Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Lima and Montes Claros

For one person, living is cheaper in Montes Claros: $844 a month against $1,014 in Lima, rent and utilities included – about $2,000 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
41

Cost of Living Index in Montes Claros
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Montes Claros Living Index

Jump to prices

Lima

🇵🇪 Peru

$1,014

/mo nomad

Montes Claros

🇧🇷 Brazil

$844

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Lima and in Montes Claros

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,014 in Lima versus $844 in Montes Claros.

Lima $1,014
Montes Claros $844

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,613 in Lima versus $1,344 in Montes Claros.

Lima $1,613
Montes Claros $1,344

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $2,211 in Lima versus $1,843 in Montes Claros.

Lima $2,211
Montes Claros $1,843

Living in Lima is roughly 20% more expensive than in Montes Claros, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Both cities sit below the global median: Lima 25% lower, Montes Claros 38% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$4.42 PEN 15.19

$3.40 R$17.22

30.00%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$34.56 PEN 119

$32.15 R$163

7.50%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$6.80 PEN 23.37

$7.91 R$40.08

-14.03%

Cappuccino

$3.30 PEN 11.34

$2.05 R$10.41

60.98%

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

$1.06 PEN 3.64

$1.33 R$6.72

-20.30%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.66 PEN 2.26

$0.79 R$4.03

-16.46%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.54 PEN 8.71

$1.48 R$7.51

71.62%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.24 PEN 14.55

$3.02 R$15.33

40.40%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.58 PEN 5.43

$1.05 R$5.33

50.48%

White Bread (500g)

$2.61 PEN 8.97

$1.64 R$8.33

59.15%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.34 PEN 4.60

$1.20 R$6.11

11.67%

Eggs

$2.93 PEN 10.08

$2.11 R$10.72

38.86%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$9.45 PEN 32.45

$8.75 R$44.36

8.00%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$5.75 PEN 19.75

$4.39 R$22.24

30.98%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$9.69 PEN 33.29

$8.31 R$42.13

16.61%

Apples (1kg)

$2.02 PEN 6.95

$2.30 R$11.65

-12.17%

Banana (1kg)

$1.07 PEN 3.66

$1.27 R$6.46

-15.75%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.37 PEN 4.70

$1.26 R$6.41

8.73%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.47 PEN 5.05

$1.55 R$7.87

-5.16%

Potato (1kg)

$0.95 PEN 3.25

$1.17 R$5.92

-18.80%

Onion (1kg)

$0.91 PEN 3.14

$1.03 R$5.21

-11.65%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.90 PEN 3.10

$0.84 R$4.25

7.14%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.89 PEN 3.04

$0.80 R$4.07

11.25%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$5.74 PEN 19.71

$2.31 R$11.69

148.48%

Wine (Bottle)

$9.21 PEN 31.64

$8.04 R$40.76

14.55%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.84 PEN 6.31

$1.26 R$6.41

46.03%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.11 PEN 10.67

$1.97 R$10.00

57.87%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.72 PEN 2.46

$0.76 R$3.85

-5.26%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$26.03 PEN 89.4

$38.30 R$194

-32.04%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.54 PEN 12.17

$1.34 R$6.81

164.18%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$2.07 PEN 7.12

$0.86 R$4.34

140.70%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$7.75 PEN 26.62

$6.97 R$35.35

11.19%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.71 PEN 5.86

$1.03 R$5.23

66.02%

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

$21.6K PEN 74.1K

$25.8K R$131.0K

-16.43%

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

$28.6K PEN 98.2K

$30.9K R$156.4K

-7.37%

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

$68.2 PEN 234

$78.3 R$397

-12.96%

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

$15.73 PEN 54.0

$13.80 R$70.0

13.99%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$26.48 PEN 90.9

$19.30 R$97.9

37.20%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$33.94 PEN 117

$25.26 R$128

34.36%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$20.10 PEN 69.0

$24.74 R$125

-18.76%

Cinema Ticket

$7.22 PEN 24.80

$7.71 R$39.11

-6.36%

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

$201 PEN 689

$242 R$1,225

-16.92%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$12.9K PEN 44.3K

$7,287 R$36.9K

77.07%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$53.7 PEN 184

$55.9 R$283

-3.90%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$35.88 PEN 123

$50.4 R$255

-28.74%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$83.8 PEN 288

$90.5 R$459

-7.49%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$78.8 PEN 271

$69.5 R$352

13.46%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$729 PEN 2,505

$354 R$1,793

106.20%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$349 PEN 1,197

$238 R$1,205

46.72%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,186 PEN 4,073

$655 R$3,323

80.95%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$696 PEN 2,391

$466 R$2,363

49.37%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,360 PEN 8,105

$1,599 R$8,106

47.58%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,356 PEN 4,657

$1,006 R$5,100

34.79%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$663 PEN 2,278

$414 R$2,097

60.32%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

8.78

-20.18%

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

Last update for Lima: October 17, 2026

Last update for Montes Claros: October 18, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Lima

$349 34.4%

Montes Claros

$238 28.2% 31.8% $111

Groceries & Markets

Lima

$227 22.4%

Montes Claros

$190 22.5% 16.3% $37

Eating Out

Lima

$123 12.2%

Montes Claros

$97 11.6% 21% $26

Clothing & Footwear

Lima

$113 11.2%

Montes Claros

$120 14.2% 5.6% $6.3

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Lima

$110 10.9%

Montes Claros

$111 13.2% 0.9% $1

Sport & Entertainment

Lima

$48 4.8%

Montes Claros

$41 4.8% 15.9% $7.7

Getting Around

Lima

$43 4.2%

Montes Claros

$47 5.6% 9.7% $4.1

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $729 in Lima and $354 in Montes Claros. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Lima pays 60% 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 $32.00 in Montes Claros for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $227 vs $190 per month, with Montes Claros cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇵🇪 Lima

🇧🇷 Montes Claros

🕒 Local time

17:05 5:05 PM

19:05 7:05 PM

2 h ahead of Lima

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

9,989,369 Capital

414,240

💱 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 22, 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 22, 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

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Between locations

Lima Montes Claros 3,610 km ≈ 5 h nonstop flight

From you

Lima
Montes Claros

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 Montes Claros: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Lima and Montes Claros differ by about 20% in total monthly costs ($1,014 vs $844 including rent). Montes Claros is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

Average pay runs 60% 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: $729 in Lima versus $354 in Montes Claros. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $201 in Lima versus $242 in Montes Claros. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Supermarket bills run roughly 19% higher in Lima. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

At $844 in Montes Claros versus $1,014 in Lima, a $2,000 budget is realistic in Montes Claros but tight or insufficient in Lima. The gap between the two cities makes Montes Claros 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 Montes Claros gentler on the wallet – expenses run 20% less than in Lima. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.