Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Lima and Santo Andre

For one person, living costs are similar in Lima and in Santo Andre: $1,012 and $1,003 a month, rent and utilities included.

49

Cost of Living Index in Lima
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Lima Living Index
48

Cost of Living Index in Santo Andre
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Santo Andre Living Index

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Lima

🇵🇪 Peru

$1,012

/mo nomad

Santo Andre

🇧🇷 Brazil

$1,003

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Lima and in Santo Andre

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,012 in Lima versus $1,003 in Santo Andre.

Lima $1,012
Santo Andre $1,003

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,589 in Lima versus $1,619 in Santo Andre.

Lima $1,589
Santo Andre $1,619

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $2,167 in Lima versus $2,234 in Santo Andre.

Lima $2,167
Santo Andre $2,234

Living in Lima is roughly 1% more expensive than in Santo Andre, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Both cities sit below the global median: Lima 25% lower, Santo Andre 26% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$4.40 PEN 15.13

$9.09 R$45.62

-51.60%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$35.17 PEN 121

$51.1 R$256

-31.19%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$6.89 PEN 23.69

$9.11 R$45.68

-24.37%

Cappuccino

$3.26 PEN 11.22

$2.57 R$12.91

26.85%

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

$1.12 PEN 3.84

$1.39 R$6.96

-19.42%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.62 PEN 2.12

$0.94 R$4.72

-34.04%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.65 PEN 9.11

$2.38 R$11.92

11.34%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.41 PEN 15.17

$4.03 R$20.21

9.43%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.63 PEN 5.62

$1.06 R$5.32

53.77%

White Bread (500g)

$2.56 PEN 8.79

$1.91 R$9.60

34.03%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.35 PEN 4.66

$1.39 R$6.95

-2.88%

Eggs

$2.90 PEN 9.97

$2.51 R$12.58

15.54%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$8.85 PEN 30.43

$11.00 R$55.2

-19.55%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$5.98 PEN 20.55

$4.82 R$24.20

24.07%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$9.78 PEN 33.65

$10.54 R$52.9

-7.21%

Apples (1kg)

$2.05 PEN 7.04

$2.37 R$11.91

-13.50%

Banana (1kg)

$1.06 PEN 3.66

$1.66 R$8.32

-36.14%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.35 PEN 4.65

$1.52 R$7.63

-11.18%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.50 PEN 5.16

$1.62 R$8.15

-7.41%

Potato (1kg)

$0.88 PEN 3.03

$1.28 R$6.41

-31.25%

Onion (1kg)

$0.92 PEN 3.16

$1.25 R$6.28

-26.40%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.89 PEN 3.08

$0.98 R$4.93

-9.18%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.90 PEN 3.11

$0.86 R$4.34

4.65%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$5.90 PEN 20.31

$2.53 R$12.71

133.20%

Wine (Bottle)

$8.52 PEN 29.31

$7.99 R$40.08

6.63%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.88 PEN 6.46

$1.51 R$7.59

24.50%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.22 PEN 11.07

$2.58 R$12.95

24.81%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.68 PEN 2.34

$1.03 R$5.15

-33.98%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$26.86 PEN 92.4

$27.72 R$139

-3.10%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.81 PEN 13.11

$1.23 R$6.18

209.76%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$2.02 PEN 6.94

$1.02 R$5.13

98.04%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$7.11 PEN 24.45

$8.45 R$42.38

-15.86%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.72 PEN 5.92

$1.30 R$6.51

32.31%

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

$22.3K PEN 76.7K

$23.9K R$119.9K

-6.64%

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

$25.5K PEN 87.7K

$32.6K R$163.5K

-21.73%

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

$73.1 PEN 251

$67.2 R$337

8.69%

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

$16.35 PEN 56.2

$15.08 R$75.7

8.42%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$27.47 PEN 94.5

$22.57 R$113

21.71%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$31.90 PEN 110

$25.32 R$127

25.99%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$19.41 PEN 66.8

$27.89 R$140

-30.41%

Cinema Ticket

$7.05 PEN 24.27

$7.93 R$39.77

-11.10%

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

$182 PEN 628

$545 R$2,733

-66.50%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$13.0K PEN 44.9K

$16.6K R$83.3K

-21.46%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$53.8 PEN 185

$66.1 R$332

-18.67%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$34.32 PEN 118

$57.1 R$286

-39.85%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$82.8 PEN 285

$91.4 R$459

-9.40%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$78.2 PEN 269

$80.5 R$404

-2.82%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$721 PEN 2,481

$404 R$2,025

78.65%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$343 PEN 1,181

$307 R$1,539

11.98%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,219 PEN 4,193

$674 R$3,380

80.92%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$651 PEN 2,239

$548 R$2,750

18.74%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,414 PEN 8,306

$1,748 R$8,771

38.11%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,357 PEN 4,668

$1,174 R$5,889

15.62%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$648 PEN 2,229

$554 R$2,781

16.91%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

8.94

10.81

-17.30%

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

Last update for Lima: October 11, 2026

Last update for Santo Andre: October 11, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Lima

$343 33.9%

Santo Andre

$307 30.6% 10.7% $37

Groceries & Markets

Lima

$226 22.3%

Santo Andre

$219 21.9% 2.9% $6.5

Eating Out

Lima

$124 12.3%

Santo Andre

$160 16% 29.2% $36

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Lima

$117 11.6%

Santo Andre

$105 10.5% 10.3% $12

Clothing & Footwear

Lima

$112 11.1%

Santo Andre

$133 13.2% 18.4% $21

Sport & Entertainment

Lima

$46 4.6%

Santo Andre

$41 4.1% 10.5% $4.8

Getting Around

Lima

$43 4.3%

Santo Andre

$38 3.8% 12.2% $5.3

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $721 in Lima and $404 in Santo Andre. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Lima pays 17% more on average. The extra income cushions the higher costs, though housing choices and lifestyle decide how much of the gap is truly closed.

Dining out: $35.00 in Lima vs $51.0 in Santo Andre. Groceries flip the comparison at $226 vs $219, with Santo Andre cheaper for home cooking.

Good to know

🇵🇪 Lima

🇧🇷 Santo Andre

🕒 Local time

14:23 2:23 PM

16:23 4:23 PM

2 h ahead of Lima

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

9,989,369 Capital

748,919

💱 Currency

Peruvian Sol PEN S/

Brazilian Real BRL R$

📈 Exchange rate

1 PEN = 0.291 USD

1 PEN = 0.259 EUR

1 BRL = 0.199 USD

1 BRL = 0.178 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

BRL, 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).

Brazilian Real exchange rates as of October 14, 2026: 1 USD = 5.02 BRL (1 BRL = 0.199 USD). 1 EUR = 5.62 BRL (1 BRL = 0.178 EUR).

USD to PEN in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Lima Santo Andre 3,470 km ≈ 4 h 45 min nonstop flight

From you

Lima
Santo Andre

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 Santo Andre: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Lima and Santo Andre differ by about 1% in total monthly costs ($1,012 vs $1,003 including rent). Santo Andre is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

Average pay runs 17% 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: $721 in Lima versus $404 in Santo Andre. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $182 in Lima versus $545 in Santo Andre. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Supermarket bills run roughly 3% higher in Lima. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

At $1,003 in Santo Andre versus $1,012 in Lima, a $1,500 budget is realistic in Santo Andre but tight or insufficient in Lima. The gap between the two cities makes Santo Andre 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 Santo Andre gentler on the wallet – expenses run 1% less than in Lima. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.