Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Lima and Chiang Mai

For one person, living is cheaper in Chiang Mai: $938 a month against $1,012 in Lima, rent and utilities included – about $890 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
45

Cost of Living Index in Chiang Mai
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Chiang Mai Living Index

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Lima

🇵🇪 Peru

$1,012

/mo nomad

Chiang Mai

🇹🇭 Thailand

$938

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Lima and in Chiang Mai

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

A single person spends $1,012 per month in Lima vs $938 in Chiang Mai, rent included.

Lima $1,012
Chiang Mai $938

A couple spends around $1,589 per month in Lima vs $1,426 in Chiang Mai, rent included.

Lima $1,589
Chiang Mai $1,426

A family of three spends $2,167 per month in Lima vs $1,914 in Chiang Mai, rent included.

Lima $2,167
Chiang Mai $1,914

Lima costs about 8% more than Chiang Mai, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Both Lima and Chiang Mai are more affordable than the global median – Lima 25% lower, Chiang Mai 30% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$4.40 PEN 15.10

$2.26 ฿75.4

94.69%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$35.17 PEN 121

$19.18 ฿641

83.37%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$6.89 PEN 23.65

$5.59 ฿187

23.26%

Cappuccino

$3.26 PEN 11.20

$1.72 ฿57.6

89.53%

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

$1.12 PEN 3.84

$0.64 ฿21.54

75.00%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.62 PEN 2.11

$0.33 ฿11.18

87.88%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.65 PEN 9.09

$2.36 ฿78.7

12.29%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.41 PEN 15.15

$3.90 ฿130

13.08%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.63 PEN 5.61

$2.05 ฿68.6

-20.49%

White Bread (500g)

$2.56 PEN 8.78

$1.40 ฿46.70

82.86%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.35 PEN 4.65

$1.28 ฿42.89

5.47%

Eggs

$2.90 PEN 9.96

$2.25 ฿75.3

28.89%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$8.85 PEN 30.38

$16.94 ฿566

-47.76%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$5.98 PEN 20.52

$2.74 ฿91.6

118.25%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$9.78 PEN 33.59

$9.36 ฿313

4.49%

Apples (1kg)

$2.05 PEN 7.02

$2.40 ฿80.3

-14.58%

Banana (1kg)

$1.06 PEN 3.66

$1.01 ฿33.92

4.95%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.35 PEN 4.64

$1.61 ฿53.9

-16.15%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.50 PEN 5.15

$1.52 ฿50.7

-1.32%

Potato (1kg)

$0.88 PEN 3.03

$1.28 ฿42.90

-31.25%

Onion (1kg)

$0.92 PEN 3.15

$1.11 ฿37.22

-17.12%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.89 PEN 3.07

$0.72 ฿24.09

23.61%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.90 PEN 3.10

$0.52 ฿17.54

73.08%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$5.90 PEN 20.27

$4.33 ฿145

36.26%

Wine (Bottle)

$8.52 PEN 29.26

$17.73 ฿593

-51.95%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.88 PEN 6.45

$1.63 ฿54.4

15.34%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.22 PEN 11.05

$2.85 ฿95.3

12.98%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.68 PEN 2.33

$0.85 ฿28.31

-20.00%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$26.86 PEN 92.2

$53.9 ฿1,801

-50.17%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.81 PEN 13.09

$1.17 ฿39.18

225.64%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$2.02 PEN 6.93

$0.57 ฿19.00

254.39%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$7.11 PEN 24.41

$2.37 ฿79.2

200.00%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.72 PEN 5.91

$1.45 ฿48.32

18.62%

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

$22.3K PEN 76.6K

$20.5K ฿684.3K

8.97%

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

$25.5K PEN 87.6K

$26.5K ฿886.1K

-3.81%

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

$73.1 PEN 251

$62.3 ฿2,083

17.23%

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

$16.35 PEN 56.2

$12.27 ฿410

33.25%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$27.47 PEN 94.3

$19.97 ฿668

37.56%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$31.90 PEN 110

$37.91 ฿1,267

-15.85%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$19.41 PEN 66.7

$3.76 ฿126

416.22%

Cinema Ticket

$7.05 PEN 24.23

$6.71 ฿224

5.07%

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

$182 PEN 627

$797 ฿26.6K

-77.11%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$13.0K PEN 44.8K

$14.8K ฿495.7K

-12.08%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$53.8 PEN 185

$53.3 ฿1,780

1.01%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$34.32 PEN 118

$25.05 ฿837

37.01%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$82.8 PEN 284

$91.6 ฿3,062

-9.60%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$78.2 PEN 269

$73.5 ฿2,455

6.51%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$721 PEN 2,476

$464 ฿15.5K

55.39%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$343 PEN 1,179

$305 ฿10.2K

12.73%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,219 PEN 4,186

$915 ฿30.6K

33.16%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$651 PEN 2,235

$552 ฿18.5K

17.81%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,414 PEN 8,292

$1,912 ฿63.9K

26.28%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,357 PEN 4,660

$1,438 ฿48.1K

-5.65%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$648 PEN 2,226

$595 ฿19.9K

8.88%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

8.94

5.57

60.50%

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

Last update for Lima: October 11, 2026

Last update for Chiang Mai: October 13, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Lima

$343 33.9%

Chiang Mai

$305 32.5% 11.3% $39

Groceries & Markets

Lima

$226 22.3%

Chiang Mai

$238 25.4% 5.3% $12

Eating Out

Lima

$124 12.3%

Chiang Mai

$79 8.4% 36.3% $45

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Lima

$117 11.6%

Chiang Mai

$95 10.1% 19.1% $22

Clothing & Footwear

Lima

$112 11.1%

Chiang Mai

$110 11.7% 2.3% $2.6

Sport & Entertainment

Lima

$46 4.6%

Chiang Mai

$51 5.5% 11.6% $5.3

Getting Around

Lima

$43 4.3%

Chiang Mai

$61 6.5% 41% $18

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $721 in Lima versus $464 in Chiang Mai. 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 9% 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 $35.00 in Lima versus $19.00 in Chiang Mai. Groceries tell a different story – $226 in Lima vs $238 in Chiang Mai – so Lima wins on supermarket bills even if dining out costs more.

Good to know

🇵🇪 Lima

🇹🇭 Chiang Mai

🕒 Local time

20:03 8:03 PM

08:03 8:03 AM

12 h ahead of Lima

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

9,989,369 Capital

127,240

💱 Currency

Peruvian Sol PEN S/

Thai Baht THB ฿

📈 Exchange rate

1 PEN = 0.291 USD

1 PEN = 0.259 EUR

100 THB = 2.99 USD

100 THB = 2.66 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

THB, USD, EUR to PEN – Peruvian Sol Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇵🇪 Peruvian Sol (S/)

Peruvian Sol exchange rates as of October 19, 2026: 1 USD = 3.43 PEN (1 PEN = 0.291 USD). 1 EUR = 3.86 PEN (1 PEN = 0.259 EUR).

Thai Baht exchange rates as of October 19, 2026: 1 USD = 33.42 THB (100 THB = 2.99 USD). 1 EUR = 37.57 THB (100 THB = 2.66 EUR).

USD to PEN in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Lima Chiang Mai 19,150 km ≈ 24 h nonstop flight

From you

Lima
Chiang Mai

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 Chiang Mai: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Lima costs about 8% more than Chiang Mai, and outside of rent the gap comes mainly from eating out. That's enough to noticeably affect everyday spending and lifestyle for anyone choosing between the two.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $1,518 per month in Lima and $1,408 in Chiang Mai. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

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

Kindergarten costs $182 per month in Lima and $797 in Chiang Mai. For families with young kids, this one expense can tip the scales when choosing between the two cities.

Interestingly, groceries are about 5% cheaper in Lima – one category where the pricier city actually offers better value, probably thanks to stronger retail competition or local farming.

A $1,000 monthly budget goes further in Chiang Mai, where all-in costs run around $938, than in Lima at $1,012. In Chiang Mai it covers expenses comfortably, while in Lima it requires careful planning or may not stretch far enough.

For digital nomads, it depends on budget. Chiang Mai costs $938 versus $1,012 in Lima. Both have workable remote work infrastructure, but the cost gap matters when income varies month to month.

Both have safer and rougher neighborhoods, but overall safety is comparable to other large cities. Neighborhood choice matters more than the city-level comparison – central, well-trafficked areas feel secure in both.

If budget matters most, go with Chiang Mai. 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.