Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Rio de Janeiro and Lima

For one person, living is cheaper in Lima: $996 a month against $1,285 in Rio de Janeiro, rent and utilities included – about $3,500 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

63

Cost of Living Index in Rio de Janeiro
Learn more

Rio de Janeiro Living Index
49

Cost of Living Index in Lima
Learn more

Lima Living Index

Jump to prices

Rio de Janeiro

🇧🇷 Brazil

$1,285

/mo nomad

Lima

🇵🇪 Peru

$996

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,285 in Rio de Janeiro versus $996 in Lima.

Rio de Janeiro $1,285
Lima $996

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,888 in Rio de Janeiro versus $1,594 in Lima.

Rio de Janeiro $1,888
Lima $1,594

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $2,491 in Rio de Janeiro versus $2,191 in Lima.

Rio de Janeiro $2,491
Lima $2,191

Living in Rio de Janeiro is roughly 29% more expensive than in Lima, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Both cities sit below the global median: Rio de Janeiro 4% lower, Lima 26% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$9.98 R$50.1

$4.42 PEN 15.21

125.79%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$40.34 R$202

$35.04 PEN 121

15.13%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$8.48 R$42.57

$6.84 PEN 23.52

23.98%

Cappuccino

$2.36 R$11.86

$3.27 PEN 11.26

-27.83%

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

$1.63 R$8.18

$1.10 PEN 3.80

48.18%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.01 R$5.09

$0.65 PEN 2.23

55.38%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.44 R$12.25

$2.58 PEN 8.88

-5.43%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.69 R$18.53

$4.47 PEN 15.39

-17.45%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.15 R$5.75

$1.59 PEN 5.48

-27.67%

White Bread (500g)

$2.07 R$10.40

$2.58 PEN 8.89

-19.77%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.29 R$6.45

$1.36 PEN 4.67

-5.15%

Eggs

$2.27 R$11.38

$2.95 PEN 10.14

-23.05%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$11.00 R$55.2

$9.10 PEN 31.30

20.88%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$4.31 R$21.62

$5.81 PEN 19.98

-25.82%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$9.74 R$48.88

$9.83 PEN 33.80

-0.92%

Apples (1kg)

$2.83 R$14.19

$2.01 PEN 6.92

40.80%

Banana (1kg)

$1.84 R$9.21

$1.08 PEN 3.70

70.37%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.60 R$8.01

$1.37 PEN 4.71

16.79%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.80 R$9.04

$1.48 PEN 5.08

21.62%

Potato (1kg)

$1.26 R$6.31

$0.96 PEN 3.32

31.25%

Onion (1kg)

$1.07 R$5.37

$0.85 PEN 2.93

25.88%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.75 R$3.77

$0.88 PEN 3.03

-14.77%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.66 R$3.31

$0.87 PEN 2.98

-24.14%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$3.05 R$15.29

$5.90 PEN 20.31

-48.31%

Wine (Bottle)

$8.18 R$41.05

$8.81 PEN 30.31

-7.15%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.19 R$5.95

$1.92 PEN 6.59

-38.02%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.39 R$11.98

$3.20 PEN 11.02

-25.31%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.01 R$5.08

$0.68 PEN 2.33

48.53%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$50.2 R$252

$26.74 PEN 92.0

87.55%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.27 R$6.37

$3.81 PEN 13.10

-66.67%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.90 R$4.53

$2.04 PEN 7.02

-55.88%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$9.44 R$47.37

$7.14 PEN 24.57

32.21%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.33 R$6.69

$1.65 PEN 5.67

-19.39%

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

$23.4K R$117.6K

$22.2K PEN 76.3K

5.66%

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

$33.6K R$168.5K

$25.7K PEN 88.3K

30.81%

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

$134 R$670

$73.0 PEN 251

82.78%

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

$12.23 R$61.4

$16.26 PEN 55.9

-24.78%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$22.65 R$114

$27.60 PEN 94.9

-17.93%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$31.56 R$158

$33.07 PEN 114

-4.57%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$30.87 R$155

$19.49 PEN 67.1

58.39%

Cinema Ticket

$8.23 R$41.29

$7.39 PEN 25.41

11.37%

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

$603 R$3,027

$182 PEN 626

231.42%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$13.2K R$66.4K

$13.3K PEN 45.8K

-0.60%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$41.62 R$209

$52.6 PEN 181

-20.81%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$49.94 R$251

$34.23 PEN 118

45.90%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$75.0 R$377

$83.8 PEN 288

-10.41%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$68.3 R$343

$79.0 PEN 272

-13.55%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$905 R$4,543

$723 PEN 2,488

25.17%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$527 R$2,647

$340 PEN 1,170

55.08%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,346 R$6,755

$1,184 PEN 4,074

13.66%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$774 R$3,885

$635 PEN 2,183

21.99%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,981 R$20.0K

$2,449 PEN 8,423

62.56%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,562 R$7,838

$1,372 PEN 4,718

13.89%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$643 R$3,227

$653 PEN 2,245

-1.47%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

11.93

8.94

33.45%

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

Last update for Rio de Janeiro: October 6, 2026

Last update for Lima: October 4, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Rio de Janeiro

$527 41%

Lima

$340 33.6% 35.5% $187

Groceries & Markets

Rio de Janeiro

$215 16.7%

Lima

$226 22.4% 5.5% $12

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Rio de Janeiro

$168 13.1%

Lima

$117 11.6% 30.6% $51

Eating Out

Rio de Janeiro

$164 12.7%

Lima

$124 12.3% 24.3% $40

Clothing & Footwear

Rio de Janeiro

$106 8.2%

Lima

$112 11.1% 6.2% $6.6

Getting Around

Rio de Janeiro

$60 4.7%

Lima

$43 4.3% 27.5% $17

Sport & Entertainment

Rio de Janeiro

$48 3.7%

Lima

$48 4.7% 0.4% $0.2

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $905 in Rio de Janeiro and $723 in Lima. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Lima pays 1% more on average while also being the cheaper of the two. The combined effect is a noticeably stronger local purchasing power.

Dining out: $40.00 in Rio de Janeiro vs $35.00 in Lima. Groceries flip the comparison at $215 vs $226, with Rio de Janeiro cheaper for home cooking.

Good to know

🇧🇷 Rio de Janeiro

🇵🇪 Lima

🕒 Local time

04:03 4:03 AM

02:03 2:03 AM

2 h behind Rio de Janeiro

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

6,211,223

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 = 0.291 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 10, 2026: 1 USD = 5.02 BRL (1 BRL = 0.199 USD). 1 EUR = 5.63 BRL (1 BRL = 0.178 EUR).

Peruvian Sol exchange rates as of October 10, 2026: 1 USD = 3.44 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

Rio de Janeiro Lima 3,770 km ≈ 5 h nonstop flight

From you

Rio de Janeiro
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

Rio de Janeiro vs Lima: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Rio de Janeiro and Lima differ by about 29% in total monthly costs ($1,285 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 1% 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: $905 in Rio de Janeiro versus $723 in Lima. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $603 in Rio de Janeiro versus $182 in Lima. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Shoppers in Rio de Janeiro pay roughly 5% less for everyday groceries. It's an unusual reversal that partly offsets higher costs elsewhere.

At $996 in Lima versus $1,285 in Rio de Janeiro, a $2,000 budget is realistic in Lima but tight or insufficient in Rio de Janeiro. 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.

Expats usually find Lima gentler on the wallet – expenses run 29% less than in Rio de Janeiro. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.