Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Lima and Costa Rica

Name: Costa Rica
Address: CR

For one person, living is cheaper in Lima: $996 a month against $1,735 in Costa Rica, rent and utilities included – about $8,900 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
86

Cost of Living Index in Costa Rica
Learn more

Costa Rica Living Index

Jump to prices

Lima

🇵🇪 Peru

$996

/mo nomad

🇨🇷 Costa Rica

$1,735

/mo nomad

🙂 Solo nomad: Lima is 39.9% cheaper than Costa Rica without rent, and 42.6% cheaper with rent.

🙂 Family of 3: Lima is 39.9% cheaper than Costa Rica without rent, and 40.5% cheaper with rent.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$4.42 PEN 15.16

$11.78 ₡5,312

-62.48%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$35.04 PEN 120

$55.5 ₡25.0K

-36.91%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$6.84 PEN 23.44

$10.72 ₡4,831

-36.19%

Cappuccino

$3.27 PEN 11.22

$4.49 ₡2,023

-27.17%

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

$1.10 PEN 3.78

$2.33 ₡1,051

-52.79%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.65 PEN 2.22

$1.81 ₡815

-64.09%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.58 PEN 8.85

$3.23 ₡1,455

-20.12%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.47 PEN 15.34

$4.42 ₡1,992

1.13%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.59 PEN 5.46

$2.30 ₡1,037

-30.87%

White Bread (500g)

$2.58 PEN 8.86

$3.55 ₡1,600

-27.32%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.36 PEN 4.65

$2.71 ₡1,221

-49.82%

Eggs

$2.95 PEN 10.11

$4.05 ₡1,825

-27.16%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$9.10 PEN 31.19

$9.92 ₡4,473

-8.27%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$5.81 PEN 19.91

$10.49 ₡4,729

-44.61%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$9.83 PEN 33.68

$13.56 ₡6,111

-27.51%

Apples (1kg)

$2.01 PEN 6.89

$5.13 ₡2,312

-60.82%

Banana (1kg)

$1.08 PEN 3.69

$1.68 ₡758

-35.71%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.37 PEN 4.70

$3.63 ₡1,639

-62.26%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.48 PEN 5.06

$3.24 ₡1,463

-54.32%

Potato (1kg)

$0.96 PEN 3.30

$3.40 ₡1,534

-71.76%

Onion (1kg)

$0.85 PEN 2.92

$3.09 ₡1,394

-72.49%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.88 PEN 3.02

$1.11 ₡501

-20.72%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.87 PEN 2.97

$2.64 ₡1,192

-67.05%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$5.90 PEN 20.24

$5.43 ₡2,446

8.66%

Wine (Bottle)

$8.81 PEN 30.21

$15.63 ₡7,048

-43.63%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.92 PEN 6.57

$2.75 ₡1,238

-30.18%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.20 PEN 10.98

$3.27 ₡1,472

-2.14%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.68 PEN 2.33

$1.07 ₡480

-36.45%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$26.74 PEN 91.7

$65.3 ₡29.4K

-59.04%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.81 PEN 13.06

$2.18 ₡981

74.77%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$2.04 PEN 7.00

$2.03 ₡916

0.49%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$7.14 PEN 24.49

$8.82 ₡3,977

-19.05%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.65 PEN 5.65

$1.53 ₡688

7.84%

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

$22.2K PEN 76.0K

$32.8K ₡14.8M

-32.34%

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

$25.7K PEN 88.0K

$36.0K ₡16.2M

-28.65%

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

$73.0 PEN 250

$93.4 ₡42.1K

-21.80%

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

$16.26 PEN 55.7

$30.19 ₡13.6K

-46.14%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$27.60 PEN 94.6

$57.1 ₡25.7K

-51.62%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$33.07 PEN 113

$65.1 ₡29.3K

-49.19%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$19.49 PEN 66.8

$22.13 ₡9,976

-11.93%

Cinema Ticket

$7.39 PEN 25.33

$8.09 ₡3,645

-8.65%

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

$182 PEN 624

$740 ₡333.8K

-75.42%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$13.3K PEN 45.7K

$12.6K ₡5.7M

6.09%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$52.6 PEN 180

$75.5 ₡34.0K

-30.36%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$34.23 PEN 117

$54.6 ₡24.6K

-37.31%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$83.8 PEN 287

$127 ₡57.4K

-34.21%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$79.0 PEN 271

$107 ₡48.3K

-26.32%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$723 PEN 2,479

$833 ₡375.3K

-13.12%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$340 PEN 1,166

$641 ₡289.1K

-46.97%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,184 PEN 4,060

$1,776 ₡800.8K

-33.32%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$635 PEN 2,176

$1,191 ₡536.9K

-46.70%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,449 PEN 8,394

$2,437 ₡1.1M

0.47%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,372 PEN 4,702

$1,631 ₡735.2K

-15.90%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$653 PEN 2,237

$1,033 ₡465.8K

-36.84%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

8.94

9.56

-6.49%

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

Last update for Lima: October 4, 2026

Last update for Costa Rica: October 5, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Lima

$340 33.6%

Costa Rica

$641 36.7% 88.6% $301

Groceries & Markets

Lima

$226 22.4%

Costa Rica

$379 21.7% 67.5% $153

Eating Out

Lima

$124 12.3%

Costa Rica

$222 12.7% 78.8% $98

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Lima

$117 11.6%

Costa Rica

$181 10.3% 54.5% $64

Clothing & Footwear

Lima

$112 11.1%

Costa Rica

$164 9.4% 46.1% $52

Sport & Entertainment

Lima

$48 4.7%

Costa Rica

$81 4.6% 69.8% $33

Getting Around

Lima

$43 4.3%

Costa Rica

$82 4.7% 88.3% $38

Good to know

🇵🇪 Lima

🇨🇷 Costa Rica

🕒 Local time

07:11 7:11 AM

06:11 6:11 AM

1 h behind Lima

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

9,989,369 Capital

5,044,197

💱 Currency

Peruvian Sol PEN S/

Costa Rican Colón CRC ₡

📈 Exchange rate

1 PEN = 0.292 USD

1 PEN = 0.26 EUR

1,000 CRC = 2.22 USD

1,000 CRC = 1.98 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

CRC, 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).

Costa Rican Colón exchange rates as of October 10, 2026: 1 USD = 451 CRC (1,000 CRC = 2.22 USD). 1 EUR = 505 CRC (1,000 CRC = 1.98 EUR).

USD to PEN in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Lima Costa Rica 2,570 km ≈ 3 h 45 min nonstop flight

From you

Lima
Costa Rica

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 other spots: cost of living compared

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