Cost of living comparison

Peru

compared to

Mexico

Chapala vs. Lima Cost of Living Summary

Chapala is 1.6% cheaper than Lima.

Restaurants: pay 76.2% more in Chapala
Groceries: pay 9.5% more in Chapala
Transportation: pay 2.6% less in Chapala
Housing: pay 2.0% less in Chapala
Childcare: pay 47.8% less in Chapala
Entertainment and Sports: pay 30.0% less in Chapala
Clothing: pay 23.6% less in Chapala

The cost of restaurants and groceries in Chapala are more expensive than in Lima. Expenses including childcare, entertainment and sports, clothing, transportation, and housing are lower in Chapala. Notably, restaurants is significantly more expensive in Chapala.

Planning a move to Mexico? Get up to 5 free, no-obligation quotes from vetted international movers. Get free quotes →

Chapala vs. Lima Cost Breakdown

If you lived in Chapala instead of Lima, you would:

Display currency: USD

pay 76.2% more for restaurants

	Lima	Chapala
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$4.36 PEN15.00	$11.67 MX$215.86	+168.0%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$6.94 PEN23.91	$7.23 MX$133.74	+4.2%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$1.09 PEN3.75	$1.67 MX$30.86	+53.3%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$0.63 PEN2.18	$1.22 MX$22.63	+93.4%
Average			+76.2%

Lima vs. Chapala - Cost of restaurants

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 9.5% more for groceries

	Lima	Chapala
Bread 1 loaf	$2.57 PEN8.87	$2.24 MX$41.46	-12.9%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$4.53 PEN15.62	$4.06 MX$75.10	-10.4%
Milk (1 gallon)	$6.09 PEN20.97	$5.62 MX$103.85	-7.8%
Eggs 1 dozen	$2.91 PEN10.03	$2.34 MX$43.21	-19.7%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$2.68 PEN9.25	$2.52 MX$46.67	-6.0%
Apples (1 lb)	$0.91 PEN3.14	$1.03 MX$19.02	+12.9%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.48 PEN1.64	$0.60 MX$11.08	+25.7%
Oranges (1 lb)	$0.63 PEN2.18	$0.70 MX$12.89	+10.4%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$0.68 PEN2.33	$0.79 MX$14.70	+17.5%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$0.42 PEN1.44	$0.73 MX$13.42	+73.2%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.40 PEN1.38	$0.63 MX$11.67	+57.5%
Average			+9.5%

Lima vs. Chapala - Cost of groceries

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 2.6% less for transportation

	Lima	Chapala
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$6.39 PEN22.00	$5.60 MX$103.63	-12.3%
Monthly public transit pass	$26.51 PEN91.33	??
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$21,990.00 PEN75,751.70	$21,528.95 MX$398K	-2.1%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$20.18 PEN69.52	$27.89 MX$515.77	+38.2%
Average			-2.6%

Lima vs. Chapala - Cost of transportation

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 2.0% less for housing

	Lima	Chapala
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$27.55 PEN94.90	$24.93 MX$461.07	-9.5%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$734.53 PEN2,530.34	$584.13 MX$10,802.33	-20.5%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$337.21 PEN1,161.65	$472.87 MX$8,744.74	+40.2%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$55.42 PEN190.93	$37.40 MX$691.64	-32.5%
Average			-2.0%

Lima vs. Chapala - Cost of housing

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 47.8% less for childcare

	Lima	Chapala
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$179.06 PEN616.82	$216.96 MX$4,012.29	+21.2%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$13,095.48 PEN45,111.65	$2,948.48 MX$54,526.03	-77.5%
Average			-47.8%

Lima vs. Chapala - Cost of childcare

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 30.0% less for entertainment and sports

	Lima	Chapala
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$2.61 PEN9.00	$2.23 MX$41.15	-14.8%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$3.24 PEN11.16	$3.36 MX$62.22	+3.9%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$5.76 PEN19.85	$4.21 MX$77.88	-26.9%
Monthly membership at local gym	$32.49 PEN111.92	$23.63 MX$436.92	-27.3%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$7.26 PEN25.01	$3.00 MX$55.48	-58.7%
Average			-30.0%

Lima vs. Chapala - Cost of entertainment and sports

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 23.6% less for clothing

	Lima	Chapala
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$52.80 PEN181.88	$55.63 MX$1,028.79	+5.4%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$34.89 PEN120.20	$38.94 MX$720.16	+11.6%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$83.72 PEN288.40	$52.85 MX$977.35	-36.9%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$78.93 PEN271.88	$36.16 MX$668.72	-54.2%
Average			-23.6%

Lima vs. Chapala - Cost of clothing

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

We average the price of thousands of data points entered by users across the world. Sources: MyLifeElsewhere's cost-of-living dataset (prices updated October 2026). How we calculate this

Compare further: Lima vs. Chapala

Salary Calculator · Free tool

What salary would you need in Chapala?

More cost comparisons

Lima vs.

Beijing

Lima vs.

Bangkok

Lima vs.

Rome

Lima vs.

Quito

Lima vs.

Vienna

Lima vs.

Canberra

Lima vs.

Athens

Lima vs.

Kiev

Share this

Compare countries by overall cost of living

See the cost of living in Peru vs. Mexico. This provides a comparison of the average cost of living from cities within Peru and Mexico.

Help us improve these prices

MyLifeElsewhere is a collaborative project. Please enter price information for your location to help assist us in making these comparisons more accurate. Learn more

Add prices for Lima

Add prices for Chapala

Ask the Elsewhere Community

Join the Elsewhere community and ask a question about Chapala or Lima. It's a free, question-and-answer based forum to discuss what life is like in countries and cities around the world.