Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Lima and Salto

For one person, living is cheaper in Lima: $996 a month against $1,332 in Salto, rent and utilities included – about $4,000 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
64

Cost of Living Index in Salto
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Salto Living Index

Jump to prices

Lima

🇵🇪 Peru

$996

/mo nomad

Salto

🇺🇾 Uruguay

$1,332

/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: $996 in Lima versus $1,332 in Salto.

Lima $996
Salto $1,332

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,594 in Lima versus $1,921 in Salto.

Lima $1,594
Salto $1,921

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $2,191 in Lima versus $2,510 in Salto.

Lima $2,191
Salto $2,510

Living in Lima costs roughly 25% less than in Salto, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Both cities sit below the global median: Lima 26% lower, Salto 1% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$4.42 PEN 15.21

$15.98 UYU 642

-72.34%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$35.04 PEN 121

$37.19 UYU 1,493

-5.78%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$6.84 PEN 23.52

$11.86 UYU 476

-42.33%

Cappuccino

$3.27 PEN 11.26

$3.26 UYU 131

0.31%

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

$1.10 PEN 3.80

$2.21 UYU 88.9

-50.23%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.65 PEN 2.23

$1.57 UYU 63.0

-58.60%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.58 PEN 8.88

$4.57 UYU 183

-43.54%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.47 PEN 15.39

$3.08 UYU 124

45.13%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.59 PEN 5.48

$1.40 UYU 56.1

13.57%

White Bread (500g)

$2.58 PEN 8.89

$2.12 UYU 85.0

21.70%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.36 PEN 4.67

$1.50 UYU 60.2

-9.33%

Eggs

$2.95 PEN 10.14

$5.34 UYU 215

-44.76%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$9.10 PEN 31.30

$15.05 UYU 604

-39.53%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$5.81 PEN 19.98

$8.73 UYU 350

-33.45%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$9.83 PEN 33.80

$9.86 UYU 396

-0.30%

Apples (1kg)

$2.01 PEN 6.92

$1.27 UYU 50.9

58.27%

Banana (1kg)

$1.08 PEN 3.70

$2.16 UYU 86.6

-50.00%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.37 PEN 4.71

$1.24 UYU 49.86

10.48%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.48 PEN 5.08

$1.86 UYU 74.7

-20.43%

Potato (1kg)

$0.96 PEN 3.32

$0.90 UYU 35.99

6.67%

Onion (1kg)

$0.85 PEN 2.93

$1.66 UYU 66.7

-48.80%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.88 PEN 3.03

$0.89 UYU 35.73

-1.12%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.87 PEN 2.98

$1.53 UYU 61.3

-43.14%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$5.90 PEN 20.31

$5.29 UYU 213

11.53%

Wine (Bottle)

$8.81 PEN 30.31

$7.55 UYU 303

16.69%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.92 PEN 6.59

$1.91 UYU 76.8

0.52%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.20 PEN 11.02

$2.61 UYU 105

22.61%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.68 PEN 2.33

$0.60 UYU 23.95

13.33%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$26.74 PEN 92.0

$29.75 UYU 1,194

-10.12%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.81 PEN 13.10

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$2.04 PEN 7.02

$3.61 UYU 145

-43.49%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$7.14 PEN 24.57

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.65 PEN 5.67

$1.95 UYU 78.2

-15.38%

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

$22.2K PEN 76.3K

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

$25.7K PEN 88.3K

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

$73.0 PEN 251

$200 UYU 8,020

-63.44%

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

$16.26 PEN 55.9

$21.70 UYU 871

-25.07%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$27.60 PEN 94.9

$29.62 UYU 1,189

-6.82%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$33.07 PEN 114

$36.74 UYU 1,475

-9.99%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$19.49 PEN 67.1

$12.46 UYU 500

56.42%

Cinema Ticket

$7.39 PEN 25.41

$9.93 UYU 399

-25.58%

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

$182 PEN 626

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$13.3K PEN 45.8K

$4,463 UYU 179.2K

198.49%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$52.6 PEN 181

$85.5 UYU 3,432

-38.51%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$34.23 PEN 118

$55.9 UYU 2,244

-38.75%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$83.8 PEN 288

$114 UYU 4,569

-26.40%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$79.0 PEN 272

$67.1 UYU 2,693

17.80%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$723 PEN 2,488

$438 UYU 17.6K

65.23%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$340 PEN 1,170

$300 UYU 12.1K

13.28%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,184 PEN 4,074

$749 UYU 30.1K

58.04%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$635 PEN 2,183

$417 UYU 16.7K

52.25%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,449 PEN 8,423

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,372 PEN 4,718

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$653 PEN 2,245

$628 UYU 25.2K

3.92%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

8.94

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

Last update for Lima: October 4, 2026

Last update for Salto: October 4, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Lima

$340 33.6%

Salto

$300 22.7% 11.7% $40

Groceries & Markets

Lima

$226 22.4%

Salto

$272 20.6% 20.3% $46

Eating Out

Lima

$124 12.3%

Salto

$247 18.7% 98.9% $123

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Lima

$117 11.6%

Salto

$251 19% 115% $134

Clothing & Footwear

Lima

$112 11.1%

Salto

$145 11% 29.1% $33

Sport & Entertainment

Lima

$48 4.7%

Salto

$57 4.3% 18.3% $8.8

Getting Around

Lima

$43 4.3%

Salto

$50 * 3.8% 15.4% $6.7

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 $438 in Salto. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Lima pays 4% 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 $37.00 in Salto for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $226 vs $272 per month, with Lima cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇵🇪 Lima

🇺🇾 Salto

🕒 Local time

01:26 1:26 AM

03:26 3:26 AM

2 h ahead of Lima

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

9,989,369 Capital

104,028

💱 Currency

Peruvian Sol PEN S/

Uruguayan Peso UYU $U

📈 Exchange rate

1 PEN = 0.291 USD

1 PEN = 0.259 EUR

100 UYU = 2.49 USD

100 UYU = 2.22 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

UYU, USD, EUR to PEN – Peruvian Sol Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇵🇪 Peruvian Sol (S/)

Peruvian Sol exchange rates as of October 10, 2026: 1 USD = 3.44 PEN (1 PEN = 0.291 USD). 1 EUR = 3.86 PEN (1 PEN = 0.259 EUR).

Uruguayan Peso exchange rates as of October 10, 2026: 1 USD = 40.15 UYU (100 UYU = 2.49 USD). 1 EUR = 45.03 UYU (100 UYU = 2.22 EUR).

USD to PEN in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Lima Salto 2,910 km ≈ 4 h 15 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 34% in total monthly costs ($996 vs $1,332 including rent). Lima is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

Average pay runs 4% higher in Lima, which matters when comparing affordability. Whether that higher income actually nets you more depends on your spending habits and housing choices.

Rent for a central apartment: $723 in Lima versus $438 in Salto. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Supermarket bills run roughly 20% higher in Salto. 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 $1,332 in Salto – a 34% gap that adds up to real savings over time for anyone picking the cheaper option.

At $996 in Lima versus $1,332 in Salto, a $2,000 budget is realistic in Lima but tight or insufficient in Salto. 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 Salto 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 34% less than in Salto. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.