Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Lima and El Viejo

For one person, living is cheaper in El Viejo: $819 a month against $1,012 in Lima, rent and utilities included – about $2,300 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
40

Cost of Living Index in El Viejo
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El Viejo Living Index

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Lima

🇵🇪 Peru

$1,012

/mo nomad

El Viejo

🇳🇮 Nicaragua

$819

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,012 in Lima versus $819 in El Viejo.

Lima $1,012
El Viejo $819

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,589 in Lima versus $1,281 in El Viejo.

Lima $1,589
El Viejo $1,281

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $2,167 in Lima versus $1,744 in El Viejo.

Lima $2,167
El Viejo $1,744

Living in Lima is roughly 24% more expensive than in El Viejo, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in clothing.

Both cities sit below the global median: Lima 25% lower, El Viejo 39% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$4.40 PEN 15.10

$10.06 NIO 368

-56.26%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$35.17 PEN 121

$34.93 NIO 1,279

0.69%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$6.89 PEN 23.65

$7.49 NIO 274

-8.01%

Cappuccino

$3.26 PEN 11.20

$2.59 NIO 94.8

25.87%

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

$1.12 PEN 3.84

$0.84 NIO 30.75

33.33%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.62 PEN 2.11

$0.68 NIO 24.80

-8.82%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.65 PEN 9.09

$1.53 NIO 56.0

73.20%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.41 PEN 15.15

$2.23 NIO 81.7

97.76%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.63 PEN 5.61

$1.27 NIO 46.47

28.35%

White Bread (500g)

$2.56 PEN 8.78

$2.42 NIO 88.6

5.79%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.35 PEN 4.65

$1.82 NIO 66.6

-25.82%

Eggs

$2.90 PEN 9.96

$2.39 NIO 87.7

21.34%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$8.85 PEN 30.38

$11.41 NIO 418

-22.44%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$5.98 PEN 20.52

$6.42 NIO 235

-6.85%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$9.78 PEN 33.59

$7.83 NIO 287

24.90%

Apples (1kg)

$2.05 PEN 7.02

$4.12 NIO 151

-50.24%

Banana (1kg)

$1.06 PEN 3.66

$0.58 NIO 21.37

82.76%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.35 PEN 4.64

$1.78 NIO 65.3

-24.16%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.50 PEN 5.15

$2.41 NIO 88.2

-37.76%

Potato (1kg)

$0.88 PEN 3.03

$4.02 NIO 147

-78.11%

Onion (1kg)

$0.92 PEN 3.15

$2.17 NIO 79.3

-57.60%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.89 PEN 3.07

$1.08 NIO 39.59

-17.59%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.90 PEN 3.10

$1.05 NIO 38.36

-14.29%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$5.90 PEN 20.27

$2.76 NIO 101

113.77%

Wine (Bottle)

$8.52 PEN 29.26

$14.69 NIO 538

-42.00%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.88 PEN 6.45

$1.47 NIO 53.8

27.89%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.22 PEN 11.05

$2.16 NIO 79.0

49.07%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.68 PEN 2.33

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$26.86 PEN 92.2

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.81 PEN 13.09

$1.59 NIO 58.1

139.62%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$2.02 PEN 6.93

$1.62 NIO 59.3

24.69%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$7.11 PEN 24.41

$6.88 NIO 252

3.34%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.72 PEN 5.91

$1.32 NIO 48.19

30.30%

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

$22.3K PEN 76.6K

$23.4K NIO 856.7K

-4.62%

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

$25.5K PEN 87.6K

$26.5K NIO 969.5K

-3.65%

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

$73.1 PEN 251

$151 NIO 5,517

-51.49%

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

$16.35 PEN 56.2

$19.34 NIO 708

-15.46%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$27.47 PEN 94.3

$32.75 NIO 1,199

-16.12%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$31.90 PEN 110

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$19.41 PEN 66.7

Cinema Ticket

$7.05 PEN 24.23

$9.07 NIO 332

-22.27%

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

$182 PEN 627

$232 NIO 8,479

-21.19%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$13.0K PEN 44.8K

$5,987 NIO 219.3K

117.82%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$53.8 PEN 185

$59.5 NIO 2,179

-9.60%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$34.32 PEN 118

$66.2 NIO 2,426

-48.19%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$82.8 PEN 284

$120 NIO 4,406

-31.16%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$78.2 PEN 269

$143 NIO 5,246

-45.38%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$721 PEN 2,476

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$343 PEN 1,179

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,219 PEN 4,186

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$651 PEN 2,235

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,414 PEN 8,292

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,357 PEN 4,660

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$648 PEN 2,226

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

8.94

11.92

-25.00%

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

Last update for Lima: October 11, 2026

Last update for El Viejo: October 11, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Lima

$343 33.9%

El Viejo

- * 0% 100%

Groceries & Markets

Lima

$226 22.3%

El Viejo

$261 31.9% 15.6% $35

Eating Out

Lima

$124 12.3%

El Viejo

$152 18.6% 22.7% $28

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Lima

$117 11.6%

El Viejo

$203 24.8% 73.4% $86

Clothing & Footwear

Lima

$112 11.1%

El Viejo

$175 21.4% 56.2% $63

Sport & Entertainment

Lima

$46 4.6%

El Viejo

$18 * 2.2% 60.6% $28

Getting Around

Lima

$43 4.3%

El Viejo

$9.7 * 1.2% 77.8% $34

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

Cost Breakdown

Dining out: $35.00 in Lima vs $35.00 in El Viejo for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $226 vs $261 per month, with Lima cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇵🇪 Lima

🇳🇮 El Viejo

🕒 Local time

16:28 4:28 PM

15:28 3:28 PM

1 h behind Lima

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

9,989,369 Capital

33,607

💱 Currency

Peruvian Sol PEN S/

Nicaraguan Córdoba NIO C$

📈 Exchange rate

1 PEN = 0.291 USD

1 PEN = 0.259 EUR

100 NIO = 2.73 USD

100 NIO = 2.43 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

NIO, USD, EUR to PEN – Peruvian Sol Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇵🇪 Peruvian Sol (S/)

Peruvian Sol exchange rates as of October 17, 2026: 1 USD = 3.43 PEN (1 PEN = 0.291 USD). 1 EUR = 3.86 PEN (1 PEN = 0.259 EUR).

Nicaraguan Córdoba exchange rates as of October 17, 2026: 1 USD = 36.62 NIO (100 NIO = 2.73 USD). 1 EUR = 41.17 NIO (100 NIO = 2.43 EUR).

USD to PEN in detail →

On the map

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Highest

Between locations

Lima El Viejo 2,970 km ≈ 4 h 15 min nonstop flight

From you

Lima
El Viejo

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 Viejo: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

El Viejo is cheaper overall, especially in leisure and transport. The 24% gap adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

You'd need roughly $1,518 in Lima and $1,229 in El Viejo 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.

Childcare runs $182 in Lima versus $232 in El Viejo. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

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

At $819 in El Viejo versus $1,012 in Lima, a $1,500 budget is realistic in El Viejo but tight or insufficient in Lima. The gap between the two cities makes El Viejo the clear choice for anyone on this budget.

For families, El Viejo 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.

Safety-wise, Lima and El Viejo 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 El Viejo gentler on the wallet – expenses run 24% less than in Lima. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.