Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Mazatlan and Lima

For one person, living is cheaper in Lima: $996 a month against $1,436 in Mazatlan, rent and utilities included – about $5,300 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

70

Cost of Living Index in Mazatlan
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Mazatlan Living Index
49

Cost of Living Index in Lima
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Lima Living Index

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Mazatlan

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,436

/mo nomad

Lima

🇵🇪 Peru

$996

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Mazatlan 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 Mazatlan and in Lima actually costs, broken down by who's living it.

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,436 in Mazatlan versus $996 in Lima.

Mazatlan $1,436
Lima $996

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,041 in Mazatlan versus $1,594 in Lima.

Mazatlan $2,041
Lima $1,594

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $2,645 in Mazatlan versus $2,191 in Lima.

Mazatlan $2,645
Lima $2,191

Living in Mazatlan is roughly 44% more expensive than in Lima, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Mazatlan is 7% above, Lima is 26% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$10.96 MX$199

$4.42 PEN 15.21

147.96%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$46.29 MX$842

$35.04 PEN 121

32.11%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$8.37 MX$152

$6.84 PEN 23.52

22.37%

Cappuccino

$3.40 MX$61.8

$3.27 PEN 11.26

3.98%

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

$1.45 MX$26.29

$1.10 PEN 3.80

31.82%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.10 MX$19.94

$0.65 PEN 2.23

69.23%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.13 MX$38.67

$2.58 PEN 8.88

-17.44%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.83 MX$51.5

$4.47 PEN 15.39

-36.69%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.64 MX$29.86

$1.59 PEN 5.48

3.14%

White Bread (500g)

$2.59 MX$47.05

$2.58 PEN 8.89

0.39%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.33 MX$24.22

$1.36 PEN 4.67

-2.21%

Eggs

$2.74 MX$49.92

$2.95 PEN 10.14

-7.12%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$8.06 MX$147

$9.10 PEN 31.30

-11.43%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$6.94 MX$126

$5.81 PEN 19.98

19.45%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$7.67 MX$140

$9.83 PEN 33.80

-21.97%

Apples (1kg)

$2.72 MX$49.43

$2.01 PEN 6.92

35.32%

Banana (1kg)

$1.70 MX$30.88

$1.08 PEN 3.70

57.41%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.62 MX$29.51

$1.37 PEN 4.71

18.25%

Tomato (1kg)

$0.52 MX$9.43

$1.48 PEN 5.08

-64.86%

Potato (1kg)

$1.63 MX$29.72

$0.96 PEN 3.32

69.79%

Onion (1kg)

$1.37 MX$24.89

$0.85 PEN 2.93

61.18%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.60 MX$29.17

$0.88 PEN 3.03

81.82%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.87 PEN 2.98

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.20 MX$76.4

$5.90 PEN 20.31

-28.81%

Wine (Bottle)

$15.98 MX$291

$8.81 PEN 30.31

81.38%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.03 MX$36.89

$1.92 PEN 6.59

5.73%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.09 MX$56.2

$3.20 PEN 11.02

-3.44%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.69 MX$12.60

$0.68 PEN 2.33

1.47%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$41.84 MX$761

$26.74 PEN 92.0

56.47%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.71 MX$67.4

$3.81 PEN 13.10

-2.62%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$2.45 MX$44.58

$2.04 PEN 7.02

20.10%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$7.14 PEN 24.57

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.53 MX$27.91

$1.65 PEN 5.67

-7.27%

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

$21.4K MX$389.3K

$22.2K PEN 76.3K

-3.48%

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

$24.8K MX$450.8K

$25.7K PEN 88.3K

-3.44%

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

$59.0 MX$1,074

$73.0 PEN 251

-19.17%

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

$46.93 MX$854

$16.26 PEN 55.9

188.62%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$43.53 MX$792

$27.60 PEN 94.9

57.72%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$45.05 MX$819

$33.07 PEN 114

36.23%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$19.49 PEN 67.1

Cinema Ticket

$4.39 MX$79.9

$7.39 PEN 25.41

-40.60%

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

$88.4 MX$1,609

$182 PEN 626

-51.40%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$2,007 MX$36.5K

$13.3K PEN 45.8K

-84.93%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$63.9 MX$1,162

$52.6 PEN 181

21.54%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$27.58 MX$502

$34.23 PEN 118

-19.43%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$112 MX$2,036

$83.8 PEN 288

33.62%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$84.1 MX$1,530

$79.0 PEN 272

6.45%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$788 MX$14.3K

$723 PEN 2,488

8.93%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$619 MX$11.3K

$340 PEN 1,170

82.04%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,241 MX$22.6K

$1,184 PEN 4,074

4.77%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$840 MX$15.3K

$635 PEN 2,183

32.36%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$1,579 MX$28.7K

$2,449 PEN 8,423

-35.52%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,051 MX$19.1K

$1,372 PEN 4,718

-23.37%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$533 MX$9,694

$653 PEN 2,245

-18.34%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

11.6

8.94

29.75%

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

Last update for Mazatlan: October 5, 2026

Last update for Lima: October 4, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Mazatlan

$619 43.4%

Lima

$340 33.6% 45.1% $279

Groceries & Markets

Mazatlan

$236 * 16.5%

Lima

$226 22.4% 4% $9.3

Eating Out

Mazatlan

$180 12.6%

Lima

$124 12.3% 31.1% $56

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Mazatlan

$150 10.5%

Lima

$117 11.6% 21.8% $33

Clothing & Footwear

Mazatlan

$129 9.1%

Lima

$112 11.1% 13.2% $17

Getting Around

Mazatlan

$61 4.2%

Lima

$43 4.3% 28.2% $17

Sport & Entertainment

Mazatlan

$54 3.8%

Lima

$48 4.7% 11.1% $6

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 $788 in Mazatlan and $723 in Lima. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Lima pays 22% more on average while also being the cheaper of the two. The combined effect is a noticeably stronger local purchasing power.

Dining out: $46.00 in Mazatlan vs $35.00 in Lima for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $236 vs $226 per month, with Lima cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇲🇽 Mazatlan

🇵🇪 Lima

🕒 Local time

22:03 10:03 PM

00:03 12:03 AM

2 h ahead of Mazatlan

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

441,975

9,989,369 Capital

💱 Currency

Mexican Peso MXN $

Peruvian Sol PEN S/

📈 Exchange rate

100 MXN = 5.5 USD

100 MXN = 4.9 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 10, 2026: 1 USD = 18.19 MXN (100 MXN = 5.5 USD). 1 EUR = 20.4 MXN (100 MXN = 4.9 EUR).

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).

USD to MXN in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Mazatlan Lima 5,060 km ≈ 7 h nonstop flight

From you

Mazatlan
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

Mazatlan vs Lima: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Mazatlan and Lima differ by about 44% in total monthly costs ($1,436 vs $996 including rent). Lima is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

On paper, salaries run 22% lower in Lima. 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: $788 in Mazatlan versus $723 in Lima. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $88.4 in Mazatlan versus $182 in Lima. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Supermarket bills run roughly 4% higher in Mazatlan. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

At $996 in Lima versus $1,436 in Mazatlan, a $2,000 budget is realistic in Lima but tight or insufficient in Mazatlan. 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 44% less than in Mazatlan. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.