Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Costa Rica and Lima

For one person, living is cheaper in Lima: $996 a month against $1,735 in Costa Rica, rent and utilities included – about $8,900 less a year. Rent and utilities account for about half of the difference.

86

Cost of Living Index in Costa Rica
Learn more

Costa Rica Living Index
49

Cost of Living Index in Lima
Learn more

Lima Living Index

Jump to prices

🇨🇷 Costa Rica

$1,735

/mo nomad

Lima

🇵🇪 Peru

$996

/mo nomad

😐 Solo nomad: Costa Rica is 66.4% more expensive than Lima without rent, and 74.2% more expensive with rent.

😐 Family of 3: Costa Rica is 66.4% more expensive than Lima without rent, and 68.1% more expensive with rent.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$11.78 ₡5,312

$4.42 PEN 15.16

166.52%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$55.5 ₡25.0K

$35.04 PEN 120

58.50%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$10.72 ₡4,831

$6.84 PEN 23.44

56.73%

Cappuccino

$4.49 ₡2,023

$3.27 PEN 11.22

37.31%

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

$2.33 ₡1,051

$1.10 PEN 3.78

111.82%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.81 ₡815

$0.65 PEN 2.22

178.46%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.23 ₡1,455

$2.58 PEN 8.85

25.19%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.42 ₡1,992

$4.47 PEN 15.34

-1.12%

Milk (1 liter)

$2.30 ₡1,037

$1.59 PEN 5.46

44.65%

White Bread (500g)

$3.55 ₡1,600

$2.58 PEN 8.86

37.60%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.71 ₡1,221

$1.36 PEN 4.65

99.26%

Eggs

$4.05 ₡1,825

$2.95 PEN 10.11

37.29%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$9.92 ₡4,473

$9.10 PEN 31.19

9.01%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$10.49 ₡4,729

$5.81 PEN 19.91

80.55%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$13.56 ₡6,111

$9.83 PEN 33.68

37.95%

Apples (1kg)

$5.13 ₡2,312

$2.01 PEN 6.89

155.22%

Banana (1kg)

$1.68 ₡758

$1.08 PEN 3.69

55.56%

Oranges (1kg)

$3.63 ₡1,639

$1.37 PEN 4.70

164.96%

Tomato (1kg)

$3.24 ₡1,463

$1.48 PEN 5.06

118.92%

Potato (1kg)

$3.40 ₡1,534

$0.96 PEN 3.30

254.17%

Onion (1kg)

$3.09 ₡1,394

$0.85 PEN 2.92

263.53%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.11 ₡501

$0.88 PEN 3.02

26.14%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$2.64 ₡1,192

$0.87 PEN 2.97

203.45%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$5.43 ₡2,446

$5.90 PEN 20.24

-7.97%

Wine (Bottle)

$15.63 ₡7,048

$8.81 PEN 30.21

77.41%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.75 ₡1,238

$1.92 PEN 6.57

43.23%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.27 ₡1,472

$3.20 PEN 10.98

2.19%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.07 ₡480

$0.68 PEN 2.33

57.35%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$65.3 ₡29.4K

$26.74 PEN 91.7

144.17%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$2.18 ₡981

$3.81 PEN 13.06

-42.78%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$2.03 ₡916

$2.04 PEN 7.00

-0.49%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$8.82 ₡3,977

$7.14 PEN 24.49

23.53%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.53 ₡688

$1.65 PEN 5.65

-7.27%

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

$32.8K ₡14.8M

$22.2K PEN 76.0K

47.80%

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

$36.0K ₡16.2M

$25.7K PEN 88.0K

40.16%

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

$93.4 ₡42.1K

$73.0 PEN 250

27.88%

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

$30.19 ₡13.6K

$16.26 PEN 55.7

85.67%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$57.1 ₡25.7K

$27.60 PEN 94.6

106.70%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$65.1 ₡29.3K

$33.07 PEN 113

96.82%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$22.13 ₡9,976

$19.49 PEN 66.8

13.55%

Cinema Ticket

$8.09 ₡3,645

$7.39 PEN 25.33

9.47%

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

$740 ₡333.8K

$182 PEN 624

306.85%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$12.6K ₡5.7M

$13.3K PEN 45.7K

-5.74%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$75.5 ₡34.0K

$52.6 PEN 180

43.59%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$54.6 ₡24.6K

$34.23 PEN 117

59.51%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$127 ₡57.4K

$83.8 PEN 287

52.01%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$107 ₡48.3K

$79.0 PEN 271

35.73%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$833 ₡375.3K

$723 PEN 2,479

15.11%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$641 ₡289.1K

$340 PEN 1,166

88.58%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,776 ₡800.8K

$1,184 PEN 4,060

49.97%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,191 ₡536.9K

$635 PEN 2,176

87.63%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,437 ₡1.1M

$2,449 PEN 8,394

-0.46%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,631 ₡735.2K

$1,372 PEN 4,702

18.90%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,033 ₡465.8K

$653 PEN 2,237

58.34%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

9.56

8.94

6.94%

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

Last update for Costa Rica: 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

Costa Rica

$641 36.7%

Lima

$340 33.6% 47% $301

Groceries & Markets

Costa Rica

$379 21.7%

Lima

$226 22.4% 40.3% $153

Eating Out

Costa Rica

$222 12.7%

Lima

$124 12.3% 44.1% $98

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Costa Rica

$181 10.3%

Lima

$117 11.6% 35.3% $64

Clothing & Footwear

Costa Rica

$164 9.4%

Lima

$112 11.1% 31.6% $52

Getting Around

Costa Rica

$82 4.7%

Lima

$43 4.3% 46.9% $38

Sport & Entertainment

Costa Rica

$81 4.6%

Lima

$48 4.7% 41.1% $33

Good to know

🇨🇷 Costa Rica

🇵🇪 Lima

🕒 Local time

06:13 6:13 AM

07:13 7:13 AM

1 h ahead of Costa Rica

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

5,044,197

9,989,369 Capital

💱 Currency

Costa Rican Colón CRC ₡

Peruvian Sol PEN S/

📈 Exchange rate

1,000 CRC = 2.22 USD

1,000 CRC = 1.98 EUR

1 PEN = 0.292 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 10, 2026: 1 USD = 451 CRC (1,000 CRC = 2.22 USD). 1 EUR = 505 CRC (1,000 CRC = 1.98 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 CRC in detail →

On the map

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Costa Rica Lima 2,570 km ≈ 3 h 45 min nonstop flight

From you

Costa Rica
Lima

Distances are measured in a straight line. Your location is detected approximately.

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

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