Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Lima and Petropolis

For one person, living costs are similar in Lima and in Petropolis: $1,014 and $1,011 a month, rent and utilities included.

49

Cost of Living Index in Lima
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Lima Living Index
49

Cost of Living Index in Petropolis
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Petropolis Living Index

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Lima

🇵🇪 Peru

$1,014

/mo nomad

Petropolis

🇧🇷 Brazil

$1,011

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Lima and in Petropolis

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,014 in Lima versus $1,011 in Petropolis.

Lima $1,014
Petropolis $1,011

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,613 in Lima versus $1,516 in Petropolis.

Lima $1,613
Petropolis $1,516

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $2,211 in Lima versus $2,021 in Petropolis.

Lima $2,211
Petropolis $2,021

Monthly costs are close between Lima and Petropolis; which city is cheaper depends on the spending category.

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

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$4.42 PEN 15.19

$6.07 R$30.78

-27.18%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$34.56 PEN 119

$28.83 R$146

19.88%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$6.80 PEN 23.37

$6.91 R$35.02

-1.59%

Cappuccino

$3.30 PEN 11.34

$1.70 R$8.64

94.12%

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

$1.06 PEN 3.64

$1.31 R$6.66

-19.08%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.66 PEN 2.26

$0.58 R$2.93

13.79%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.54 PEN 8.71

$1.21 R$6.15

109.92%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.24 PEN 14.55

$4.69 R$23.79

-9.59%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.58 PEN 5.43

$0.93 R$4.70

69.89%

White Bread (500g)

$2.61 PEN 8.97

$1.52 R$7.69

71.71%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.34 PEN 4.60

$1.43 R$7.24

-6.29%

Eggs

$2.93 PEN 10.08

$2.04 R$10.32

43.63%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$9.45 PEN 32.45

$9.19 R$46.60

2.83%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$5.75 PEN 19.75

$4.33 R$21.93

32.79%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$9.69 PEN 33.29

$9.57 R$48.50

1.25%

Apples (1kg)

$2.02 PEN 6.95

$1.64 R$8.33

23.17%

Banana (1kg)

$1.07 PEN 3.66

$1.15 R$5.83

-6.96%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.37 PEN 4.70

$0.98 R$4.94

39.80%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.47 PEN 5.05

$1.21 R$6.11

21.49%

Potato (1kg)

$0.95 PEN 3.25

$0.65 R$3.31

46.15%

Onion (1kg)

$0.91 PEN 3.14

$0.87 R$4.40

4.60%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.90 PEN 3.10

$0.58 R$2.92

55.17%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.89 PEN 3.04

$0.61 R$3.10

45.90%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$5.74 PEN 19.71

$2.16 R$10.96

165.74%

Wine (Bottle)

$9.21 PEN 31.64

$5.88 R$29.79

56.63%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.84 PEN 6.31

$1.04 R$5.27

76.92%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.11 PEN 10.67

$1.42 R$7.21

119.01%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.72 PEN 2.46

$1.03 R$5.24

-30.10%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$26.03 PEN 89.4

$49.31 R$250

-47.21%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.54 PEN 12.17

$1.15 R$5.82

207.83%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$2.07 PEN 7.12

$1.02 R$5.15

102.94%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$7.75 PEN 26.62

$8.01 R$40.60

-3.25%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.71 PEN 5.86

$1.24 R$6.28

37.90%

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

$21.6K PEN 74.1K

$20.9K R$105.8K

3.48%

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

$28.6K PEN 98.2K

$31.2K R$158.3K

-8.47%

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

$68.2 PEN 234

$70.9 R$359

-3.85%

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

$15.73 PEN 54.0

$9.78 R$49.60

60.84%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$26.48 PEN 90.9

$18.71 R$94.9

41.53%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$33.94 PEN 117

$31.96 R$162

6.20%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$20.10 PEN 69.0

$32.15 R$163

-37.48%

Cinema Ticket

$7.22 PEN 24.80

$7.10 R$36.02

1.69%

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

$201 PEN 689

$362 R$1,836

-44.58%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$12.9K PEN 44.3K

$11.1K R$56.1K

16.68%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$53.7 PEN 184

$55.2 R$280

-2.65%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$35.88 PEN 123

$49.65 R$252

-27.73%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$83.8 PEN 288

$88.2 R$447

-5.03%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$78.8 PEN 271

$69.1 R$350

14.13%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$729 PEN 2,505

$527 R$2,671

38.47%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$349 PEN 1,197

$401 R$2,033

-13.08%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,186 PEN 4,073

$837 R$4,241

41.77%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$696 PEN 2,391

$630 R$3,194

10.53%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,360 PEN 8,105

$2,748 R$13.9K

-14.12%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,356 PEN 4,657

$1,985 R$10.1K

-31.70%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$663 PEN 2,278

$613 R$3,110

8.11%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

8.78

11.87

-26.03%

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

Last update for Lima: October 17, 2026

Last update for Petropolis: October 18, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Lima

$349 34.4%

Petropolis

$401 39.7% 15% $52

Groceries & Markets

Lima

$227 22.4%

Petropolis

$174 17.2% 23.3% $53

Eating Out

Lima

$123 12.2%

Petropolis

$113 11.2% 8.7% $11

Clothing & Footwear

Lima

$113 11.2%

Petropolis

$118 11.7% 3.9% $4.5

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Lima

$110 10.9%

Petropolis

$99 9.8% 10% $11

Sport & Entertainment

Lima

$48 4.8%

Petropolis

$46 4.6% 4.6% $2.2

Getting Around

Lima

$43 4.2%

Petropolis

$60 5.9% 39.4% $17

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $729 in Lima and $527 in Petropolis. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Lima pays 8% more on average. How far that income stretches comes down to housing choices and lifestyle.

Dining out: $35.00 in Lima vs $29.00 in Petropolis for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $227 vs $174 per month, with Petropolis cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇵🇪 Lima

🇧🇷 Petropolis

🕒 Local time

16:06 4:06 PM

18:06 6:06 PM

2 h ahead of Lima

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

9,989,369 Capital

278,881

💱 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 20, 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 20, 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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Highest

Between locations

Lima Petropolis 3,770 km ≈ 5 h nonstop flight

From you

Lima
Petropolis

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 Petropolis: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Average pay runs 8% 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 $527 in Petropolis. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

A monthly transit pass in Petropolis runs roughly 89% less than in Lima. Both cities have functional networks, but the price difference matters if you're watching your budget.

Supermarket bills run roughly 30% higher in Lima. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

At $1,011 in Petropolis versus $1,014 in Lima, a $1,500 budget is realistic in Petropolis but tight or insufficient in Lima. The gap between the two cities makes Petropolis 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.

It comes down to priorities – Petropolis wins on affordability, Lima on earning potential. Factor in climate, language, visa rules, and proximity to places that matter to you before deciding.