Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Monterrey and Lima

For one person, living is cheaper in Lima: $996 a month against $1,607 in Monterrey, rent and utilities included – about $7,300 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

79

Cost of Living Index in Monterrey
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Monterrey Living Index
49

Cost of Living Index in Lima
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Lima Living Index

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Monterrey

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,607

/mo nomad

Lima

🇵🇪 Peru

$996

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,607 in Monterrey versus $996 in Lima.

Monterrey $1,607
Lima $996

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,512 in Monterrey versus $1,594 in Lima.

Monterrey $2,512
Lima $1,594

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,417 in Monterrey versus $2,191 in Lima.

Monterrey $3,417
Lima $2,191

Living in Monterrey is roughly 61% more expensive than in Lima, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Monterrey is 20% above, Lima is 26% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$13.75 MX$250

$4.42 PEN 15.21

211.09%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$50.2 MX$913

$35.04 PEN 121

43.21%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.13 MX$203

$6.84 PEN 23.52

62.72%

Cappuccino

$4.04 MX$73.5

$3.27 PEN 11.26

23.55%

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

$1.70 MX$31.00

$1.10 PEN 3.80

54.55%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.99 MX$18.00

$0.65 PEN 2.23

52.31%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.41 MX$43.80

$2.58 PEN 8.88

-6.59%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.48 MX$81.6

$4.47 PEN 15.39

0.22%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.92 MX$34.98

$1.59 PEN 5.48

20.75%

White Bread (500g)

$2.89 MX$52.6

$2.58 PEN 8.89

12.02%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.94 MX$35.34

$1.36 PEN 4.67

42.65%

Eggs

$2.50 MX$45.47

$2.95 PEN 10.14

-15.25%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$12.30 MX$224

$9.10 PEN 31.30

35.16%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.33 MX$170

$5.81 PEN 19.98

60.59%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$13.07 MX$238

$9.83 PEN 33.80

32.96%

Apples (1kg)

$3.38 MX$61.5

$2.01 PEN 6.92

68.16%

Banana (1kg)

$1.58 MX$28.75

$1.08 PEN 3.70

46.30%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.20 MX$40.07

$1.37 PEN 4.71

60.58%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.45 MX$44.48

$1.48 PEN 5.08

65.54%

Potato (1kg)

$2.26 MX$41.09

$0.96 PEN 3.32

135.42%

Onion (1kg)

$2.74 MX$49.89

$0.85 PEN 2.93

222.35%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.53 MX$27.83

$0.88 PEN 3.03

73.86%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.26 MX$22.94

$0.87 PEN 2.98

44.83%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.84 MX$88.1

$5.90 PEN 20.31

-17.97%

Wine (Bottle)

$13.59 MX$247

$8.81 PEN 30.31

54.26%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.91 MX$34.69

$1.92 PEN 6.59

-0.52%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.06 MX$55.8

$3.20 PEN 11.02

-4.38%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.80 MX$14.47

$0.68 PEN 2.33

17.65%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$31.77 MX$578

$26.74 PEN 92.0

18.81%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.62 MX$29.50

$3.81 PEN 13.10

-57.48%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.10 MX$19.99

$2.04 PEN 7.02

-46.08%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$10.97 MX$199

$7.14 PEN 24.57

53.64%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.52 MX$27.68

$1.65 PEN 5.67

-7.88%

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

$21.4K MX$388.7K

$22.2K PEN 76.3K

-3.63%

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

$25.5K MX$463.3K

$25.7K PEN 88.3K

-0.77%

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

$120 MX$2,178

$73.0 PEN 251

63.91%

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

$27.08 MX$493

$16.26 PEN 55.9

66.54%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$26.70 MX$486

$27.60 PEN 94.9

-3.26%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$31.15 MX$567

$33.07 PEN 114

-5.81%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$21.95 MX$399

$19.49 PEN 67.1

12.62%

Cinema Ticket

$5.14 MX$93.5

$7.39 PEN 25.41

-30.45%

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

$688 MX$12.5K

$182 PEN 626

277.94%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$11.4K MX$207.9K

$13.3K PEN 45.8K

-14.22%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$71.9 MX$1,308

$52.6 PEN 181

36.85%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$43.30 MX$788

$34.23 PEN 118

26.50%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$112 MX$2,040

$83.8 PEN 288

33.86%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$122 MX$2,216

$79.0 PEN 272

54.15%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$957 MX$17.4K

$723 PEN 2,488

32.31%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$670 MX$12.2K

$340 PEN 1,170

97.07%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,887 MX$34.3K

$1,184 PEN 4,074

59.35%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,305 MX$23.7K

$635 PEN 2,183

105.53%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$4,159 MX$75.7K

$2,449 PEN 8,423

69.85%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$2,437 MX$44.3K

$1,372 PEN 4,718

77.69%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,133 MX$20.6K

$653 PEN 2,245

73.62%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

11.79

8.94

31.88%

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

Last update for Monterrey: 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

Monterrey

$670 41.4%

Lima

$340 33.6% 49.3% $330

Groceries & Markets

Monterrey

$312 19.3%

Lima

$226 22.4% 27.6% $86

Eating Out

Monterrey

$224 13.8%

Lima

$124 12.3% 44.5% $100

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Monterrey

$174 10.7%

Lima

$117 11.6% 32.6% $57

Clothing & Footwear

Monterrey

$157 9.7%

Lima

$112 11.1% 28.5% $45

Getting Around

Monterrey

$42 2.6%

Lima

$43 4.3% 3.4% $1.4

Sport & Entertainment

Monterrey

$41 2.6%

Lima

$48 4.7% 15.5% $6.4

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $957 in Monterrey and $723 in Lima. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Monterrey pays 74% 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: $50.0 in Monterrey vs $35.00 in Lima for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $312 vs $226 per month, with Lima cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇲🇽 Monterrey

🇵🇪 Lima

🕒 Local time

23:03 11:03 PM

00:03 12:03 AM

1 h ahead of Monterrey

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

1,142,994

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

Monterrey Lima 4,900 km ≈ 7 h nonstop flight

From you

Monterrey
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

Monterrey vs Lima: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Monterrey and Lima differ by about 61% in total monthly costs ($1,607 vs $996 including rent). Lima is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

Average pay runs 74% higher in Monterrey, 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: $957 in Monterrey versus $723 in Lima. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $688 in Monterrey 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 38% higher in Monterrey. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

At $996 in Lima versus $1,607 in Monterrey, a $2,000 budget is realistic in Lima but tight or insufficient in Monterrey. 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 61% less than in Monterrey. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.