Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Lima and El Calafate

For one person, living is cheaper in El Calafate: $961 a month against $1,012 in Lima, rent and utilities included – about $610 less a year. Higher rent and utilities in Lima outweigh lower spending on other living expenses.

49

Cost of Living Index in Lima
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Lima Living Index
47

Cost of Living Index in El Calafate
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El Calafate Living Index

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Lima

🇵🇪 Peru

$1,012

/mo nomad

El Calafate

🇦🇷 Argentina

$961

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Lima and in El Calafate

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,012 in Lima versus $961 in El Calafate.

Lima $1,012
El Calafate $961

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,589 in Lima versus $1,574 in El Calafate.

Lima $1,589
El Calafate $1,574

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $2,167 in Lima versus $2,187 in El Calafate.

Lima $2,167
El Calafate $2,187

Living in Lima is roughly 5% more expensive than in El Calafate, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in clothing.

Both cities sit below the global median: Lima 25% lower, El Calafate 29% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$4.40 PEN 15.10

$10.66 ARS 16.2K

-58.72%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$35.17 PEN 121

$33.87 ARS 51.4K

3.84%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$6.89 PEN 23.65

$8.85 ARS 13.4K

-22.15%

Cappuccino

$3.26 PEN 11.20

$2.77 ARS 4,198

17.69%

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

$1.12 PEN 3.84

$1.64 ARS 2,484

-31.71%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.62 PEN 2.11

$1.49 ARS 2,268

-58.39%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.65 PEN 9.09

$2.08 ARS 3,157

27.40%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.41 PEN 15.15

$2.93 ARS 4,452

50.51%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.63 PEN 5.61

$1.24 ARS 1,887

31.45%

White Bread (500g)

$2.56 PEN 8.78

$1.61 ARS 2,446

59.01%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.35 PEN 4.65

$1.93 ARS 2,930

-30.05%

Eggs

$2.90 PEN 9.96

$2.20 ARS 3,346

31.82%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$8.85 PEN 30.38

$10.29 ARS 15.6K

-13.99%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$5.98 PEN 20.52

$6.07 ARS 9,209

-1.48%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$9.78 PEN 33.59

$9.50 ARS 14.4K

2.95%

Apples (1kg)

$2.05 PEN 7.02

$1.95 ARS 2,963

5.13%

Banana (1kg)

$1.06 PEN 3.66

$2.11 ARS 3,205

-49.76%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.35 PEN 4.64

$1.33 ARS 2,015

1.50%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.50 PEN 5.15

$2.62 ARS 3,973

-42.75%

Potato (1kg)

$0.88 PEN 3.03

$1.19 ARS 1,808

-26.05%

Onion (1kg)

$0.92 PEN 3.15

$1.20 ARS 1,821

-23.33%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.89 PEN 3.07

$1.30 ARS 1,973

-31.54%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.90 PEN 3.10

$1.48 ARS 2,245

-39.19%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$5.90 PEN 20.27

$3.16 ARS 4,800

86.71%

Wine (Bottle)

$8.52 PEN 29.26

$4.97 ARS 7,536

71.43%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.88 PEN 6.45

$2.06 ARS 3,133

-8.74%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.22 PEN 11.05

$3.16 ARS 4,799

1.90%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.68 PEN 2.33

$0.76 ARS 1,159

-10.53%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$26.86 PEN 92.2

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.81 PEN 13.09

$1.51 ARS 2,293

152.32%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$2.02 PEN 6.93

$0.87 ARS 1,322

132.18%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$7.11 PEN 24.41

$5.89 ARS 8,934

20.71%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.72 PEN 5.91

$1.05 ARS 1,600

63.81%

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

$22.3K PEN 76.6K

$27.4K ARS 41.6M

-18.68%

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

$25.5K PEN 87.6K

$30.2K ARS 45.9M

-15.62%

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

$73.1 PEN 251

$66.5 ARS 100.9K

9.90%

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

$16.35 PEN 56.2

$16.85 ARS 25.6K

-2.97%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$27.47 PEN 94.3

$22.42 ARS 34.0K

22.52%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$31.90 PEN 110

$26.64 ARS 40.4K

19.74%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$19.41 PEN 66.7

$13.53 ARS 20.5K

43.46%

Cinema Ticket

$7.05 PEN 24.23

$6.34 ARS 9,617

11.20%

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

$182 PEN 627

$224 ARS 340.0K

-18.57%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$13.0K PEN 44.8K

$2,679 ARS 4.1M

386.67%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$53.8 PEN 185

$72.7 ARS 110.3K

-25.97%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$34.32 PEN 118

$70.7 ARS 107.3K

-51.48%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$82.8 PEN 284

$114 ARS 173.7K

-27.66%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$78.2 PEN 269

$114 ARS 172.2K

-31.07%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$721 PEN 2,476

$342 ARS 518.6K

111.00%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$343 PEN 1,179

$235 ARS 357.2K

45.90%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,219 PEN 4,186

$695 ARS 1.1M

75.47%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$651 PEN 2,235

$533 ARS 809.3K

22.01%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,414 PEN 8,292

$1,858 ARS 2.8M

29.96%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,357 PEN 4,660

$1,600 ARS 2.4M

-15.18%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$648 PEN 2,226

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

8.94

58.5

-84.72%

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

Last update for Lima: October 11, 2026

Last update for El Calafate: October 12, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Lima

$343 33.9%

El Calafate

$235 24.5% 31.5% $108

Groceries & Markets

Lima

$226 22.3%

El Calafate

$231 24% 2.3% $5.2

Eating Out

Lima

$124 12.3%

El Calafate

$174 18.1% 40.2% $50

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Lima

$117 11.6%

El Calafate

$106 11% 9.5% $11

Clothing & Footwear

Lima

$112 11.1%

El Calafate

$167 17.4% 49.1% $55

Sport & Entertainment

Lima

$46 4.6%

El Calafate

$39 4.1% 14.5% $6.7

Getting Around

Lima

$43 4.3%

El Calafate

$8.9 * 0.9% 79.5% $35

Categories marked with * are only partly priced – their share counts the items that do have prices.

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $721 in Lima and $342 in El Calafate. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Dining out: $35.00 in Lima vs $34.00 in El Calafate. Groceries flip the comparison at $226 vs $231, with Lima cheaper for home cooking.

Good to know

🇵🇪 Lima

🇦🇷 El Calafate

🕒 Local time

08:08 8:08 AM

10:08 10:08 AM

2 h ahead of Lima

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

9,989,369 Capital

22,844

💱 Currency

Peruvian Sol PEN S/

Argentine Peso ARS $

📈 Exchange rate

1 PEN = 0.291 USD

1 PEN = 0.259 EUR

10,000 ARS = 6.59 USD

10,000 ARS = 5.86 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 19, 2026: 1 USD = 3.43 PEN (1 PEN = 0.291 USD). 1 EUR = 3.86 PEN (1 PEN = 0.259 EUR).

Argentine Peso exchange rates as of October 19, 2026: 1 USD = 1,517 ARS (10,000 ARS = 6.59 USD). 1 EUR = 1,706 ARS (10,000 ARS = 5.86 EUR).

USD to PEN in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Lima El Calafate 4,280 km ≈ 6 h nonstop flight

From you

Lima
El Calafate

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 El Calafate: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Lima and El Calafate differ by about 5% in total monthly costs ($1,012 vs $961 including rent). El Calafate is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

You'd need roughly $1,518 in Lima and $1,442 in El Calafate to live well. The gap comes down to housing and overall price levels. Both cities are liveable on less, but these numbers represent actual comfort.

Rent for a central apartment: $721 in Lima versus $342 in El Calafate. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $182 in Lima versus $224 in El Calafate. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Dining out is cheaper in El Calafate – a meal for two runs $34.00 versus $35.00 in Lima. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

At $961 in El Calafate versus $1,012 in Lima, a $2,000 budget is realistic in El Calafate but tight or insufficient in Lima. The gap between the two cities makes El Calafate 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 El Calafate gentler on the wallet – expenses run 5% less than in Lima. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.