Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Lima and Roatan

For one person, living is cheaper in Lima: $1,012 a month against $1,229 in Roatan, rent and utilities included – about $2,600 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

Lima
🇵🇪 Peru
$1,012
/mo nomad
Roatan
🇭🇳 Honduras
$1,229
/mo nomad
Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Lima and in Roatan

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,012 in Lima versus $1,229 in Roatan.

  • Lima $1,012
  • Roatan $1,229

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,589 in Lima versus $2,019 in Roatan.

  • Lima $1,589
  • Roatan $2,019

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $2,167 in Lima versus $2,809 in Roatan.

  • Lima $2,167
  • Roatan $2,809

Living in Lima costs roughly 18% less than in Roatan, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in utilities.

Both cities sit below the global median: Lima 25% lower, Roatan 9% lower.

Currency
🍽 Eating Out
Lima
Roatan
Difference
Meal at Budget Restaurant
$4.40 PEN 15.11
$8.20 HNL 220
-46.34%
Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range
$35.17 PEN 121
$39.42 HNL 1,059
-10.78%
Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)
$6.89 PEN 23.67
$8.53 HNL 229
-19.23%
Cappuccino
$3.26 PEN 11.21
$4.41 HNL 119
-26.08%
Coke/Pepsi/Fanta/Sprite (0.33 liter bottle)
$1.12 PEN 3.84
$1.01 HNL 27.02
10.89%
Water (0.33 liter bottle)
$0.62 PEN 2.11
$0.82 HNL 22.04
-24.39%
Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)
$2.65 PEN 9.10
$2.55 HNL 68.5
3.92%
Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)
$4.41 PEN 15.16
$5.02 HNL 135
-12.15%
🛒 Groceries & Markets
Lima
Roatan
Difference
Milk (1 liter)
$1.63 PEN 5.62
$1.43 HNL 38.32
13.99%
White Bread (500g)
$2.56 PEN 8.78
$3.24 HNL 87.0
-20.99%
Rice (white) (1kg)
$1.35 PEN 4.65
$2.52 HNL 67.6
-46.43%
Eggs
$2.90 PEN 9.96
$2.02 HNL 54.3
43.56%
Local Cheese (1kg)
$8.85 PEN 30.40
$10.89 HNL 293
-18.73%
Chicken Fillets (1kg)
$5.98 PEN 20.53
$6.75 HNL 181
-11.41%
Beef Round Steak (1kg)
$9.78 PEN 33.62
$17.90 HNL 481
-45.36%
Apples (1kg)
$2.05 PEN 7.03
-
-
Banana (1kg)
$1.06 PEN 3.66
$1.07 HNL 28.70
-0.93%
Oranges (1kg)
$1.35 PEN 4.64
$1.12 HNL 30.08
20.54%
Tomato (1kg)
$1.50 PEN 5.16
$0.53 HNL 14.25
183.02%
Potato (1kg)
$0.88 PEN 3.03
$1.62 HNL 43.57
-45.68%
Onion (1kg)
$0.92 PEN 3.15
$1.50 HNL 40.22
-38.67%
Lettuce (1 head)
$0.89 PEN 3.07
$1.18 HNL 31.78
-24.58%
Water (1.5 liter bottle)
$0.90 PEN 3.11
$3.05 HNL 81.8
-70.49%
Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)
$5.90 PEN 20.29
$2.93 HNL 78.6
101.37%
Wine (Bottle)
$8.52 PEN 29.28
$7.54 HNL 203
13.00%
Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)
$1.88 PEN 6.45
$1.33 HNL 35.78
41.35%
Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)
$3.22 PEN 11.05
$2.52 HNL 67.6
27.78%
🚌 Getting Around
Lima
Roatan
Difference
One-way Ticket (Public Transport)
$0.68 PEN 2.34
-
-
Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)
$26.86 PEN 92.3
-
-
Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)
$3.81 PEN 13.10
$1.96 HNL 52.6
94.39%
Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)
$2.02 PEN 6.94
-
-
Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)
$7.11 PEN 24.43
$9.99 HNL 268
-28.83%
Gasoline (1 liter)
$1.72 PEN 5.91
$1.04 HNL 27.97
65.38%
Midsize Hatchback 1.4l (Volkswagen Golf, Toyota Prius, Honda Civic, etc)
$22.3K PEN 76.7K
-
-
Compact Sedan 1.6l (Toyota Corolla, Mazda3, Kia K4, Hyundai Elantra, etc)
$25.5K PEN 87.6K
$29.7K HNL 796.6K
-14.00%
🧾 Monthly Utilities & Internet
Lima
Roatan
Difference
Utilities for 2 People in 2-bedroom Apartment (Heating, Electricity, Gas, Water, Garbage) (85m2)
$73.1 PEN 251
-
-
SIM Card Monthly Plan (Calls and 10GB+ Data)
$16.35 PEN 56.2
-
-
Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)
$27.47 PEN 94.4
$98.5 HNL 2,645
-72.10%
🎉 Sport & Entertainment
Lima
Roatan
Difference
Gym Membership (Monthly)
$31.90 PEN 110
$60.5 HNL 1,625
-47.28%
Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)
$19.41 PEN 66.7
-
-
Cinema Ticket
$7.05 PEN 24.24
-
-
🧸 Childcare & Education
Lima
Roatan
Difference
Preschool or Kindergarten, Full Day, Private, 1 Child (Monthly)
$182 PEN 627
$491 HNL 13.2K
-62.86%
International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)
$13.0K PEN 44.8K
-
-
👕👟 Clothing & Footwear
Lima
Roatan
Difference
Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)
$53.8 PEN 185
$40.22 HNL 1,081
33.74%
Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)
$34.32 PEN 118
$19.63 HNL 527
74.83%
Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)
$82.8 PEN 285
$40.14 HNL 1,078
106.33%
Men's Leather Business Shoes
$78.2 PEN 269
$49.83 HNL 1,339
57.01%
🏠 Accommodation & Living
Lima
Roatan
Difference
1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)
$721 PEN 2,478
$840 HNL 22.6K
-14.20%
1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)
$343 PEN 1,180
$552 HNL 14.8K
-37.78%
3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)
$1,219 PEN 4,189
$1,971 HNL 52.9K
-38.15%
3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)
$651 PEN 2,236
$1,269 HNL 34.1K
-48.72%
Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)
$2,414 PEN 8,298
$1,854 HNL 49.8K
30.26%
Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)
$1,357 PEN 4,664
$1,332 HNL 35.8K
1.88%
💵 Salaries & Financials
Lima
Roatan
Difference
Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)
$648 PEN 2,227
$491 HNL 13.2K
32.04%
20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)
8.94
18
-50.33%

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

Last update for Lima: October 11, 2026

Last update for Roatan: October 11, 2026

Monthly budget structure
Share of the monthly basket for one person, rent included.
Accommodation & Living
Lima
$343
Roatan
$552 60.7% $208
Groceries & Markets
Lima
$226
Roatan
$274 * 21.4% $48
Eating Out
Lima
$124
Roatan
$174 40.5% $50
Monthly Utilities & Internet
Lima
$117
Roatan
$98 * 15.8% $18
Clothing & Footwear
Lima
$112
Roatan
$67 39.9% $45
Sport & Entertainment
Lima
$46
Roatan
$61 * 31.5% $15
Getting Around
Lima
$43
Roatan
$2 * 95.5% $42

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 $840 in Roatan. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Lima pays 32% more on average while also being the cheaper of the two. The combined effect is a noticeably stronger local purchasing power.

Dining out: $35.00 in Lima vs $39.00 in Roatan for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $226 vs $274 per month, with Lima cheaper across the board.

Good to know
🇵🇪 Lima
🇭🇳 Roatan
🕒 Local time
07:57 7:57 AM
06:57 6:57 AM
1 h behind Lima
🌤 Weather
👥 Population
9,989,369 Capital
17,425
💱 Currency
Exchange rates and currency converter

HNL, USD, EUR to PEN – Peruvian Sol Converter

Peruvian Sol exchange rates as of October 16, 2026: 1 USD = 3.44 PEN (1 PEN = 0.291 USD). 1 EUR = 3.85 PEN (1 PEN = 0.259 EUR).

Honduran Lempira exchange rates as of October 16, 2026: 1 USD = 26.86 HNL (100 HNL = 3.72 USD). 1 EUR = 30.13 HNL (100 HNL = 3.32 EUR).

On the map
Between locations
  • Lima Roatan 3,330 km ≈ 4 h 45 min nonstop flight
From you
  • Lima
  • Roatan

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 Roatan: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions
What is the total cost difference between living in Lima and in Roatan?
Lima and Roatan differ by about 21% in total monthly costs ($1,012 vs $1,229 including rent). Lima is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.
Which city pays better: Lima or Roatan?
Average pay runs 32% higher in Lima, which matters when comparing affordability. Whether that higher income actually nets you more depends on your spending habits and housing choices.
How do apartment prices compare in Lima and in Roatan?
Rent for a central apartment: $721 in Lima versus $840 in Roatan. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.
Which city has cheaper grocery shopping?
Supermarket bills run roughly 21% higher in Roatan. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.
Which city is more expensive overall: Lima or Roatan?
All in, you'll spend $1,012 per month in Lima versus $1,229 in Roatan – a 21% gap that adds up to real savings over time for anyone picking the cheaper option.
Which city is more doable on $2,000 per month?
At $1,012 in Lima versus $1,229 in Roatan, a $2,000 budget is realistic in Lima but tight or insufficient in Roatan. The gap between the two cities makes Lima the clear choice for anyone on this budget.
How does quality of life compare between Lima and Roatan?
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.
Is Lima or Roatan safer for residents?
Safety-wise, Lima and Roatan are on par. Petty crime is typical for cities this size, and most residents feel comfortable going about their daily routines in either place.
Where should expats move: Lima or Roatan?
Expats usually find Lima gentler on the wallet – expenses run 21% less than in Roatan. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.

Lima vs other spots: cost of living compared

Similar cities

Show times on the 12-hour clock, temperatures in °F and distances in miles?