Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Iquique and Lima

For one person, living costs are similar in Iquique and in Lima: $999 and $1,012 a month, rent and utilities included.

49

Cost of Living Index in Iquique
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Iquique Living Index
49

Cost of Living Index in Lima
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Lima Living Index

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Iquique

🇨🇱 Chile

$999

/mo nomad

Lima

🇵🇪 Peru

$1,012

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $999 in Iquique versus $1,012 in Lima.

Iquique $999
Lima $1,012

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,590 in Iquique versus $1,589 in Lima.

Iquique $1,590
Lima $1,589

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $2,180 in Iquique versus $2,167 in Lima.

Iquique $2,180
Lima $2,167

Living in Iquique costs roughly 1% less than in Lima, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in clothing.

Both cities sit below the global median: Iquique 26% lower, Lima 25% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$7.48 CLP 7,359

$4.40 PEN 15.10

70.00%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$40.30 CLP 39.7K

$35.17 PEN 121

14.59%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$7.04 CLP 6,934

$6.89 PEN 23.65

2.18%

Cappuccino

$3.44 CLP 3,384

$3.26 PEN 11.20

5.52%

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

$1.23 CLP 1,210

$1.12 PEN 3.84

9.82%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.95 CLP 937

$0.62 PEN 2.11

53.23%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.27 CLP 3,222

$2.65 PEN 9.09

23.40%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.61 CLP 3,552

$4.41 PEN 15.15

-18.14%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.09 CLP 1,077

$1.63 PEN 5.61

-33.13%

White Bread (500g)

$1.13 CLP 1,111

$2.56 PEN 8.78

-55.86%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.31 CLP 1,285

$1.35 PEN 4.65

-2.96%

Eggs

$3.02 CLP 2,972

$2.90 PEN 9.96

4.14%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$10.12 CLP 9,962

$8.85 PEN 30.38

14.35%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$10.05 CLP 9,896

$5.98 PEN 20.52

68.06%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$9.78 PEN 33.59

Apples (1kg)

$2.31 CLP 2,273

$2.05 PEN 7.02

12.68%

Banana (1kg)

$2.15 CLP 2,121

$1.06 PEN 3.66

102.83%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.51 CLP 1,484

$1.35 PEN 4.64

11.85%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.06 CLP 1,040

$1.50 PEN 5.15

-29.33%

Potato (1kg)

$0.73 CLP 722

$0.88 PEN 3.03

-17.05%

Onion (1kg)

$0.64 CLP 628

$0.92 PEN 3.15

-30.43%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.00 CLP 981

$0.89 PEN 3.07

12.36%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.35 CLP 1,326

$0.90 PEN 3.10

50.00%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$7.25 CLP 7,139

$5.90 PEN 20.27

22.88%

Wine (Bottle)

$7.86 CLP 7,734

$8.52 PEN 29.26

-7.75%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.88 PEN 6.45

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.84 CLP 828

$3.22 PEN 11.05

-73.91%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.69 CLP 679

$0.68 PEN 2.33

1.47%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$26.86 PEN 92.2

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.81 PEN 13.09

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$2.02 PEN 6.93

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$7.11 PEN 24.41

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.44 CLP 1,419

$1.72 PEN 5.91

-16.28%

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

$22.3K PEN 76.6K

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

$25.5K PEN 87.6K

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

$88.6 CLP 87.2K

$73.1 PEN 251

21.29%

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

$15.63 CLP 15.4K

$16.35 PEN 56.2

-4.40%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$23.17 CLP 22.8K

$27.47 PEN 94.3

-15.65%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$50.7 CLP 49.9K

$31.90 PEN 110

58.93%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$19.41 PEN 66.7

Cinema Ticket

$6.91 CLP 6,803

$7.05 PEN 24.23

-1.99%

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

$254 CLP 249.8K

$182 PEN 627

39.06%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$13.0K PEN 44.8K

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$30.11 CLP 29.6K

$53.8 PEN 185

-44.02%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$23.04 CLP 22.7K

$34.32 PEN 118

-32.87%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$46.57 CLP 45.8K

$82.8 PEN 284

-43.77%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$58.3 CLP 57.4K

$78.2 PEN 269

-25.47%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$422 CLP 415.4K

$721 PEN 2,476

-41.47%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$382 CLP 375.7K

$343 PEN 1,179

11.14%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$683 CLP 671.9K

$1,219 PEN 4,186

-44.00%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$781 CLP 769.3K

$651 PEN 2,235

20.09%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$1,718 CLP 1.7M

$2,414 PEN 8,292

-28.85%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,926 CLP 1.9M

$1,357 PEN 4,660

41.91%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$958 CLP 943.5K

$648 PEN 2,226

47.90%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

7.5

8.94

-16.11%

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

Last update for Iquique: October 10, 2026

Last update for Lima: October 11, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Iquique

$382 38.2%

Lima

$343 33.9% 10% $38

Groceries & Markets

Iquique

$197 * 19.7%

Lima

$226 22.3% 14.7% $29

Eating Out

Iquique

$155 15.5%

Lima

$124 12.3% 19.8% $31

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Iquique

$127 12.8%

Lima

$117 11.6% 8.3% $11

Clothing & Footwear

Iquique

$71 7.1%

Lima

$112 11.1% 57.7% $41

Sport & Entertainment

Iquique

$65 6.5%

Lima

$46 4.6% 28.7% $19

Getting Around

Iquique

$2.8 * 0.3%

Lima

$43 4.3% 1475% $41

Categories marked with * are only partly priced – their share counts the items that do have prices.

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $422 in Iquique and $721 in Lima. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Iquique pays 48% more on average while also being the cheaper of the two. The combined effect is a noticeably stronger local purchasing power.

Dining out: $40.00 in Iquique vs $35.00 in Lima. Groceries flip the comparison at $197 vs $226, with Iquique cheaper for home cooking.

Good to know

🇨🇱 Iquique

🇵🇪 Lima

🕒 Local time

12:33 12:33 PM

10:33 10:33 AM

2 h behind Iquique

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

188,003

9,989,369 Capital

💱 Currency

Chilean Peso CLP $

Peruvian Sol PEN S/

📈 Exchange rate

10,000 CLP = 10.16 USD

10,000 CLP = 9.04 EUR

1 PEN = 0.291 USD

1 PEN = 0.259 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

PEN, USD, EUR to CLP – Chilean Peso Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇨🇱 Chilean Peso ($)

Chilean Peso exchange rates as of October 17, 2026: 1 USD = 984 CLP (1,000 CLP = 1.02 USD). 1 EUR = 1,107 CLP (10,000 CLP = 9.04 EUR).

Peruvian Sol exchange rates as of October 17, 2026: 1 USD = 3.43 PEN (1 PEN = 0.291 USD). 1 EUR = 3.86 PEN (1 PEN = 0.259 EUR).

USD to CLP in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Iquique Lima 1,170 km ≈ 2 h nonstop flight

From you

Iquique
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

Iquique vs Lima: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Iquique and Lima differ by about 1% in total monthly costs ($999 vs $1,012 including rent). Iquique is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

Average pay runs 48% higher in Iquique, 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: $422 in Iquique versus $721 in Lima. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Supermarket bills run roughly 15% higher in Lima. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

All in, you'll spend $999 per month in Iquique versus $1,012 in Lima – a 1% gap that adds up to real savings over time for anyone picking the cheaper option.

At $999 in Iquique versus $1,012 in Lima, a $2,000 budget is realistic in Iquique but tight or insufficient in Lima. The gap between the two cities makes Iquique the clear choice for anyone on this budget.

Both cities offer a good standard of living with different trade-offs. Neither is objectively better – the right pick depends on what matters most: affordability, career, cultural scene, or climate.

Expats usually find Iquique gentler on the wallet – expenses run 1% less than in Lima. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.