Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Lima and Playa Flamingo

For one person, living is cheaper in Lima: $1,012 a month against $1,673 in Playa Flamingo, rent and utilities included – about $7,900 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
81

Cost of Living Index in Playa Flamingo
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Playa Flamingo Living Index

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Lima

🇵🇪 Peru

$1,012

/mo nomad

Playa Flamingo

🇨🇷 Costa Rica

$1,673

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Lima and in Playa Flamingo

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,012 in Lima versus $1,673 in Playa Flamingo.

Lima $1,012
Playa Flamingo $1,673

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,589 in Lima versus $2,667 in Playa Flamingo.

Lima $1,589
Playa Flamingo $2,667

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $2,167 in Lima versus $3,660 in Playa Flamingo.

Lima $2,167
Playa Flamingo $3,660

Living in Lima costs roughly 40% less than in Playa Flamingo, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

The two cities straddle the global median: Lima is 25% below, Playa Flamingo is 24% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$4.40 PEN 15.10

$12.07 ₡5,412

-63.55%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$35.17 PEN 121

$62.4 ₡28.0K

-43.64%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$6.89 PEN 23.65

$10.07 ₡4,517

-31.58%

Cappuccino

$3.26 PEN 11.20

$4.38 ₡1,963

-25.57%

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

$1.12 PEN 3.84

$2.74 ₡1,230

-59.12%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.62 PEN 2.11

$1.84 ₡824

-66.30%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.65 PEN 9.09

$3.30 ₡1,481

-19.70%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.41 PEN 15.15

$4.52 ₡2,027

-2.43%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.63 PEN 5.61

$2.02 ₡905

-19.31%

White Bread (500g)

$2.56 PEN 8.78

$3.04 ₡1,365

-15.79%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.35 PEN 4.65

$2.41 ₡1,081

-43.98%

Eggs

$2.90 PEN 9.96

$2.93 ₡1,316

-1.02%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$8.85 PEN 30.38

$10.81 ₡4,847

-18.13%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$5.98 PEN 20.52

$9.91 ₡4,446

-39.66%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$9.78 PEN 33.59

$11.95 ₡5,361

-18.16%

Apples (1kg)

$2.05 PEN 7.02

$5.20 ₡2,331

-60.58%

Banana (1kg)

$1.06 PEN 3.66

$1.56 ₡701

-32.05%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.35 PEN 4.64

$4.74 ₡2,124

-71.52%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.50 PEN 5.15

$3.90 ₡1,748

-61.54%

Potato (1kg)

$0.88 PEN 3.03

$3.80 ₡1,703

-76.84%

Onion (1kg)

$0.92 PEN 3.15

$3.74 ₡1,678

-75.40%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.89 PEN 3.07

$1.02 ₡458

-12.75%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.90 PEN 3.10

$3.24 ₡1,452

-72.22%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$5.90 PEN 20.27

$4.99 ₡2,236

18.24%

Wine (Bottle)

$8.52 PEN 29.26

$19.90 ₡8,926

-57.19%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.88 PEN 6.45

$2.82 ₡1,263

-33.33%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.22 PEN 11.05

$3.51 ₡1,574

-8.26%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.68 PEN 2.33

$1.25 ₡562

-45.60%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$26.86 PEN 92.2

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.81 PEN 13.09

$2.47 ₡1,106

54.25%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$2.02 PEN 6.93

$1.60 ₡719

26.25%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$7.11 PEN 24.41

$8.44 ₡3,786

-15.76%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.72 PEN 5.91

$1.52 ₡682

13.16%

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

$22.3K PEN 76.6K

$21.6K ₡9.7M

3.34%

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

$25.5K PEN 87.6K

$34.3K ₡15.4M

-25.75%

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

$73.1 PEN 251

$95.6 ₡42.9K

-23.56%

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

$16.35 PEN 56.2

$19.92 ₡8,934

-17.92%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$27.47 PEN 94.3

$60.1 ₡26.9K

-54.27%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$31.90 PEN 110

$54.2 ₡24.3K

-41.14%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$19.41 PEN 66.7

$10.17 ₡4,562

90.86%

Cinema Ticket

$7.05 PEN 24.23

$7.64 ₡3,425

-7.72%

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

$182 PEN 627

$966 ₡433.1K

-81.11%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$13.0K PEN 44.8K

$9,005 ₡4.0M

44.82%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$53.8 PEN 185

$70.3 ₡31.5K

-23.45%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$34.32 PEN 118

$55.0 ₡24.7K

-37.65%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$82.8 PEN 284

$130 ₡58.1K

-36.08%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$78.2 PEN 269

$132 ₡59.2K

-40.69%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$721 PEN 2,476

$1,619 ₡726.2K

-55.47%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$343 PEN 1,179

$629 ₡282.2K

-45.42%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,219 PEN 4,186

$2,944 ₡1.3M

-58.60%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$651 PEN 2,235

$1,270 ₡569.7K

-48.77%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,414 PEN 8,292

$3,654 ₡1.6M

-33.92%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,357 PEN 4,660

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$648 PEN 2,226

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

8.94

8.62

3.71%

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

Last update for Lima: October 11, 2026

Last update for Playa Flamingo: October 11, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Lima

$343 33.9%

Playa Flamingo

$629 37.6% 83.2% $286

Groceries & Markets

Lima

$226 22.3%

Playa Flamingo

$386 23.1% 71% $160

Eating Out

Lima

$124 12.3%

Playa Flamingo

$223 13.3% 80% $99

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Lima

$117 11.6%

Playa Flamingo

$176 10.5% 50.2% $59

Clothing & Footwear

Lima

$112 11.1%

Playa Flamingo

$174 10.4% 55.2% $62

Sport & Entertainment

Lima

$46 4.6%

Playa Flamingo

$69 4.2% 51% $23

Getting Around

Lima

$43 4.3%

Playa Flamingo

$15 * 0.9% 64.4% $28

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 $1,619 in Playa Flamingo. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Dining out: $35.00 in Lima vs $62.0 in Playa Flamingo for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $226 vs $386 per month, with Lima cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇵🇪 Lima

🇨🇷 Playa Flamingo

🕒 Local time

00:58 12:58 AM

23:58 11:58 PM

1 h behind Lima

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

9,989,369 Capital

💱 Currency

Peruvian Sol PEN S/

Costa Rican Colón CRC ₡

📈 Exchange rate

1 PEN = 0.291 USD

1 PEN = 0.259 EUR

1,000 CRC = 2.23 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 18, 2026: 1 USD = 3.43 PEN (1 PEN = 0.291 USD). 1 EUR = 3.86 PEN (1 PEN = 0.259 EUR).

Costa Rican Colón exchange rates as of October 18, 2026: 1 USD = 448 CRC (1,000 CRC = 2.23 USD). 1 EUR = 504 CRC (1,000 CRC = 1.98 EUR).

USD to PEN in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Lima Playa Flamingo 2,680 km ≈ 3 h 45 min nonstop flight

From you

Lima
Playa Flamingo

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 Flamingo: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Lima and Playa Flamingo differ by about 65% in total monthly costs ($1,012 vs $1,673 including rent). Lima is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

You'd need roughly $1,518 in Lima and $2,510 in Playa Flamingo 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: $721 in Lima versus $1,619 in Playa Flamingo. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Supermarket bills run roughly 71% higher in Playa Flamingo. 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 $1,673 in Playa Flamingo – a 65% gap that adds up to real savings over time for anyone picking the cheaper option.

At $1,012 in Lima versus $1,673 in Playa Flamingo, a $2,000 budget is realistic in Lima but tight or insufficient in Playa Flamingo. 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 Playa Flamingo 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 65% less than in Playa Flamingo. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.