Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Palmas and Lima

For one person, living is cheaper in Palmas: $834 a month against $1,014 in Lima, rent and utilities included – about $2,200 less a year. Rent and utilities account for about half of the difference.

40

Cost of Living Index in Palmas
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Palmas Living Index
49

Cost of Living Index in Lima
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Lima Living Index

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Palmas

🇧🇷 Brazil

$834

/mo nomad

Lima

🇵🇪 Peru

$1,014

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $834 in Palmas versus $1,014 in Lima.

Palmas $834
Lima $1,014

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,292 in Palmas versus $1,613 in Lima.

Palmas $1,292
Lima $1,613

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $1,751 in Palmas versus $2,211 in Lima.

Palmas $1,751
Lima $2,211

Living in Palmas costs roughly 18% less than in Lima, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

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

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$3.96 R$20.06

$4.42 PEN 15.19

-10.41%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$20.09 R$102

$34.56 PEN 119

-41.87%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$8.07 R$40.93

$6.80 PEN 23.37

18.68%

Cappuccino

$1.43 R$7.27

$3.30 PEN 11.34

-56.67%

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

$1.82 R$9.21

$1.06 PEN 3.64

71.70%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.12 R$5.69

$0.66 PEN 2.26

69.70%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$1.42 R$7.22

$2.54 PEN 8.71

-44.09%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.10 R$15.70

$4.24 PEN 14.55

-26.89%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.08 R$5.47

$1.58 PEN 5.43

-31.65%

White Bread (500g)

$1.47 R$7.45

$2.61 PEN 8.97

-43.68%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.24 R$6.28

$1.34 PEN 4.60

-7.46%

Eggs

$2.67 R$13.52

$2.93 PEN 10.08

-8.87%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$7.12 R$36.11

$9.45 PEN 32.45

-24.66%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$3.12 R$15.80

$5.75 PEN 19.75

-45.74%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$6.31 R$31.98

$9.69 PEN 33.29

-34.88%

Apples (1kg)

$2.17 R$10.98

$2.02 PEN 6.95

7.43%

Banana (1kg)

$1.75 R$8.85

$1.07 PEN 3.66

63.55%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.23 R$6.25

$1.37 PEN 4.70

-10.22%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.22 R$6.21

$1.47 PEN 5.05

-17.01%

Potato (1kg)

$1.27 R$6.42

$0.95 PEN 3.25

33.68%

Onion (1kg)

$1.07 R$5.43

$0.91 PEN 3.14

17.58%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.77 R$3.91

$0.90 PEN 3.10

-14.44%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.77 R$3.91

$0.89 PEN 3.04

-13.48%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$2.46 R$12.48

$5.74 PEN 19.71

-57.14%

Wine (Bottle)

$7.16 R$36.30

$9.21 PEN 31.64

-22.26%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.32 R$6.71

$1.84 PEN 6.31

-28.26%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.10 R$10.66

$3.11 PEN 10.67

-32.48%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.73 R$3.72

$0.72 PEN 2.46

1.39%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$43.43 R$220

$26.03 PEN 89.4

66.85%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.32 R$6.71

$3.54 PEN 12.17

-62.71%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.84 R$4.28

$2.07 PEN 7.12

-59.42%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$7.84 R$39.74

$7.75 PEN 26.62

1.16%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.20 R$6.08

$1.71 PEN 5.86

-29.82%

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

$23.9K R$121.4K

$21.6K PEN 74.1K

10.89%

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

$33.0K R$167.3K

$28.6K PEN 98.2K

15.47%

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

$115 R$581

$68.2 PEN 234

68.29%

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

$11.64 R$59.0

$15.73 PEN 54.0

-26.00%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$19.99 R$101

$26.48 PEN 90.9

-24.51%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$23.48 R$119

$33.94 PEN 117

-30.82%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$27.34 R$139

$20.10 PEN 69.0

36.02%

Cinema Ticket

$6.58 R$33.36

$7.22 PEN 24.80

-8.86%

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

$155 R$785

$201 PEN 689

-22.88%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$7,304 R$37.0K

$12.9K PEN 44.3K

-43.39%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$36.91 R$187

$53.7 PEN 184

-31.28%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$50.5 R$256

$35.88 PEN 123

40.72%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$115 R$583

$83.8 PEN 288

37.21%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$72.5 R$368

$78.8 PEN 271

-7.98%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$299 R$1,514

$729 PEN 2,505

-59.06%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$204 R$1,035

$349 PEN 1,197

-41.45%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$624 R$3,162

$1,186 PEN 4,073

-47.41%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$427 R$2,165

$696 PEN 2,391

-38.66%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$1,718 R$8,707

$2,360 PEN 8,105

-27.22%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,207 R$6,116

$1,356 PEN 4,657

-11.03%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$663 PEN 2,278

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

8.78

25.28%

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

Last update for Palmas: October 19, 2026

Last update for Lima: October 17, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Palmas

$204 24.5%

Lima

$349 34.4% 70.8% $145

Groceries & Markets

Palmas

$173 20.7%

Lima

$227 22.4% 31.5% $54

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Palmas

$146 17.6%

Lima

$110 10.9% 24.6% $36

Clothing & Footwear

Palmas

$124 14.8%

Lima

$113 11.2% 8.2% $10

Eating Out

Palmas

$98 11.8%

Lima

$123 12.2% 25.8% $25

Getting Around

Palmas

$52 6.2%

Lima

$43 4.2% 17.5% $9.1

Sport & Entertainment

Palmas

$37 4.4%

Lima

$48 4.8% 32% $12

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $299 in Palmas and $729 in Lima. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Dining out: $20.00 in Palmas vs $35.00 in Lima for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $173 vs $227 per month, with Palmas cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇧🇷 Palmas

🇵🇪 Lima

🕒 Local time

17:56 5:56 PM

15:56 3:56 PM

2 h behind Palmas

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

302,692

9,989,369 Capital

💱 Currency

Brazilian Real BRL R$

Peruvian Sol PEN S/

📈 Exchange rate

1 BRL = 0.197 USD

1 BRL = 0.175 EUR

1 PEN = 0.291 USD

1 PEN = 0.259 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 22, 2026: 1 USD = 5.07 BRL (1 BRL = 0.197 USD). 1 EUR = 5.7 BRL (1 BRL = 0.175 EUR).

Peruvian Sol exchange rates as of October 22, 2026: 1 USD = 3.43 PEN (1 PEN = 0.291 USD). 1 EUR = 3.86 PEN (1 PEN = 0.259 EUR).

USD to BRL in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Palmas Lima 3,140 km ≈ 4 h 30 min nonstop flight

From you

Palmas
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

Palmas vs Lima: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Palmas and Lima differ by about 22% in total monthly costs ($834 vs $1,014 including rent). Palmas is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

You'd need roughly $1,250 in Palmas and $1,522 in Lima 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: $299 in Palmas versus $729 in Lima. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $155 in Palmas versus $201 in Lima. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Supermarket bills run roughly 32% higher in Lima. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

At $834 in Palmas versus $1,014 in Lima, a $2,000 budget is realistic in Palmas but tight or insufficient in Lima. The gap between the two cities makes Palmas 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 Palmas gentler on the wallet – expenses run 22% less than in Lima. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.