Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between San Isidro and Lima

For one person, living is cheaper in Lima: $1,012 a month against $1,080 in San Isidro, rent and utilities included – about $820 less a year. The total is higher in San Isidro despite lower rent and utilities.

52

Cost of Living Index in San Isidro
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San Isidro Living Index
49

Cost of Living Index in Lima
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Lima Living Index

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San Isidro

🇦🇷 Argentina

$1,080

/mo nomad

Lima

🇵🇪 Peru

$1,012

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,080 in San Isidro versus $1,012 in Lima.

San Isidro $1,080
Lima $1,012

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,774 in San Isidro versus $1,589 in Lima.

San Isidro $1,774
Lima $1,589

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $2,469 in San Isidro versus $2,167 in Lima.

San Isidro $2,469
Lima $2,167

Living in San Isidro is roughly 7% more expensive than in Lima, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in clothing.

Both cities sit below the global median: San Isidro 20% lower, Lima 25% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$9.89 ARS 15.0K

$4.40 PEN 15.10

124.77%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$37.49 ARS 56.9K

$35.17 PEN 121

6.60%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.68 ARS 17.7K

$6.89 PEN 23.65

69.52%

Cappuccino

$2.93 ARS 4,444

$3.26 PEN 11.20

-10.12%

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

$1.77 ARS 2,681

$1.12 PEN 3.84

58.04%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.63 ARS 2,474

$0.62 PEN 2.11

162.90%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.91 ARS 5,927

$2.65 PEN 9.09

47.55%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.30 ARS 3,492

$4.41 PEN 15.15

-47.85%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.25 ARS 1,892

$1.63 PEN 5.61

-23.31%

White Bread (500g)

$1.57 ARS 2,383

$2.56 PEN 8.78

-38.67%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.60 ARS 2,431

$1.35 PEN 4.65

18.52%

Eggs

$2.29 ARS 3,472

$2.90 PEN 9.96

-21.03%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$8.46 ARS 12.8K

$8.85 PEN 30.38

-4.41%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$6.09 ARS 9,242

$5.98 PEN 20.52

1.84%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$10.33 ARS 15.7K

$9.78 PEN 33.59

5.62%

Apples (1kg)

$1.93 ARS 2,929

$2.05 PEN 7.02

-5.85%

Banana (1kg)

$1.59 ARS 2,406

$1.06 PEN 3.66

50.00%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.02 ARS 1,555

$1.35 PEN 4.64

-24.44%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.01 ARS 3,046

$1.50 PEN 5.15

34.00%

Potato (1kg)

$0.94 ARS 1,424

$0.88 PEN 3.03

6.82%

Onion (1kg)

$0.69 ARS 1,046

$0.92 PEN 3.15

-25.00%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.52 ARS 2,311

$0.89 PEN 3.07

70.79%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.69 ARS 2,563

$0.90 PEN 3.10

87.78%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$3.25 ARS 4,925

$5.90 PEN 20.27

-44.92%

Wine (Bottle)

$4.87 ARS 7,383

$8.52 PEN 29.26

-42.84%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.26 ARS 1,915

$1.88 PEN 6.45

-32.98%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.83 ARS 4,298

$3.22 PEN 11.05

-12.11%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.94 ARS 1,430

$0.68 PEN 2.33

38.24%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$26.86 PEN 92.2

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.64 ARS 2,494

$3.81 PEN 13.09

-56.96%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.02 ARS 1,549

$2.02 PEN 6.93

-49.50%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$7.78 ARS 11.8K

$7.11 PEN 24.41

9.42%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.09 ARS 1,657

$1.72 PEN 5.91

-36.63%

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

$27.6K ARS 41.9M

$22.3K PEN 76.6K

23.74%

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

$29.5K ARS 44.7M

$25.5K PEN 87.6K

15.49%

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

$59.0 ARS 89.6K

$73.1 PEN 251

-19.24%

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

$19.65 ARS 29.8K

$16.35 PEN 56.2

20.18%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$27.03 ARS 41.0K

$27.47 PEN 94.3

-1.60%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$33.47 ARS 50.8K

$31.90 PEN 110

4.92%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$19.41 PEN 66.7

Cinema Ticket

$4.78 ARS 7,246

$7.05 PEN 24.23

-32.20%

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

$470 ARS 713.2K

$182 PEN 627

157.55%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$8,938 ARS 13.6M

$13.0K PEN 44.8K

-31.46%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$91.2 ARS 138.3K

$53.8 PEN 185

69.49%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$59.1 ARS 89.7K

$34.32 PEN 118

72.32%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$114 ARS 173.7K

$82.8 PEN 284

38.20%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$141 ARS 214.2K

$78.2 PEN 269

80.38%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$514 ARS 779.4K

$721 PEN 2,476

-28.77%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$335 ARS 507.9K

$343 PEN 1,179

-2.54%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,063 ARS 1.6M

$1,219 PEN 4,186

-12.76%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$777 ARS 1.2M

$651 PEN 2,235

19.45%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,414 PEN 8,292

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,357 PEN 4,660

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$648 PEN 2,226

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

57.25

8.94

540.38%

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

Last update for San Isidro: October 13, 2026

Last update for Lima: October 11, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

San Isidro

$335 31%

Lima

$343 33.9% 2.6% $8.7

Groceries & Markets

San Isidro

$216 20%

Lima

$226 22.3% 4.6% $9.8

Eating Out

San Isidro

$187 17.3%

Lima

$124 12.3% 33.7% $63

Clothing & Footwear

San Isidro

$183 16.9%

Lima

$112 11.1% 38.6% $71

Monthly Utilities & Internet

San Isidro

$106 9.8%

Lima

$117 11.6% 10.6% $11

Sport & Entertainment

San Isidro

$43 4%

Lima

$46 4.6% 7% $3

Getting Around

San Isidro

$11 * 1%

Lima

$43 4.3% 313% $33

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 $514 in San Isidro and $721 in Lima. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Dining out: $37.00 in San Isidro vs $35.00 in Lima. Groceries flip the comparison at $216 vs $226, with San Isidro cheaper for home cooking.

Good to know

🇦🇷 San Isidro

🇵🇪 Lima

🕒 Local time

14:25 2:25 PM

12:25 12:25 PM

2 h behind San Isidro

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

45,190

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

San Isidro Lima 3,120 km ≈ 4 h 30 min nonstop flight

From you

San Isidro
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

San Isidro vs Lima: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

San Isidro and Lima differ by about 7% in total monthly costs ($1,080 vs $1,012 including rent). Lima is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

You'd need roughly $1,619 in San Isidro 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: $514 in San Isidro versus $721 in Lima. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

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

All in, you'll spend $1,080 per month in San Isidro versus $1,012 in Lima – a 7% gap that adds up to real savings over time for anyone picking the cheaper option.

At $1,012 in Lima versus $1,080 in San Isidro, a $2,000 budget is realistic in Lima but tight or insufficient in San Isidro. 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.

Safety-wise, San Isidro 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 Lima gentler on the wallet – expenses run 7% less than in San Isidro. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.