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 $1,753 in San Isidro, rent and utilities included – about $8,900 less a year. Rent and utilities account for about half of the difference.

82

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

🇨🇷 Costa Rica

$1,753

/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: $1,753 in San Isidro versus $1,012 in Lima.

San Isidro $1,753
Lima $1,012

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,640 in San Isidro versus $1,589 in Lima.

San Isidro $2,640
Lima $1,589

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,528 in San Isidro versus $2,167 in Lima.

San Isidro $3,528
Lima $2,167

Living in San Isidro is roughly 73% more expensive than in Lima, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

The two cities straddle the global median: San Isidro is 30% above, Lima is 25% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$13.58 ₡6,092

$4.40 PEN 15.10

208.64%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$51.7 ₡23.2K

$35.17 PEN 121

47.11%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$12.04 ₡5,400

$6.89 PEN 23.65

74.75%

Cappuccino

$3.76 ₡1,684

$3.26 PEN 11.20

15.34%

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

$2.35 ₡1,053

$1.12 PEN 3.84

109.82%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.06 ₡922

$0.62 PEN 2.11

232.26%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.71 ₡1,665

$2.65 PEN 9.09

40.00%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.05 ₡1,815

$4.41 PEN 15.15

-8.16%

Milk (1 liter)

$2.41 ₡1,082

$1.63 PEN 5.61

47.85%

White Bread (500g)

$2.42 ₡1,087

$2.56 PEN 8.78

-5.47%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.78 ₡1,248

$1.35 PEN 4.65

105.93%

Eggs

$3.88 ₡1,740

$2.90 PEN 9.96

33.79%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$9.45 ₡4,237

$8.85 PEN 30.38

6.78%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.82 ₡4,403

$5.98 PEN 20.52

64.21%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$13.80 ₡6,187

$9.78 PEN 33.59

41.10%

Apples (1kg)

$5.07 ₡2,274

$2.05 PEN 7.02

147.32%

Banana (1kg)

$1.71 ₡766

$1.06 PEN 3.66

61.32%

Oranges (1kg)

$3.67 ₡1,647

$1.35 PEN 4.64

171.85%

Tomato (1kg)

$3.46 ₡1,553

$1.50 PEN 5.15

130.67%

Potato (1kg)

$3.34 ₡1,498

$0.88 PEN 3.03

279.55%

Onion (1kg)

$3.46 ₡1,550

$0.92 PEN 3.15

276.09%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.04 ₡468

$0.89 PEN 3.07

16.85%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$3.03 ₡1,358

$0.90 PEN 3.10

236.67%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$5.03 ₡2,258

$5.90 PEN 20.27

-14.75%

Wine (Bottle)

$18.22 ₡8,171

$8.52 PEN 29.26

113.85%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.74 ₡1,230

$1.88 PEN 6.45

45.74%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.59 ₡1,162

$3.22 PEN 11.05

-19.57%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.24 ₡556

$0.68 PEN 2.33

82.35%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$26.86 PEN 92.2

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$2.35 ₡1,054

$3.81 PEN 13.09

-38.32%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.77 ₡792

$2.02 PEN 6.93

-12.38%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$9.42 ₡4,223

$7.11 PEN 24.41

32.49%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.46 ₡655

$1.72 PEN 5.91

-15.12%

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

$24.7K ₡11.1M

$22.3K PEN 76.6K

10.56%

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

$35.2K ₡15.8M

$25.5K PEN 87.6K

37.93%

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

$83.8 ₡37.6K

$73.1 PEN 251

14.68%

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

$31.55 ₡14.1K

$16.35 PEN 56.2

92.97%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$53.2 ₡23.9K

$27.47 PEN 94.3

93.78%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$83.9 ₡37.6K

$31.90 PEN 110

163.04%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$19.41 PEN 66.7

Cinema Ticket

$6.90 ₡3,094

$7.05 PEN 24.23

-2.13%

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

$967 ₡433.4K

$182 PEN 627

429.68%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$17.9K ₡8.0M

$13.0K PEN 44.8K

36.89%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$66.8 ₡29.9K

$53.8 PEN 185

24.13%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$61.4 ₡27.5K

$34.32 PEN 118

78.88%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$141 ₡63.3K

$82.8 PEN 284

70.38%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$118 ₡52.8K

$78.2 PEN 269

50.46%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$691 ₡310.1K

$721 PEN 2,476

-4.13%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$688 ₡308.5K

$343 PEN 1,179

100.31%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,834 ₡822.6K

$1,219 PEN 4,186

50.49%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,136 ₡509.6K

$651 PEN 2,235

74.63%

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 %)

8.62

8.94

-3.58%

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

Last update for San Isidro: 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

San Isidro

$688 39.2%

Lima

$343 33.9% 50.1% $345

Groceries & Markets

San Isidro

$374 21.4%

Lima

$226 22.3% 39.6% $148

Eating Out

San Isidro

$234 13.4%

Lima

$124 12.3% 47% $110

Clothing & Footwear

San Isidro

$174 9.9%

Lima

$112 11.1% 35.6% $62

Monthly Utilities & Internet

San Isidro

$169 9.6%

Lima

$117 11.6% 30.7% $52

Sport & Entertainment

San Isidro

$98 5.6%

Lima

$46 4.6% 52.9% $52

Getting Around

San Isidro

$16 * 0.9%

Lima

$43 4.3% 170% $27

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 $691 in San Isidro and $721 in Lima. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Dining out: $52.0 in San Isidro vs $35.00 in Lima for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $374 vs $226 per month, with Lima cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇨🇷 San Isidro

🇵🇪 Lima

🕒 Local time

04:54 4:54 AM

05:54 5:54 AM

1 h ahead of San Isidro

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

17,000

9,989,369 Capital

💱 Currency

Costa Rican Colón CRC ₡

Peruvian Sol PEN S/

📈 Exchange rate

1,000 CRC = 2.23 USD

1,000 CRC = 1.98 EUR

1 PEN = 0.291 USD

1 PEN = 0.259 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

PEN, USD, EUR to CRC – Costa Rican Colón Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇨🇷 Costa Rican Colón (₡)

Costa Rican Colón exchange rates as of October 19, 2026: 1 USD = 448 CRC (1,000 CRC = 2.23 USD). 1 EUR = 504 CRC (1,000 CRC = 1.98 EUR).

Peruvian Sol exchange rates as of October 19, 2026: 1 USD = 3.43 PEN (1 PEN = 0.291 USD). 1 EUR = 3.86 PEN (1 PEN = 0.259 EUR).

USD to CRC in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

San Isidro Lima 2,570 km ≈ 3 h 45 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 73% in total monthly costs ($1,753 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 $2,629 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: $691 in San Isidro versus $721 in Lima. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Supermarket bills run roughly 66% higher in San Isidro. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

All in, you'll spend $1,753 per month in San Isidro versus $1,012 in Lima – a 73% gap that adds up to real savings over time for anyone picking the cheaper option.

At $1,012 in Lima versus $1,753 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 73% less than in San Isidro. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.