Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Lima and San Luis

For one person, living is cheaper in Lima: $1,012 a month against $1,175 in San Luis, rent and utilities included – about $2,000 less a year. The total is higher in San Luis despite lower rent and utilities.

49

Cost of Living Index in Lima
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Lima Living Index
56

Cost of Living Index in San Luis
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San Luis Living Index

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Lima

🇵🇪 Peru

$1,012

/mo nomad

San Luis

🇦🇷 Argentina

$1,175

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Lima and in San Luis

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,012 in Lima versus $1,175 in San Luis.

Lima $1,012
San Luis $1,175

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,589 in Lima versus $1,962 in San Luis.

Lima $1,589
San Luis $1,962

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $2,167 in Lima versus $2,749 in San Luis.

Lima $2,167
San Luis $2,749

Living in Lima costs roughly 14% less than in San Luis, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in clothing.

Both cities sit below the global median: Lima 25% lower, San Luis 13% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$4.40 PEN 15.13

$8.42 ARS 12.7K

-47.74%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$35.17 PEN 121

$50.1 ARS 75.8K

-29.81%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$6.89 PEN 23.69

$8.72 ARS 13.2K

-20.99%

Cappuccino

$3.26 PEN 11.22

$2.10 ARS 3,171

55.24%

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

$1.12 PEN 3.84

$2.36 ARS 3,576

-52.54%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.62 PEN 2.12

$1.88 ARS 2,845

-67.02%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.65 PEN 9.11

$3.25 ARS 4,913

-18.46%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.41 PEN 15.17

$4.54 ARS 6,863

-2.86%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.63 PEN 5.62

$1.23 ARS 1,858

32.52%

White Bread (500g)

$2.56 PEN 8.79

$2.04 ARS 3,082

25.49%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.35 PEN 4.66

$1.06 ARS 1,598

27.36%

Eggs

$2.90 PEN 9.97

$3.05 ARS 4,610

-4.92%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$8.85 PEN 30.43

$14.72 ARS 22.3K

-39.88%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$5.98 PEN 20.55

$6.40 ARS 9,676

-6.56%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$9.78 PEN 33.65

$11.02 ARS 16.7K

-11.25%

Apples (1kg)

$2.05 PEN 7.04

$2.34 ARS 3,543

-12.39%

Banana (1kg)

$1.06 PEN 3.66

$2.14 ARS 3,235

-50.47%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.35 PEN 4.65

$1.35 ARS 2,040

Tomato (1kg)

$1.50 PEN 5.16

$3.18 ARS 4,812

-52.83%

Potato (1kg)

$0.88 PEN 3.03

$0.98 ARS 1,480

-10.20%

Onion (1kg)

$0.92 PEN 3.16

$1.45 ARS 2,191

-36.55%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.89 PEN 3.08

$1.93 ARS 2,925

-53.89%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.90 PEN 3.11

$2.44 ARS 3,687

-63.11%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$5.90 PEN 20.31

$2.81 ARS 4,243

109.96%

Wine (Bottle)

$8.52 PEN 29.31

$5.11 ARS 7,728

66.73%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.88 PEN 6.46

$1.70 ARS 2,574

10.59%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.22 PEN 11.07

$2.98 ARS 4,502

8.05%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.68 PEN 2.34

$0.63 ARS 946

7.94%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$26.86 PEN 92.4

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.81 PEN 13.11

$0.66 ARS 1,001

477.27%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$2.02 PEN 6.94

$1.02 ARS 1,546

98.04%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$7.11 PEN 24.45

$4.75 ARS 7,191

49.68%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.72 PEN 5.92

$1.21 ARS 1,833

42.15%

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

$22.3K PEN 76.7K

$27.3K ARS 41.2M

-18.15%

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

$25.5K PEN 87.7K

$33.4K ARS 50.5M

-23.61%

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

$73.1 PEN 251

$39.37 ARS 59.5K

85.60%

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

$16.35 PEN 56.2

$16.91 ARS 25.6K

-3.31%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$27.47 PEN 94.5

$24.67 ARS 37.3K

11.35%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$31.90 PEN 110

$33.15 ARS 50.1K

-3.77%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$19.41 PEN 66.8

Cinema Ticket

$7.05 PEN 24.27

$5.46 ARS 8,252

29.12%

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

$182 PEN 628

$176 ARS 265.7K

3.87%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$13.0K PEN 44.9K

$4,167 ARS 6.3M

212.96%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$53.8 PEN 185

$126 ARS 191.1K

-57.42%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$34.32 PEN 118

$142 ARS 214.5K

-75.80%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$82.8 PEN 285

$144 ARS 217.9K

-42.51%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$78.2 PEN 269

$161 ARS 243.0K

-51.30%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$721 PEN 2,481

$446 ARS 675.1K

61.56%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$343 PEN 1,181

$351 ARS 531.2K

-2.21%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,219 PEN 4,193

$1,077 ARS 1.6M

13.15%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$651 PEN 2,239

$781 ARS 1.2M

-16.73%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,414 PEN 8,306

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,357 PEN 4,668

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$648 PEN 2,229

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

8.94

-84.85%

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

Last update for Lima: October 11, 2026

Last update for San Luis: October 10, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Lima

$343 33.9%

San Luis

$351 29.9% 2.3% $7.8

Groceries & Markets

Lima

$226 22.3%

San Luis

$272 23.1% 20.2% $46

Eating Out

Lima

$124 12.3%

San Luis

$161 13.7% 29.9% $37

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Lima

$117 11.6%

San Luis

$81 6.9% 30.7% $36

Clothing & Footwear

Lima

$112 11.1%

San Luis

$258 21.9% 130% $146

Sport & Entertainment

Lima

$46 4.6%

San Luis

$44 3.8% 4.2% $1.9

Getting Around

Lima

$43 4.3%

San Luis

$8.3 * 0.7% 81% $35

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 $446 in San Luis. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Dining out: $35.00 in Lima vs $50.0 in San Luis 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

🇦🇷 San Luis

🕒 Local time

12:04 12:04 PM

14:04 2:04 PM

2 h ahead of Lima

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

9,989,369 Capital

204,019

💱 Currency

Peruvian Sol PEN S/

Argentine Peso ARS $

📈 Exchange rate

1 PEN = 0.291 USD

1 PEN = 0.259 EUR

10,000 ARS = 6.61 USD

10,000 ARS = 5.9 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

ARS, USD, EUR to PEN – Peruvian Sol Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇵🇪 Peruvian Sol (S/)

Peruvian Sol exchange rates as of October 14, 2026: 1 USD = 3.44 PEN (1 PEN = 0.291 USD). 1 EUR = 3.85 PEN (1 PEN = 0.259 EUR).

Argentine Peso exchange rates as of October 14, 2026: 1 USD = 1,513 ARS (10,000 ARS = 6.61 USD). 1 EUR = 1,695 ARS (10,000 ARS = 5.9 EUR).

USD to PEN in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Lima San Luis 2,600 km ≈ 3 h 45 min nonstop flight

From you

Lima
San Luis

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 San Luis: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Lima and San Luis differ by about 16% in total monthly costs ($1,012 vs $1,175 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 $1,762 in San Luis 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 $446 in San Luis. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Supermarket bills run roughly 20% higher in San Luis. 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 $1,175 in San Luis – a 16% gap that adds up to real savings over time for anyone picking the cheaper option.

At $1,012 in Lima versus $1,175 in San Luis, a $2,000 budget is realistic in Lima but tight or insufficient in San Luis. 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 San Luis 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 16% less than in San Luis. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.