Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Quilmes and Lima

For one person, living costs are similar in Quilmes and in Lima: $965 and $1,012 a month, rent and utilities included.

47

Cost of Living Index in Quilmes
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Quilmes Living Index
49

Cost of Living Index in Lima
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Lima Living Index

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Quilmes

🇦🇷 Argentina

$965

/mo nomad

Lima

🇵🇪 Peru

$1,012

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $965 in Quilmes versus $1,012 in Lima.

Quilmes $965
Lima $1,012

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,611 in Quilmes versus $1,589 in Lima.

Quilmes $1,611
Lima $1,589

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $2,257 in Quilmes versus $2,167 in Lima.

Quilmes $2,257
Lima $2,167

Living in Quilmes costs roughly 5% less than in Lima, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in transport.

Both cities sit below the global median: Quilmes 28% lower, Lima 25% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$5.63 ARS 8,548

$4.40 PEN 15.10

27.95%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$34.37 ARS 52.2K

$35.17 PEN 121

-2.27%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$8.93 ARS 13.5K

$6.89 PEN 23.65

29.61%

Cappuccino

$2.95 ARS 4,476

$3.26 PEN 11.20

-9.51%

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

$1.69 ARS 2,565

$1.12 PEN 3.84

50.89%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.72 ARS 2,608

$0.62 PEN 2.11

177.42%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$4.10 ARS 6,222

$2.65 PEN 9.09

54.72%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.19 ARS 3,329

$4.41 PEN 15.15

-50.34%

Milk (1 liter)

$0.98 ARS 1,488

$1.63 PEN 5.61

-39.88%

White Bread (500g)

$1.56 ARS 2,373

$2.56 PEN 8.78

-39.06%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.63 ARS 2,478

$1.35 PEN 4.65

20.74%

Eggs

$2.25 ARS 3,408

$2.90 PEN 9.96

-22.41%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$13.26 ARS 20.1K

$8.85 PEN 30.38

49.83%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$5.86 ARS 8,899

$5.98 PEN 20.52

-2.01%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$10.18 ARS 15.4K

$9.78 PEN 33.59

4.09%

Apples (1kg)

$1.93 ARS 2,928

$2.05 PEN 7.02

-5.85%

Banana (1kg)

$1.58 ARS 2,398

$1.06 PEN 3.66

49.06%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.01 ARS 1,531

$1.35 PEN 4.64

-25.19%

Tomato (1kg)

$3.08 ARS 4,673

$1.50 PEN 5.15

105.33%

Potato (1kg)

$0.99 ARS 1,499

$0.88 PEN 3.03

12.50%

Onion (1kg)

$0.65 ARS 986

$0.92 PEN 3.15

-29.35%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.73 ARS 1,105

$0.89 PEN 3.07

-17.98%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.69 ARS 1,041

$0.90 PEN 3.10

-23.33%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$5.15 ARS 7,815

$5.90 PEN 20.27

-12.71%

Wine (Bottle)

$4.16 ARS 6,319

$8.52 PEN 29.26

-51.17%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.24 ARS 1,877

$1.88 PEN 6.45

-34.04%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.87 ARS 2,833

$3.22 PEN 11.05

-41.93%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.98 ARS 1,494

$0.68 PEN 2.33

44.12%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$26.86 PEN 92.2

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$2.77 ARS 4,196

$3.81 PEN 13.09

-27.30%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.97 ARS 1,473

$2.02 PEN 6.93

-51.98%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$7.11 PEN 24.41

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.09 ARS 1,654

$1.72 PEN 5.91

-36.63%

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

$50.1K ARS 76.1M

$22.3K PEN 76.6K

124.65%

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

$39.2K ARS 59.4M

$25.5K PEN 87.6K

53.54%

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

$59.9 ARS 90.9K

$73.1 PEN 251

-18.00%

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

$14.26 ARS 21.6K

$16.35 PEN 56.2

-12.78%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$22.15 ARS 33.6K

$27.47 PEN 94.3

-19.37%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$27.18 ARS 41.2K

$31.90 PEN 110

-14.80%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$19.41 PEN 66.7

Cinema Ticket

$9.98 ARS 15.1K

$7.05 PEN 24.23

41.56%

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

$315 ARS 477.4K

$182 PEN 627

72.41%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$13.0K PEN 44.8K

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$97.6 ARS 148.1K

$53.8 PEN 185

81.45%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$34.71 ARS 52.7K

$34.32 PEN 118

1.14%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$63.0 ARS 95.7K

$82.8 PEN 284

-23.90%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$69.9 ARS 106.0K

$78.2 PEN 269

-10.72%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$519 ARS 787.3K

$721 PEN 2,476

-28.06%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$332 ARS 504.4K

$343 PEN 1,179

-3.21%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$999 ARS 1.5M

$1,219 PEN 4,186

-18.03%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$812 ARS 1.2M

$651 PEN 2,235

24.83%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,324 ARS 3.5M

$2,414 PEN 8,292

-3.76%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,818 ARS 2.8M

$1,357 PEN 4,660

33.93%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,114 ARS 1.7M

$648 PEN 2,226

71.87%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

100

8.94

1018.57%

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

Last update for Quilmes: 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

Quilmes

$332 34.4%

Lima

$343 33.9% 3.3% $11

Groceries & Markets

Quilmes

$213 22.1%

Lima

$226 22.3% 6.2% $13

Eating Out

Quilmes

$146 15.1%

Lima

$124 12.3% 14.9% $22

Clothing & Footwear

Quilmes

$119 12.4%

Lima

$112 11.1% 6% $7.2

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Quilmes

$96 10%

Lima

$117 11.6% 21.3% $21

Sport & Entertainment

Quilmes

$47 4.9%

Lima

$46 4.6% 2.4% $1.1

Getting Around

Quilmes

$12 * 1.2%

Lima

$43 4.3% 276% $32

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 $519 in Quilmes and $721 in Lima. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Quilmes pays 72% more on average while also being the cheaper of the two. The combined effect is a noticeably stronger local purchasing power.

Dining out: $34.00 in Quilmes vs $35.00 in Lima for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $213 vs $226 per month, with Quilmes cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇦🇷 Quilmes

🇵🇪 Lima

🕒 Local time

14:18 2:18 PM

12:18 12:18 PM

2 h behind Quilmes

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

230,810

9,989,369 Capital

💱 Currency

Argentine Peso ARS $

Peruvian Sol PEN S/

📈 Exchange rate

10,000 ARS = 6.59 USD

10,000 ARS = 5.86 EUR

1 PEN = 0.291 USD

1 PEN = 0.259 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 17, 2026: 1 USD = 1,517 ARS (10,000 ARS = 6.59 USD). 1 EUR = 1,706 ARS (10,000 ARS = 5.86 EUR).

Peruvian Sol exchange rates as of October 17, 2026: 1 USD = 3.43 PEN (1 PEN = 0.291 USD). 1 EUR = 3.86 PEN (1 PEN = 0.259 EUR).

USD to ARS in detail →

On the map

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Highest

Between locations

Quilmes Lima 3,150 km ≈ 4 h 30 min nonstop flight

From you

Quilmes
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

Quilmes vs Lima: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Quilmes and Lima differ by about 5% in total monthly costs ($965 vs $1,012 including rent). Quilmes is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

Average pay runs 72% higher in Quilmes, which matters when comparing affordability. Whether that higher income actually nets you more depends on your spending habits and housing choices.

Rent for a central apartment: $519 in Quilmes versus $721 in Lima. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Supermarket bills run roughly 6% higher in Lima. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

All in, you'll spend $965 per month in Quilmes versus $1,012 in Lima – a 5% gap that adds up to real savings over time for anyone picking the cheaper option.

At $965 in Quilmes versus $1,012 in Lima, a $1,000 budget is realistic in Quilmes but tight or insufficient in Lima. The gap between the two cities makes Quilmes 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, Quilmes 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 Quilmes gentler on the wallet – expenses run 5% less than in Lima. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.