Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Lima and San Rafael

For one person, living is cheaper in Lima: $996 a month against $1,318 in San Rafael, rent and utilities included – about $3,900 less a year. Other living expenses account for most of the difference.

49

Cost of Living Index in Lima
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Lima Living Index
63

Cost of Living Index in San Rafael
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San Rafael Living Index

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Lima

🇵🇪 Peru

$996

/mo nomad

San Rafael

🇦🇷 Argentina

$1,318

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $996 in Lima versus $1,318 in San Rafael.

Lima $996
San Rafael $1,318

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,594 in Lima versus $2,096 in San Rafael.

Lima $1,594
San Rafael $2,096

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $2,191 in Lima versus $2,875 in San Rafael.

Lima $2,191
San Rafael $2,875

Living in Lima costs roughly 24% less than in San Rafael, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in clothing.

Both cities sit below the global median: Lima 26% lower, San Rafael 2% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$4.42 PEN 15.16

$11.20 ARS 17.0K

-60.54%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$35.04 PEN 120

$49.65 ARS 75.3K

-29.43%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$6.84 PEN 23.44

$14.69 ARS 22.3K

-53.44%

Cappuccino

$3.27 PEN 11.22

$4.34 ARS 6,580

-24.65%

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

$1.10 PEN 3.78

$2.42 ARS 3,663

-54.55%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.65 PEN 2.22

$1.98 ARS 3,006

-67.17%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.58 PEN 8.85

$3.94 ARS 5,969

-34.52%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.47 PEN 15.34

$4.42 ARS 6,701

1.13%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.59 PEN 5.46

$1.35 ARS 2,046

17.78%

White Bread (500g)

$2.58 PEN 8.86

$2.27 ARS 3,435

13.66%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.36 PEN 4.65

$2.67 ARS 4,052

-49.06%

Eggs

$2.95 PEN 10.11

$3.18 ARS 4,820

-7.23%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$9.10 PEN 31.19

$14.56 ARS 22.1K

-37.50%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$5.81 PEN 19.91

$6.21 ARS 9,418

-6.44%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$9.83 PEN 33.68

$11.16 ARS 16.9K

-11.92%

Apples (1kg)

$2.01 PEN 6.89

$2.38 ARS 3,604

-15.55%

Banana (1kg)

$1.08 PEN 3.69

$2.21 ARS 3,347

-51.13%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.37 PEN 4.70

$1.35 ARS 2,048

1.48%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.48 PEN 5.06

$3.30 ARS 5,012

-55.15%

Potato (1kg)

$0.96 PEN 3.30

$2.01 ARS 3,055

-52.24%

Onion (1kg)

$0.85 PEN 2.92

$1.45 ARS 2,203

-41.38%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.88 PEN 3.02

$1.94 ARS 2,935

-54.64%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.87 PEN 2.97

$2.46 ARS 3,725

-64.63%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$5.90 PEN 20.24

$2.82 ARS 4,279

109.22%

Wine (Bottle)

$8.81 PEN 30.21

$5.05 ARS 7,656

74.46%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.92 PEN 6.57

$1.73 ARS 2,625

10.98%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.20 PEN 10.98

$3.05 ARS 4,619

4.92%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.68 PEN 2.33

$1.00 ARS 1,513

-32.00%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$26.74 PEN 91.7

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.81 PEN 13.06

$1.96 ARS 2,966

94.39%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$2.04 PEN 7.00

$1.02 ARS 1,540

100.00%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$7.14 PEN 24.49

$4.89 ARS 7,412

46.01%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.65 PEN 5.65

$1.27 ARS 1,929

29.92%

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

$22.2K PEN 76.0K

$26.6K ARS 40.4M

-16.78%

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

$25.7K PEN 88.0K

$32.6K ARS 49.4M

-21.23%

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

$73.0 PEN 250

$135 ARS 205.3K

-46.04%

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

$16.26 PEN 55.7

$17.43 ARS 26.4K

-6.71%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$27.60 PEN 94.6

$23.44 ARS 35.6K

17.75%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$33.07 PEN 113

$31.21 ARS 47.3K

5.96%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$19.49 PEN 66.8

Cinema Ticket

$7.39 PEN 25.33

$6.91 ARS 10.5K

6.95%

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

$182 PEN 624

$177 ARS 268.1K

2.95%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$13.3K PEN 45.7K

$4,090 ARS 6.2M

225.72%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$52.6 PEN 180

$116 ARS 175.9K

-54.68%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$34.23 PEN 117

$125 ARS 188.9K

-72.51%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$83.8 PEN 287

$136 ARS 206.8K

-38.57%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$79.0 PEN 271

$125 ARS 189.8K

-36.88%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$723 PEN 2,479

$489 ARS 740.9K

48.05%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$340 PEN 1,166

$318 ARS 482.7K

6.85%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,184 PEN 4,060

$937 ARS 1.4M

26.39%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$635 PEN 2,176

$725 ARS 1.1M

-12.46%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,449 PEN 8,394

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,372 PEN 4,702

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$653 PEN 2,237

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 4, 2026

Last update for San Rafael: October 5, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Lima

$340 33.6%

San Rafael

$318 24.6% 6.4% $22

Groceries & Markets

Lima

$226 22.4%

San Rafael

$286 22.1% 26.3% $59

Eating Out

Lima

$124 12.3%

San Rafael

$232 17.9% 86.9% $108

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Lima

$117 11.6%

San Rafael

$176 13.6% 50.8% $59

Clothing & Footwear

Lima

$112 11.1%

San Rafael

$226 17.5% 101% $114

Sport & Entertainment

Lima

$48 4.7%

San Rafael

$45 3.5% 5.9% $2.8

Getting Around

Lima

$43 4.3%

San Rafael

$11 * 0.9% 74.7% $32

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 $489 in San Rafael. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Dining out: $35.00 in Lima vs $50.0 in San Rafael for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $226 vs $286 per month, with Lima cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇵🇪 Lima

🇦🇷 San Rafael

🕒 Local time

03:26 3:26 AM

05:26 5:26 AM

2 h ahead of Lima

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

9,989,369 Capital

118,850

💱 Currency

Peruvian Sol PEN S/

Argentine Peso ARS $

📈 Exchange rate

1 PEN = 0.292 USD

1 PEN = 0.26 EUR

10,000 ARS = 6.59 USD

10,000 ARS = 5.88 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 10, 2026: 1 USD = 3.43 PEN (1 PEN = 0.292 USD). 1 EUR = 3.84 PEN (1 PEN = 0.26 EUR).

Argentine Peso exchange rates as of October 10, 2026: 1 USD = 1,517 ARS (10,000 ARS = 6.59 USD). 1 EUR = 1,701 ARS (10,000 ARS = 5.88 EUR).

USD to PEN in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Lima San Rafael 2,660 km ≈ 3 h 45 min nonstop flight

From you

Lima
San Rafael

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 Rafael: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Lima and San Rafael differ by about 32% in total monthly costs ($996 vs $1,318 including rent). Lima is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

You'd need roughly $1,494 in Lima and $1,978 in San Rafael 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: $723 in Lima versus $489 in San Rafael. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Supermarket bills run roughly 26% higher in San Rafael. 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 $1,318 in San Rafael – a 32% gap that adds up to real savings over time for anyone picking the cheaper option.

At $996 in Lima versus $1,318 in San Rafael, a $2,000 budget is realistic in Lima but tight or insufficient in San Rafael. 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 Rafael 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 32% less than in San Rafael. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.