Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Lima and Mar del Plata

For one person, living costs are similar in Lima and in Mar del Plata: $996 and $1,038 a month, rent and utilities included.

49

Cost of Living Index in Lima
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Lima Living Index
42

Cost of Living Index in Mar del Plata
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Mar del Plata Living Index

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Lima

🇵🇪 Peru

$996

/mo nomad

Mar del Plata

🇦🇷 Argentina

$1,038

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Lima and in Mar del Plata

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 Mar del Plata actually costs, broken down by who's living it.

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $996 in Lima versus $1,038 in Mar del Plata.

Lima $996
Mar del Plata $1,038

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,594 in Lima versus $1,787 in Mar del Plata.

Lima $1,594
Mar del Plata $1,787

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $2,191 in Lima versus $2,536 in Mar del Plata.

Lima $2,191
Mar del Plata $2,536

Living in Lima costs roughly 4% less than in Mar del Plata, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Both cities sit below the global median: Lima 26% lower, Mar del Plata 23% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$4.42 PEN 15.21

$19.74 ARS 29.9K

-77.61%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$35.04 PEN 121

$60.3 ARS 91.4K

-41.88%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$6.84 PEN 23.52

$12.52 ARS 19.0K

-45.37%

Cappuccino

$3.27 PEN 11.26

$3.13 ARS 4,741

4.47%

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

$1.10 PEN 3.80

$2.51 ARS 3,812

-56.18%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.65 PEN 2.23

$2.03 ARS 3,070

-67.98%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.58 PEN 8.88

$4.06 ARS 6,149

-36.45%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.47 PEN 15.39

$3.02 ARS 4,584

48.01%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.59 PEN 5.48

$1.08 ARS 1,634

47.22%

White Bread (500g)

$2.58 PEN 8.89

$2.20 ARS 3,329

17.27%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.36 PEN 4.67

$3.16 ARS 4,784

-56.96%

Eggs

$2.95 PEN 10.14

$2.36 ARS 3,573

25.00%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$9.10 PEN 31.30

$5.86 ARS 8,882

55.29%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$5.81 PEN 19.98

$6.65 ARS 10.1K

-12.63%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$9.83 PEN 33.80

$12.52 ARS 19.0K

-21.49%

Apples (1kg)

$2.01 PEN 6.92

$3.32 ARS 5,028

-39.46%

Banana (1kg)

$1.08 PEN 3.70

$2.43 ARS 3,685

-55.56%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.37 PEN 4.71

$1.48 ARS 2,241

-7.43%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.48 PEN 5.08

$2.05 ARS 3,114

-27.80%

Potato (1kg)

$0.96 PEN 3.32

Onion (1kg)

$0.85 PEN 2.93

$1.01 ARS 1,532

-15.84%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.88 PEN 3.03

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.87 PEN 2.98

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$5.90 PEN 20.31

$3.60 ARS 5,461

63.89%

Wine (Bottle)

$8.81 PEN 30.31

$2.94 ARS 4,455

199.66%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.92 PEN 6.59

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.20 PEN 11.02

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.68 PEN 2.33

$1.29 ARS 1,954

-47.29%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$26.74 PEN 92.0

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.81 PEN 13.10

$1.63 ARS 2,467

133.74%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$2.04 PEN 7.02

$0.64 ARS 967

218.75%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$7.14 PEN 24.57

$6.40 ARS 9,704

11.56%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.65 PEN 5.67

$1.36 ARS 2,063

21.32%

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

$22.2K PEN 76.3K

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

$25.7K PEN 88.3K

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

$73.0 PEN 251

$79.0 ARS 119.8K

-7.56%

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

$16.26 PEN 55.9

$8.23 ARS 12.5K

97.57%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$27.60 PEN 94.9

$30.10 ARS 45.6K

-8.31%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$33.07 PEN 114

$31.31 ARS 47.5K

5.62%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$19.49 PEN 67.1

Cinema Ticket

$7.39 PEN 25.41

$10.07 ARS 15.3K

-26.61%

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

$182 PEN 626

$304 ARS 460.3K

-40.06%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$13.3K PEN 45.8K

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$52.6 PEN 181

$87.7 ARS 133.0K

-40.10%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$34.23 PEN 118

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$83.8 PEN 288

$121 ARS 184.2K

-31.05%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$79.0 PEN 272

$54.8 ARS 83.1K

44.22%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$723 PEN 2,488

$328 ARS 497.0K

120.62%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$340 PEN 1,170

$253 ARS 383.8K

34.36%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,184 PEN 4,074

$801 ARS 1.2M

47.85%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$635 PEN 2,183

$654 ARS 992.0K

-3.00%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,449 PEN 8,423

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,372 PEN 4,718

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$653 PEN 2,245

$610 ARS 925.2K

6.93%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

8.94

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

Last update for Lima: October 4, 2026

Last update for Mar del Plata: October 4, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Lima

$340 33.6%

Mar del Plata

$253 24.7% 25.6% $87

Groceries & Markets

Lima

$226 22.4%

Mar del Plata

$198 * 19.3% 12.3% $28

Eating Out

Lima

$124 12.3%

Mar del Plata

$278 27% 124% $153

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Lima

$117 11.6%

Mar del Plata

$117 11.4% 0.4% $0.4

Clothing & Footwear

Lima

$112 11.1%

Mar del Plata

$119 * 11.6% 5.8% $6.5

Sport & Entertainment

Lima

$48 4.7%

Mar del Plata

$51 5% 7.5% $3.6

Getting Around

Lima

$43 4.3%

Mar del Plata

$10 * 1% 77.1% $34

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 $723 in Lima and $328 in Mar del Plata. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Lima pays 7% 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 $60.0 in Mar del Plata. Groceries flip the comparison at $226 vs $198, with Mar del Plata cheaper for home cooking.

Good to know

🇵🇪 Lima

🇦🇷 Mar del Plata

🕒 Local time

01:24 1:24 AM

03:24 3:24 AM

2 h ahead of Lima

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

9,989,369 Capital

593,337

💱 Currency

Peruvian Sol PEN S/

Argentine Peso ARS $

📈 Exchange rate

1 PEN = 0.291 USD

1 PEN = 0.259 EUR

10,000 ARS = 6.6 USD

10,000 ARS = 5.88 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 10, 2026: 1 USD = 3.44 PEN (1 PEN = 0.291 USD). 1 EUR = 3.86 PEN (1 PEN = 0.259 EUR).

Argentine Peso exchange rates as of October 10, 2026: 1 USD = 1,516 ARS (10,000 ARS = 6.6 USD). 1 EUR = 1,700 ARS (10,000 ARS = 5.88 EUR).

USD to PEN in detail →

On the map

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Highest

Between locations

Lima Mar del Plata 3,470 km ≈ 4 h 45 min nonstop flight

From you

Lima
Mar del Plata

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 Mar del Plata: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Lima and Mar del Plata differ by about 4% in total monthly costs ($996 vs $1,038 including rent). Lima is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

Average pay runs 7% higher in Lima, which matters when comparing affordability. Whether that higher income actually nets you more depends on your spending habits and housing choices.

Rent for a central apartment: $723 in Lima versus $328 in Mar del Plata. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Shoppers in Mar del Plata pay roughly 14% less for everyday groceries. It's an unusual reversal that partly offsets higher costs elsewhere.

All in, you'll spend $996 per month in Lima versus $1,038 in Mar del Plata – a 4% gap that adds up to real savings over time for anyone picking the cheaper option.

At $996 in Lima versus $1,038 in Mar del Plata, a $2,000 budget is realistic in Lima but tight or insufficient in Mar del Plata. The gap between the two cities makes Lima 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.

Safety-wise, Lima and Mar del Plata 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 Lima gentler on the wallet – expenses run 4% less than in Mar del Plata. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.