Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Lima and Timbo

For one person, living is cheaper in Timbo: $764 a month against $1,014 in Lima, rent and utilities included – about $3,000 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
37

Cost of Living Index in Timbo
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Timbo Living Index

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Lima

🇵🇪 Peru

$1,014

/mo nomad

Timbo

🇧🇷 Brazil

$764

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Lima and in Timbo

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,014 in Lima versus $764 in Timbo.

Lima $1,014
Timbo $764

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,613 in Lima versus $1,250 in Timbo.

Lima $1,613
Timbo $1,250

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $2,211 in Lima versus $1,737 in Timbo.

Lima $2,211
Timbo $1,737

Living in Lima is roughly 33% more expensive than in Timbo, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Both cities sit below the global median: Lima 25% lower, Timbo 44% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$4.42 PEN 15.19

$4.90 R$24.82

-9.80%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$34.56 PEN 119

$39.89 R$202

-13.36%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$6.80 PEN 23.37

$3.93 R$19.90

73.03%

Cappuccino

$3.30 PEN 11.34

$2.05 R$10.41

60.98%

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

$1.06 PEN 3.64

$1.07 R$5.44

-0.93%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.66 PEN 2.26

$0.71 R$3.60

-7.04%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.54 PEN 8.71

$1.89 R$9.57

34.39%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.24 PEN 14.55

$2.35 R$11.93

80.43%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.58 PEN 5.43

$0.93 R$4.69

69.89%

White Bread (500g)

$2.61 PEN 8.97

$1.47 R$7.47

77.55%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.34 PEN 4.60

$0.93 R$4.72

44.09%

Eggs

$2.93 PEN 10.08

$1.80 R$9.11

62.78%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$9.45 PEN 32.45

$7.84 R$39.76

20.54%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$5.75 PEN 19.75

$3.60 R$18.24

59.72%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$9.69 PEN 33.29

$7.74 R$39.26

25.19%

Apples (1kg)

$2.02 PEN 6.95

$1.83 R$9.29

10.38%

Banana (1kg)

$1.07 PEN 3.66

$0.72 R$3.65

48.61%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.37 PEN 4.70

$0.83 R$4.20

65.06%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.47 PEN 5.05

$1.34 R$6.81

9.70%

Potato (1kg)

$0.95 PEN 3.25

$0.86 R$4.35

10.47%

Onion (1kg)

$0.91 PEN 3.14

$0.78 R$3.96

16.67%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.90 PEN 3.10

$0.63 R$3.18

42.86%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.89 PEN 3.04

$0.83 R$4.20

7.23%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$5.74 PEN 19.71

$1.63 R$8.25

252.15%

Wine (Bottle)

$9.21 PEN 31.64

$4.99 R$25.28

84.57%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.84 PEN 6.31

$1.12 R$5.68

64.29%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.11 PEN 10.67

$2.06 R$10.44

50.97%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.72 PEN 2.46

$1.03 R$5.24

-30.10%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$26.03 PEN 89.4

$44.44 R$225

-41.43%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.54 PEN 12.17

$1.31 R$6.65

170.23%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$2.07 PEN 7.12

$0.83 R$4.20

149.40%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$7.75 PEN 26.62

$6.11 R$30.95

26.84%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.71 PEN 5.86

$1.02 R$5.19

67.65%

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

$21.6K PEN 74.1K

$22.8K R$115.7K

-5.37%

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

$28.6K PEN 98.2K

$27.3K R$138.4K

4.73%

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

$68.2 PEN 234

$57.6 R$292

18.34%

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

$15.73 PEN 54.0

$12.86 R$65.2

22.32%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$26.48 PEN 90.9

$23.62 R$120

12.11%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$33.94 PEN 117

$25.78 R$131

31.65%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$20.10 PEN 69.0

$27.38 R$139

-26.59%

Cinema Ticket

$7.22 PEN 24.80

$5.84 R$29.62

23.63%

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

$201 PEN 689

$238 R$1,204

-15.52%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$12.9K PEN 44.3K

$2,918 R$14.8K

342.18%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$53.7 PEN 184

$31.48 R$160

70.62%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$35.88 PEN 123

$40.18 R$204

-10.70%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$83.8 PEN 288

$59.2 R$300

41.42%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$78.8 PEN 271

$49.89 R$253

57.97%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$729 PEN 2,505

$351 R$1,781

107.62%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$349 PEN 1,197

$241 R$1,223

44.54%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,186 PEN 4,073

$662 R$3,354

79.23%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$696 PEN 2,391

$477 R$2,419

45.90%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,360 PEN 8,105

$1,726 R$8,751

36.71%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,356 PEN 4,657

$1,213 R$6,151

11.77%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$663 PEN 2,278

$713 R$3,613

-6.94%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

8.78

-20.18%

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

Last update for Lima: October 17, 2026

Last update for Timbo: October 19, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Lima

$349 34.4%

Timbo

$241 31.6% 30.8% $107

Groceries & Markets

Lima

$227 22.4%

Timbo

$159 20.9% 29.8% $68

Eating Out

Lima

$123 12.2%

Timbo

$97 12.7% 21.5% $27

Clothing & Footwear

Lima

$113 11.2%

Timbo

$81 10.6% 28.3% $32

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Lima

$110 10.9%

Timbo

$94 12.3% 14.8% $16

Sport & Entertainment

Lima

$48 4.8%

Timbo

$37 4.9% 22.6% $11

Getting Around

Lima

$43 4.2%

Timbo

$54 7.1% 26.2% $11

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $729 in Lima and $351 in Timbo. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Timbo pays 7% more on average while also being the cheaper of the two. The combined effect is a noticeably stronger local purchasing power.

Dining out: $35.00 in Lima vs $40.00 in Timbo. Groceries flip the comparison at $227 vs $159, with Timbo cheaper for home cooking.

Good to know

🇵🇪 Lima

🇧🇷 Timbo

🕒 Local time

09:14 9:14 AM

11:14 11:14 AM

2 h ahead of Lima

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

9,989,369 Capital

46,099

💱 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 20, 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 20, 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

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Highest

Between locations

Lima Timbo 3,330 km ≈ 4 h 45 min nonstop flight

From you

Lima
Timbo

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 Timbo: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Lima and Timbo differ by about 33% in total monthly costs ($1,014 vs $764 including rent). Timbo is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

On paper, salaries run 7% lower in Timbo. That's worth factoring in alongside costs, though remote workers earning in a stronger currency may not notice the difference at all.

Rent for a central apartment: $729 in Lima versus $351 in Timbo. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $201 in Lima versus $238 in Timbo. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Supermarket bills run roughly 43% higher in Lima. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

At $764 in Timbo versus $1,014 in Lima, a $2,000 budget is realistic in Timbo but tight or insufficient in Lima. The gap between the two cities makes Timbo 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 Timbo gentler on the wallet – expenses run 33% less than in Lima. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.