Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Lima and San Rafael

For one person, living is cheaper in Lima: $1,012 a month against $1,732 in San Rafael, rent and utilities included – about $8,600 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
84

Cost of Living Index in San Rafael
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San Rafael Living Index

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Lima

🇵🇪 Peru

$1,012

/mo nomad

San Rafael

🇨🇷 Costa Rica

$1,732

/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: $1,012 in Lima versus $1,732 in San Rafael.

Lima $1,012
San Rafael $1,732

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,589 in Lima versus $2,736 in San Rafael.

Lima $1,589
San Rafael $2,736

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $2,167 in Lima versus $3,739 in San Rafael.

Lima $2,167
San Rafael $3,739

Living in Lima costs roughly 42% less than in San Rafael, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

The two cities straddle the global median: Lima is 25% below, San Rafael is 28% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$4.40 PEN 15.10

$12.25 ₡5,496

-64.08%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$35.17 PEN 121

$61.7 ₡27.7K

-43.01%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$6.89 PEN 23.65

$11.42 ₡5,119

-39.67%

Cappuccino

$3.26 PEN 11.20

$4.40 ₡1,973

-25.91%

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

$1.12 PEN 3.84

$2.73 ₡1,225

-58.97%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.62 PEN 2.11

$1.87 ₡841

-66.84%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.65 PEN 9.09

$3.37 ₡1,510

-21.36%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.41 PEN 15.15

$4.54 ₡2,038

-2.86%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.63 PEN 5.61

$2.33 ₡1,044

-30.04%

White Bread (500g)

$2.56 PEN 8.78

$3.02 ₡1,352

-15.23%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.35 PEN 4.65

$2.42 ₡1,084

-44.21%

Eggs

$2.90 PEN 9.96

$3.52 ₡1,580

-17.61%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$8.85 PEN 30.38

$10.51 ₡4,712

-15.79%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$5.98 PEN 20.52

$10.25 ₡4,597

-41.66%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$9.78 PEN 33.59

$14.22 ₡6,378

-31.22%

Apples (1kg)

$2.05 PEN 7.02

$5.09 ₡2,282

-59.72%

Banana (1kg)

$1.06 PEN 3.66

$1.57 ₡704

-32.48%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.35 PEN 4.64

$4.68 ₡2,098

-71.15%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.50 PEN 5.15

$3.86 ₡1,730

-61.14%

Potato (1kg)

$0.88 PEN 3.03

$3.88 ₡1,741

-77.32%

Onion (1kg)

$0.92 PEN 3.15

$3.69 ₡1,653

-75.07%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.89 PEN 3.07

$1.09 ₡488

-18.35%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.90 PEN 3.10

$3.13 ₡1,403

-71.25%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$5.90 PEN 20.27

$6.11 ₡2,739

-3.44%

Wine (Bottle)

$8.52 PEN 29.26

$20.14 ₡9,031

-57.70%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.88 PEN 6.45

$2.80 ₡1,254

-32.86%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.22 PEN 11.05

$3.58 ₡1,606

-10.06%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.68 PEN 2.33

$1.18 ₡527

-42.37%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$26.86 PEN 92.2

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.81 PEN 13.09

$2.51 ₡1,124

51.79%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$2.02 PEN 6.93

$1.57 ₡703

28.66%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$7.11 PEN 24.41

$8.48 ₡3,803

-16.16%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.72 PEN 5.91

$1.54 ₡692

11.69%

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

$22.3K PEN 76.6K

$22.3K ₡10.0M

-0.05%

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

$25.5K PEN 87.6K

$35.5K ₡15.9M

-28.23%

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

$73.1 PEN 251

$93.5 ₡41.9K

-21.83%

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

$16.35 PEN 56.2

$36.26 ₡16.3K

-54.91%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$27.47 PEN 94.3

$58.4 ₡26.2K

-52.99%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$31.90 PEN 110

$63.0 ₡28.3K

-49.37%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$19.41 PEN 66.7

Cinema Ticket

$7.05 PEN 24.23

$7.50 ₡3,362

-6.00%

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

$182 PEN 627

$991 ₡444.6K

-81.60%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$13.0K PEN 44.8K

$16.8K ₡7.5M

-22.43%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$53.8 PEN 185

$70.5 ₡31.6K

-23.68%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$34.32 PEN 118

$55.6 ₡25.0K

-38.32%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$82.8 PEN 284

$129 ₡58.0K

-35.93%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$78.2 PEN 269

$133 ₡59.5K

-41.03%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$721 PEN 2,476

$740 ₡332.0K

-2.58%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$343 PEN 1,179

$649 ₡291.2K

-47.11%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,219 PEN 4,186

$2,069 ₡927.9K

-41.09%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$651 PEN 2,235

$1,274 ₡571.5K

-48.94%

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

8.62

3.71%

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

Last update for Lima: October 11, 2026

Last update for San Rafael: October 11, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Lima

$343 33.9%

San Rafael

$649 37.5% 89.1% $306

Groceries & Markets

Lima

$226 22.3%

San Rafael

$398 23% 76.1% $172

Eating Out

Lima

$124 12.3%

San Rafael

$229 13.2% 85.1% $105

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Lima

$117 11.6%

San Rafael

$188 10.9% 61% $71

Clothing & Footwear

Lima

$112 11.1%

San Rafael

$175 10.1% 55.7% $63

Sport & Entertainment

Lima

$46 4.6%

San Rafael

$78 4.5% 69.6% $32

Getting Around

Lima

$43 4.3%

San Rafael

$15 * 0.9% 65.4% $28

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 $740 in San Rafael. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Dining out: $35.00 in Lima vs $62.0 in San Rafael for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $226 vs $398 per month, with Lima cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇵🇪 Lima

🇨🇷 San Rafael

🕒 Local time

09:30 9:30 AM

08:30 8:30 AM

1 h behind Lima

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

9,989,369 Capital

30,000

💱 Currency

Peruvian Sol PEN S/

Costa Rican Colón CRC ₡

📈 Exchange rate

1 PEN = 0.291 USD

1 PEN = 0.259 EUR

1,000 CRC = 2.23 USD

1,000 CRC = 1.98 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

CRC, USD, EUR to PEN – Peruvian Sol Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇵🇪 Peruvian Sol (S/)

Peruvian Sol exchange rates as of October 19, 2026: 1 USD = 3.43 PEN (1 PEN = 0.291 USD). 1 EUR = 3.86 PEN (1 PEN = 0.259 EUR).

Costa Rican Colón exchange rates as of October 19, 2026: 1 USD = 448 CRC (1,000 CRC = 2.23 USD). 1 EUR = 504 CRC (1,000 CRC = 1.98 EUR).

USD to PEN in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Lima San Rafael 2,570 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 71% in total monthly costs ($1,012 vs $1,732 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 $2,599 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: $721 in Lima versus $740 in San Rafael. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Supermarket bills run roughly 76% higher in San Rafael. 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 $1,732 in San Rafael – a 71% gap that adds up to real savings over time for anyone picking the cheaper option.

At $1,012 in Lima versus $1,732 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.

Expats usually find Lima gentler on the wallet – expenses run 71% less than in San Rafael. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.