Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between San Luis and Lima

For one person, living is cheaper in Lima: $1,012 a month against $1,175 in San Luis, rent and utilities included – about $2,000 less a year. The total is higher in San Luis despite lower rent and utilities.

56

Cost of Living Index in San Luis
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San Luis Living Index
49

Cost of Living Index in Lima
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Lima Living Index

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San Luis

🇦🇷 Argentina

$1,175

/mo nomad

Lima

🇵🇪 Peru

$1,012

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,175 in San Luis versus $1,012 in Lima.

San Luis $1,175
Lima $1,012

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,962 in San Luis versus $1,589 in Lima.

San Luis $1,962
Lima $1,589

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $2,749 in San Luis versus $2,167 in Lima.

San Luis $2,749
Lima $2,167

Living in San Luis is roughly 16% more expensive than in Lima, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in clothing.

Both cities sit below the global median: San Luis 13% lower, Lima 25% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$8.42 ARS 12.8K

$4.40 PEN 15.15

91.36%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$50.1 ARS 76.0K

$35.17 PEN 121

42.48%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$8.72 ARS 13.2K

$6.89 PEN 23.73

26.56%

Cappuccino

$2.10 ARS 3,180

$3.26 PEN 11.24

-35.58%

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

$2.36 ARS 3,585

$1.12 PEN 3.85

110.71%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.88 ARS 2,852

$0.62 PEN 2.12

203.23%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.25 ARS 4,926

$2.65 PEN 9.12

22.64%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.54 ARS 6,881

$4.41 PEN 15.20

2.95%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.23 ARS 1,863

$1.63 PEN 5.63

-24.54%

White Bread (500g)

$2.04 ARS 3,090

$2.56 PEN 8.81

-20.31%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.06 ARS 1,602

$1.35 PEN 4.67

-21.48%

Eggs

$3.05 ARS 4,623

$2.90 PEN 9.99

5.17%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$14.72 ARS 22.3K

$8.85 PEN 30.48

66.33%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$6.40 ARS 9,702

$5.98 PEN 20.59

7.02%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$11.02 ARS 16.7K

$9.78 PEN 33.71

12.68%

Apples (1kg)

$2.34 ARS 3,552

$2.05 PEN 7.05

14.15%

Banana (1kg)

$2.14 ARS 3,244

$1.06 PEN 3.67

101.89%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.35 ARS 2,045

$1.35 PEN 4.65

Tomato (1kg)

$3.18 ARS 4,825

$1.50 PEN 5.17

112.00%

Potato (1kg)

$0.98 ARS 1,484

$0.88 PEN 3.04

11.36%

Onion (1kg)

$1.45 ARS 2,197

$0.92 PEN 3.16

57.61%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.93 ARS 2,933

$0.89 PEN 3.08

116.85%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$2.44 ARS 3,697

$0.90 PEN 3.12

171.11%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$2.81 ARS 4,254

$5.90 PEN 20.34

-52.37%

Wine (Bottle)

$5.11 ARS 7,749

$8.52 PEN 29.36

-40.02%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.70 ARS 2,581

$1.88 PEN 6.47

-9.57%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.98 ARS 4,514

$3.22 PEN 11.09

-7.45%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.63 ARS 949

$0.68 PEN 2.34

-7.35%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$26.86 PEN 92.6

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$0.66 ARS 1,003

$3.81 PEN 13.14

-82.68%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.02 ARS 1,550

$2.02 PEN 6.96

-49.50%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$4.75 ARS 7,210

$7.11 PEN 24.50

-33.19%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.21 ARS 1,838

$1.72 PEN 5.93

-29.65%

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

$27.3K ARS 41.3M

$22.3K PEN 76.9K

22.18%

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

$33.4K ARS 50.6M

$25.5K PEN 87.9K

30.90%

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

$39.37 ARS 59.7K

$73.1 PEN 252

-46.12%

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

$16.91 ARS 25.6K

$16.35 PEN 56.3

3.43%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$24.67 ARS 37.4K

$27.47 PEN 94.7

-10.19%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$33.15 ARS 50.3K

$31.90 PEN 110

3.92%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$19.41 PEN 66.9

Cinema Ticket

$5.46 ARS 8,274

$7.05 PEN 24.31

-22.55%

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

$176 ARS 266.4K

$182 PEN 629

-3.73%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$4,167 ARS 6.3M

$13.0K PEN 44.9K

-68.05%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$126 ARS 191.6K

$53.8 PEN 185

134.84%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$142 ARS 215.1K

$34.32 PEN 118

313.29%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$144 ARS 218.5K

$82.8 PEN 285

73.94%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$161 ARS 243.7K

$78.2 PEN 270

105.36%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$446 ARS 676.9K

$721 PEN 2,485

-38.10%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$351 ARS 532.6K

$343 PEN 1,183

2.26%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,077 ARS 1.6M

$1,219 PEN 4,200

-11.62%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$781 ARS 1.2M

$651 PEN 2,243

20.09%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,414 PEN 8,321

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,357 PEN 4,676

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$648 PEN 2,233

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

8.94

559.96%

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

Last update for San Luis: 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 Luis

$351 29.9%

Lima

$343 33.9% 2.2% $7.8

Groceries & Markets

San Luis

$272 23.1%

Lima

$226 22.3% 16.8% $46

Clothing & Footwear

San Luis

$258 21.9%

Lima

$112 11.1% 56.5% $146

Eating Out

San Luis

$161 13.7%

Lima

$124 12.3% 23% $37

Monthly Utilities & Internet

San Luis

$81 6.9%

Lima

$117 11.6% 44.4% $36

Sport & Entertainment

San Luis

$44 3.8%

Lima

$46 4.6% 4.4% $1.9

Getting Around

San Luis

$8.3 * 0.7%

Lima

$43 4.3% 426% $35

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 $446 in San Luis and $721 in Lima. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Dining out: $50.0 in San Luis vs $35.00 in Lima for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $272 vs $226 per month, with Lima cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇦🇷 San Luis

🇵🇪 Lima

🕒 Local time

11:36 11:36 AM

09:36 9:36 AM

2 h behind San Luis

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

204,019

9,989,369 Capital

💱 Currency

Argentine Peso ARS $

Peruvian Sol PEN S/

📈 Exchange rate

10,000 ARS = 6.59 USD

10,000 ARS = 5.91 EUR

1 PEN = 0.29 USD

1 PEN = 0.26 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 13, 2026: 1 USD = 1,517 ARS (10,000 ARS = 6.59 USD). 1 EUR = 1,693 ARS (10,000 ARS = 5.91 EUR).

Peruvian Sol exchange rates as of October 13, 2026: 1 USD = 3.45 PEN (1 PEN = 0.29 USD). 1 EUR = 3.85 PEN (1 PEN = 0.26 EUR).

USD to ARS in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

San Luis Lima 2,600 km ≈ 3 h 45 min nonstop flight

From you

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

San Luis and Lima differ by about 16% in total monthly costs ($1,175 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 $1,762 in San Luis 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: $446 in San Luis versus $721 in Lima. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Supermarket bills run roughly 20% higher in San Luis. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

All in, you'll spend $1,175 per month in San Luis versus $1,012 in Lima – a 16% gap that adds up to real savings over time for anyone picking the cheaper option.

At $1,012 in Lima versus $1,175 in San Luis, a $2,000 budget is realistic in Lima but tight or insufficient in San Luis. 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 Luis 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 16% less than in San Luis. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.