Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Cartago and Lima

For one person, living is cheaper in Lima: $1,012 a month against $1,713 in Cartago, rent and utilities included – about $8,400 less a year. Rent and utilities account for about half of the difference.

80

Cost of Living Index in Cartago
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Cartago Living Index
49

Cost of Living Index in Lima
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Lima Living Index

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Cartago

🇨🇷 Costa Rica

$1,713

/mo nomad

Lima

🇵🇪 Peru

$1,012

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,713 in Cartago versus $1,012 in Lima.

Cartago $1,713
Lima $1,012

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,362 in Cartago versus $1,589 in Lima.

Cartago $2,362
Lima $1,589

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,011 in Cartago versus $2,167 in Lima.

Cartago $3,011
Lima $2,167

Living in Cartago is roughly 69% more expensive than in Lima, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

The two cities straddle the global median: Cartago is 27% above, Lima is 25% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$8.64 ₡3,880

$4.40 PEN 15.13

96.36%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$34.53 ₡15.5K

$35.17 PEN 121

-1.82%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$9.92 ₡4,455

$6.89 PEN 23.69

43.98%

Cappuccino

$4.54 ₡2,039

$3.26 PEN 11.22

39.26%

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

$2.13 ₡956

$1.12 PEN 3.84

90.18%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.36 ₡611

$0.62 PEN 2.12

119.35%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.15 ₡966

$2.65 PEN 9.11

-18.87%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.06 ₡1,822

$4.41 PEN 15.17

-7.94%

Milk (1 liter)

$2.39 ₡1,074

$1.63 PEN 5.62

46.63%

White Bread (500g)

$2.37 ₡1,066

$2.56 PEN 8.79

-7.42%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.47 ₡1,111

$1.35 PEN 4.66

82.96%

Eggs

$3.57 ₡1,603

$2.90 PEN 9.97

23.10%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$8.61 ₡3,866

$8.85 PEN 30.43

-2.71%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$10.38 ₡4,661

$5.98 PEN 20.55

73.58%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$13.94 ₡6,261

$9.78 PEN 33.65

42.54%

Apples (1kg)

$5.24 ₡2,355

$2.05 PEN 7.04

155.61%

Banana (1kg)

$1.29 ₡580

$1.06 PEN 3.66

21.70%

Oranges (1kg)

$4.49 ₡2,017

$1.35 PEN 4.65

232.59%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.91 ₡1,308

$1.50 PEN 5.16

94.00%

Potato (1kg)

$2.24 ₡1,005

$0.88 PEN 3.03

154.55%

Onion (1kg)

$2.17 ₡973

$0.92 PEN 3.16

135.87%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.09 ₡488

$0.89 PEN 3.08

22.47%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$2.18 ₡979

$0.90 PEN 3.11

142.22%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$6.07 ₡2,726

$5.90 PEN 20.31

2.88%

Wine (Bottle)

$15.16 ₡6,807

$8.52 PEN 29.31

77.93%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.89 ₡1,297

$1.88 PEN 6.46

53.72%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.03 ₡913

$3.22 PEN 11.07

-36.96%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.37 ₡613

$0.68 PEN 2.34

101.47%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$73.2 ₡32.9K

$26.86 PEN 92.4

172.49%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.33 ₡599

$3.81 PEN 13.11

-65.09%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.56 ₡703

$2.02 PEN 6.94

-22.77%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$8.95 ₡4,021

$7.11 PEN 24.45

25.88%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.51 ₡678

$1.72 PEN 5.92

-12.21%

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

$21.7K ₡9.7M

$22.3K PEN 76.7K

-2.77%

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

$35.1K ₡15.8M

$25.5K PEN 87.7K

37.70%

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

$52.4 ₡23.5K

$73.1 PEN 251

-28.25%

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

$35.12 ₡15.8K

$16.35 PEN 56.2

114.80%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$59.9 ₡26.9K

$27.47 PEN 94.5

117.87%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$73.8 ₡33.1K

$31.90 PEN 110

131.25%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$77.8 ₡34.9K

$19.41 PEN 66.8

300.62%

Cinema Ticket

$7.27 ₡3,267

$7.05 PEN 24.27

3.12%

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

$549 ₡246.5K

$182 PEN 628

200.81%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$7,878 ₡3.5M

$13.0K PEN 44.9K

-39.59%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$70.1 ₡31.5K

$53.8 PEN 185

30.40%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$56.5 ₡25.4K

$34.32 PEN 118

64.54%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$121 ₡54.5K

$82.8 PEN 285

46.39%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$87.7 ₡39.4K

$78.2 PEN 269

12.10%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$923 ₡414.7K

$721 PEN 2,481

28.06%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$704 ₡316.3K

$343 PEN 1,181

105.08%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,869 ₡839.2K

$1,219 PEN 4,193

53.31%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$724 ₡325.2K

$651 PEN 2,239

11.28%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,414 PEN 8,306

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,357 PEN 4,668

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,344 ₡603.7K

$648 PEN 2,229

107.43%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

8.62

8.94

-3.58%

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

Last update for Cartago: October 11, 2026

Last update for Lima: October 11, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Cartago

$704 41.1%

Lima

$343 33.9% 51.2% $361

Groceries & Markets

Cartago

$348 20.3%

Lima

$226 22.3% 35.1% $122

Eating Out

Cartago

$186 10.9%

Lima

$124 12.3% 33.4% $62

Clothing & Footwear

Cartago

$151 8.8%

Lima

$112 11.1% 25.8% $39

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Cartago

$147 8.6%

Lima

$117 11.6% 20.7% $31

Sport & Entertainment

Cartago

$88 5.2%

Lima

$46 4.6% 47.9% $42

Getting Around

Cartago

$88 5.1%

Lima

$43 4.3% 50.5% $44

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $923 in Cartago and $721 in Lima. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Cartago pays 107% 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: $35.00 in Cartago vs $35.00 in Lima. Groceries flip the comparison at $348 vs $226, with Lima cheaper for home cooking.

Good to know

🇨🇷 Cartago

🇵🇪 Lima

🕒 Local time

02:50 2:50 AM

03:50 3:50 AM

1 h ahead of Cartago

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

110,000

9,989,369 Capital

💱 Currency

Costa Rican Colón CRC ₡

Peruvian Sol PEN S/

📈 Exchange rate

1,000 CRC = 2.23 USD

1,000 CRC = 1.99 EUR

1 PEN = 0.291 USD

1 PEN = 0.26 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

PEN, USD, EUR to CRC – Costa Rican Colón Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇨🇷 Costa Rican Colón (₡)

Costa Rican Colón exchange rates as of October 15, 2026: 1 USD = 449 CRC (1,000 CRC = 2.23 USD). 1 EUR = 503 CRC (1,000 CRC = 1.99 EUR).

Peruvian Sol exchange rates as of October 15, 2026: 1 USD = 3.44 PEN (1 PEN = 0.291 USD). 1 EUR = 3.85 PEN (1 PEN = 0.26 EUR).

USD to CRC in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Cartago Lima 2,550 km ≈ 3 h 45 min nonstop flight

From you

Cartago
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

Cartago vs Lima: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Lima is cheaper overall, especially in groceries, eating out, and clothing. The 69% gap adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

Average pay runs 107% higher in Cartago, 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: $923 in Cartago versus $721 in Lima. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

A monthly transit pass in Lima runs roughly 172% less than in Cartago. Both cities have functional networks, but the price difference matters if you're watching your budget.

Childcare runs $549 in Cartago versus $182 in Lima. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

At $1,012 in Lima versus $1,713 in Cartago, a $2,000 budget is realistic in Lima but tight or insufficient in Cartago. The gap between the two cities makes Lima the clear choice for anyone on this budget.

For families, Lima is more practical. Housing and childcare are both notably cheaper than in Cartago, and the savings on those two alone free up budget for education, activities, and family trips.

Safety-wise, Cartago 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 69% less than in Cartago. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.