Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Lima and Zacapoaxtla

For one person, living costs are similar in Lima and in Zacapoaxtla: $1,045 and $1,055 a month, rent and utilities included.

50

Cost of Living Index in Lima
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Lima Living Index
51

Cost of Living Index in Zacapoaxtla
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Zacapoaxtla Living Index

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Lima

🇵🇪 Peru

$1,045

/mo nomad

Zacapoaxtla

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,055

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Lima and in Zacapoaxtla

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,045 in Lima versus $1,055 in Zacapoaxtla.

Lima $1,045
Zacapoaxtla $1,055

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,668 in Lima versus $1,651 in Zacapoaxtla.

Lima $1,668
Zacapoaxtla $1,651

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $2,292 in Lima versus $2,246 in Zacapoaxtla.

Lima $2,292
Zacapoaxtla $2,246

Living in Lima costs roughly 1% less than in Zacapoaxtla, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in clothing.

Both cities sit below the global median: Lima 23% lower, Zacapoaxtla 22% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$4.25 PEN 14.65

$4.67 MX$87.0

-8.99%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$35.07 PEN 121

$48.73 MX$908

-28.03%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$7.04 PEN 24.26

$5.50 MX$103

28.00%

Cappuccino

$3.30 PEN 11.39

$1.92 MX$35.71

71.88%

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

$1.11 PEN 3.83

$0.95 MX$17.79

16.84%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.62 PEN 2.13

$1.22 MX$22.68

-49.18%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.64 PEN 9.11

$1.20 MX$22.39

120.00%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.41 PEN 15.22

$2.14 MX$39.86

106.07%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.62 PEN 5.59

$1.25 MX$23.35

29.60%

White Bread (500g)

$2.59 PEN 8.93

$1.12 MX$20.83

131.25%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.32 PEN 4.55

$1.06 MX$19.84

24.53%

Eggs

$2.95 PEN 10.16

$1.65 MX$30.82

78.79%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$9.59 PEN 33.07

$11.41 MX$213

-15.95%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$5.70 PEN 19.66

$4.56 MX$85.0

25.00%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$9.95 PEN 34.31

$4.96 MX$92.5

100.60%

Apples (1kg)

$1.94 PEN 6.70

$1.59 MX$29.62

22.01%

Banana (1kg)

$1.03 PEN 3.55

$1.26 MX$23.58

-18.25%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.44 PEN 4.95

$0.52 MX$9.66

176.92%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.53 PEN 5.27

$0.72 MX$13.41

112.50%

Potato (1kg)

$0.90 PEN 3.10

$0.77 MX$14.36

16.88%

Onion (1kg)

$0.89 PEN 3.08

$1.05 MX$19.58

-15.24%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.87 PEN 3.01

$0.92 MX$17.22

-5.43%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.88 PEN 3.03

$0.96 MX$17.89

-8.33%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$5.64 PEN 19.46

$4.19 MX$78.1

34.61%

Wine (Bottle)

$9.56 PEN 32.97

$13.02 MX$243

-26.57%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.92 PEN 6.63

$1.11 MX$20.73

72.97%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.16 PEN 10.88

$4.44 MX$82.7

-28.83%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.72 PEN 2.48

$0.62 MX$11.62

16.13%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$32.28 PEN 111

$30.07 MX$561

7.35%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.56 PEN 12.28

$1.07 MX$19.85

232.71%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.99 PEN 6.86

$0.53 MX$9.90

275.47%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$7.83 PEN 26.99

$5.48 MX$102

42.88%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.65 PEN 5.68

$1.41 MX$26.30

17.02%

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

$21.7K PEN 74.9K

$13.8K MX$257.3K

57.40%

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

$28.3K PEN 97.4K

$24.3K MX$452.2K

16.46%

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

$67.7 PEN 233

$43.05 MX$802

57.24%

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

$15.71 PEN 54.2

$26.42 MX$493

-40.54%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$26.76 PEN 92.3

$31.94 MX$595

-16.22%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$32.50 PEN 112

$30.23 MX$564

7.51%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$19.68 PEN 67.8

$17.11 MX$319

15.02%

Cinema Ticket

$7.39 PEN 25.47

$6.33 MX$118

16.75%

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

$309 PEN 1,065

$439 MX$8,192

-29.70%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$13.0K PEN 44.9K

$4,535 MX$84.5K

187.01%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$53.9 PEN 186

$68.5 MX$1,276

-21.27%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$35.93 PEN 124

$52.9 MX$985

-32.02%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$81.5 PEN 281

$106 MX$1,970

-22.86%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$79.5 PEN 274

$114 MX$2,134

-30.52%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$734 PEN 2,530

$607 MX$11.3K

20.87%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$373 PEN 1,287

$437 MX$8,150

-14.62%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,287 PEN 4,436

$1,014 MX$18.9K

26.90%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$764 PEN 2,632

$752 MX$14.0K

1.53%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,434 PEN 8,391

$1,853 MX$34.5K

31.33%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,359 PEN 4,683

$1,018 MX$19.0K

33.39%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$666 PEN 2,295

$597 MX$11.1K

11.48%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

8.78

11.35

-22.64%

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

Last update for Lima: October 27, 2026

Last update for Zacapoaxtla: October 25, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Lima

$373 35.7%

Zacapoaxtla

$437 41.4% 17.1% $64

Groceries & Markets

Lima

$229 21.9%

Zacapoaxtla

$188 17.8% 18.1% $41

Eating Out

Lima

$124 11.8%

Zacapoaxtla

$96 9.1% 22.6% $28

Clothing & Footwear

Lima

$113 10.8%

Zacapoaxtla

$154 14.6% 36.1% $41

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Lima

$110 10.5%

Zacapoaxtla

$101 9.6% 7.9% $8.8

Getting Around

Lima

$49 4.7%

Zacapoaxtla

$36 3.4% 25.4% $12

Sport & Entertainment

Lima

$47 4.5%

Zacapoaxtla

$43 4.1% 9.3% $4.4

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $734 in Lima and $607 in Zacapoaxtla. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Lima pays 11% more on average while also being the cheaper of the two. The combined effect is a noticeably stronger local purchasing power.

Dining out: $35 in Lima vs $49 in Zacapoaxtla. Groceries flip the comparison at $229 vs $188, with Zacapoaxtla cheaper for home cooking.

Good to know

🇵🇪 Lima

🇲🇽 Zacapoaxtla

🕒 Local time

11:36 11:36 AM

10:36 10:36 AM

1 h behind Lima

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

9,989,369 Capital

8,000

💱 Currency

Peruvian Sol PEN S/

Mexican Peso MXN $

📈 Exchange rate

1 PEN = 0.29 USD

1 PEN = 0.261 EUR

100 MXN = 5.36 USD

100 MXN = 4.82 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 28, 2026: 1 USD = 3.45 PEN (1 PEN = 0.29 USD). 1 EUR = 3.84 PEN (1 PEN = 0.261 EUR).

Mexican Peso exchange rates as of October 28, 2026: 1 USD = 18.64 MXN (100 MXN = 5.36 USD). 1 EUR = 20.75 MXN (100 MXN = 4.82 EUR).

USD to PEN in detail →

On the map

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Highest

Between locations

Lima Zacapoaxtla 4,200 km ≈ 6 h nonstop flight

From you

Lima
Zacapoaxtla

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 Zacapoaxtla: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Lima and Zacapoaxtla differ by about 1% in total monthly costs ($1,045 vs $1,055 including rent). Lima is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

Average pay runs 11% higher in Lima, which matters when comparing affordability. Whether that higher income actually nets you more depends on your spending habits and housing choices.

Rent for a central apartment: $734 in Lima versus $607 in Zacapoaxtla. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $309 in Lima versus $439 in Zacapoaxtla. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Shoppers in Zacapoaxtla pay roughly 18% less for everyday groceries. It’s an unusual reversal that partly offsets higher costs elsewhere.

Either city works on $2,000 a month, though Lima gives you more room to save. At this income level, the choice is more about lifestyle than financial pressure.

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.