Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Lima and Pilar

For one person, living is cheaper in Lima: $1,012 a month against $1,188 in Pilar, rent and utilities included – about $2,100 less a year. The total is higher in Pilar despite lower rent and utilities.

49

Cost of Living Index in Lima
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Lima Living Index
59

Cost of Living Index in Pilar
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Pilar Living Index

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Lima

🇵🇪 Peru

$1,012

/mo nomad

Pilar

🇦🇷 Argentina

$1,188

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Lima and in Pilar

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,012 in Lima versus $1,188 in Pilar.

Lima $1,012
Pilar $1,188

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,589 in Lima versus $2,031 in Pilar.

Lima $1,589
Pilar $2,031

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $2,167 in Lima versus $2,875 in Pilar.

Lima $2,167
Pilar $2,875

Living in Lima costs roughly 15% less than in Pilar, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Both cities sit below the global median: Lima 25% lower, Pilar 12% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$4.40 PEN 15.10

$18.73 ARS 28.4K

-76.51%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$35.17 PEN 121

$59.8 ARS 90.7K

-41.18%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$6.89 PEN 23.65

$13.19 ARS 20.0K

-47.76%

Cappuccino

$3.26 PEN 11.20

$3.97 ARS 6,027

-17.88%

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

$1.12 PEN 3.84

$1.99 ARS 3,021

-43.72%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.62 PEN 2.11

$1.57 ARS 2,383

-60.51%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.65 PEN 9.09

$4.05 ARS 6,149

-34.57%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.41 PEN 15.15

$4.63 ARS 7,031

-4.75%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.63 PEN 5.61

$1.50 ARS 2,269

8.67%

White Bread (500g)

$2.56 PEN 8.78

$2.50 ARS 3,800

2.40%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.35 PEN 4.65

$1.59 ARS 2,420

-15.09%

Eggs

$2.90 PEN 9.96

$2.28 ARS 3,458

27.19%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$8.85 PEN 30.38

$10.68 ARS 16.2K

-17.13%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$5.98 PEN 20.52

$2.95 ARS 4,474

102.71%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$9.78 PEN 33.59

$10.19 ARS 15.5K

-4.02%

Apples (1kg)

$2.05 PEN 7.02

$2.86 ARS 4,340

-28.32%

Banana (1kg)

$1.06 PEN 3.66

$2.19 ARS 3,325

-51.60%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.35 PEN 4.64

$1.44 ARS 2,192

-6.25%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.50 PEN 5.15

$1.97 ARS 2,989

-23.86%

Potato (1kg)

$0.88 PEN 3.03

$1.26 ARS 1,917

-30.16%

Onion (1kg)

$0.92 PEN 3.15

$1.21 ARS 1,831

-23.97%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.89 PEN 3.07

$1.64 ARS 2,484

-45.73%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.90 PEN 3.10

$1.77 ARS 2,689

-49.15%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$5.90 PEN 20.27

$4.17 ARS 6,333

41.49%

Wine (Bottle)

$8.52 PEN 29.26

$5.81 ARS 8,818

46.64%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.88 PEN 6.45

$2.06 ARS 3,124

-8.74%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.22 PEN 11.05

$2.86 ARS 4,345

12.59%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.68 PEN 2.33

$1.06 ARS 1,610

-35.85%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$26.86 PEN 92.2

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.81 PEN 13.09

$1.62 ARS 2,460

135.19%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$2.02 PEN 6.93

$1.02 ARS 1,551

98.04%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$7.11 PEN 24.41

$8.19 ARS 12.4K

-13.19%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.72 PEN 5.91

$1.08 ARS 1,645

59.26%

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

$22.3K PEN 76.6K

$28.0K ARS 42.4M

-20.20%

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

$25.5K PEN 87.6K

$34.8K ARS 52.8M

-26.71%

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

$73.1 PEN 251

$64.2 ARS 97.4K

13.89%

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

$16.35 PEN 56.2

$9.91 ARS 15.0K

64.98%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$27.47 PEN 94.3

$20.04 ARS 30.4K

37.08%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$31.90 PEN 110

$31.61 ARS 48.0K

0.92%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$19.41 PEN 66.7

Cinema Ticket

$7.05 PEN 24.23

$10.32 ARS 15.7K

-31.69%

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

$182 PEN 627

$466 ARS 707.0K

-60.83%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$13.0K PEN 44.8K

$8,783 ARS 13.3M

48.47%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$53.8 PEN 185

$121 ARS 183.6K

-55.55%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$34.32 PEN 118

$93.9 ARS 142.5K

-63.46%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$82.8 PEN 284

$118 ARS 178.6K

-29.62%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$78.2 PEN 269

$141 ARS 214.0K

-44.53%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$721 PEN 2,476

$521 ARS 790.2K

38.49%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$343 PEN 1,179

$299 ARS 453.2K

15.00%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,219 PEN 4,186

$1,001 ARS 1.5M

21.75%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$651 PEN 2,235

$757 ARS 1.1M

-14.05%

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

$1,011 ARS 1.5M

-35.92%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

8.94

57.25

-84.38%

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

Last update for Lima: October 11, 2026

Last update for Pilar: October 13, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Lima

$343 33.9%

Pilar

$299 25.2% 13% $45

Groceries & Markets

Lima

$226 22.3%

Pilar

$238 20% 5.1% $12

Eating Out

Lima

$124 12.3%

Pilar

$281 23.7% 127% $157

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Lima

$117 11.6%

Pilar

$94 7.9% 19.5% $23

Clothing & Footwear

Lima

$112 11.1%

Pilar

$213 18% 90.1% $101

Sport & Entertainment

Lima

$46 4.6%

Pilar

$52 4.4% 13.6% $6.2

Getting Around

Lima

$43 4.3%

Pilar

$11 * 0.9% 74.7% $33

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 $521 in Pilar. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Pilar pays 56% 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 $60.0 in Pilar for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $226 vs $238 per month, with Lima cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇵🇪 Lima

🇦🇷 Pilar

🕒 Local time

12:54 12:54 PM

14:54 2:54 PM

2 h ahead of Lima

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

9,989,369 Capital

81,120

💱 Currency

Peruvian Sol PEN S/

Argentine Peso ARS $

📈 Exchange rate

1 PEN = 0.291 USD

1 PEN = 0.259 EUR

10,000 ARS = 6.59 USD

10,000 ARS = 5.86 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 17, 2026: 1 USD = 3.43 PEN (1 PEN = 0.291 USD). 1 EUR = 3.86 PEN (1 PEN = 0.259 EUR).

Argentine Peso exchange rates as of October 17, 2026: 1 USD = 1,517 ARS (10,000 ARS = 6.59 USD). 1 EUR = 1,706 ARS (10,000 ARS = 5.86 EUR).

USD to PEN in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Lima Pilar 3,090 km ≈ 4 h 15 min nonstop flight

From you

Lima
Pilar

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 Pilar: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Lima and Pilar differ by about 17% in total monthly costs ($1,012 vs $1,188 including rent). Lima is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

On paper, salaries run 56% lower in Pilar. That's worth factoring in alongside costs, though remote workers earning in a stronger currency may not notice the difference at all.

Rent for a central apartment: $721 in Lima versus $521 in Pilar. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Supermarket bills run roughly 5% higher in Pilar. 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 $1,188 in Pilar – a 17% gap that adds up to real savings over time for anyone picking the cheaper option.

At $1,012 in Lima versus $1,188 in Pilar, a $2,000 budget is realistic in Lima but tight or insufficient in Pilar. 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 Pilar 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 Pilar. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.