Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Paulista and Lima

For one person, living is cheaper in Paulista: $787 a month against $1,012 in Lima, rent and utilities included – about $2,700 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

38

Cost of Living Index in Paulista
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Paulista Living Index
49

Cost of Living Index in Lima
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Lima Living Index

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Paulista

🇧🇷 Brazil

$787

/mo nomad

Lima

🇵🇪 Peru

$1,012

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $787 in Paulista versus $1,012 in Lima.

Paulista $787
Lima $1,012

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,225 in Paulista versus $1,589 in Lima.

Paulista $1,225
Lima $1,589

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $1,663 in Paulista versus $2,167 in Lima.

Paulista $1,663
Lima $2,167

Living in Paulista costs roughly 22% less than in Lima, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Both cities sit below the global median: Paulista 42% lower, Lima 25% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$7.05 R$35.72

$4.40 PEN 15.10

60.23%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$15.92 R$80.7

$35.17 PEN 121

-54.73%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$8.24 R$41.79

$6.89 PEN 23.65

19.59%

Cappuccino

$1.58 R$8.03

$3.26 PEN 11.20

-51.53%

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

$1.07 R$5.43

$1.12 PEN 3.84

-4.46%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.42 R$2.13

$0.62 PEN 2.11

-32.26%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$1.92 R$9.71

$2.65 PEN 9.09

-27.55%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.54 R$17.94

$4.41 PEN 15.15

-19.73%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.02 R$5.16

$1.63 PEN 5.61

-37.42%

White Bread (500g)

$1.82 R$9.20

$2.56 PEN 8.78

-28.91%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.03 R$5.22

$1.35 PEN 4.65

-23.70%

Eggs

$2.17 R$11.02

$2.90 PEN 9.96

-25.17%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$2.89 R$14.64

$8.85 PEN 30.38

-67.34%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$2.96 R$15.01

$5.98 PEN 20.52

-50.50%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$5.69 R$28.86

$9.78 PEN 33.59

-41.82%

Apples (1kg)

$2.02 R$10.25

$2.05 PEN 7.02

-1.46%

Banana (1kg)

$0.95 R$4.80

$1.06 PEN 3.66

-10.38%

Oranges (1kg)

$0.92 R$4.64

$1.35 PEN 4.64

-31.85%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.18 R$5.97

$1.50 PEN 5.15

-21.33%

Potato (1kg)

$1.37 R$6.95

$0.88 PEN 3.03

55.68%

Onion (1kg)

$0.84 R$4.26

$0.92 PEN 3.15

-8.70%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.41 R$2.09

$0.89 PEN 3.07

-53.93%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.86 R$4.37

$0.90 PEN 3.10

-4.44%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$2.27 R$11.52

$5.90 PEN 20.27

-61.53%

Wine (Bottle)

$3.74 R$18.95

$8.52 PEN 29.26

-56.10%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.55 R$7.87

$1.88 PEN 6.45

-17.55%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.29 R$16.70

$3.22 PEN 11.05

2.17%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.04 R$5.28

$0.68 PEN 2.33

52.94%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$48.16 R$244

$26.86 PEN 92.2

79.30%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.97 R$9.99

$3.81 PEN 13.09

-48.29%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.17 R$5.95

$2.02 PEN 6.93

-42.08%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$3.25 R$16.46

$7.11 PEN 24.41

-54.29%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.09 R$5.51

$1.72 PEN 5.91

-36.63%

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

$14.2K R$72.2K

$22.3K PEN 76.6K

-36.17%

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

$30.0K R$151.9K

$25.5K PEN 87.6K

17.52%

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

$46.71 R$237

$73.1 PEN 251

-36.07%

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

$23.42 R$119

$16.35 PEN 56.2

43.24%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$23.62 R$120

$27.47 PEN 94.3

-14.02%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$25.85 R$131

$31.90 PEN 110

-18.97%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$27.58 R$140

$19.41 PEN 66.7

42.09%

Cinema Ticket

$5.88 R$29.81

$7.05 PEN 24.23

-16.60%

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

$69.7 R$353

$182 PEN 627

-61.79%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$6,903 R$35.0K

$13.0K PEN 44.8K

-47.07%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$18.37 R$93.1

$53.8 PEN 185

-65.85%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$68.6 R$348

$34.32 PEN 118

99.80%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$50.4 R$256

$82.8 PEN 284

-39.11%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$59.7 R$303

$78.2 PEN 269

-23.66%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$354 R$1,796

$721 PEN 2,476

-50.88%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$237 R$1,201

$343 PEN 1,179

-30.99%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$688 R$3,485

$1,219 PEN 4,186

-43.59%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$464 R$2,353

$651 PEN 2,235

-28.67%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$1,798 R$9,115

$2,414 PEN 8,292

-25.53%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,346 R$6,824

$1,357 PEN 4,660

-0.81%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$648 PEN 2,226

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

8.94

23.04%

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

Last update for Paulista: October 11, 2026

Last update for Lima: October 11, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Paulista

$237 30.1%

Lima

$343 33.9% 44.9% $106

Groceries & Markets

Paulista

$147 18.6%

Lima

$226 22.3% 54.1% $79

Eating Out

Paulista

$123 15.6%

Lima

$124 12.3% 1% $1.3

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Paulista

$94 11.9%

Lima

$117 11.6% 24.7% $23

Clothing & Footwear

Paulista

$89 11.3%

Lima

$112 11.1% 26.4% $23

Getting Around

Paulista

$60 7.7%

Lima

$43 4.3% 27.7% $17

Sport & Entertainment

Paulista

$38 4.8%

Lima

$46 4.6% 22.3% $8.4

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $354 in Paulista and $721 in Lima. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Dining out: $16.00 in Paulista vs $35.00 in Lima for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $147 vs $226 per month, with Paulista cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇧🇷 Paulista

🇵🇪 Lima

🕒 Local time

12:11 12:11 PM

10:11 10:11 AM

2 h behind Paulista

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

342,167

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 18, 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 18, 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

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Paulista Lima 4,640 km ≈ 6 h nonstop flight

From you

Paulista
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

Paulista vs Lima: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Paulista and Lima differ by about 29% in total monthly costs ($787 vs $1,012 including rent). Paulista is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

You'd need roughly $1,180 in Paulista and $1,518 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: $354 in Paulista versus $721 in Lima. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $69.7 in Paulista versus $182 in Lima. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Supermarket bills run roughly 54% higher in Lima. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

At $787 in Paulista versus $1,012 in Lima, a $1,000 budget is realistic in Paulista but tight or insufficient in Lima. The gap between the two cities makes Paulista 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 Paulista gentler on the wallet – expenses run 29% less than in Lima. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.