Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Lima and Masaya

For one person, living is cheaper in Masaya: $824 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 Masaya
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Masaya Living Index

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Lima

🇵🇪 Peru

$1,012

/mo nomad

Masaya

🇳🇮 Nicaragua

$824

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Lima and in Masaya

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,012 in Lima versus $824 in Masaya.

Lima $1,012
Masaya $824

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,589 in Lima versus $1,287 in Masaya.

Lima $1,589
Masaya $1,287

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $2,167 in Lima versus $1,749 in Masaya.

Lima $2,167
Masaya $1,749

Living in Lima is roughly 23% more expensive than in Masaya, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in clothing.

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

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$4.40 PEN 15.10

$10.03 NIO 367

-56.13%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$35.17 PEN 121

$34.86 NIO 1,277

0.89%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$6.89 PEN 23.65

$7.83 NIO 287

-12.01%

Cappuccino

$3.26 PEN 11.20

$2.55 NIO 93.6

27.84%

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

$1.12 PEN 3.84

$0.91 NIO 33.39

23.08%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.62 PEN 2.11

$0.70 NIO 25.47

-11.43%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.65 PEN 9.09

$1.46 NIO 53.5

81.51%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.41 PEN 15.15

$2.24 NIO 81.9

96.87%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.63 PEN 5.61

$1.27 NIO 46.37

28.35%

White Bread (500g)

$2.56 PEN 8.78

$2.33 NIO 85.4

9.87%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.35 PEN 4.65

$1.86 NIO 68.2

-27.42%

Eggs

$2.90 PEN 9.96

$2.38 NIO 87.2

21.85%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$8.85 PEN 30.38

$11.41 NIO 418

-22.44%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$5.98 PEN 20.52

$6.49 NIO 238

-7.86%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$9.78 PEN 33.59

$7.57 NIO 277

29.19%

Apples (1kg)

$2.05 PEN 7.02

$3.93 NIO 144

-47.84%

Banana (1kg)

$1.06 PEN 3.66

$0.61 NIO 22.40

73.77%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.35 PEN 4.64

$1.84 NIO 67.3

-26.63%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.50 PEN 5.15

$2.53 NIO 92.6

-40.71%

Potato (1kg)

$0.88 PEN 3.03

$4.04 NIO 148

-78.22%

Onion (1kg)

$0.92 PEN 3.15

$2.27 NIO 83.3

-59.47%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.89 PEN 3.07

$1.06 NIO 38.71

-16.04%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.90 PEN 3.10

$1.01 NIO 37.06

-10.89%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$5.90 PEN 20.27

$2.80 NIO 103

110.71%

Wine (Bottle)

$8.52 PEN 29.26

$14.46 NIO 530

-41.08%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.88 PEN 6.45

$1.47 NIO 53.9

27.89%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.22 PEN 11.05

$2.23 NIO 81.8

44.39%

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

$1.67 NIO 61.2

128.14%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$2.02 PEN 6.93

$1.62 NIO 59.2

24.69%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$7.11 PEN 24.41

$6.92 NIO 254

2.75%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.72 PEN 5.91

$1.31 NIO 47.98

31.30%

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

$22.3K PEN 76.6K

$23.3K NIO 855.0K

-4.43%

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

$25.5K PEN 87.6K

$26.8K NIO 980.3K

-4.71%

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

$73.1 PEN 251

$154 NIO 5,651

-52.64%

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

$16.35 PEN 56.2

$19.49 NIO 714

-16.11%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$27.47 PEN 94.3

$32.65 NIO 1,196

-15.87%

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

$8.99 NIO 329

-21.58%

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

$182 PEN 627

$232 NIO 8,481

-21.20%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$13.0K PEN 44.8K

$5,944 NIO 217.7K

119.38%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$53.8 PEN 185

$59.8 NIO 2,189

-9.99%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$34.32 PEN 118

$64.6 NIO 2,364

-46.84%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$82.8 PEN 284

$124 NIO 4,553

-33.38%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$78.2 PEN 269

$147 NIO 5,367

-46.60%

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 Masaya: October 11, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Lima

$343 33.9%

Masaya

- * 0% 100%

Groceries & Markets

Lima

$226 22.3%

Masaya

$259 31.5% 14.8% $33

Eating Out

Lima

$124 12.3%

Masaya

$153 18.5% 23.1% $29

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Lima

$117 11.6%

Masaya

$206 25.1% 76.6% $90

Clothing & Footwear

Lima

$112 11.1%

Masaya

$178 21.6% 58.6% $66

Sport & Entertainment

Lima

$46 4.6%

Masaya

$18 * 2.2% 60.9% $28

Getting Around

Lima

$43 4.3%

Masaya

$9.8 * 1.2% 77.6% $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 Masaya for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $226 vs $259 per month, with Lima cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇵🇪 Lima

🇳🇮 Masaya

🕒 Local time

20:59 8:59 PM

19:59 7:59 PM

1 h behind Lima

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

9,989,369 Capital

178,835

💱 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 18, 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 18, 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 Masaya 2,850 km ≈ 4 h nonstop flight

From you

Lima
Masaya

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 Masaya: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Lima and Masaya differ by about 23% in total monthly costs ($1,012 vs $824 including rent). Masaya 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 $1,236 in Masaya 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.

Shoppers in Lima pay roughly 15% less for everyday groceries. It's an unusual reversal that partly offsets higher costs elsewhere.

All in, you'll spend $1,012 per month in Lima versus $824 in Masaya – a 23% gap that adds up to real savings over time for anyone picking the cheaper option.

At $824 in Masaya versus $1,012 in Lima, a $1,500 budget is realistic in Masaya but tight or insufficient in Lima. The gap between the two cities makes Masaya 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 Masaya gentler on the wallet – expenses run 23% less than in Lima. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.