Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Lima and Pipa

For one person, living is cheaper in Pipa: $776 a month against $1,014 in Lima, rent and utilities included – about $2,900 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

49

Cost of Living Index in Lima
Learn more

Lima Living Index
37

Cost of Living Index in Pipa
Learn more

Pipa Living Index

Jump to prices

Lima

🇵🇪 Peru

$1,014

/mo nomad

Pipa

🇧🇷 Brazil

$776

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Lima and in Pipa

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,014 in Lima versus $776 in Pipa.

Lima $1,014
Pipa $776

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,613 in Lima versus $1,238 in Pipa.

Lima $1,613
Pipa $1,238

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $2,211 in Lima versus $1,699 in Pipa.

Lima $2,211
Pipa $1,699

Living in Lima is roughly 31% more expensive than in Pipa, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Both cities sit below the global median: Lima 25% lower, Pipa 43% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$4.42 PEN 15.19

$5.51 R$27.93

-19.78%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$34.56 PEN 119

$27.68 R$140

24.86%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$6.80 PEN 23.37

$6.39 R$32.38

6.42%

Cappuccino

$3.30 PEN 11.34

$1.82 R$9.23

81.32%

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

$1.06 PEN 3.64

$1.12 R$5.66

-5.36%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.66 PEN 2.26

$0.61 R$3.07

8.20%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.54 PEN 8.71

$1.76 R$8.91

44.32%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.24 PEN 14.55

$2.63 R$13.34

61.22%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.58 PEN 5.43

$0.98 R$4.99

61.22%

White Bread (500g)

$2.61 PEN 8.97

$1.43 R$7.27

82.52%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.34 PEN 4.60

$1.18 R$5.98

13.56%

Eggs

$2.93 PEN 10.08

$2.02 R$10.25

45.05%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$9.45 PEN 32.45

$8.23 R$41.71

14.82%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$5.75 PEN 19.75

$3.56 R$18.06

61.52%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$9.69 PEN 33.29

$7.42 R$37.63

30.59%

Apples (1kg)

$2.02 PEN 6.95

$2.05 R$10.39

-1.46%

Banana (1kg)

$1.07 PEN 3.66

$1.32 R$6.68

-18.94%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.37 PEN 4.70

$1.14 R$5.77

20.18%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.47 PEN 5.05

$1.44 R$7.29

2.08%

Potato (1kg)

$0.95 PEN 3.25

$1.19 R$6.04

-20.17%

Onion (1kg)

$0.91 PEN 3.14

$1.05 R$5.33

-13.33%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.90 PEN 3.10

$0.72 R$3.66

25.00%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.89 PEN 3.04

$0.63 R$3.18

41.27%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$5.74 PEN 19.71

$2.09 R$10.59

174.64%

Wine (Bottle)

$9.21 PEN 31.64

$7.39 R$37.46

24.63%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.84 PEN 6.31

$1.23 R$6.22

49.59%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.11 PEN 10.67

$2.01 R$10.21

54.73%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.72 PEN 2.46

$0.87 R$4.42

-17.24%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$26.03 PEN 89.4

$38.87 R$197

-33.03%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.54 PEN 12.17

$1.11 R$5.63

218.92%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$2.07 PEN 7.12

$0.71 R$3.60

191.55%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$7.75 PEN 26.62

$6.48 R$32.87

19.60%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.71 PEN 5.86

$1.04 R$5.28

64.42%

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

$21.6K PEN 74.1K

$20.6K R$104.5K

4.73%

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

$28.6K PEN 98.2K

$27.3K R$138.5K

4.65%

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

$68.2 PEN 234

$60.5 R$307

12.72%

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

$15.73 PEN 54.0

$13.40 R$67.9

17.39%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$26.48 PEN 90.9

$18.74 R$95.0

41.30%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$33.94 PEN 117

$22.79 R$116

48.92%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$20.10 PEN 69.0

$21.32 R$108

-5.72%

Cinema Ticket

$7.22 PEN 24.80

$6.48 R$32.83

11.42%

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

$201 PEN 689

$286 R$1,448

-29.75%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$12.9K PEN 44.3K

$6,521 R$33.1K

97.86%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$53.7 PEN 184

$47.65 R$242

12.72%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$35.88 PEN 123

$43.24 R$219

-17.02%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$83.8 PEN 288

$76.2 R$386

9.97%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$78.8 PEN 271

$63.2 R$320

24.68%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$729 PEN 2,505

$316 R$1,602

130.86%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$349 PEN 1,197

$218 R$1,107

59.62%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,186 PEN 4,073

$581 R$2,947

103.99%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$696 PEN 2,391

$430 R$2,178

62.11%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,360 PEN 8,105

$1,452 R$7,363

62.49%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,356 PEN 4,657

$1,024 R$5,192

32.42%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$663 PEN 2,278

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

8.78

10.92

-19.60%

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

Last update for Lima: October 17, 2026

Last update for Pipa: October 17, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Lima

$349 34.4%

Pipa

$218 28.2% 37.4% $130

Groceries & Markets

Lima

$227 22.4%

Pipa

$173 22.3% 24% $55

Eating Out

Lima

$123 12.2%

Pipa

$106 13.7% 14.1% $17

Clothing & Footwear

Lima

$113 11.2%

Pipa

$104 13.4% 8.7% $9.8

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Lima

$110 10.9%

Pipa

$93 11.9% 16.1% $18

Sport & Entertainment

Lima

$48 4.8%

Pipa

$36 4.6% 26.1% $13

Getting Around

Lima

$43 4.2%

Pipa

$47 6.1% 9.8% $4.2

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $729 in Lima and $316 in Pipa. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Dining out: $35.00 in Lima vs $28.00 in Pipa for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $227 vs $173 per month, with Pipa cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇵🇪 Lima

🇧🇷 Pipa

🕒 Local time

13:32 1:32 PM

15:32 3:32 PM

2 h ahead of Lima

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

9,989,369 Capital

25,000

💱 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

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Lima Pipa 4,650 km ≈ 6 h nonstop flight

From you

Lima
Pipa

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 Pipa: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Lima and Pipa differ by about 31% in total monthly costs ($1,014 vs $776 including rent). Pipa is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

You'd need roughly $1,522 in Lima and $1,164 in Pipa 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: $729 in Lima versus $316 in Pipa. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $201 in Lima versus $286 in Pipa. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Supermarket bills run roughly 32% higher in Lima. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

At $776 in Pipa versus $1,014 in Lima, a $1,000 budget is realistic in Pipa but tight or insufficient in Lima. The gap between the two cities makes Pipa 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 Pipa 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 Pipa gentler on the wallet – expenses run 31% less than in Lima. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.