Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Lima and Rio Grande

For one person, living is cheaper in Rio Grande: $843 a month against $1,014 in Lima, rent and utilities included – about $2,100 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

49

Cost of Living Index in Lima
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Lima Living Index
41

Cost of Living Index in Rio Grande
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Rio Grande Living Index

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Lima

🇵🇪 Peru

$1,014

/mo nomad

Rio Grande

🇧🇷 Brazil

$843

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Lima and in Rio Grande

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,014 in Lima versus $843 in Rio Grande.

Lima $1,014
Rio Grande $843

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,613 in Lima versus $1,329 in Rio Grande.

Lima $1,613
Rio Grande $1,329

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $2,211 in Lima versus $1,815 in Rio Grande.

Lima $2,211
Rio Grande $1,815

Living in Lima is roughly 20% more expensive than in Rio Grande, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Both cities sit below the global median: Lima 25% lower, Rio Grande 38% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$4.42 PEN 15.19

$7.99 R$40.49

-44.68%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$34.56 PEN 119

$26.45 R$134

30.66%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$6.80 PEN 23.37

$7.20 R$36.49

-5.56%

Cappuccino

$3.30 PEN 11.34

$1.44 R$7.29

129.17%

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

$1.06 PEN 3.64

$1.19 R$6.01

-10.92%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.66 PEN 2.26

$0.81 R$4.13

-18.52%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.54 PEN 8.71

$2.44 R$12.36

4.10%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.24 PEN 14.55

$3.03 R$15.36

39.93%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.58 PEN 5.43

$1.01 R$5.12

56.44%

White Bread (500g)

$2.61 PEN 8.97

$1.66 R$8.41

57.23%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.34 PEN 4.60

$1.13 R$5.74

18.58%

Eggs

$2.93 PEN 10.08

$1.96 R$9.95

49.49%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$9.45 PEN 32.45

$4.06 R$20.60

132.76%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$5.75 PEN 19.75

$4.90 R$24.84

17.35%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$9.69 PEN 33.29

$9.90 R$50.2

-2.12%

Apples (1kg)

$2.02 PEN 6.95

$2.40 R$12.17

-15.83%

Banana (1kg)

$1.07 PEN 3.66

$1.49 R$7.56

-28.19%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.37 PEN 4.70

$1.37 R$6.92

Tomato (1kg)

$1.47 PEN 5.05

$0.58 R$2.94

153.45%

Potato (1kg)

$0.95 PEN 3.25

$1.22 R$6.16

-22.13%

Onion (1kg)

$0.91 PEN 3.14

$0.72 R$3.64

26.39%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.90 PEN 3.10

$0.38 R$1.94

136.84%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.89 PEN 3.04

$0.57 R$2.91

56.14%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$5.74 PEN 19.71

$2.52 R$12.76

127.78%

Wine (Bottle)

$9.21 PEN 31.64

$7.91 R$40.10

16.43%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.84 PEN 6.31

$1.13 R$5.72

62.83%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.11 PEN 10.67

$2.22 R$11.25

40.09%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.72 PEN 2.46

$0.99 R$5.04

-27.27%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$26.03 PEN 89.4

$43.51 R$221

-40.17%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.54 PEN 12.17

$1.27 R$6.41

178.74%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$2.07 PEN 7.12

$0.79 R$4.00

162.03%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$7.75 PEN 26.62

$8.17 R$41.43

-5.14%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.71 PEN 5.86

$1.19 R$6.01

43.70%

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

$21.6K PEN 74.1K

$24.0K R$121.7K

-10.03%

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

$28.6K PEN 98.2K

$34.1K R$172.8K

-16.13%

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

$68.2 PEN 234

$77.2 R$391

-11.71%

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

$15.73 PEN 54.0

$9.23 R$46.81

70.42%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$26.48 PEN 90.9

$21.91 R$111

20.86%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$33.94 PEN 117

$25.97 R$132

30.69%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$20.10 PEN 69.0

$27.54 R$140

-27.02%

Cinema Ticket

$7.22 PEN 24.80

$2.93 R$14.86

146.42%

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

$201 PEN 689

$278 R$1,407

-27.69%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$12.9K PEN 44.3K

$7,170 R$36.3K

79.97%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$53.7 PEN 184

$31.55 R$160

70.24%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$35.88 PEN 123

$39.52 R$200

-9.21%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$83.8 PEN 288

$78.9 R$400

6.15%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$78.8 PEN 271

$78.8 R$400

-0.04%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$729 PEN 2,505

$353 R$1,791

106.49%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$349 PEN 1,197

$244 R$1,239

42.65%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,186 PEN 4,073

$672 R$3,407

76.47%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$696 PEN 2,391

$476 R$2,413

46.31%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,360 PEN 8,105

$1,676 R$8,498

40.78%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,356 PEN 4,657

$1,177 R$5,968

15.19%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$663 PEN 2,278

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

8.78

11.5

-23.65%

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

Last update for Lima: October 17, 2026

Last update for Rio Grande: October 18, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Lima

$349 34.4%

Rio Grande

$244 29% 29.9% $104

Groceries & Markets

Lima

$227 22.4%

Rio Grande

$174 20.7% 23.3% $53

Eating Out

Lima

$123 12.2%

Rio Grande

$129 15.3% 4.5% $5.5

Clothing & Footwear

Lima

$113 11.2%

Rio Grande

$103 12.2% 9.3% $11

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Lima

$110 10.9%

Rio Grande

$108 12.9% 1.8% $2

Sport & Entertainment

Lima

$48 4.8%

Rio Grande

$32 3.8% 34.2% $17

Getting Around

Lima

$43 4.2%

Rio Grande

$53 6.3% 23.1% $9.9

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $729 in Lima and $353 in Rio Grande. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Dining out: $35.00 in Lima vs $26.00 in Rio Grande for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $227 vs $174 per month, with Rio Grande cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇵🇪 Lima

🇧🇷 Rio Grande

🕒 Local time

17:03 5:03 PM

19:03 7:03 PM

2 h ahead of Lima

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

9,989,369 Capital

198,935

💱 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 Rio Grande 3,380 km ≈ 4 h 45 min nonstop flight

From you

Lima
Rio Grande

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 Rio Grande: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Lima and Rio Grande differ by about 20% in total monthly costs ($1,014 vs $843 including rent). Rio Grande 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 $1,265 in Rio Grande 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 $353 in Rio Grande. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $201 in Lima versus $278 in Rio Grande. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

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

At $843 in Rio Grande versus $1,014 in Lima, a $2,000 budget is realistic in Rio Grande but tight or insufficient in Lima. The gap between the two cities makes Rio Grande 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 Rio Grande gentler on the wallet – expenses run 20% less than in Lima. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.