Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Lima and Salto

For one person, living is cheaper in Salto: $825 a month against $1,012 in Lima, rent and utilities included – about $2,200 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
40

Cost of Living Index in Salto
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Salto Living Index

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Lima

🇵🇪 Peru

$1,012

/mo nomad

Salto

🇧🇷 Brazil

$825

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Lima and in Salto

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,012 in Lima versus $825 in Salto.

Lima $1,012
Salto $825

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,589 in Lima versus $1,286 in Salto.

Lima $1,589
Salto $1,286

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $2,167 in Lima versus $1,747 in Salto.

Lima $2,167
Salto $1,747

Living in Lima is roughly 23% more expensive than in Salto, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in transport.

Both cities sit below the global median: Lima 25% lower, Salto 39% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$4.40 PEN 15.10

$6.91 R$35.05

-36.32%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$35.17 PEN 121

$27.73 R$141

26.83%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$6.89 PEN 23.65

$6.83 R$34.60

0.88%

Cappuccino

$3.26 PEN 11.20

$1.95 R$9.87

67.18%

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

$1.12 PEN 3.84

$1.09 R$5.51

2.75%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.62 PEN 2.11

$0.76 R$3.87

-18.42%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.65 PEN 9.09

$2.78 R$14.08

-4.68%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.41 PEN 15.15

$3.09 R$15.67

42.72%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.63 PEN 5.61

$1.08 R$5.46

50.93%

White Bread (500g)

$2.56 PEN 8.78

$1.70 R$8.63

50.59%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.35 PEN 4.65

$1.18 R$5.99

14.41%

Eggs

$2.90 PEN 9.96

$2.71 R$13.76

7.01%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$8.85 PEN 30.38

$9.23 R$46.77

-4.12%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$5.98 PEN 20.52

$3.88 R$19.65

54.12%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$9.78 PEN 33.59

$9.94 R$50.4

-1.61%

Apples (1kg)

$2.05 PEN 7.02

$2.86 R$14.52

-28.32%

Banana (1kg)

$1.06 PEN 3.66

$1.91 R$9.68

-44.50%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.35 PEN 4.64

$1.77 R$8.99

-23.73%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.50 PEN 5.15

$1.82 R$9.24

-17.58%

Potato (1kg)

$0.88 PEN 3.03

$1.42 R$7.18

-38.03%

Onion (1kg)

$0.92 PEN 3.15

$1.44 R$7.28

-36.11%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.89 PEN 3.07

$0.90 R$4.56

-1.11%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.90 PEN 3.10

$0.48 R$2.41

87.50%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$5.90 PEN 20.27

$2.66 R$13.51

121.80%

Wine (Bottle)

$8.52 PEN 29.26

$9.13 R$46.27

-6.68%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.88 PEN 6.45

$1.65 R$8.38

13.94%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.22 PEN 11.05

$4.57 R$23.19

-29.54%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.68 PEN 2.33

$0.87 R$4.42

-21.84%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$26.86 PEN 92.2

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.81 PEN 13.09

$1.34 R$6.78

184.33%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$2.02 PEN 6.93

$1.36 R$6.90

48.53%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$7.11 PEN 24.41

$9.65 R$48.92

-26.32%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.72 PEN 5.91

$1.19 R$6.02

44.54%

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

$22.3K PEN 76.6K

$23.7K R$120.0K

-5.77%

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

$25.5K PEN 87.6K

$34.4K R$174.6K

-25.94%

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

$73.1 PEN 251

$40.22 R$204

81.68%

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

$16.35 PEN 56.2

$10.00 R$50.7

63.50%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$27.47 PEN 94.3

$18.36 R$93.1

49.62%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$31.90 PEN 110

$26.39 R$134

20.88%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$19.41 PEN 66.7

Cinema Ticket

$7.05 PEN 24.23

$2.94 R$14.92

139.80%

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

$182 PEN 627

$262 R$1,327

-30.27%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$13.0K PEN 44.8K

$7,715 R$39.1K

69.02%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$53.8 PEN 185

$55.2 R$280

-2.48%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$34.32 PEN 118

$59.4 R$301

-42.26%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$82.8 PEN 284

$96.6 R$490

-14.27%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$78.2 PEN 269

$86.7 R$439

-9.73%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$721 PEN 2,476

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$343 PEN 1,179

$238 R$1,206

44.33%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,219 PEN 4,186

$595 R$3,014

104.98%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$651 PEN 2,235

$396 R$2,005

64.50%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,414 PEN 8,292

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

11.12

-19.60%

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

Last update for Lima: October 11, 2026

Last update for Salto: October 11, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Lima

$343 33.9%

Salto

$238 28.8% 30.7% $105

Groceries & Markets

Lima

$226 22.3%

Salto

$214 26% 5.1% $12

Eating Out

Lima

$124 12.3%

Salto

$127 15.3% 2.1% $2.7

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Lima

$117 11.6%

Salto

$69 8.3% 41.3% $48

Clothing & Footwear

Lima

$112 11.1%

Salto

$134 16.2% 19.6% $22

Sport & Entertainment

Lima

$46 4.6%

Salto

$32 3.9% 29.8% $14

Getting Around

Lima

$43 4.3%

Salto

$12 * 1.4% 73.3% $32

Categories marked with * are only partly priced – their share counts the items that do have prices.

Cost Breakdown

Dining out: $35.00 in Lima vs $28.00 in Salto for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $226 vs $214 per month, with Salto cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇵🇪 Lima

🇧🇷 Salto

🕒 Local time

10:55 10:55 AM

12:55 12:55 PM

2 h ahead of Lima

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

9,989,369 Capital

134,319

💱 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 18, 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 18, 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 Salto 3,380 km ≈ 4 h 45 min nonstop flight

From you

Lima
Salto

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 Salto: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Lima and Salto differ by about 23% in total monthly costs ($1,012 vs $825 including rent). Salto 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 $1,238 in Salto 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.

Supermarket bills run roughly 5% higher in Lima. 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 $825 in Salto – a 23% gap that adds up to real savings over time for anyone picking the cheaper option.

At $825 in Salto versus $1,012 in Lima, a $2,000 budget is realistic in Salto but tight or insufficient in Lima. The gap between the two cities makes Salto 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 Salto gentler on the wallet – expenses run 23% less than in Lima. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.