Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Merida and Lima

For one person, living is cheaper in Lima: $996 a month against $1,334 in Merida, rent and utilities included – about $4,100 less a year. Rent and utilities account for about half of the difference.

65

Cost of Living Index in Merida
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Merida Living Index
49

Cost of Living Index in Lima
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Lima Living Index

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Merida

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,334

/mo nomad

Lima

🇵🇪 Peru

$996

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,334 in Merida versus $996 in Lima.

Merida $1,334
Lima $996

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,174 in Merida versus $1,594 in Lima.

Merida $2,174
Lima $1,594

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,014 in Merida versus $2,191 in Lima.

Merida $3,014
Lima $2,191

Living in Merida is roughly 34% more expensive than in Lima, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Merida is 0% above, Lima is 26% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$13.90 MX$255

$4.42 PEN 15.16

214.48%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$55.7 MX$1,022

$35.04 PEN 120

58.90%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$8.11 MX$149

$6.84 PEN 23.44

18.57%

Cappuccino

$3.97 MX$73.0

$3.27 PEN 11.22

21.41%

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

$1.14 MX$21.00

$1.10 PEN 3.78

3.64%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.18 MX$21.67

$0.65 PEN 2.22

81.54%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.07 MX$56.4

$2.58 PEN 8.85

18.99%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.87 MX$71.1

$4.47 PEN 15.34

-13.42%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.60 MX$29.30

$1.59 PEN 5.46

0.63%

White Bread (500g)

$2.64 MX$48.41

$2.58 PEN 8.86

2.33%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.73 MX$31.83

$1.36 PEN 4.65

27.21%

Eggs

$1.97 MX$36.18

$2.95 PEN 10.11

-33.22%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$10.31 MX$189

$9.10 PEN 31.19

13.30%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$7.70 MX$141

$5.81 PEN 19.91

32.53%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$12.54 MX$230

$9.83 PEN 33.68

27.57%

Apples (1kg)

$2.77 MX$50.9

$2.01 PEN 6.89

37.81%

Banana (1kg)

$1.41 MX$25.89

$1.08 PEN 3.69

30.56%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.14 MX$39.21

$1.37 PEN 4.70

56.20%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.08 MX$38.10

$1.48 PEN 5.06

40.54%

Potato (1kg)

$2.36 MX$43.25

$0.96 PEN 3.30

145.83%

Onion (1kg)

$1.83 MX$33.53

$0.85 PEN 2.92

115.29%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.43 MX$26.27

$0.88 PEN 3.02

62.50%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.13 MX$20.80

$0.87 PEN 2.97

29.89%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.44 MX$81.4

$5.90 PEN 20.24

-24.75%

Wine (Bottle)

$10.90 MX$200

$8.81 PEN 30.21

23.72%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.47 MX$27.06

$1.92 PEN 6.57

-23.44%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.51 MX$46.08

$3.20 PEN 10.98

-21.56%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.67 MX$12.36

$0.68 PEN 2.33

-1.47%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$19.76 MX$363

$26.74 PEN 91.7

-26.10%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$2.73 MX$50.1

$3.81 PEN 13.06

-28.35%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$3.76 MX$69.1

$2.04 PEN 7.00

84.31%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$8.82 MX$162

$7.14 PEN 24.49

23.53%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.58 MX$29.04

$1.65 PEN 5.65

-4.24%

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

$21.5K MX$393.9K

$22.2K PEN 76.0K

-3.25%

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

$24.4K MX$447.1K

$25.7K PEN 88.0K

-5.13%

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

$113 MX$2,076

$73.0 PEN 250

54.78%

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

$21.35 MX$392

$16.26 PEN 55.7

31.30%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$35.42 MX$650

$27.60 PEN 94.6

28.33%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$30.12 MX$553

$33.07 PEN 113

-8.92%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$11.83 MX$217

$19.49 PEN 66.8

-39.30%

Cinema Ticket

$7.57 MX$139

$7.39 PEN 25.33

2.44%

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

$266 MX$4,880

$182 PEN 624

46.05%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$3,584 MX$65.8K

$13.3K PEN 45.7K

-73.10%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$55.6 MX$1,020

$52.6 PEN 180

5.75%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$54.2 MX$995

$34.23 PEN 117

58.40%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$102 MX$1,869

$83.8 PEN 287

21.51%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$87.2 MX$1,602

$79.0 PEN 271

10.40%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$634 MX$11.6K

$723 PEN 2,479

-12.35%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$468 MX$8,585

$340 PEN 1,166

37.48%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,243 MX$22.8K

$1,184 PEN 4,060

4.96%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$967 MX$17.8K

$635 PEN 2,176

52.33%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,252 MX$41.4K

$2,449 PEN 8,394

-8.02%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,234 MX$22.7K

$1,372 PEN 4,702

-10.02%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$604 MX$11.1K

$653 PEN 2,237

-7.42%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

11.64

8.94

30.20%

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

Last update for Merida: October 4, 2026

Last update for Lima: October 4, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Merida

$468 34.7%

Lima

$340 33.6% 27.3% $127

Groceries & Markets

Merida

$270 20%

Lima

$226 22.4% 16.1% $43

Eating Out

Merida

$216 16%

Lima

$124 12.3% 42.4% $92

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Merida

$170 12.6%

Lima

$117 11.6% 31.2% $53

Clothing & Footwear

Merida

$134 10%

Lima

$112 11.1% 16.5% $22

Sport & Entertainment

Merida

$45 3.4%

Lima

$48 4.7% 5.7% $2.6

Getting Around

Merida

$44 3.3%

Lima

$43 4.3% 1.2% $0.5

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $634 in Merida and $723 in Lima. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Lima pays 8% more on average while also being the cheaper of the two. The combined effect is a noticeably stronger local purchasing power.

Dining out: $56.0 in Merida vs $35.00 in Lima for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $270 vs $226 per month, with Lima cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇲🇽 Merida

🇵🇪 Lima

🕒 Local time

23:21 11:21 PM

00:21 12:21 AM

1 h ahead of Merida

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

975,000

9,989,369 Capital

💱 Currency

Mexican Peso MXN $

Peruvian Sol PEN S/

📈 Exchange rate

100 MXN = 5.45 USD

100 MXN = 4.86 EUR

1 PEN = 0.292 USD

1 PEN = 0.26 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 = 18.36 MXN (100 MXN = 5.45 USD). 1 EUR = 20.59 MXN (100 MXN = 4.86 EUR).

Peruvian Sol exchange rates as of October 10, 2026: 1 USD = 3.43 PEN (1 PEN = 0.292 USD). 1 EUR = 3.84 PEN (1 PEN = 0.26 EUR).

USD to MXN in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Merida Lima 3,920 km ≈ 5 h nonstop flight

From you

Merida
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

Merida vs Lima: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Merida and Lima differ by about 34% in total monthly costs ($1,334 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 8% 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: $634 in Merida versus $723 in Lima. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $266 in Merida 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 19% higher in Merida. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

At $996 in Lima versus $1,334 in Merida, a $2,000 budget is realistic in Lima but tight or insufficient in Merida. 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.

Safety-wise, Merida and Lima are on par. Petty crime is typical for cities this size, and most residents feel comfortable going about their daily routines in either place.

Expats usually find Lima gentler on the wallet – expenses run 34% less than in Merida. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.