Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Lima and Petrolina

For one person, living is cheaper in Petrolina: $769 a month against $996 in Lima, rent and utilities included – about $2,700 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
37

Cost of Living Index in Petrolina
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Petrolina Living Index

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Lima

🇵🇪 Peru

$996

/mo nomad

Petrolina

🇧🇷 Brazil

$769

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Lima and in Petrolina

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $996 in Lima versus $769 in Petrolina.

Lima $996
Petrolina $769

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,594 in Lima versus $1,194 in Petrolina.

Lima $1,594
Petrolina $1,194

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $2,191 in Lima versus $1,618 in Petrolina.

Lima $2,191
Petrolina $1,618

Living in Lima is roughly 29% more expensive than in Petrolina, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Both cities sit below the global median: Lima 26% lower, Petrolina 43% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$4.42 PEN 15.16

$5.64 R$28.13

-21.63%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$35.04 PEN 120

$30.86 R$154

13.55%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$6.84 PEN 23.44

$7.01 R$34.97

-2.43%

Cappuccino

$3.27 PEN 11.22

$1.93 R$9.65

69.43%

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

$1.10 PEN 3.78

$1.22 R$6.10

-9.84%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.65 PEN 2.22

$0.72 R$3.61

-9.72%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.58 PEN 8.85

$2.01 R$10.05

28.36%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.47 PEN 15.34

$2.88 R$14.38

55.21%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.59 PEN 5.46

$1.07 R$5.33

48.60%

White Bread (500g)

$2.58 PEN 8.86

$0.94 R$4.72

174.47%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.36 PEN 4.65

$1.14 R$5.69

19.30%

Eggs

$2.95 PEN 10.11

$1.60 R$7.98

84.38%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$9.10 PEN 31.19

$8.68 R$43.31

4.84%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$5.81 PEN 19.91

$3.63 R$18.12

60.06%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$9.83 PEN 33.68

$7.79 R$38.90

26.19%

Apples (1kg)

$2.01 PEN 6.89

$2.31 R$11.56

-12.99%

Banana (1kg)

$1.08 PEN 3.69

$0.93 R$4.66

16.13%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.37 PEN 4.70

$1.13 R$5.67

21.24%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.48 PEN 5.06

$1.50 R$7.47

-1.33%

Potato (1kg)

$0.96 PEN 3.30

$1.15 R$5.77

-16.52%

Onion (1kg)

$0.85 PEN 2.92

$0.76 R$3.78

11.84%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.88 PEN 3.02

$0.79 R$3.95

11.39%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.87 PEN 2.97

$0.49 R$2.45

77.55%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$5.90 PEN 20.24

$2.38 R$11.88

147.90%

Wine (Bottle)

$8.81 PEN 30.21

$6.60 R$32.97

33.48%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.92 PEN 6.57

$1.18 R$5.91

62.71%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.20 PEN 10.98

$1.94 R$9.68

64.95%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.68 PEN 2.33

$0.98 R$4.89

-30.61%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$26.74 PEN 91.7

$41.82 R$209

-36.06%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.81 PEN 13.06

$1.22 R$6.11

212.30%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$2.04 PEN 7.00

$0.88 R$4.40

131.82%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$7.14 PEN 24.49

$7.94 R$39.63

-10.08%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.65 PEN 5.65

$1.27 R$6.32

29.92%

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

$22.2K PEN 76.0K

$19.8K R$99.1K

11.75%

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

$25.7K PEN 88.0K

$24.9K R$124.5K

2.95%

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

$73.0 PEN 250

$65.3 R$326

11.82%

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

$16.26 PEN 55.7

$8.87 R$44.26

83.31%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$27.60 PEN 94.6

$11.59 R$57.9

138.14%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$33.07 PEN 113

$17.69 R$88.3

86.94%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$19.49 PEN 66.8

$26.54 R$132

-26.56%

Cinema Ticket

$7.39 PEN 25.33

$3.74 R$18.66

97.59%

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

$182 PEN 624

$233 R$1,163

-21.86%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$13.3K PEN 45.7K

$6,947 R$34.7K

91.75%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$52.6 PEN 180

$18.84 R$94.0

178.98%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$34.23 PEN 117

$47.80 R$239

-28.39%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$83.8 PEN 287

$51.8 R$259

61.57%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$79.0 PEN 271

$80.3 R$401

-1.58%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$723 PEN 2,479

$264 R$1,318

174.02%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$340 PEN 1,166

$221 R$1,103

53.93%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,184 PEN 4,060

$558 R$2,787

112.13%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$635 PEN 2,176

$398 R$1,985

59.59%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,449 PEN 8,394

$1,578 R$7,879

55.13%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,372 PEN 4,702

$1,139 R$5,683

20.47%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$653 PEN 2,237

$578 R$2,884

12.95%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

8.94

-18.73%

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

Last update for Lima: October 4, 2026

Last update for Petrolina: October 5, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Lima

$340 33.6%

Petrolina

$221 29.4% 35% $119

Groceries & Markets

Lima

$226 22.4%

Petrolina

$165 22% 27.2% $61

Eating Out

Lima

$124 12.3%

Petrolina

$113 15.1% 9% $11

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Lima

$117 11.6%

Petrolina

$86 11.4% 26.6% $31

Clothing & Footwear

Lima

$112 11.1%

Petrolina

$89 11.9% 20.4% $23

Sport & Entertainment

Lima

$48 4.7%

Petrolina

$25 3.4% 47.4% $23

Getting Around

Lima

$43 4.3%

Petrolina

$51 6.8% 18.1% $7.9

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $723 in Lima and $264 in Petrolina. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Lima pays 13% 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 $31.00 in Petrolina for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $226 vs $165 per month, with Petrolina cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇵🇪 Lima

🇧🇷 Petrolina

🕒 Local time

03:08 3:08 AM

05:08 5:08 AM

2 h ahead of Lima

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

9,989,369 Capital

386,791

💱 Currency

Peruvian Sol PEN S/

Brazilian Real BRL R$

📈 Exchange rate

1 PEN = 0.292 USD

1 PEN = 0.26 EUR

1 BRL = 0.2 USD

1 BRL = 0.179 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 10, 2026: 1 USD = 3.43 PEN (1 PEN = 0.292 USD). 1 EUR = 3.84 PEN (1 PEN = 0.26 EUR).

Brazilian Real exchange rates as of October 10, 2026: 1 USD = 4.99 BRL (1 BRL = 0.2 USD). 1 EUR = 5.6 BRL (1 BRL = 0.179 EUR).

USD to PEN in detail →

On the map

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Highest

Between locations

Lima Petrolina 4,000 km ≈ 6 h nonstop flight

From you

Lima
Petrolina

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 Petrolina: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Lima and Petrolina differ by about 29% in total monthly costs ($996 vs $769 including rent). Petrolina is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

Average pay runs 13% 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 $264 in Petrolina. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $182 in Lima versus $233 in Petrolina. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Supermarket bills run roughly 37% higher in Lima. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

At $769 in Petrolina versus $996 in Lima, a $1,000 budget is realistic in Petrolina but tight or insufficient in Lima. The gap between the two cities makes Petrolina 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 Petrolina gentler on the wallet – expenses run 29% less than in Lima. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.