Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Lima and Santa Teresa

For one person, living is cheaper in Lima: $1,014 a month against $1,546 in Santa Teresa, rent and utilities included – about $6,400 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
74

Cost of Living Index in Santa Teresa
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Santa Teresa Living Index

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Lima

🇵🇪 Peru

$1,014

/mo nomad

Santa Teresa

🇨🇷 Costa Rica

$1,546

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Lima and in Santa Teresa

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,014 in Lima versus $1,546 in Santa Teresa.

Lima $1,014
Santa Teresa $1,546

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,613 in Lima versus $2,318 in Santa Teresa.

Lima $1,613
Santa Teresa $2,318

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $2,211 in Lima versus $3,090 in Santa Teresa.

Lima $2,211
Santa Teresa $3,090

Living in Lima costs roughly 34% less than in Santa Teresa, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

The two cities straddle the global median: Lima is 25% below, Santa Teresa is 14% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$4.42 PEN 15.19

$10.08 ₡4,519

-56.15%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$34.56 PEN 119

$43.44 ₡19.5K

-20.44%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$6.80 PEN 23.37

$9.24 ₡4,144

-26.41%

Cappuccino

$3.30 PEN 11.34

$3.73 ₡1,673

-11.53%

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

$1.06 PEN 3.64

$1.97 ₡883

-46.19%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.66 PEN 2.26

$1.66 ₡745

-60.24%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.54 PEN 8.71

$3.00 ₡1,344

-15.33%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.24 PEN 14.55

$4.58 ₡2,055

-7.42%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.58 PEN 5.43

$1.98 ₡887

-20.20%

White Bread (500g)

$2.61 PEN 8.97

$2.90 ₡1,301

-10.00%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.34 PEN 4.60

$2.21 ₡990

-39.37%

Eggs

$2.93 PEN 10.08

$2.93 ₡1,312

Local Cheese (1kg)

$9.45 PEN 32.45

$9.91 ₡4,446

-4.64%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$5.75 PEN 19.75

$9.31 ₡4,173

-38.24%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$9.69 PEN 33.29

$13.64 ₡6,116

-28.96%

Apples (1kg)

$2.02 PEN 6.95

$4.61 ₡2,068

-56.18%

Banana (1kg)

$1.07 PEN 3.66

$1.52 ₡681

-29.61%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.37 PEN 4.70

$4.23 ₡1,898

-67.61%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.47 PEN 5.05

$3.07 ₡1,377

-52.12%

Potato (1kg)

$0.95 PEN 3.25

$3.20 ₡1,437

-70.31%

Onion (1kg)

$0.91 PEN 3.14

$2.63 ₡1,180

-65.40%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.90 PEN 3.10

$1.04 ₡466

-13.46%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.89 PEN 3.04

$2.81 ₡1,258

-68.33%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$5.74 PEN 19.71

$5.08 ₡2,277

12.99%

Wine (Bottle)

$9.21 PEN 31.64

$14.20 ₡6,368

-35.14%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.84 PEN 6.31

$2.36 ₡1,058

-22.03%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.11 PEN 10.67

$2.56 ₡1,149

21.48%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.72 PEN 2.46

$1.00 ₡449

-28.00%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$26.03 PEN 89.4

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.54 PEN 12.17

$1.81 ₡810

95.58%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$2.07 PEN 7.12

$1.87 ₡837

10.70%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$7.75 PEN 26.62

$8.00 ₡3,589

-3.13%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.71 PEN 5.86

$1.45 ₡652

17.93%

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

$21.6K PEN 74.1K

$37.2K ₡16.7M

-41.91%

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

$28.6K PEN 98.2K

$32.8K ₡14.7M

-12.85%

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

$68.2 PEN 234

$84.7 ₡38.0K

-19.49%

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

$15.73 PEN 54.0

$26.18 ₡11.7K

-39.92%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$26.48 PEN 90.9

$49.65 ₡22.3K

-46.67%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$33.94 PEN 117

$50.6 ₡22.7K

-32.92%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$20.10 PEN 69.0

$23.98 ₡10.8K

-16.18%

Cinema Ticket

$7.22 PEN 24.80

$8.87 ₡3,976

-18.60%

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

$201 PEN 689

$573 ₡256.9K

-64.97%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$12.9K PEN 44.3K

$12.6K ₡5.6M

2.68%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$53.7 PEN 184

$62.9 ₡28.2K

-14.66%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$35.88 PEN 123

$51.1 ₡22.9K

-29.76%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$83.8 PEN 288

$127 ₡56.9K

-33.97%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$78.8 PEN 271

$107 ₡47.9K

-26.28%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$729 PEN 2,505

$700 ₡314.1K

4.15%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$349 PEN 1,197

$605 ₡271.4K

-42.38%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,186 PEN 4,073

$1,462 ₡655.5K

-18.87%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$696 PEN 2,391

$970 ₡435.0K

-28.20%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,360 PEN 8,105

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,356 PEN 4,657

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$663 PEN 2,278

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

8.78

10.17

-13.67%

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

Last update for Lima: October 17, 2026

Last update for Santa Teresa: October 19, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Lima

$349 34.4%

Santa Teresa

$605 39.1% 73.6% $256

Groceries & Markets

Lima

$227 22.4%

Santa Teresa

$349 22.6% 53.6% $122

Eating Out

Lima

$123 12.2%

Santa Teresa

$192 12.4% 55.3% $68

Clothing & Footwear

Lima

$113 11.2%

Santa Teresa

$156 10.1% 37.9% $43

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Lima

$110 10.9%

Santa Teresa

$160 10.4% 45.4% $50

Sport & Entertainment

Lima

$48 4.8%

Santa Teresa

$68 4.4% 41.2% $20

Getting Around

Lima

$43 4.2%

Santa Teresa

$15 * 1% 64.6% $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 $729 in Lima and $700 in Santa Teresa. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Dining out: $35.00 in Lima vs $43.00 in Santa Teresa for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $227 vs $349 per month, with Lima cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇵🇪 Lima

🇨🇷 Santa Teresa

🕒 Local time

11:17 11:17 AM

10:17 10:17 AM

1 h behind Lima

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

9,989,369 Capital

3,099

💱 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 20, 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 20, 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

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Highest

Between locations

Lima Santa Teresa 2,580 km ≈ 3 h 45 min nonstop flight

From you

Lima
Santa Teresa

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 Santa Teresa: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Lima and Santa Teresa differ by about 52% in total monthly costs ($1,014 vs $1,546 including rent). Lima is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

You'd need roughly $1,522 in Lima and $2,319 in Santa Teresa 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: $729 in Lima versus $700 in Santa Teresa. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Supermarket bills run roughly 54% higher in Santa Teresa. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

All in, you'll spend $1,014 per month in Lima versus $1,546 in Santa Teresa – a 52% gap that adds up to real savings over time for anyone picking the cheaper option.

At $1,014 in Lima versus $1,546 in Santa Teresa, a $2,000 budget is realistic in Lima but tight or insufficient in Santa Teresa. 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 Santa Teresa 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 52% less than in Santa Teresa. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.