Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Lima and Macaé

For one person, living is cheaper in Macaé: $885 a month against $1,012 in Lima, rent and utilities included – about $1,500 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

49

Cost of Living Index in Lima
Learn more

Lima Living Index
43

Cost of Living Index in Macaé
Learn more

Macaé Living Index

Jump to prices

Lima

🇵🇪 Peru

$1,012

/mo nomad

Macaé

🇧🇷 Brazil

$885

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Lima and in Macaé

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,012 in Lima versus $885 in Macaé.

Lima $1,012
Macaé $885

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,589 in Lima versus $1,498 in Macaé.

Lima $1,589
Macaé $1,498

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $2,167 in Lima versus $2,111 in Macaé.

Lima $2,167
Macaé $2,111

Living in Lima is roughly 14% more expensive than in Macaé, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Both cities sit below the global median: Lima 25% lower, Macaé 34% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$4.40 PEN 15.10

$5.49 R$27.83

-19.85%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$35.17 PEN 121

$30.40 R$154

15.69%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$6.89 PEN 23.65

$7.09 R$35.95

-2.82%

Cappuccino

$3.26 PEN 11.20

$1.70 R$8.63

91.76%

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

$1.12 PEN 3.84

$1.41 R$7.15

-20.57%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.62 PEN 2.11

$0.59 R$2.99

5.08%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.65 PEN 9.09

$1.24 R$6.26

113.71%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.41 PEN 15.15

$2.75 R$13.93

60.36%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.63 PEN 5.61

$0.97 R$4.91

68.04%

White Bread (500g)

$2.56 PEN 8.78

$1.53 R$7.73

67.32%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.35 PEN 4.65

$1.37 R$6.95

-1.46%

Eggs

$2.90 PEN 9.96

$1.96 R$9.92

47.96%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$8.85 PEN 30.38

$9.22 R$46.73

-4.01%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$5.98 PEN 20.52

$3.36 R$17.04

77.98%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$9.78 PEN 33.59

$9.58 R$48.57

2.09%

Apples (1kg)

$2.05 PEN 7.02

$1.96 R$9.91

4.59%

Banana (1kg)

$1.06 PEN 3.66

$1.21 R$6.12

-12.40%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.35 PEN 4.64

$0.93 R$4.69

45.16%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.50 PEN 5.15

$1.23 R$6.26

21.95%

Potato (1kg)

$0.88 PEN 3.03

$0.70 R$3.53

25.71%

Onion (1kg)

$0.92 PEN 3.15

$0.86 R$4.33

6.98%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.89 PEN 3.07

$0.57 R$2.88

56.14%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.90 PEN 3.10

$0.48 R$2.45

87.50%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$5.90 PEN 20.27

$1.58 R$8.00

273.42%

Wine (Bottle)

$8.52 PEN 29.26

$5.99 R$30.36

42.24%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.88 PEN 6.45

$1.03 R$5.21

82.52%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.22 PEN 11.05

$1.23 R$6.24

161.79%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.68 PEN 2.33

$1.55 R$7.83

-56.13%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$26.86 PEN 92.2

$84.2 R$427

-68.10%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.81 PEN 13.09

$1.36 R$6.89

180.15%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$2.02 PEN 6.93

$0.78 R$3.96

158.97%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$7.11 PEN 24.41

$8.32 R$42.19

-14.54%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.72 PEN 5.91

$1.26 R$6.41

36.51%

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

$22.3K PEN 76.6K

$21.7K R$110.0K

2.85%

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

$25.5K PEN 87.6K

$31.4K R$159.2K

-18.80%

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

$73.1 PEN 251

$99.6 R$505

-26.66%

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

$16.35 PEN 56.2

$9.95 R$50.4

64.32%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$27.47 PEN 94.3

$19.03 R$96.5

44.35%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$31.90 PEN 110

$40.47 R$205

-21.18%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$19.41 PEN 66.7

$29.67 R$150

-34.58%

Cinema Ticket

$7.05 PEN 24.23

$6.77 R$34.31

4.14%

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

$182 PEN 627

$659 R$3,339

-72.30%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$13.0K PEN 44.8K

$7,291 R$37.0K

78.84%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$53.8 PEN 185

$63.7 R$323

-15.53%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$34.32 PEN 118

$31.54 R$160

8.81%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$82.8 PEN 284

$67.8 R$343

22.24%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$78.2 PEN 269

$48.84 R$248

60.20%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$721 PEN 2,476

$375 R$1,899

92.52%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$343 PEN 1,179

$237 R$1,199

45.17%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,219 PEN 4,186

$911 R$4,620

33.75%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$651 PEN 2,235

$673 R$3,410

-3.27%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,414 PEN 8,292

$1,275 R$6,465

89.31%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,357 PEN 4,660

$787 R$3,989

72.48%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$648 PEN 2,226

$809 R$4,104

-19.94%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

8.94

10.67

-16.21%

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

Last update for Lima: October 11, 2026

Last update for Macaé: October 11, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Lima

$343 33.9%

Macaé

$237 26.7% 31.1% $107

Groceries & Markets

Lima

$226 22.3%

Macaé

$170 19.2% 24.9% $56

Eating Out

Lima

$124 12.3%

Macaé

$105 11.9% 15.1% $19

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Lima

$117 11.6%

Macaé

$129 14.5% 10% $12

Clothing & Footwear

Lima

$112 11.1%

Macaé

$95 10.8% 15% $17

Sport & Entertainment

Lima

$46 4.6%

Macaé

$54 6.1% 17.4% $8

Getting Around

Lima

$43 4.3%

Macaé

$96 10.8% 120% $52

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $721 in Lima and $375 in Macaé. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Macaé pays 25% more on average while also being the cheaper of the two. The combined effect is a noticeably stronger local purchasing power.

Dining out: $35.00 in Lima vs $30.00 in Macaé for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $226 vs $170 per month, with Macaé cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇵🇪 Lima

🇧🇷 Macaé

🕒 Local time

03:25 3:25 AM

05:25 5:25 AM

2 h ahead of Lima

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

9,989,369 Capital

246,391

💱 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 19, 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 19, 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 Macaé 3,880 km ≈ 5 h nonstop flight

From you

Lima
Macaé

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 Macaé: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Lima and Macaé differ by about 14% in total monthly costs ($1,012 vs $885 including rent). Macaé is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

On paper, salaries run 25% lower in Macaé. That's worth factoring in alongside costs, though remote workers earning in a stronger currency may not notice the difference at all.

Rent for a central apartment: $721 in Lima versus $375 in Macaé. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $182 in Lima versus $659 in Macaé. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Supermarket bills run roughly 33% higher in Lima. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

At $885 in Macaé versus $1,012 in Lima, a $2,000 budget is realistic in Macaé but tight or insufficient in Lima. The gap between the two cities makes Macaé 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 Macaé gentler on the wallet – expenses run 14% less than in Lima. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.