Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Los Cabos and Lima

For one person, living is cheaper in Lima: $1,012 a month against $1,371 in Los Cabos, rent and utilities included – about $4,300 less a year. Other living expenses account for most of the difference.

66

Cost of Living Index in Los Cabos
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Los Cabos Living Index
49

Cost of Living Index in Lima
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Lima Living Index

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Los Cabos

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,371

/mo nomad

Lima

🇵🇪 Peru

$1,012

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Los Cabos and in Lima

Real prices from locals and on-the-ground checks – rent, groceries, transit and the daily extras. Here's what a month in Los Cabos and in Lima actually costs, broken down by who's living it.

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,371 in Los Cabos versus $1,012 in Lima.

Los Cabos $1,371
Lima $1,012

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,211 in Los Cabos versus $1,589 in Lima.

Los Cabos $2,211
Lima $1,589

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,051 in Los Cabos versus $2,167 in Lima.

Los Cabos $3,051
Lima $2,167

Living in Los Cabos is roughly 35% more expensive than in Lima, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Los Cabos is 2% above, Lima is 25% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$22.30 MX$412

$4.40 PEN 15.10

406.82%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$43.70 MX$807

$35.17 PEN 121

24.25%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$13.76 MX$254

$6.89 PEN 23.65

99.71%

Cappuccino

$5.22 MX$96.5

$3.26 PEN 11.20

60.12%

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

$2.30 MX$42.51

$1.12 PEN 3.84

105.36%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.06 MX$38.06

$0.62 PEN 2.11

232.26%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$4.99 MX$92.2

$2.65 PEN 9.09

88.30%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$8.36 MX$154

$4.41 PEN 15.15

89.57%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.65 MX$30.46

$1.63 PEN 5.61

1.23%

White Bread (500g)

$2.86 MX$52.8

$2.56 PEN 8.78

11.72%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.38 MX$44.07

$1.35 PEN 4.65

76.30%

Eggs

$2.41 MX$44.49

$2.90 PEN 9.96

-16.90%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$8.96 MX$166

$8.85 PEN 30.38

1.24%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.56 MX$177

$5.98 PEN 20.52

59.87%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$17.76 MX$328

$9.78 PEN 33.59

81.60%

Apples (1kg)

$4.13 MX$76.4

$2.05 PEN 7.02

101.46%

Banana (1kg)

$1.78 MX$32.89

$1.06 PEN 3.66

67.92%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.93 MX$54.2

$1.35 PEN 4.64

117.04%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.53 MX$46.70

$1.50 PEN 5.15

68.67%

Potato (1kg)

$2.34 MX$43.16

$0.88 PEN 3.03

165.91%

Onion (1kg)

$2.53 MX$46.73

$0.92 PEN 3.15

175.00%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.24 MX$22.99

$0.89 PEN 3.07

39.33%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.86 MX$15.94

$0.90 PEN 3.10

-4.44%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.52 MX$83.6

$5.90 PEN 20.27

-23.39%

Wine (Bottle)

$10.32 MX$191

$8.52 PEN 29.26

21.13%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.61 MX$29.70

$1.88 PEN 6.45

-14.36%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.13 MX$57.8

$3.22 PEN 11.05

-2.80%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.41 MX$25.98

$0.68 PEN 2.33

107.35%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$26.86 PEN 92.2

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$2.66 MX$49.20

$3.81 PEN 13.09

-30.18%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.93 MX$35.59

$2.02 PEN 6.93

-4.46%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$11.63 MX$215

$7.11 PEN 24.41

63.57%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.38 MX$25.43

$1.72 PEN 5.91

-19.77%

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

$21.0K MX$388.2K

$22.3K PEN 76.6K

-5.85%

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

$24.3K MX$449.9K

$25.5K PEN 87.6K

-4.53%

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

$58.6 MX$1,083

$73.1 PEN 251

-19.82%

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

$27.70 MX$512

$16.35 PEN 56.2

69.42%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$24.59 MX$454

$27.47 PEN 94.3

-10.48%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$34.48 MX$637

$31.90 PEN 110

8.09%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$20.05 MX$371

$19.41 PEN 66.7

3.30%

Cinema Ticket

$4.28 MX$79.1

$7.05 PEN 24.23

-39.29%

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

$215 MX$3,971

$182 PEN 627

17.78%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$4,652 MX$86.0K

$13.0K PEN 44.8K

-64.33%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$93.3 MX$1,724

$53.8 PEN 185

73.47%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$40.63 MX$751

$34.32 PEN 118

18.39%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$124 MX$2,298

$82.8 PEN 284

50.14%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$89.7 MX$1,657

$78.2 PEN 269

14.58%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$612 MX$11.3K

$721 PEN 2,476

-15.17%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$391 MX$7,226

$343 PEN 1,179

13.86%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,044 MX$19.3K

$1,219 PEN 4,186

-14.35%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$781 MX$14.4K

$651 PEN 2,235

19.98%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$1,933 MX$35.7K

$2,414 PEN 8,292

-19.93%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,131 MX$20.9K

$1,357 PEN 4,660

-16.67%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$811 MX$15.0K

$648 PEN 2,226

25.07%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

11.3

8.94

26.40%

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

Last update for Los Cabos: October 12, 2026

Last update for Lima: October 11, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Los Cabos

$391 28.5%

Lima

$343 33.9% 12.2% $48

Eating Out

Los Cabos

$341 24.9%

Lima

$124 12.3% 63.7% $217

Groceries & Markets

Los Cabos

$310 22.6%

Lima

$226 22.3% 27.2% $84

Clothing & Footwear

Los Cabos

$157 11.4%

Lima

$112 11.1% 28.4% $44

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Los Cabos

$111 8.1%

Lima

$117 11.6% 5.4% $6

Sport & Entertainment

Los Cabos

$43 3.1%

Lima

$46 4.6% 6.9% $3

Getting Around

Los Cabos

$18 * 1.3%

Lima

$43 4.3% 143% $26

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 $612 in Los Cabos and $721 in Lima. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Los Cabos pays 25% 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: $44.00 in Los Cabos vs $35.00 in Lima for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $310 vs $226 per month, with Lima cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇲🇽 Los Cabos

🇵🇪 Lima

🕒 Local time

09:41 9:41 AM

11:41 11:41 AM

2 h ahead of Los Cabos

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

202,694

9,989,369 Capital

💱 Currency

Mexican Peso MXN $

Peruvian Sol PEN S/

📈 Exchange rate

100 MXN = 5.41 USD

100 MXN = 4.81 EUR

1 PEN = 0.291 USD

1 PEN = 0.259 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

PEN, USD, EUR to MXN – Mexican Peso Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇲🇽 Mexican Peso ($)

Mexican Peso exchange rates as of October 18, 2026: 1 USD = 18.48 MXN (100 MXN = 5.41 USD). 1 EUR = 20.77 MXN (100 MXN = 4.81 EUR).

Peruvian Sol exchange rates as of October 18, 2026: 1 USD = 3.43 PEN (1 PEN = 0.291 USD). 1 EUR = 3.86 PEN (1 PEN = 0.259 EUR).

USD to MXN in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Los Cabos Lima 5,280 km ≈ 7 h nonstop flight

From you

Los Cabos
Lima

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

Los Cabos vs Lima: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Los Cabos and Lima differ by about 35% in total monthly costs ($1,371 vs $1,012 including rent). Lima is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

Average pay runs 25% higher in Los Cabos, 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: $612 in Los Cabos versus $721 in Lima. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Supermarket bills run roughly 37% higher in Los Cabos. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

All in, you'll spend $1,371 per month in Los Cabos versus $1,012 in Lima – a 35% gap that adds up to real savings over time for anyone picking the cheaper option.

At $1,012 in Lima versus $1,371 in Los Cabos, a $2,000 budget is realistic in Lima but tight or insufficient in Los Cabos. 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 35% less than in Los Cabos. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.