Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Mar del Plata and Lima

For one person, living costs are similar in Mar del Plata and in Lima: $1,038 and $996 a month, rent and utilities included.

42

Cost of Living Index in Mar del Plata
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Mar del Plata Living Index
49

Cost of Living Index in Lima
Learn more

Lima Living Index

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Mar del Plata

🇦🇷 Argentina

$1,038

/mo nomad

Lima

🇵🇪 Peru

$996

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Mar del Plata and in Lima

Real prices from locals and on-the-ground checks – rent, groceries, transit and the daily extras. Here's what a month in Mar del Plata and in Lima actually costs, broken down by who's living it.

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,038 in Mar del Plata versus $996 in Lima.

Mar del Plata $1,038
Lima $996

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,787 in Mar del Plata versus $1,594 in Lima.

Mar del Plata $1,787
Lima $1,594

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $2,536 in Mar del Plata versus $2,191 in Lima.

Mar del Plata $2,536
Lima $2,191

Living in Mar del Plata is roughly 4% more expensive than in Lima, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Both cities sit below the global median: Mar del Plata 23% lower, Lima 26% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$19.74 ARS 29.9K

$4.42 PEN 15.16

346.61%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$60.3 ARS 91.4K

$35.04 PEN 120

72.06%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$12.52 ARS 19.0K

$6.84 PEN 23.44

83.04%

Cappuccino

$3.13 ARS 4,743

$3.27 PEN 11.22

-4.28%

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

$2.51 ARS 3,813

$1.10 PEN 3.78

128.18%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.03 ARS 3,071

$0.65 PEN 2.22

212.31%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$4.06 ARS 6,151

$2.58 PEN 8.85

57.36%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.02 ARS 4,585

$4.47 PEN 15.34

-32.44%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.08 ARS 1,634

$1.59 PEN 5.46

-32.08%

White Bread (500g)

$2.20 ARS 3,330

$2.58 PEN 8.86

-14.73%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$3.16 ARS 4,785

$1.36 PEN 4.65

132.35%

Eggs

$2.36 ARS 3,575

$2.95 PEN 10.11

-20.00%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$5.86 ARS 8,885

$9.10 PEN 31.19

-35.60%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$6.65 ARS 10.1K

$5.81 PEN 19.91

14.46%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$12.52 ARS 19.0K

$9.83 PEN 33.68

27.37%

Apples (1kg)

$3.32 ARS 5,030

$2.01 PEN 6.89

65.17%

Banana (1kg)

$2.43 ARS 3,687

$1.08 PEN 3.69

125.00%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.48 ARS 2,242

$1.37 PEN 4.70

8.03%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.05 ARS 3,115

$1.48 PEN 5.06

38.51%

Potato (1kg)

$0.96 PEN 3.30

Onion (1kg)

$1.01 ARS 1,532

$0.85 PEN 2.92

18.82%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.88 PEN 3.02

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.87 PEN 2.97

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$3.60 ARS 5,463

$5.90 PEN 20.24

-38.98%

Wine (Bottle)

$2.94 ARS 4,457

$8.81 PEN 30.21

-66.63%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.92 PEN 6.57

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.20 PEN 10.98

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.29 ARS 1,954

$0.68 PEN 2.33

89.71%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$26.74 PEN 91.7

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.63 ARS 2,468

$3.81 PEN 13.06

-57.22%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.64 ARS 967

$2.04 PEN 7.00

-68.63%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$6.40 ARS 9,707

$7.14 PEN 24.49

-10.36%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.36 ARS 2,064

$1.65 PEN 5.65

-17.58%

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

$22.2K PEN 76.0K

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

$25.7K PEN 88.0K

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

$79.0 ARS 119.8K

$73.0 PEN 250

8.17%

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

$8.23 ARS 12.5K

$16.26 PEN 55.7

-49.38%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$30.10 ARS 45.6K

$27.60 PEN 94.6

9.06%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$31.31 ARS 47.5K

$33.07 PEN 113

-5.32%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$19.49 PEN 66.8

Cinema Ticket

$10.07 ARS 15.3K

$7.39 PEN 25.33

36.27%

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

$304 ARS 460.4K

$182 PEN 624

66.83%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$13.3K PEN 45.7K

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$87.7 ARS 133.1K

$52.6 PEN 180

66.93%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$34.23 PEN 117

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$121 ARS 184.2K

$83.8 PEN 287

45.03%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$54.8 ARS 83.1K

$79.0 PEN 271

-30.66%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$328 ARS 497.2K

$723 PEN 2,479

-54.67%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$253 ARS 383.9K

$340 PEN 1,166

-25.57%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$801 ARS 1.2M

$1,184 PEN 4,060

-32.37%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$654 ARS 992.3K

$635 PEN 2,176

3.09%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,449 PEN 8,394

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,372 PEN 4,702

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$610 ARS 925.5K

$653 PEN 2,237

-6.48%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

8.94

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

Last update for Mar del Plata: October 4, 2026

Last update for Lima: October 4, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Eating Out

Mar del Plata

$278 27%

Lima

$124 12.3% 55.3% $153

Accommodation & Living

Mar del Plata

$253 24.7%

Lima

$340 33.6% 34.4% $87

Groceries & Markets

Mar del Plata

$198 * 19.3%

Lima

$226 22.4% 14.1% $28

Clothing & Footwear

Mar del Plata

$119 * 11.6%

Lima

$112 11.1% 5.5% $6.5

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Mar del Plata

$117 11.4%

Lima

$117 11.6% 0.4% $0.4

Sport & Entertainment

Mar del Plata

$51 5%

Lima

$48 4.7% 7% $3.6

Getting Around

Mar del Plata

$10 * 1%

Lima

$43 4.3% 336% $34

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 $328 in Mar del Plata and $723 in Lima. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Lima 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: $60.0 in Mar del Plata vs $35.00 in Lima. Groceries flip the comparison at $198 vs $226, with Mar del Plata cheaper for home cooking.

Good to know

🇦🇷 Mar del Plata

🇵🇪 Lima

🕒 Local time

23:49 11:49 PM

21:49 9:49 PM

2 h behind Mar del Plata

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

593,337

9,989,369 Capital

💱 Currency

Argentine Peso ARS $

Peruvian Sol PEN S/

📈 Exchange rate

10,000 ARS = 6.59 USD

10,000 ARS = 5.88 EUR

1 PEN = 0.292 USD

1 PEN = 0.26 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

PEN, USD, EUR to ARS – Argentine Peso Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇦🇷 Argentine Peso ($)

Argentine Peso exchange rates as of October 10, 2026: 1 USD = 1,517 ARS (10,000 ARS = 6.59 USD). 1 EUR = 1,701 ARS (10,000 ARS = 5.88 EUR).

Peruvian Sol exchange rates as of October 10, 2026: 1 USD = 3.43 PEN (1 PEN = 0.292 USD). 1 EUR = 3.84 PEN (1 PEN = 0.26 EUR).

USD to ARS in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Mar del Plata Lima 3,470 km ≈ 4 h 45 min nonstop flight

From you

Mar del Plata
Lima

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

Mar del Plata vs Lima: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Mar del Plata and Lima differ by about 4% in total monthly costs ($1,038 vs $996 including rent). Lima is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

On paper, salaries run 7% lower in Lima. 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: $328 in Mar del Plata versus $723 in Lima. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Shoppers in Mar del Plata pay roughly 14% less for everyday groceries. It's an unusual reversal that partly offsets higher costs elsewhere.

All in, you'll spend $1,038 per month in Mar del Plata versus $996 in Lima – a 4% gap that adds up to real savings over time for anyone picking the cheaper option.

At $996 in Lima versus $1,038 in Mar del Plata, a $2,000 budget is realistic in Lima but tight or insufficient in Mar del Plata. 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, Mar del Plata and Lima 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 4% less than in Mar del Plata. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.