Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Fortaleza and Lima

For one person, living is cheaper in Fortaleza: $942 a month against $996 in Lima, rent and utilities included – about $650 less a year. Other living expenses account for most of the difference.

45

Cost of Living Index in Fortaleza
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Fortaleza Living Index
49

Cost of Living Index in Lima
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Lima Living Index

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Fortaleza

🇧🇷 Brazil

$942

/mo nomad

Lima

🇵🇪 Peru

$996

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

A single person spends $942 per month in Fortaleza vs $996 in Lima, rent included.

Fortaleza $942
Lima $996

A couple spends around $1,419 per month in Fortaleza vs $1,594 in Lima, rent included.

Fortaleza $1,419
Lima $1,594

A family of three spends $1,897 per month in Fortaleza vs $2,191 in Lima, rent included.

Fortaleza $1,897
Lima $2,191

Fortaleza is about 5% cheaper than Lima, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in clothing.

Both Fortaleza and Lima are more affordable than the global median – Fortaleza 30% lower, Lima 26% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$5.97 R$29.79

$4.42 PEN 15.16

35.07%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$30.26 R$151

$35.04 PEN 120

-13.64%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$7.86 R$39.22

$6.84 PEN 23.44

14.91%

Cappuccino

$2.26 R$11.26

$3.27 PEN 11.22

-30.89%

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

$1.20 R$6.00

$1.10 PEN 3.78

9.09%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.68 R$3.42

$0.65 PEN 2.22

4.62%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.26 R$11.29

$2.58 PEN 8.85

-12.40%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.98 R$19.89

$4.47 PEN 15.34

-10.96%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.19 R$5.95

$1.59 PEN 5.46

-25.16%

White Bread (500g)

$1.98 R$9.89

$2.58 PEN 8.86

-23.26%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.15 R$5.74

$1.36 PEN 4.65

-15.44%

Eggs

$1.86 R$9.29

$2.95 PEN 10.11

-36.95%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$7.76 R$38.73

$9.10 PEN 31.19

-14.73%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$4.05 R$20.22

$5.81 PEN 19.91

-30.29%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$9.48 R$47.34

$9.83 PEN 33.68

-3.56%

Apples (1kg)

$2.86 R$14.28

$2.01 PEN 6.89

42.29%

Banana (1kg)

$1.32 R$6.60

$1.08 PEN 3.69

22.22%

Oranges (1kg)

$0.83 R$4.14

$1.37 PEN 4.70

-39.42%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.74 R$8.69

$1.48 PEN 5.06

17.57%

Potato (1kg)

$1.28 R$6.40

$0.96 PEN 3.30

33.33%

Onion (1kg)

$1.12 R$5.58

$0.85 PEN 2.92

31.76%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.00 R$4.99

$0.88 PEN 3.02

13.64%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.03 R$5.14

$0.87 PEN 2.97

18.39%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$2.13 R$10.63

$5.90 PEN 20.24

-63.90%

Wine (Bottle)

$7.06 R$35.25

$8.81 PEN 30.21

-19.86%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.54 R$7.67

$1.92 PEN 6.57

-19.79%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.66 R$8.26

$3.20 PEN 10.98

-48.13%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.98 R$4.89

$0.68 PEN 2.33

44.12%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$19.74 R$98.6

$26.74 PEN 91.7

-26.18%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.44 R$7.17

$3.81 PEN 13.06

-62.20%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.80 R$3.99

$2.04 PEN 7.00

-60.78%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$7.43 R$37.08

$7.14 PEN 24.49

4.06%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.33 R$6.63

$1.65 PEN 5.65

-19.39%

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

$23.6K R$117.7K

$22.2K PEN 76.0K

6.37%

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

$32.0K R$159.8K

$25.7K PEN 88.0K

24.72%

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

$127 R$634

$73.0 PEN 250

73.78%

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

$10.79 R$53.9

$16.26 PEN 55.7

-33.64%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$21.43 R$107

$27.60 PEN 94.6

-22.36%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$26.70 R$133

$33.07 PEN 113

-19.26%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$43.44 R$217

$19.49 PEN 66.8

122.88%

Cinema Ticket

$5.89 R$29.38

$7.39 PEN 25.33

-20.30%

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

$207 R$1,033

$182 PEN 624

13.69%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$4,034 R$20.1K

$13.3K PEN 45.7K

-69.71%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$67.1 R$335

$52.6 PEN 180

27.61%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$61.0 R$304

$34.23 PEN 117

78.06%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$126 R$630

$83.8 PEN 287

50.56%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$68.9 R$344

$79.0 PEN 271

-12.87%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$428 R$2,137

$723 PEN 2,479

-40.80%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$236 R$1,177

$340 PEN 1,166

-30.65%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$584 R$2,917

$1,184 PEN 4,060

-50.67%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$359 R$1,792

$635 PEN 2,176

-43.44%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,653 R$13.2K

$2,449 PEN 8,394

8.36%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,184 R$5,909

$1,372 PEN 4,702

-13.69%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$482 R$2,404

$653 PEN 2,237

-26.21%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

11.38

8.94

27.29%

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

Last update for Fortaleza: 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

Fortaleza

$236 25.3%

Lima

$340 33.6% 44.2% $104

Groceries & Markets

Fortaleza

$198 21.2%

Lima

$226 22.4% 14.6% $29

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Fortaleza

$159 17.1%

Lima

$117 11.6% 26.5% $42

Clothing & Footwear

Fortaleza

$145 15.6%

Lima

$112 11.1% 22.7% $33

Eating Out

Fortaleza

$125 13.5%

Lima

$124 12.3% 0.9% $1.2

Sport & Entertainment

Fortaleza

$38 4.1%

Lima

$48 4.7% 24.4% $9.4

Getting Around

Fortaleza

$29 3.1%

Lima

$43 4.3% 49.4% $14

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $428 in Fortaleza versus $723 in Lima. Rent is usually the largest line item in a monthly budget, so the gap here sets the tone for the overall comparison.

Salaries run about 36% higher in Lima, which partly offsets the higher cost of living there. Purchasing power depends on which expenses matter most to you.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $30.00 in Fortaleza versus $35.00 in Lima. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $198 vs $226 – making Fortaleza the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇧🇷 Fortaleza

🇵🇪 Lima

🕒 Local time

02:25 2:25 AM

00:25 12:25 AM

2 h behind Fortaleza

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

2,428,708

9,989,369 Capital

💱 Currency

Brazilian Real BRL R$

Peruvian Sol PEN S/

📈 Exchange rate

1 BRL = 0.2 USD

1 BRL = 0.179 EUR

1 PEN = 0.292 USD

1 PEN = 0.26 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

PEN, USD, EUR to BRL – Brazilian Real Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇧🇷 Brazilian Real (R$)

Brazilian Real exchange rates as of October 10, 2026: 1 USD = 4.99 BRL (1 BRL = 0.2 USD). 1 EUR = 5.6 BRL (1 BRL = 0.179 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 BRL in detail →

On the map

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Highest

Between locations

Fortaleza Lima 4,340 km ≈ 6 h nonstop flight

From you

Fortaleza
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

Fortaleza vs Lima: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Lima costs about 6% more than Fortaleza, and outside of rent the gap comes mainly from clothing. That's enough to noticeably affect everyday spending and lifestyle for anyone choosing between the two.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $1,413 per month in Fortaleza and $1,494 in Lima. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

Rent is clearly cheaper in Fortaleza, especially for central apartments. Housing is actually the single biggest factor behind the overall cost gap between these two cities.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $30.00 in Fortaleza and $35.00 in Lima. That's a good indicator of the overall restaurant and café pricing gap between the two cities.

Monthly expenses with rent come to $942 in Fortaleza and $996 in Lima. That's a gap of about 6%.

A $1,000 monthly budget goes further in Fortaleza, where all-in costs run around $942, than in Lima at $996. In Fortaleza it covers expenses comfortably, while in Lima it requires careful planning or may not stretch far enough.

For digital nomads, it depends on budget. Fortaleza costs $942 versus $996 in Lima. Both have workable remote work infrastructure, but the cost gap matters when income varies month to month.

If budget matters most, go with Fortaleza. If higher salaries, better infrastructure, or specific career opportunities are the priority, Lima makes more sense. Both are solid long-term options with distinct trade-offs.