Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Lima and Caraguatatuba

For one person, living is cheaper in Caraguatatuba: $843 a month against $1,012 in Lima, rent and utilities included – about $2,000 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

49

Cost of Living Index in Lima
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Lima Living Index
41

Cost of Living Index in Caraguatatuba
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Caraguatatuba Living Index

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Lima

🇵🇪 Peru

$1,012

/mo nomad

Caraguatatuba

🇧🇷 Brazil

$843

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Lima and in Caraguatatuba

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,012 in Lima versus $843 in Caraguatatuba.

Lima $1,012
Caraguatatuba $843

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,589 in Lima versus $1,363 in Caraguatatuba.

Lima $1,589
Caraguatatuba $1,363

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $2,167 in Lima versus $1,883 in Caraguatatuba.

Lima $2,167
Caraguatatuba $1,883

Living in Lima is roughly 20% more expensive than in Caraguatatuba, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Both cities sit below the global median: Lima 25% lower, Caraguatatuba 38% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$4.40 PEN 15.10

$7.70 R$39.04

-42.86%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$35.17 PEN 121

$29.38 R$149

19.71%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$6.89 PEN 23.65

$9.23 R$46.80

-25.35%

Cappuccino

$3.26 PEN 11.20

$2.37 R$11.99

37.55%

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

$1.12 PEN 3.84

$1.23 R$6.25

-8.94%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.62 PEN 2.11

$0.88 R$4.48

-29.55%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.65 PEN 9.09

$2.36 R$11.96

12.29%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.41 PEN 15.15

$3.27 R$16.60

34.86%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.63 PEN 5.61

$1.00 R$5.09

63.00%

White Bread (500g)

$2.56 PEN 8.78

$1.61 R$8.17

59.01%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.35 PEN 4.65

$1.40 R$7.10

-3.57%

Eggs

$2.90 PEN 9.96

$1.96 R$9.96

47.96%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$8.85 PEN 30.38

$5.89 R$29.84

50.25%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$5.98 PEN 20.52

$3.32 R$16.82

80.12%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$9.78 PEN 33.59

$7.98 R$40.47

22.56%

Apples (1kg)

$2.05 PEN 7.02

$2.15 R$10.89

-4.65%

Banana (1kg)

$1.06 PEN 3.66

$1.67 R$8.46

-36.53%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.35 PEN 4.64

$1.46 R$7.39

-7.53%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.50 PEN 5.15

$1.42 R$7.19

5.63%

Potato (1kg)

$0.88 PEN 3.03

$1.27 R$6.45

-30.71%

Onion (1kg)

$0.92 PEN 3.15

$0.82 R$4.13

12.20%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.89 PEN 3.07

$0.71 R$3.60

25.35%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.90 PEN 3.10

$0.79 R$3.99

13.92%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$5.90 PEN 20.27

$2.16 R$10.96

173.15%

Wine (Bottle)

$8.52 PEN 29.26

$7.00 R$35.46

21.71%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.88 PEN 6.45

$1.50 R$7.58

25.33%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.22 PEN 11.05

$2.59 R$13.11

24.32%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.68 PEN 2.33

$0.98 R$4.96

-30.61%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$26.86 PEN 92.2

$23.55 R$119

14.06%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.81 PEN 13.09

$1.16 R$5.89

228.45%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$2.02 PEN 6.93

$0.73 R$3.70

176.71%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$7.11 PEN 24.41

$3.52 R$17.85

101.99%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.72 PEN 5.91

$1.30 R$6.59

32.31%

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

$22.3K PEN 76.6K

$15.7K R$79.3K

42.56%

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

$25.5K PEN 87.6K

$29.5K R$149.6K

-13.57%

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

$73.1 PEN 251

$66.3 R$336

10.19%

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

$16.35 PEN 56.2

$13.05 R$66.2

25.29%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$27.47 PEN 94.3

$22.44 R$114

22.42%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$31.90 PEN 110

$21.64 R$110

47.41%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$19.41 PEN 66.7

$16.29 R$82.6

19.15%

Cinema Ticket

$7.05 PEN 24.23

$8.17 R$41.40

-13.71%

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

$182 PEN 627

$223 R$1,130

-18.14%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$13.0K PEN 44.8K

$4,271 R$21.7K

205.30%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$53.8 PEN 185

$57.8 R$293

-6.92%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$34.32 PEN 118

$56.6 R$287

-39.34%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$82.8 PEN 284

$78.3 R$397

5.73%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$78.2 PEN 269

$59.2 R$300

32.14%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$721 PEN 2,476

$416 R$2,110

73.22%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$343 PEN 1,179

$237 R$1,201

44.93%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,219 PEN 4,186

$879 R$4,453

38.74%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$651 PEN 2,235

$522 R$2,648

24.56%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,414 PEN 8,292

$1,681 R$8,523

43.60%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,357 PEN 4,660

$1,217 R$6,170

11.49%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$648 PEN 2,226

$336 R$1,704

92.75%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

8.94

8.15

9.69%

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

Last update for Lima: October 11, 2026

Last update for Caraguatatuba: October 11, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Lima

$343 33.9%

Caraguatatuba

$237 28.1% 31% $106

Groceries & Markets

Lima

$226 22.3%

Caraguatatuba

$176 20.9% 22.2% $50

Eating Out

Lima

$124 12.3%

Caraguatatuba

$145 17.2% 16.6% $21

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Lima

$117 11.6%

Caraguatatuba

$102 12.1% 12.9% $15

Clothing & Footwear

Lima

$112 11.1%

Caraguatatuba

$113 13.5% 1.1% $1.2

Sport & Entertainment

Lima

$46 4.6%

Caraguatatuba

$38 4.5% 17.5% $8

Getting Around

Lima

$43 4.3%

Caraguatatuba

$32 3.8% 25.8% $11

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $721 in Lima and $416 in Caraguatatuba. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Lima pays 93% 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 $29.00 in Caraguatatuba for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $226 vs $176 per month, with Caraguatatuba cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇵🇪 Lima

🇧🇷 Caraguatatuba

🕒 Local time

23:30 11:30 PM

01:30 1:30 AM

2 h ahead of Lima

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

9,989,369 Capital

134,873

💱 Currency

Peruvian Sol PEN S/

Brazilian Real BRL R$

📈 Exchange rate

1 PEN = 0.291 USD

1 PEN = 0.259 EUR

1 BRL = 0.197 USD

1 BRL = 0.175 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 18, 2026: 1 USD = 3.43 PEN (1 PEN = 0.291 USD). 1 EUR = 3.86 PEN (1 PEN = 0.259 EUR).

Brazilian Real exchange rates as of October 18, 2026: 1 USD = 5.07 BRL (1 BRL = 0.197 USD). 1 EUR = 5.7 BRL (1 BRL = 0.175 EUR).

USD to PEN in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Lima Caraguatatuba 3,570 km ≈ 5 h nonstop flight

From you

Lima
Caraguatatuba

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 Caraguatatuba: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Caraguatatuba is cheaper overall, especially in groceries, leisure, and utilities. The 20% gap adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

Average pay runs 93% 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: $721 in Lima versus $416 in Caraguatatuba. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Supermarket bills run roughly 28% higher in Lima. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

Dining out is cheaper in Caraguatatuba – a meal for two runs $29.00 versus $35.00 in Lima. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

At $843 in Caraguatatuba versus $1,012 in Lima, a $1,500 budget is realistic in Caraguatatuba but tight or insufficient in Lima. The gap between the two cities makes Caraguatatuba the clear choice for anyone on this budget.

For families, Caraguatatuba is more practical. Housing and childcare are both notably cheaper than in Lima, and the savings on those two alone free up budget for education, activities, and family trips.

Expats usually find Caraguatatuba gentler on the wallet – expenses run 20% less than in Lima. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.