Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Lima and Belo Horizonte

For one person, living costs are similar in Lima and in Belo Horizonte: $996 and $984 a month, rent and utilities included.

49

Cost of Living Index in Lima
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Lima Living Index
47

Cost of Living Index in Belo Horizonte
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Belo Horizonte Living Index

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Lima

🇵🇪 Peru

$996

/mo nomad

Belo Horizonte

🇧🇷 Brazil

$984

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Lima and in Belo Horizonte

Real prices from locals and on-the-ground checks – rent, groceries, transit and the daily extras. Here's what a month in Lima and in Belo Horizonte actually costs, broken down by who's living it.

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $996 in Lima versus $984 in Belo Horizonte.

Lima $996
Belo Horizonte $984

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,594 in Lima versus $1,589 in Belo Horizonte.

Lima $1,594
Belo Horizonte $1,589

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $2,191 in Lima versus $2,193 in Belo Horizonte.

Lima $2,191
Belo Horizonte $2,193

Living in Lima is roughly 1% more expensive than in Belo Horizonte, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in transport.

Both cities sit below the global median: Lima 26% lower, Belo Horizonte 27% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$4.42 PEN 15.16

$5.90 R$29.46

-25.08%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$35.04 PEN 120

$37.35 R$186

-6.18%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$6.84 PEN 23.44

$8.86 R$44.22

-22.80%

Cappuccino

$3.27 PEN 11.22

$2.27 R$11.36

44.05%

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

$1.10 PEN 3.78

$1.43 R$7.13

-23.08%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.65 PEN 2.22

$0.81 R$4.05

-19.75%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.58 PEN 8.85

$2.12 R$10.60

21.70%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.47 PEN 15.34

$3.67 R$18.32

21.80%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.59 PEN 5.46

$0.95 R$4.72

67.37%

White Bread (500g)

$2.58 PEN 8.86

$1.82 R$9.09

41.76%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.36 PEN 4.65

$2.08 R$10.39

-34.62%

Eggs

$2.95 PEN 10.11

$2.22 R$11.07

32.88%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$9.10 PEN 31.19

$9.91 R$49.47

-8.17%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$5.81 PEN 19.91

$4.33 R$21.63

34.18%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$9.83 PEN 33.68

$7.63 R$38.10

28.83%

Apples (1kg)

$2.01 PEN 6.89

$1.93 R$9.66

4.15%

Banana (1kg)

$1.08 PEN 3.69

$1.15 R$5.75

-6.09%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.37 PEN 4.70

$1.20 R$5.98

14.17%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.48 PEN 5.06

$1.65 R$8.23

-10.30%

Potato (1kg)

$0.96 PEN 3.30

$1.15 R$5.74

-16.52%

Onion (1kg)

$0.85 PEN 2.92

$0.97 R$4.86

-12.37%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.88 PEN 3.02

$0.85 R$4.23

3.53%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.87 PEN 2.97

$0.92 R$4.58

-5.43%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$5.90 PEN 20.24

$2.47 R$12.33

138.87%

Wine (Bottle)

$8.81 PEN 30.21

$8.23 R$41.09

7.05%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.92 PEN 6.57

$1.43 R$7.15

34.27%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.20 PEN 10.98

$2.74 R$13.68

16.79%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.68 PEN 2.33

$1.25 R$6.26

-45.60%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$26.74 PEN 91.7

$68.0 R$339

-60.66%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.81 PEN 13.06

$1.02 R$5.10

273.53%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$2.04 PEN 7.00

$0.77 R$3.84

164.94%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$7.14 PEN 24.49

$6.32 R$31.53

12.97%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.65 PEN 5.65

$1.32 R$6.58

25.00%

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

$22.2K PEN 76.0K

$24.0K R$119.9K

-7.66%

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

$25.7K PEN 88.0K

$32.5K R$162.1K

-20.96%

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

$73.0 PEN 250

$76.1 R$380

-4.01%

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

$16.26 PEN 55.7

$10.33 R$51.6

57.41%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$27.60 PEN 94.6

$21.02 R$105

31.30%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$33.07 PEN 113

$28.07 R$140

17.81%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$19.49 PEN 66.8

$46.30 R$231

-57.90%

Cinema Ticket

$7.39 PEN 25.33

$7.90 R$39.41

-6.46%

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

$182 PEN 624

$459 R$2,292

-60.36%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$13.3K PEN 45.7K

$13.8K R$69.0K

-3.60%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$52.6 PEN 180

$62.0 R$309

-15.18%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$34.23 PEN 117

$48.86 R$244

-29.94%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$83.8 PEN 287

$97.6 R$487

-14.18%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$79.0 PEN 271

$71.5 R$357

10.49%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$723 PEN 2,479

$590 R$2,945

22.59%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$340 PEN 1,166

$292 R$1,456

16.62%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,184 PEN 4,060

$890 R$4,440

33.15%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$635 PEN 2,176

$591 R$2,950

7.41%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,449 PEN 8,394

$2,358 R$11.8K

3.83%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,372 PEN 4,702

$1,121 R$5,598

22.30%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$653 PEN 2,237

$613 R$3,062

6.38%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

8.94

11.25

-20.53%

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

Last update for Lima: October 4, 2026

Last update for Belo Horizonte: October 4, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Lima

$340 33.6%

Belo Horizonte

$292 30% 14.2% $48

Groceries & Markets

Lima

$226 22.4%

Belo Horizonte

$198 20.3% 12.7% $29

Eating Out

Lima

$124 12.3%

Belo Horizonte

$128 13.2% 3.2% $4

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Lima

$117 11.6%

Belo Horizonte

$107 11.1% 8.1% $9.5

Clothing & Footwear

Lima

$112 11.1%

Belo Horizonte

$126 13% 12.2% $14

Sport & Entertainment

Lima

$48 4.7%

Belo Horizonte

$44 4.5% 8.3% $4

Getting Around

Lima

$43 4.3%

Belo Horizonte

$78 8% 79.1% $34

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $723 in Lima and $590 in Belo Horizonte. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Lima pays 6% 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 Lima vs $37.00 in Belo Horizonte. Groceries flip the comparison at $226 vs $198, with Belo Horizonte cheaper for home cooking.

Good to know

🇵🇪 Lima

🇧🇷 Belo Horizonte

🕒 Local time

05:18 5:18 AM

07:18 7:18 AM

2 h ahead of Lima

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

9,989,369 Capital

2,315,560

💱 Currency

Peruvian Sol PEN S/

Brazilian Real BRL R$

📈 Exchange rate

1 PEN = 0.292 USD

1 PEN = 0.26 EUR

1 BRL = 0.2 USD

1 BRL = 0.179 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

BRL, USD, EUR to PEN – Peruvian Sol Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇵🇪 Peruvian Sol (S/)

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).

Brazilian Real exchange rates as of October 10, 2026: 1 USD = 4.99 BRL (1 BRL = 0.2 USD). 1 EUR = 5.59 BRL (1 BRL = 0.179 EUR).

USD to PEN in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Lima Belo Horizonte 3,640 km ≈ 5 h nonstop flight

From you

Lima
Belo Horizonte

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

Lima vs Belo Horizonte: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Lima and Belo Horizonte differ by about 1% in total monthly costs ($996 vs $984 including rent). Belo Horizonte is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

Average pay runs 6% higher in Lima, 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: $723 in Lima versus $590 in Belo Horizonte. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $182 in Lima versus $459 in Belo Horizonte. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

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

At $984 in Belo Horizonte versus $996 in Lima, a $2,000 budget is realistic in Belo Horizonte but tight or insufficient in Lima. The gap between the two cities makes Belo Horizonte 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 Belo Horizonte 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.