Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Lima and Playa del Coco

For one person, living is cheaper in Lima: $996 a month against $1,765 in Playa del Coco, rent and utilities included – about $9,200 less a year. Rent and utilities account for about half of the difference.

49

Cost of Living Index in Lima
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Lima Living Index
85

Cost of Living Index in Playa del Coco
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Playa del Coco Living Index

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Lima

🇵🇪 Peru

$996

/mo nomad

Playa del Coco

🇨🇷 Costa Rica

$1,765

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Lima and in Playa del Coco

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 Playa del Coco actually costs, broken down by who's living it.

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $996 in Lima versus $1,765 in Playa del Coco.

Lima $996
Playa del Coco $1,765

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,594 in Lima versus $2,806 in Playa del Coco.

Lima $1,594
Playa del Coco $2,806

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $2,191 in Lima versus $3,847 in Playa del Coco.

Lima $2,191
Playa del Coco $3,847

Living in Lima costs roughly 44% less than in Playa del Coco, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Lima is 26% below, Playa del Coco is 32% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$4.42 PEN 15.16

$18.05 ₡8,137

-75.51%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$35.04 PEN 120

$57.5 ₡25.9K

-39.01%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$6.84 PEN 23.44

$11.25 ₡5,070

-39.20%

Cappuccino

$3.27 PEN 11.22

$4.08 ₡1,839

-19.85%

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

$1.10 PEN 3.78

$2.52 ₡1,138

-56.35%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.65 PEN 2.22

$1.63 ₡736

-60.12%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.58 PEN 8.85

$3.56 ₡1,605

-27.53%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.47 PEN 15.34

$6.15 ₡2,774

-27.32%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.59 PEN 5.46

$2.42 ₡1,089

-34.30%

White Bread (500g)

$2.58 PEN 8.86

$2.88 ₡1,298

-10.42%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.36 PEN 4.65

$2.46 ₡1,107

-44.72%

Eggs

$2.95 PEN 10.11

$3.44 ₡1,553

-14.24%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$9.10 PEN 31.19

$10.86 ₡4,894

-16.21%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$5.81 PEN 19.91

$10.65 ₡4,800

-45.45%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$9.83 PEN 33.68

$14.23 ₡6,417

-30.92%

Apples (1kg)

$2.01 PEN 6.89

$5.11 ₡2,302

-60.67%

Banana (1kg)

$1.08 PEN 3.69

$1.65 ₡744

-34.55%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.37 PEN 4.70

$3.37 ₡1,520

-59.35%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.48 PEN 5.06

$3.38 ₡1,522

-56.21%

Potato (1kg)

$0.96 PEN 3.30

$3.00 ₡1,351

-68.00%

Onion (1kg)

$0.85 PEN 2.92

$3.21 ₡1,446

-73.52%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.88 PEN 3.02

$1.08 ₡487

-18.52%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.87 PEN 2.97

$2.70 ₡1,219

-67.78%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$5.90 PEN 20.24

$5.59 ₡2,521

5.55%

Wine (Bottle)

$8.81 PEN 30.21

$16.65 ₡7,504

-47.09%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.92 PEN 6.57

$2.66 ₡1,200

-27.82%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.20 PEN 10.98

$2.73 ₡1,229

17.22%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.68 PEN 2.33

$1.33 ₡602

-48.87%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$26.74 PEN 91.7

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.81 PEN 13.06

$3.33 ₡1,501

14.41%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$2.04 PEN 7.00

$1.58 ₡713

29.11%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$7.14 PEN 24.49

$8.90 ₡4,011

-19.78%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.65 PEN 5.65

$1.93 ₡870

-14.51%

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

$22.2K PEN 76.0K

$22.2K ₡10.0M

-0.15%

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

$25.7K PEN 88.0K

$34.5K ₡15.6M

-25.65%

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

$73.0 PEN 250

$94.1 ₡42.4K

-22.41%

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

$16.26 PEN 55.7

$29.60 ₡13.3K

-45.07%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$27.60 PEN 94.6

$60.8 ₡27.4K

-54.63%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$33.07 PEN 113

$72.1 ₡32.5K

-54.15%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$19.49 PEN 66.8

Cinema Ticket

$7.39 PEN 25.33

$8.08 ₡3,641

-8.54%

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

$182 PEN 624

$827 ₡372.9K

-78.00%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$13.3K PEN 45.7K

$16.8K ₡7.6M

-20.88%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$52.6 PEN 180

$71.9 ₡32.4K

-26.93%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$34.23 PEN 117

$56.6 ₡25.5K

-39.50%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$83.8 PEN 287

$130 ₡58.6K

-35.56%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$79.0 PEN 271

$135 ₡60.6K

-41.25%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$723 PEN 2,479

$819 ₡369.1K

-11.66%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$340 PEN 1,166

$638 ₡287.7K

-46.71%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,184 PEN 4,060

$1,894 ₡854.1K

-37.48%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$635 PEN 2,176

$1,244 ₡561.0K

-49.00%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,449 PEN 8,394

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,372 PEN 4,702

$332 ₡149.6K

313.24%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$653 PEN 2,237

$765 ₡344.7K

-14.65%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

8.94

8.78

1.82%

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

Last update for Lima: October 4, 2026

Last update for Playa del Coco: October 4, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Lima

$340 33.6%

Playa del Coco

$638 36.4% 87.7% $298

Groceries & Markets

Lima

$226 22.4%

Playa del Coco

$375 21.4% 65.7% $149

Eating Out

Lima

$124 12.3%

Playa del Coco

$274 15.6% 121% $150

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Lima

$117 11.6%

Playa del Coco

$185 10.5% 57.9% $68

Clothing & Footwear

Lima

$112 11.1%

Playa del Coco

$177 10.1% 57.5% $65

Sport & Entertainment

Lima

$48 4.7%

Playa del Coco

$88 5% 84.5% $40

Getting Around

Lima

$43 4.3%

Playa del Coco

$17 * 1% 61.9% $27

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 $819 in Playa del Coco. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Playa del Coco pays 17% 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 $57.0 in Playa del Coco for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $226 vs $375 per month, with Lima cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇵🇪 Lima

🇨🇷 Playa del Coco

🕒 Local time

05:25 5:25 AM

04:25 4:25 AM

1 h behind Lima

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

9,989,369 Capital

💱 Currency

Peruvian Sol PEN S/

Costa Rican Colón CRC ₡

📈 Exchange rate

1 PEN = 0.292 USD

1 PEN = 0.26 EUR

1,000 CRC = 2.22 USD

1,000 CRC = 1.98 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

CRC, 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).

Costa Rican Colón exchange rates as of October 10, 2026: 1 USD = 451 CRC (1,000 CRC = 2.22 USD). 1 EUR = 505 CRC (1,000 CRC = 1.98 EUR).

USD to PEN in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Lima Playa del Coco 2,690 km ≈ 3 h 45 min nonstop flight

From you

Lima
Playa del Coco

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 Playa del Coco: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Lima and Playa del Coco differ by about 77% in total monthly costs ($996 vs $1,765 including rent). Lima is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

On paper, salaries run 17% lower in Playa del Coco. 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: $723 in Lima versus $819 in Playa del Coco. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Supermarket bills run roughly 66% higher in Playa del Coco. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

All in, you'll spend $996 per month in Lima versus $1,765 in Playa del Coco – a 77% gap that adds up to real savings over time for anyone picking the cheaper option.

At $996 in Lima versus $1,765 in Playa del Coco, a $2,000 budget is realistic in Lima but tight or insufficient in Playa del Coco. 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.

Expats usually find Lima gentler on the wallet – expenses run 77% less than in Playa del Coco. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.