Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between San Juan and Lima

For one person, living is cheaper in San Juan: $890 a month against $1,012 in Lima, rent and utilities included – about $1,500 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

43

Cost of Living Index in San Juan
Learn more

San Juan Living Index
49

Cost of Living Index in Lima
Learn more

Lima Living Index

Jump to prices

San Juan

🇦🇷 Argentina

$890

/mo nomad

Lima

🇵🇪 Peru

$1,012

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $890 in San Juan versus $1,012 in Lima.

San Juan $890
Lima $1,012

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,389 in San Juan versus $1,589 in Lima.

San Juan $1,389
Lima $1,589

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $1,888 in San Juan versus $2,167 in Lima.

San Juan $1,888
Lima $2,167

Living in San Juan costs roughly 12% less than in Lima, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Both cities sit below the global median: San Juan 34% lower, Lima 25% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$6.76 ARS 10.3K

$4.40 PEN 15.10

53.64%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$39.31 ARS 59.7K

$35.17 PEN 121

11.77%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$12.08 ARS 18.3K

$6.89 PEN 23.65

75.33%

Cappuccino

$2.59 ARS 3,938

$3.26 PEN 11.20

-20.55%

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

$2.11 ARS 3,202

$1.12 PEN 3.84

88.39%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.82 ARS 2,761

$0.62 PEN 2.11

193.55%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.91 ARS 5,930

$2.65 PEN 9.09

47.55%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.48 ARS 6,799

$4.41 PEN 15.15

1.59%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.38 ARS 2,101

$1.63 PEN 5.61

-15.34%

White Bread (500g)

$1.45 ARS 2,195

$2.56 PEN 8.78

-43.36%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.40 ARS 2,124

$1.35 PEN 4.65

3.70%

Eggs

$1.44 ARS 2,184

$2.90 PEN 9.96

-50.34%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$2.84 ARS 4,305

$8.85 PEN 30.38

-67.91%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$6.23 ARS 9,448

$5.98 PEN 20.52

4.18%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$10.90 ARS 16.5K

$9.78 PEN 33.59

11.45%

Apples (1kg)

$1.40 ARS 2,129

$2.05 PEN 7.02

-31.71%

Banana (1kg)

$1.39 ARS 2,108

$1.06 PEN 3.66

31.13%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.34 ARS 2,037

$1.35 PEN 4.64

-0.74%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.45 ARS 2,193

$1.50 PEN 5.15

-3.33%

Potato (1kg)

$1.40 ARS 2,128

$0.88 PEN 3.03

59.09%

Onion (1kg)

$1.38 ARS 2,098

$0.92 PEN 3.15

50.00%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.40 ARS 2,129

$0.89 PEN 3.07

57.30%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.44 ARS 2,183

$0.90 PEN 3.10

60.00%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$2.71 ARS 4,117

$5.90 PEN 20.27

-54.07%

Wine (Bottle)

$4.90 ARS 7,433

$8.52 PEN 29.26

-42.49%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.41 ARS 2,136

$1.88 PEN 6.45

-25.00%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.44 ARS 2,178

$3.22 PEN 11.05

-55.28%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.96 ARS 1,460

$0.68 PEN 2.33

41.18%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$26.86 PEN 92.2

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.98 ARS 3,006

$3.81 PEN 13.09

-48.03%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.99 ARS 1,495

$2.02 PEN 6.93

-50.99%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$4.84 ARS 7,351

$7.11 PEN 24.41

-31.93%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.17 ARS 1,782

$1.72 PEN 5.91

-31.98%

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

$26.7K ARS 40.6M

$22.3K PEN 76.6K

19.82%

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

$33.6K ARS 51.1M

$25.5K PEN 87.6K

31.93%

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

$144 ARS 218.7K

$73.1 PEN 251

97.24%

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

$10.04 ARS 15.2K

$16.35 PEN 56.2

-38.59%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$17.82 ARS 27.0K

$27.47 PEN 94.3

-35.13%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$30.42 ARS 46.2K

$31.90 PEN 110

-4.64%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$19.41 PEN 66.7

Cinema Ticket

$6.93 ARS 10.5K

$7.05 PEN 24.23

-1.70%

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

$172 ARS 260.5K

$182 PEN 627

-5.92%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$4,122 ARS 6.3M

$13.0K PEN 44.8K

-68.39%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$107 ARS 162.3K

$53.8 PEN 185

98.87%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$42.58 ARS 64.6K

$34.32 PEN 118

24.07%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$58.1 ARS 88.1K

$82.8 PEN 284

-29.88%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$35.86 ARS 54.4K

$78.2 PEN 269

-54.17%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$249 ARS 378.2K

$721 PEN 2,476

-65.44%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$198 ARS 301.1K

$343 PEN 1,179

-42.22%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$492 ARS 747.1K

$1,219 PEN 4,186

-59.61%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$400 ARS 607.2K

$651 PEN 2,235

-38.51%

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)

$700 ARS 1.1M

$648 PEN 2,226

7.99%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

8.94

504.03%

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

Last update for San Juan: October 10, 2026

Last update for Lima: October 11, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

San Juan

$198 22.3%

Lima

$343 33.9% 73.1% $145

Groceries & Markets

San Juan

$190 21.3%

Lima

$226 22.3% 19.2% $36

Monthly Utilities & Internet

San Juan

$172 19.3%

Lima

$117 11.6% 32% $55

Eating Out

San Juan

$166 18.6%

Lima

$124 12.3% 25.2% $42

Clothing & Footwear

San Juan

$110 12.3%

Lima

$112 11.1% 2.3% $2.6

Sport & Entertainment

San Juan

$44 5%

Lima

$46 4.6% 3.9% $1.7

Getting Around

San Juan

$11 * 1.2%

Lima

$43 4.3% 304% $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 $249 in San Juan and $721 in Lima. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

San Juan pays 8% more on average while also being the cheaper of the two. The combined effect is a noticeably stronger local purchasing power.

Dining out: $39.00 in San Juan vs $35.00 in Lima. Groceries flip the comparison at $190 vs $226, with San Juan cheaper for home cooking.

Good to know

🇦🇷 San Juan

🇵🇪 Lima

🕒 Local time

15:13 3:13 PM

13:13 1:13 PM

2 h behind San Juan

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

522,029

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

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

San Juan Lima 2,330 km ≈ 3 h 30 min nonstop flight

From you

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

San Juan and Lima differ by about 14% in total monthly costs ($890 vs $1,012 including rent). San Juan is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

Average pay runs 8% higher in San Juan, 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: $249 in San Juan versus $721 in Lima. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Supermarket bills run roughly 19% higher in Lima. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

All in, you'll spend $890 per month in San Juan versus $1,012 in Lima – a 14% gap that adds up to real savings over time for anyone picking the cheaper option.

At $890 in San Juan versus $1,012 in Lima, a $1,000 budget is realistic in San Juan but tight or insufficient in Lima. The gap between the two cities makes San Juan 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 Juan 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 San Juan gentler on the wallet – expenses run 14% less than in Lima. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.