Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Lima and Paso de los Libres

For one person, living is cheaper in Lima: $996 a month against $1,164 in Paso de los Libres, rent and utilities included – about $2,000 less a year. Other living expenses account for most of the difference.

49

Cost of Living Index in Lima
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Lima Living Index
55

Cost of Living Index in Paso de los Libres
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Paso de los Libres Living Index

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Lima

🇵🇪 Peru

$996

/mo nomad

Paso de los Libres

🇦🇷 Argentina

$1,164

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Lima and in Paso de los Libres

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 Paso de los Libres actually costs, broken down by who's living it.

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $996 in Lima versus $1,164 in Paso de los Libres.

Lima $996
Paso de los Libres $1,164

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,594 in Lima versus $1,891 in Paso de los Libres.

Lima $1,594
Paso de los Libres $1,891

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $2,191 in Lima versus $2,618 in Paso de los Libres.

Lima $2,191
Paso de los Libres $2,618

Living in Lima costs roughly 14% less than in Paso de los Libres, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Both cities sit below the global median: Lima 26% lower, Paso de los Libres 13% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$4.42 PEN 15.21

$15.24 ARS 23.1K

-71.00%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$35.04 PEN 121

$56.4 ARS 85.4K

-37.82%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$6.84 PEN 23.52

$12.96 ARS 19.6K

-47.22%

Cappuccino

$3.27 PEN 11.26

$3.73 ARS 5,651

-12.33%

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

$1.10 PEN 3.80

$2.31 ARS 3,502

-52.38%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.65 PEN 2.23

$1.79 ARS 2,718

-63.69%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.58 PEN 8.88

$3.90 ARS 5,918

-33.85%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.47 PEN 15.39

$4.04 ARS 6,127

10.64%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.59 PEN 5.48

$1.33 ARS 2,021

19.55%

White Bread (500g)

$2.58 PEN 8.89

$2.21 ARS 3,353

16.74%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.36 PEN 4.67

$1.88 ARS 2,857

-27.66%

Eggs

$2.95 PEN 10.14

$2.57 ARS 3,890

14.79%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$9.10 PEN 31.30

$10.45 ARS 15.8K

-12.92%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$5.81 PEN 19.98

$7.24 ARS 11.0K

-19.75%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$9.83 PEN 33.80

$11.90 ARS 18.0K

-17.39%

Apples (1kg)

$2.01 PEN 6.92

$2.46 ARS 3,734

-18.29%

Banana (1kg)

$1.08 PEN 3.70

$2.23 ARS 3,384

-51.57%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.37 PEN 4.71

$1.47 ARS 2,222

-6.80%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.48 PEN 5.08

$2.52 ARS 3,821

-41.27%

Potato (1kg)

$0.96 PEN 3.32

Onion (1kg)

$0.85 PEN 2.93

$1.15 ARS 1,748

-26.09%

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

$3.45 ARS 5,228

71.01%

Wine (Bottle)

$8.81 PEN 30.31

$5.09 ARS 7,719

73.08%

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

$1.04 ARS 1,580

-34.62%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$26.74 PEN 92.0

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.81 PEN 13.10

$1.63 ARS 2,470

133.74%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$2.04 PEN 7.02

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$7.14 PEN 24.57

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.65 PEN 5.67

$1.22 ARS 1,853

35.25%

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

$109 ARS 164.6K

-32.73%

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

$16.26 PEN 55.9

$17.50 ARS 26.5K

-7.09%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$27.60 PEN 94.9

$28.45 ARS 43.1K

-2.99%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$33.07 PEN 114

$30.99 ARS 47.0K

6.71%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$19.49 PEN 67.1

Cinema Ticket

$7.39 PEN 25.41

$9.22 ARS 14.0K

-19.85%

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

$182 PEN 626

$297 ARS 450.7K

-38.79%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$13.3K PEN 45.8K

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$52.6 PEN 181

$101 ARS 153.0K

-47.91%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$34.23 PEN 118

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$83.8 PEN 288

$120 ARS 181.7K

-30.10%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$79.0 PEN 272

$133 ARS 201.5K

-40.55%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$723 PEN 2,488

$481 ARS 729.7K

50.27%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$340 PEN 1,170

$316 ARS 479.5K

7.52%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,184 PEN 4,074

$918 ARS 1.4M

28.98%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$635 PEN 2,183

$739 ARS 1.1M

-14.07%

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

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 Paso de los Libres: October 4, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Lima

$340 33.6%

Paso de los Libres

$316 27.6% 7% $24

Groceries & Markets

Lima

$226 22.4%

Paso de los Libres

$213 * 18.6% 5.8% $13

Eating Out

Lima

$124 12.3%

Paso de los Libres

$250 21.7% 101% $126

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Lima

$117 11.6%

Paso de los Libres

$155 13.5% 32.2% $38

Clothing & Footwear

Lima

$112 11.1%

Paso de los Libres

$159 * 13.9% 41.7% $47

Sport & Entertainment

Lima

$48 4.7%

Paso de los Libres

$49 4.3% 3.3% $1.6

Getting Around

Lima

$43 4.3%

Paso de los Libres

$5.8 * 0.5% 86.7% $38

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 $481 in Paso de los Libres. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Dining out: $35.00 in Lima vs $56.0 in Paso de los Libres. Groceries flip the comparison at $226 vs $213, with Paso de los Libres cheaper for home cooking.

Good to know

🇵🇪 Lima

🇦🇷 Paso de los Libres

🕒 Local time

02:11 2:11 AM

04:11 4:11 AM

2 h ahead of Lima

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

9,989,369 Capital

43,251

💱 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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Between locations

Lima Paso de los Libres 2,840 km ≈ 4 h nonstop flight

From you

Lima
Paso de los Libres

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 Paso de los Libres: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Lima and Paso de los Libres differ by about 17% in total monthly costs ($996 vs $1,164 including rent). Lima is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

You'd need roughly $1,494 in Lima and $1,746 in Paso de los Libres 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.

Rent for a central apartment: $723 in Lima versus $481 in Paso de los Libres. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Shoppers in Paso de los Libres pay roughly 6% 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 $1,164 in Paso de los Libres – a 17% gap that adds up to real savings over time for anyone picking the cheaper option.

At $996 in Lima versus $1,164 in Paso de los Libres, a $2,000 budget is realistic in Lima but tight or insufficient in Paso de los Libres. 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 Paso de los Libres 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 17% less than in Paso de los Libres. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.