Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Nova Friburgo and Lima

For one person, living is cheaper in Nova Friburgo: $611 a month against $1,012 in Lima, rent and utilities included – about $4,800 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

30

Cost of Living Index in Nova Friburgo
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Nova Friburgo Living Index
49

Cost of Living Index in Lima
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Lima Living Index

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Nova Friburgo

🇧🇷 Brazil

$611

/mo nomad

Lima

🇵🇪 Peru

$1,012

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Nova Friburgo 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 Nova Friburgo and in Lima actually costs, broken down by who's living it.

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $611 in Nova Friburgo versus $1,012 in Lima.

Nova Friburgo $611
Lima $1,012

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,026 in Nova Friburgo versus $1,589 in Lima.

Nova Friburgo $1,026
Lima $1,589

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $1,440 in Nova Friburgo versus $2,167 in Lima.

Nova Friburgo $1,440
Lima $2,167

Living in Nova Friburgo costs roughly 40% less than in Lima, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Both cities sit below the global median: Nova Friburgo 55% lower, Lima 25% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$5.87 R$29.50

$4.40 PEN 15.08

33.41%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$30.15 R$152

$35.17 PEN 121

-14.27%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$6.38 R$32.07

$6.89 PEN 23.61

-7.40%

Cappuccino

$1.76 R$8.86

$3.26 PEN 11.18

-46.01%

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

$0.88 R$4.43

$1.12 PEN 3.83

-21.43%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.58 R$2.89

$0.62 PEN 2.11

-6.45%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$1.19 R$5.96

$2.65 PEN 9.08

-55.09%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.45 R$12.32

$4.41 PEN 15.12

-44.44%

Milk (1 liter)

$0.97 R$4.86

$1.63 PEN 5.60

-40.49%

White Bread (500g)

$1.51 R$7.60

$2.56 PEN 8.76

-41.02%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.38 R$6.95

$1.35 PEN 4.64

2.22%

Eggs

$1.94 R$9.77

$2.90 PEN 9.94

-33.10%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$9.21 R$46.30

$8.85 PEN 30.32

4.07%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$3.42 R$17.19

$5.98 PEN 20.48

-42.81%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$9.52 R$47.87

$9.78 PEN 33.53

-2.66%

Apples (1kg)

$1.62 R$8.16

$2.05 PEN 7.01

-20.98%

Banana (1kg)

$1.20 R$6.05

$1.06 PEN 3.65

13.21%

Oranges (1kg)

$0.93 R$4.66

$1.35 PEN 4.63

-31.11%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.28 R$6.44

$1.50 PEN 5.14

-14.67%

Potato (1kg)

$0.65 R$3.26

$0.88 PEN 3.02

-26.14%

Onion (1kg)

$0.81 R$4.05

$0.92 PEN 3.15

-11.96%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.56 R$2.82

$0.89 PEN 3.06

-37.08%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.76 R$3.84

$0.90 PEN 3.10

-15.56%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$1.58 R$7.95

$5.90 PEN 20.24

-73.22%

Wine (Bottle)

$6.07 R$30.49

$8.52 PEN 29.21

-28.76%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.01 R$5.08

$1.88 PEN 6.44

-46.28%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.42 R$7.13

$3.22 PEN 11.03

-55.90%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.96 R$4.84

$0.68 PEN 2.33

41.18%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$26.86 PEN 92.1

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.22 R$6.12

$3.81 PEN 13.07

-67.98%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.56 R$2.79

$2.02 PEN 6.92

-72.28%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$6.87 R$34.51

$7.11 PEN 24.37

-3.38%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.25 R$6.28

$1.72 PEN 5.89

-27.33%

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

$20.0K R$100.5K

$22.3K PEN 76.5K

-10.42%

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

$31.0K R$155.8K

$25.5K PEN 87.4K

21.56%

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

$41.63 R$209

$73.1 PEN 250

-43.03%

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

$9.54 R$47.94

$16.35 PEN 56.1

-41.65%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$18.74 R$94.2

$27.47 PEN 94.2

-31.78%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$22.35 R$112

$31.90 PEN 109

-29.94%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$19.41 PEN 66.6

Cinema Ticket

$6.77 R$34.01

$7.05 PEN 24.18

-3.97%

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

$147 R$740

$182 PEN 626

-19.31%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$2,693 R$13.5K

$13.0K PEN 44.7K

-79.35%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$71.1 R$358

$53.8 PEN 184

32.24%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$84.5 R$425

$34.32 PEN 118

146.12%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$68.1 R$342

$82.8 PEN 284

-17.76%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$47.77 R$240

$78.2 PEN 268

-38.94%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$161 R$811

$721 PEN 2,472

-77.63%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$99.3 R$499

$343 PEN 1,177

-71.10%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$396 R$1,990

$1,219 PEN 4,178

-67.51%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$243 R$1,223

$651 PEN 2,231

-62.60%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$1,604 R$8,064

$2,414 PEN 8,277

-33.55%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$810 R$4,069

$1,357 PEN 4,652

-40.35%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$521 R$2,618

$648 PEN 2,222

-19.64%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

10.67

8.94

19.35%

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

Last update for Nova Friburgo: October 10, 2026

Last update for Lima: October 11, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Groceries & Markets

Nova Friburgo

$172 28.1%

Lima

$226 22.3% 31.5% $54

Clothing & Footwear

Nova Friburgo

$122 20%

Lima

$112 11.1% 8.2% $10

Eating Out

Nova Friburgo

$104 17%

Lima

$124 12.3% 19.3% $20

Accommodation & Living

Nova Friburgo

$99 16.3%

Lima

$343 33.9% 246% $244

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Nova Friburgo

$70 11.5%

Lima

$117 11.6% 67.2% $47

Sport & Entertainment

Nova Friburgo

$36 5.9%

Lima

$46 4.6% 28.2% $10

Getting Around

Nova Friburgo

$7.9 * 1.3%

Lima

$43 4.3% 454% $36

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 $161 in Nova Friburgo and $721 in Lima. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Lima pays 24% 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: $30.00 in Nova Friburgo vs $35.00 in Lima for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $172 vs $226 per month, with Nova Friburgo cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇧🇷 Nova Friburgo

🇵🇪 Lima

🕒 Local time

15:30 3:30 PM

13:30 1:30 PM

2 h behind Nova Friburgo

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

189,939

9,989,369 Capital

💱 Currency

Brazilian Real BRL R$

Peruvian Sol PEN S/

📈 Exchange rate

1 BRL = 0.199 USD

1 BRL = 0.178 EUR

1 PEN = 0.292 USD

1 PEN = 0.26 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

PEN, USD, EUR to BRL – Brazilian Real Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇧🇷 Brazilian Real (R$)

Brazilian Real exchange rates as of October 14, 2026: 1 USD = 5.03 BRL (1 BRL = 0.199 USD). 1 EUR = 5.63 BRL (1 BRL = 0.178 EUR).

Peruvian Sol exchange rates as of October 14, 2026: 1 USD = 3.43 PEN (1 PEN = 0.292 USD). 1 EUR = 3.84 PEN (1 PEN = 0.26 EUR).

USD to BRL in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Nova Friburgo Lima 3,830 km ≈ 5 h nonstop flight

From you

Nova Friburgo
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

Nova Friburgo vs Lima: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Nova Friburgo and Lima differ by about 66% in total monthly costs ($611 vs $1,012 including rent). Nova Friburgo is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

On paper, salaries run 24% 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: $161 in Nova Friburgo versus $721 in Lima. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Supermarket bills run roughly 31% higher in Lima. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

All in, you'll spend $611 per month in Nova Friburgo versus $1,012 in Lima – a 66% gap that adds up to real savings over time for anyone picking the cheaper option.

At $611 in Nova Friburgo versus $1,012 in Lima, a $1,000 budget is realistic in Nova Friburgo but tight or insufficient in Lima. The gap between the two cities makes Nova Friburgo 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 Nova Friburgo gentler on the wallet – expenses run 66% less than in Lima. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.