Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Lima and São Gabriel

For one person, living is cheaper in São Gabriel: $842 a month against $1,014 in Lima, rent and utilities included – about $2,100 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

49

Cost of Living Index in Lima
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Lima Living Index
41

Cost of Living Index in São Gabriel
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São Gabriel Living Index

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Lima

🇵🇪 Peru

$1,014

/mo nomad

São Gabriel

🇧🇷 Brazil

$842

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Lima and in São Gabriel

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,014 in Lima versus $842 in São Gabriel.

Lima $1,014
São Gabriel $842

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,613 in Lima versus $1,371 in São Gabriel.

Lima $1,613
São Gabriel $1,371

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $2,211 in Lima versus $1,901 in São Gabriel.

Lima $2,211
São Gabriel $1,901

Living in Lima is roughly 20% more expensive than in São Gabriel, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Both cities sit below the global median: Lima 25% lower, São Gabriel 38% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$4.42 PEN 15.19

$5.66 R$28.70

-21.91%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$34.56 PEN 119

$40.73 R$206

-15.15%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$6.80 PEN 23.37

$7.05 R$35.76

-3.55%

Cappuccino

$3.30 PEN 11.34

$1.18 R$5.96

179.66%

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

$1.06 PEN 3.64

$1.37 R$6.96

-22.63%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.66 PEN 2.26

$1.02 R$5.19

-35.29%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.54 PEN 8.71

$1.38 R$6.98

84.06%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.24 PEN 14.55

$2.98 R$15.10

42.28%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.58 PEN 5.43

$0.91 R$4.63

73.63%

White Bread (500g)

$2.61 PEN 8.97

$1.63 R$8.24

60.12%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.34 PEN 4.60

$1.08 R$5.48

24.07%

Eggs

$2.93 PEN 10.08

$1.42 R$7.22

106.34%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$9.45 PEN 32.45

$10.15 R$51.5

-6.90%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$5.75 PEN 19.75

$4.96 R$25.16

15.93%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$9.69 PEN 33.29

$9.84 R$49.87

-1.52%

Apples (1kg)

$2.02 PEN 6.95

$1.17 R$5.92

72.65%

Banana (1kg)

$1.07 PEN 3.66

$1.49 R$7.58

-28.19%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.37 PEN 4.70

$1.02 R$5.19

34.31%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.47 PEN 5.05

$0.76 R$3.86

93.42%

Potato (1kg)

$0.95 PEN 3.25

$1.23 R$6.25

-22.76%

Onion (1kg)

$0.91 PEN 3.14

$0.78 R$3.95

16.67%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.90 PEN 3.10

$0.88 R$4.44

2.27%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.89 PEN 3.04

$0.89 R$4.50

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$5.74 PEN 19.71

$1.76 R$8.92

226.14%

Wine (Bottle)

$9.21 PEN 31.64

$4.06 R$20.58

126.85%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.84 PEN 6.31

$1.13 R$5.71

62.83%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.11 PEN 10.67

$1.63 R$8.25

90.80%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.72 PEN 2.46

$1.03 R$5.23

-30.10%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$26.03 PEN 89.4

$44.73 R$227

-41.81%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.54 PEN 12.17

$1.28 R$6.51

176.56%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$2.07 PEN 7.12

$0.81 R$4.13

155.56%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$7.75 PEN 26.62

$8.44 R$42.79

-8.18%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.71 PEN 5.86

$1.33 R$6.74

28.57%

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

$21.6K PEN 74.1K

$23.4K R$118.5K

-7.64%

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

$28.6K PEN 98.2K

$34.4K R$174.3K

-16.89%

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

$68.2 PEN 234

$75.5 R$382

-9.68%

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

$15.73 PEN 54.0

$12.49 R$63.3

25.94%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$26.48 PEN 90.9

$21.98 R$111

20.47%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$33.94 PEN 117

$26.34 R$134

28.85%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$20.10 PEN 69.0

$27.73 R$141

-27.52%

Cinema Ticket

$7.22 PEN 24.80

$7.20 R$36.51

0.28%

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

$201 PEN 689

$281 R$1,425

-28.62%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$12.9K PEN 44.3K

$7,317 R$37.1K

76.34%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$53.7 PEN 184

$51.5 R$261

4.37%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$35.88 PEN 123

$26.26 R$133

36.63%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$83.8 PEN 288

$102 R$519

-18.25%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$78.8 PEN 271

$80.4 R$408

-2.03%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$729 PEN 2,505

$350 R$1,772

108.70%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$349 PEN 1,197

$237 R$1,204

46.79%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,186 PEN 4,073

$687 R$3,482

72.65%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$696 PEN 2,391

$476 R$2,411

46.43%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,360 PEN 8,105

$1,740 R$8,819

35.66%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,356 PEN 4,657

$1,189 R$6,025

14.10%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$663 PEN 2,278

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

8.78

11.5

-23.65%

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

Last update for Lima: October 17, 2026

Last update for São Gabriel: October 20, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Lima

$349 34.4%

São Gabriel

$238 28.2% 31.9% $111

Groceries & Markets

Lima

$227 22.4%

São Gabriel

$179 21.3% 21.1% $48

Eating Out

Lima

$123 12.2%

São Gabriel

$103 12.2% 16.6% $20

Clothing & Footwear

Lima

$113 11.2%

São Gabriel

$117 13.9% 3.3% $3.8

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Lima

$110 10.9%

São Gabriel

$110 13.1% 0.4% $0.5

Sport & Entertainment

Lima

$48 4.8%

São Gabriel

$41 4.8% 15.8% $7.6

Getting Around

Lima

$43 4.2%

São Gabriel

$54 6.4% 26.6% $11

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $729 in Lima and $350 in São Gabriel. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Dining out: $35.00 in Lima vs $41.00 in São Gabriel. Groceries flip the comparison at $227 vs $179, with São Gabriel cheaper for home cooking.

Good to know

🇵🇪 Lima

🇧🇷 São Gabriel

🕒 Local time

13:55 1:55 PM

15:55 3:55 PM

2 h ahead of Lima

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

9,989,369 Capital

58,487

💱 Currency

Peruvian Sol PEN S/

Brazilian Real BRL R$

📈 Exchange rate

1 PEN = 0.291 USD

1 PEN = 0.259 EUR

1 BRL = 0.197 USD

1 BRL = 0.175 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 21, 2026: 1 USD = 3.43 PEN (1 PEN = 0.291 USD). 1 EUR = 3.86 PEN (1 PEN = 0.259 EUR).

Brazilian Real exchange rates as of October 21, 2026: 1 USD = 5.07 BRL (1 BRL = 0.197 USD). 1 EUR = 5.7 BRL (1 BRL = 0.175 EUR).

USD to PEN in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Lima São Gabriel 3,100 km ≈ 4 h 15 min nonstop flight

From you

Lima
São Gabriel

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 São Gabriel: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Lima and São Gabriel differ by about 20% in total monthly costs ($1,014 vs $842 including rent). São Gabriel 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 $1,263 in São Gabriel 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 $350 in São Gabriel. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $201 in Lima versus $281 in São Gabriel. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Supermarket bills run roughly 27% higher in Lima. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

At $842 in São Gabriel versus $1,014 in Lima, a $1,500 budget is realistic in São Gabriel but tight or insufficient in Lima. The gap between the two cities makes São Gabriel 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 São Gabriel gentler on the wallet – expenses run 20% less than in Lima. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.