Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Lima and Matagalpa

For one person, living is cheaper in Matagalpa: $810 a month against $1,012 in Lima, rent and utilities included – about $2,400 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

49

Cost of Living Index in Lima
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Lima Living Index
39

Cost of Living Index in Matagalpa
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Matagalpa Living Index

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Lima

🇵🇪 Peru

$1,012

/mo nomad

Matagalpa

🇳🇮 Nicaragua

$810

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Lima and in Matagalpa

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,012 in Lima versus $810 in Matagalpa.

Lima $1,012
Matagalpa $810

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,589 in Lima versus $1,231 in Matagalpa.

Lima $1,589
Matagalpa $1,231

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $2,167 in Lima versus $1,652 in Matagalpa.

Lima $2,167
Matagalpa $1,652

Living in Lima is roughly 25% more expensive than in Matagalpa, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in clothing.

Both cities sit below the global median: Lima 25% lower, Matagalpa 40% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$4.40 PEN 15.10

$7.09 NIO 260

-37.94%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$35.17 PEN 121

$25.36 NIO 929

38.68%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$6.89 PEN 23.65

$7.83 NIO 287

-12.01%

Cappuccino

$3.26 PEN 11.20

$2.63 NIO 96.2

23.95%

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

$1.12 PEN 3.84

$0.85 NIO 31.19

31.76%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.62 PEN 2.11

$0.43 NIO 15.71

44.19%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.65 PEN 9.09

$1.22 NIO 44.61

117.21%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.41 PEN 15.15

$2.22 NIO 81.3

98.65%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.63 PEN 5.61

$1.26 NIO 46.23

29.37%

White Bread (500g)

$2.56 PEN 8.78

$1.27 NIO 46.35

101.57%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.35 PEN 4.65

$1.81 NIO 66.3

-25.41%

Eggs

$2.90 PEN 9.96

$2.24 NIO 82.0

29.46%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$8.85 PEN 30.38

$2.68 NIO 98.1

230.22%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$5.98 PEN 20.52

$4.30 NIO 157

39.07%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$9.78 PEN 33.59

$6.69 NIO 245

46.19%

Apples (1kg)

$2.05 PEN 7.02

$3.97 NIO 145

-48.36%

Banana (1kg)

$1.06 PEN 3.66

$0.58 NIO 21.15

82.76%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.35 PEN 4.64

$1.76 NIO 64.5

-23.30%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.50 PEN 5.15

$2.43 NIO 88.9

-38.27%

Potato (1kg)

$0.88 PEN 3.03

$3.91 NIO 143

-77.49%

Onion (1kg)

$0.92 PEN 3.15

$2.26 NIO 82.7

-59.29%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.89 PEN 3.07

$1.09 NIO 40.00

-18.35%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.90 PEN 3.10

$1.01 NIO 36.99

-10.89%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$5.90 PEN 20.27

$2.65 NIO 97.1

122.64%

Wine (Bottle)

$8.52 PEN 29.26

$10.13 NIO 371

-15.89%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.88 PEN 6.45

$1.21 NIO 44.26

55.37%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.22 PEN 11.05

$2.18 NIO 79.7

47.71%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.68 PEN 2.33

$0.20 NIO 7.16

240.00%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$26.86 PEN 92.2

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.81 PEN 13.09

$1.12 NIO 40.88

240.18%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$2.02 PEN 6.93

$1.28 NIO 46.87

57.81%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$7.11 PEN 24.41

$6.74 NIO 247

5.49%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.72 PEN 5.91

$1.37 NIO 50.1

25.55%

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

$22.3K PEN 76.6K

$23.1K NIO 846.8K

-3.51%

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

$25.5K PEN 87.6K

$26.4K NIO 966.5K

-3.35%

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

$73.1 PEN 251

$60.5 NIO 2,216

20.80%

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

$16.35 PEN 56.2

$16.76 NIO 614

-2.45%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$27.47 PEN 94.3

$32.63 NIO 1,195

-15.81%

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

$9.16 NIO 335

-23.03%

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

$182 PEN 627

$233 NIO 8,517

-21.53%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$13.0K PEN 44.8K

$6,180 NIO 226.3K

111.01%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$53.8 PEN 185

$59.1 NIO 2,163

-8.91%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$34.32 PEN 118

$64.8 NIO 2,374

-47.06%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$82.8 PEN 284

$122 NIO 4,466

-32.08%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$78.2 PEN 269

$145 NIO 5,308

-46.01%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$721 PEN 2,476

$201 NIO 7,358

258.93%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$343 PEN 1,179

$173 NIO 6,345

98.22%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,219 PEN 4,186

$305 NIO 11.2K

299.63%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$651 PEN 2,235

$248 NIO 9,083

162.40%

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

$203 NIO 7,432

219.36%

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 Matagalpa: October 12, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Lima

$343 33.9%

Matagalpa

$173 21.4% 49.6% $170

Groceries & Markets

Lima

$226 22.3%

Matagalpa

$197 24.3% 12.8% $29

Eating Out

Lima

$124 12.3%

Matagalpa

$127 15.7% 2.7% $3.4

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Lima

$117 11.6%

Matagalpa

$110 13.6% 6% $7

Clothing & Footwear

Lima

$112 11.1%

Matagalpa

$176 21.7% 56.8% $64

Sport & Entertainment

Lima

$46 4.6%

Matagalpa

$18 * 2.3% 60.2% $28

Getting Around

Lima

$43 4.3%

Matagalpa

$8.3 * 1% 80.9% $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 $201 in Matagalpa. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Lima pays 219% more on average. The extra income cushions the higher costs, though housing choices and lifestyle decide how much of the gap is truly closed.

Dining out: $35.00 in Lima vs $25.00 in Matagalpa for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $226 vs $197 per month, with Matagalpa cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇵🇪 Lima

🇳🇮 Matagalpa

🕒 Local time

07:26 7:26 AM

06:26 6:26 AM

1 h behind Lima

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

9,989,369 Capital

159,982

💱 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

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Lima Matagalpa 2,950 km ≈ 4 h 15 min nonstop flight

From you

Lima
Matagalpa

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 Matagalpa: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Lima and Matagalpa differ by about 25% in total monthly costs ($1,012 vs $810 including rent). Matagalpa is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

Average pay runs 219% 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: $721 in Lima versus $201 in Matagalpa. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Supermarket bills run roughly 15% higher in Lima. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

All in, you'll spend $1,012 per month in Lima versus $810 in Matagalpa – a 25% gap that adds up to real savings over time for anyone picking the cheaper option.

At $810 in Matagalpa versus $1,012 in Lima, a $2,000 budget is realistic in Matagalpa but tight or insufficient in Lima. The gap between the two cities makes Matagalpa 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 Matagalpa 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 Matagalpa gentler on the wallet – expenses run 25% less than in Lima. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.