Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between El Salvador and Lima

For one person, living is cheaper in Lima: $996 a month against $1,466 in El Salvador, rent and utilities included – about $5,600 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

72

Cost of Living Index in El Salvador
Learn more

El Salvador Living Index
49

Cost of Living Index in Lima
Learn more

Lima Living Index

Jump to prices

🇸🇻 El Salvador

$1,466

/mo nomad

Lima

🇵🇪 Peru

$996

/mo nomad

😐 Solo nomad: El Salvador is 20.8% more expensive than Lima without rent, and 47.2% more expensive with rent.

😐 Family of 3: El Salvador is 20.8% more expensive than Lima without rent, and 22.9% more expensive with rent.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$6.68 $6.68

$4.42 PEN 15.16

51.13%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$44.84 $44.84

$35.04 PEN 120

27.97%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$7.08 $7.08

$6.84 PEN 23.44

3.51%

Cappuccino

$3.57 $3.57

$3.27 PEN 11.22

9.17%

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

$1.14 $1.14

$1.10 PEN 3.78

3.64%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.92 $0.92

$0.65 PEN 2.22

41.54%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.03 $2.03

$2.58 PEN 8.85

-21.32%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.49 $3.49

$4.47 PEN 15.34

-21.92%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.84 $1.84

$1.59 PEN 5.46

15.72%

White Bread (500g)

$2.40 $2.40

$2.58 PEN 8.86

-6.98%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.55 $1.55

$1.36 PEN 4.65

13.97%

Eggs

$2.76 $2.76

$2.95 PEN 10.11

-6.44%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$7.61 $7.61

$9.10 PEN 31.19

-16.37%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$5.95 $5.95

$5.81 PEN 19.91

2.41%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$8.99 $8.99

$9.83 PEN 33.68

-8.55%

Apples (1kg)

$3.81 $3.81

$2.01 PEN 6.89

89.55%

Banana (1kg)

$1.74 $1.74

$1.08 PEN 3.69

61.11%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.96 $2.96

$1.37 PEN 4.70

116.06%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.93 $2.93

$1.48 PEN 5.06

97.97%

Potato (1kg)

$2.85 $2.85

$0.96 PEN 3.30

196.88%

Onion (1kg)

$2.32 $2.32

$0.85 PEN 2.92

172.94%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.97 $0.97

$0.88 PEN 3.02

10.23%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.95 $0.95

$0.87 PEN 2.97

9.20%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$3.97 $3.97

$5.90 PEN 20.24

-32.71%

Wine (Bottle)

$11.90 $11.90

$8.81 PEN 30.21

35.07%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.90 $1.90

$1.92 PEN 6.57

-1.04%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.77 $2.77

$3.20 PEN 10.98

-13.44%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.36 $0.36

$0.68 PEN 2.33

-47.06%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$35.46 $35.46

$26.74 PEN 91.7

32.61%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$6.51 $6.51

$3.81 PEN 13.06

70.87%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$3.09 $3.09

$2.04 PEN 7.00

51.47%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$20.04 $20.04

$7.14 PEN 24.49

180.67%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.19 $1.19

$1.65 PEN 5.65

-27.88%

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

$25.2K $25.2K

$22.2K PEN 76.0K

13.83%

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

$28.3K $28.3K

$25.7K PEN 88.0K

10.25%

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

$104 $104

$73.0 PEN 250

42.61%

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

$22.38 $22.38

$16.26 PEN 55.7

37.64%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$41.65 $41.65

$27.60 PEN 94.6

50.91%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$31.73 $31.73

$33.07 PEN 113

-4.05%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$16.60 $16.60

$19.49 PEN 66.8

-14.83%

Cinema Ticket

$4.96 $4.96

$7.39 PEN 25.33

-32.88%

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

$167 $167

$182 PEN 624

-8.22%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$4,427 $4,427

$13.3K PEN 45.7K

-66.77%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$63.2 $63.2

$52.6 PEN 180

20.24%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$49.16 $49.16

$34.23 PEN 117

43.62%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$119 $119

$83.8 PEN 287

42.32%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$103 $103

$79.0 PEN 271

29.92%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$733 $733

$723 PEN 2,479

1.35%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$655 $655

$340 PEN 1,166

92.58%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,261 $1,261

$1,184 PEN 4,060

6.44%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$881 $881

$635 PEN 2,176

38.82%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,730 $2,730

$2,449 PEN 8,394

11.47%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,601 $1,601

$1,372 PEN 4,702

16.74%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$440 $440

$653 PEN 2,237

-32.62%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

8.48

8.94

-5.15%

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

Last update for El Salvador: October 3, 2026

Last update for Lima: October 4, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

El Salvador

$655 44.3%

Lima

$340 33.6% 48.1% $315

Groceries & Markets

El Salvador

$262 17.7%

Lima

$226 22.4% 13.8% $36

Monthly Utilities & Internet

El Salvador

$168 11.4%

Lima

$117 11.6% 30.5% $51

Clothing & Footwear

El Salvador

$150 10.2%

Lima

$112 11.1% 25.3% $38

Eating Out

El Salvador

$143 9.7%

Lima

$124 12.3% 13.2% $19

Getting Around

El Salvador

$59 4%

Lima

$43 4.3% 26.1% $15

Sport & Entertainment

El Salvador

$42 2.8%

Lima

$48 4.7% 14.9% $6.2

Good to know

🇸🇻 El Salvador

🇵🇪 Lima

🕒 Local time

06:11 6:11 AM

07:11 7:11 AM

1 h ahead of El Salvador

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

6,029,976

9,989,369 Capital

💱 Currency

United States Dollar USD $

Peruvian Sol PEN S/

📈 Exchange rate

1 USD = 0.892 EUR

1 PEN = 0.292 USD

1 PEN = 0.26 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

PEN, EUR to USD – United States Dollar Converter

🇵🇪 Peruvian Sol (S/)

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

United States Dollar exchange rates as of October 10, 2026: 1 EUR = 1.12 USD (1 USD = 0.892 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).

PEN to USD in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

El Salvador Lima 3,160 km ≈ 4 h 30 min nonstop flight

From you

El Salvador
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

El Salvador vs other spots: cost of living compared

Cost of Living Comparison Between El Salvador and Lima

PEN, EUR to USD – United States Dollar Converter

City Median Internet Speeds Comparison (Updated April 2026)

El Salvador

Lima

El Salvador

Lima

El Salvador vs other spots: cost of living compared

Similar countries

🇵🇱 Poland

🇬🇷 Greece

🇸🇰 Slovakia

🇱🇹 Lithuania

🇱🇻 Latvia

🇴🇲 Oman

🇱🇧 Lebanon

🇹🇹 Trinidad And Tobago