Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Lima and Buenos Aires

For one person, living is cheaper in Lima: $996 a month against $1,685 in Buenos Aires, rent and utilities included – about $8,300 less a year. Rent and utilities account for about half of the difference.

49

Cost of Living Index in Lima
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Lima Living Index
81

Cost of Living Index in Buenos Aires
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Buenos Aires Living Index

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Lima

🇵🇪 Peru

$996

/mo nomad

Buenos Aires

🇦🇷 Argentina

$1,685

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Lima and in Buenos Aires

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 Buenos Aires actually costs, broken down by who's living it.

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $996 in Lima versus $1,685 in Buenos Aires.

Lima $996
Buenos Aires $1,685

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,594 in Lima versus $2,742 in Buenos Aires.

Lima $1,594
Buenos Aires $2,742

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $2,191 in Lima versus $3,799 in Buenos Aires.

Lima $2,191
Buenos Aires $3,799

Living in Lima costs roughly 41% less than in Buenos Aires, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Lima is 26% below, Buenos Aires is 26% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$4.42 PEN 15.21

$18.73 ARS 28.4K

-76.40%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$35.04 PEN 121

$64.5 ARS 97.7K

-45.66%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$6.84 PEN 23.52

$12.88 ARS 19.5K

-46.89%

Cappuccino

$3.27 PEN 11.26

$3.98 ARS 6,027

-17.84%

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

$1.10 PEN 3.80

$2.05 ARS 3,102

-46.34%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.65 PEN 2.23

$1.55 ARS 2,348

-58.06%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.58 PEN 8.88

$3.84 ARS 5,828

-32.81%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.47 PEN 15.39

$4.60 ARS 6,968

-2.83%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.59 PEN 5.48

$1.44 ARS 2,180

10.42%

White Bread (500g)

$2.58 PEN 8.89

$2.46 ARS 3,737

4.88%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.36 PEN 4.67

$1.63 ARS 2,466

-16.56%

Eggs

$2.95 PEN 10.14

$2.89 ARS 4,384

2.08%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$9.10 PEN 31.30

$10.65 ARS 16.1K

-14.55%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$5.81 PEN 19.98

$10.00 ARS 15.2K

-41.90%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$9.83 PEN 33.80

$13.74 ARS 20.8K

-28.46%

Apples (1kg)

$2.01 PEN 6.92

$2.75 ARS 4,165

-26.91%

Banana (1kg)

$1.08 PEN 3.70

$2.18 ARS 3,299

-50.46%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.37 PEN 4.71

$1.45 ARS 2,204

-5.52%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.48 PEN 5.08

$1.99 ARS 3,012

-25.63%

Potato (1kg)

$0.96 PEN 3.32

$1.24 ARS 1,884

-22.58%

Onion (1kg)

$0.85 PEN 2.93

$1.27 ARS 1,920

-33.07%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.88 PEN 3.03

$1.70 ARS 2,574

-48.24%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.87 PEN 2.98

$1.73 ARS 2,616

-49.71%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$5.90 PEN 20.31

$4.18 ARS 6,335

41.15%

Wine (Bottle)

$8.81 PEN 30.31

$5.80 ARS 8,787

51.90%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.92 PEN 6.59

$2.09 ARS 3,162

-8.13%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.20 PEN 11.02

$2.77 ARS 4,197

15.52%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.68 PEN 2.33

$0.75 ARS 1,131

-9.33%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$26.74 PEN 92.0

$27.15 ARS 41.2K

-1.51%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.81 PEN 13.10

$1.62 ARS 2,450

135.19%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$2.04 PEN 7.02

$0.98 ARS 1,480

108.16%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$7.14 PEN 24.57

$7.72 ARS 11.7K

-7.51%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.65 PEN 5.67

$1.36 ARS 2,057

21.32%

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

$22.2K PEN 76.3K

$28.0K ARS 42.5M

-20.83%

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

$25.7K PEN 88.3K

$34.5K ARS 52.3M

-25.67%

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

$73.0 PEN 251

$216 ARS 326.8K

-66.12%

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

$16.26 PEN 55.9

$25.61 ARS 38.8K

-36.51%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$27.60 PEN 94.9

$31.36 ARS 47.5K

-11.99%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$33.07 PEN 114

$49.82 ARS 75.5K

-33.62%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$19.49 PEN 67.1

$17.06 ARS 25.9K

14.24%

Cinema Ticket

$7.39 PEN 25.41

$10.43 ARS 15.8K

-29.15%

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

$182 PEN 626

$466 ARS 706.5K

-60.95%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$13.3K PEN 45.8K

$9,057 ARS 13.7M

47.08%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$52.6 PEN 181

$122 ARS 185.1K

-56.96%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$34.23 PEN 118

$97.4 ARS 147.7K

-64.87%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$83.8 PEN 288

$117 ARS 177.3K

-28.38%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$79.0 PEN 272

$140 ARS 211.8K

-43.45%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$723 PEN 2,488

$763 ARS 1.2M

-5.25%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$340 PEN 1,170

$505 ARS 765.8K

-32.67%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,184 PEN 4,074

$1,598 ARS 2.4M

-25.90%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$635 PEN 2,183

$1,185 ARS 1.8M

-46.43%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,449 PEN 8,423

$2,678 ARS 4.1M

-8.57%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,372 PEN 4,718

$1,858 ARS 2.8M

-26.19%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$653 PEN 2,245

$954 ARS 1.4M

-31.62%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

8.94

57.25

-84.38%

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

Last update for Lima: October 4, 2026

Last update for Buenos Aires: October 6, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Lima

$340 33.6%

Buenos Aires

$505 30.4% 48.5% $165

Groceries & Markets

Lima

$226 22.4%

Buenos Aires

$284 17.1% 25.5% $58

Eating Out

Lima

$124 12.3%

Buenos Aires

$279 16.8% 125% $155

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Lima

$117 11.6%

Buenos Aires

$273 16.4% 133% $156

Clothing & Footwear

Lima

$112 11.1%

Buenos Aires

$214 12.9% 90.8% $102

Sport & Entertainment

Lima

$48 4.7%

Buenos Aires

$71 4.3% 47.7% $23

Getting Around

Lima

$43 4.3%

Buenos Aires

$37 2.2% 15.8% $6.8

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $723 in Lima and $763 in Buenos Aires. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Buenos Aires pays 46% 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 $64.0 in Buenos Aires for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $226 vs $284 per month, with Lima cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇵🇪 Lima

🇦🇷 Buenos Aires

🕒 Local time

21:47 9:47 PM

23:47 11:47 PM

2 h ahead of Lima

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

9,989,369 Capital

2,891,082 Capital

💱 Currency

Peruvian Sol PEN S/

Argentine Peso ARS $

📈 Exchange rate

1 PEN = 0.291 USD

1 PEN = 0.259 EUR

10,000 ARS = 6.6 USD

10,000 ARS = 5.88 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

ARS, USD, EUR to PEN – Peruvian Sol Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇵🇪 Peruvian Sol (S/)

Peruvian Sol exchange rates as of October 10, 2026: 1 USD = 3.44 PEN (1 PEN = 0.291 USD). 1 EUR = 3.86 PEN (1 PEN = 0.259 EUR).

Argentine Peso exchange rates as of October 10, 2026: 1 USD = 1,516 ARS (10,000 ARS = 6.6 USD). 1 EUR = 1,700 ARS (10,000 ARS = 5.88 EUR).

USD to PEN in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Lima Buenos Aires 3,130 km ≈ 4 h 30 min nonstop flight

From you

Lima
Buenos Aires

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 Buenos Aires: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Lima and Buenos Aires differ by about 69% in total monthly costs ($996 vs $1,685 including rent). Lima is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

On paper, salaries run 46% lower in Buenos Aires. That's worth factoring in alongside costs, though remote workers earning in a stronger currency may not notice the difference at all.

Rent for a central apartment: $723 in Lima versus $763 in Buenos Aires. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $182 in Lima versus $466 in Buenos Aires. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Supermarket bills run roughly 26% higher in Buenos Aires. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

At $996 in Lima versus $1,685 in Buenos Aires, a $2,000 budget is realistic in Lima but tight or insufficient in Buenos Aires. The gap between the two cities makes Lima 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.

Safety-wise, Lima and Buenos Aires are on par. Petty crime is typical for cities this size, and most residents feel comfortable going about their daily routines in either place.

Expats usually find Lima gentler on the wallet – expenses run 69% less than in Buenos Aires. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.