60%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.11 PEN 10.67

$3.05 MX$56.4

1.97%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.72 PEN 2.46

$0.61 MX$11.19

18.03%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$26.03 PEN 89.4

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.54 PEN 12.17

$2.66 MX$49.11

33.08%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$2.07 PEN 7.12

$1.70 MX$31.45

21.76%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$7.75 PEN 26.62

$9.99 MX$185

-22.42%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.71 PEN 5.86

$1.34 MX$24.73

27.61%

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

$21.6K PEN 74.1K

$25.3K MX$467.0K

-14.57%

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

$28.6K PEN 98.2K

$23.0K MX$424.7K

24.37%

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

$68.2 PEN 234

$54.4 MX$1,006

25.18%

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

$15.73 PEN 54.0

$23.70 MX$438

-33.63%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$26.48 PEN 90.9

$26.93 MX$498

-1.67%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$33.94 PEN 117

$37.17 MX$687

-8.69%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$20.10 PEN 69.0

$18.73 MX$346

7.31%

Cinema Ticket

$7.22 PEN 24.80

$5.01 MX$92.6

44.11%

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

$201 PEN 689

$245 MX$4,528

-18.09%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$12.9K PEN 44.3K

$4,825 MX$89.2K

167.43%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$53.7 PEN 184

$57.4 MX$1,060

-6.41%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$35.88 PEN 123

$41.06 MX$759

-12.62%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$83.8 PEN 288

$98.5 MX$1,820

-14.96%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$78.8 PEN 271

$91.8 MX$1,696

-14.13%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$729 PEN 2,505

$673 MX$12.4K

8.37%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$349 PEN 1,197

$428 MX$7,904

-18.49%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,186 PEN 4,073

$1,080 MX$20.0K

9.83%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$696 PEN 2,391

$770 MX$14.2K

-9.57%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,360 PEN 8,105

$1,952 MX$36.1K

20.93%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,356 PEN 4,657

$1,087 MX$20.1K

24.75%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$663 PEN 2,278

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

8.78

11.3

-22.30%

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

Last update for Lima: October 17, 2026

Last update for Tapachula: October 18, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Lima

$349 34.4%

Tapachula

$428 36.8% 22.7% $79

Groceries & Markets

Lima

$227 22.4%

Tapachula

$259 22.3% 14% $32

Eating Out

Lima

$123 12.2%

Tapachula

$181 15.6% 46.6% $58

Clothing & Footwear

Lima

$113 11.2%

Tapachula

$130 11.2% 14.5% $16

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Lima

$110 10.9%

Tapachula

$105 9% 4.8% $5.3

Sport & Entertainment

Lima

$48 4.8%

Tapachula

$47 4.1% 2.4% $1.2

Getting Around

Lima

$43 4.2%

Tapachula

$14 * 1.2% 68.3% $29

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 $729 in Lima and $673 in Tapachula. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Dining out: $35.00 in Lima vs $41.00 in Tapachula for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $227 vs $259 per month, with Lima cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇵🇪 Lima

🇲🇽 Tapachula

🕒 Local time

06:38 6:38 AM

05:38 5:38 AM

1 h behind Lima

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

9,989,369 Capital

217,550

💱 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 22, 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 22, 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 Tapachula 3,440 km ≈ 4 h 45 min nonstop flight

From you

Lima
Tapachula

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 Tapachula: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Lima and Tapachula differ by about 15% in total monthly costs ($1,014 vs $1,164 including rent). Lima is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

You'd need roughly $1,522 in Lima and $1,745 in Tapachula 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: $729 in Lima versus $673 in Tapachula. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

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

All in, you'll spend $1,014 per month in Lima versus $1,164 in Tapachula – a 15% gap that adds up to real savings over time for anyone picking the cheaper option.

At $1,014 in Lima versus $1,164 in Tapachula, a $2,000 budget is realistic in Lima but tight or insufficient in Tapachula. 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 15% less than in Tapachula. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.