Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between San Pedro Sula and Lima

For one person, living is cheaper in Lima: $996 a month against $1,214 in San Pedro Sula, rent and utilities included – about $2,600 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

San Pedro Sula
🇭🇳 Honduras
$1,214
/mo nomad
Lima
🇵🇪 Peru
$996
/mo nomad
Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,214 in San Pedro Sula versus $996 in Lima.

  • San Pedro Sula $1,214
  • Lima $996

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,834 in San Pedro Sula versus $1,594 in Lima.

  • San Pedro Sula $1,834
  • Lima $1,594

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $2,453 in San Pedro Sula versus $2,191 in Lima.

  • San Pedro Sula $2,453
  • Lima $2,191

Living in San Pedro Sula is roughly 22% more expensive than in Lima, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Both cities sit below the global median: San Pedro Sula 9% lower, Lima 26% lower.

Currency
🍽 Eating Out
San Pedro Sula
Lima
Difference
Meal at Budget Restaurant
$7.47 HNL 201
$4.42 PEN 15.16
69.00%
Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range
$33.65 HNL 904
$35.04 PEN 120
-3.97%
Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)
$9.48 HNL 255
$6.84 PEN 23.44
38.60%
Cappuccino
$2.37 HNL 63.6
$3.27 PEN 11.22
-27.52%
Coke/Pepsi/Fanta/Sprite (0.33 liter bottle)
$1.02 HNL 27.42
$1.10 PEN 3.78
-7.27%
Water (0.33 liter bottle)
$0.83 HNL 22.16
$0.65 PEN 2.22
27.69%
Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)
$1.85 HNL 49.68
$2.58 PEN 8.85
-28.29%
Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)
$3.56 HNL 95.5
$4.47 PEN 15.34
-20.36%
🛒 Groceries & Markets
San Pedro Sula
Lima
Difference
Milk (1 liter)
$1.52 HNL 40.86
$1.59 PEN 5.46
-4.40%
White Bread (500g)
$1.96 HNL 52.6
$2.58 PEN 8.86
-24.03%
Rice (white) (1kg)
$1.54 HNL 41.28
$1.36 PEN 4.65
13.24%
Eggs
$2.43 HNL 65.3
$2.95 PEN 10.11
-17.63%
Local Cheese (1kg)
$8.63 HNL 232
$9.10 PEN 31.19
-5.16%
Chicken Fillets (1kg)
$6.73 HNL 181
$5.81 PEN 19.91
15.83%
Beef Round Steak (1kg)
$9.34 HNL 251
$9.83 PEN 33.68
-4.98%
Apples (1kg)
$3.52 HNL 94.5
$2.01 PEN 6.89
75.12%
Banana (1kg)
$1.21 HNL 32.45
$1.08 PEN 3.69
12.04%
Oranges (1kg)
$3.30 HNL 88.8
$1.37 PEN 4.70
140.88%
Tomato (1kg)
$1.64 HNL 44.12
$1.48 PEN 5.06
10.81%
Potato (1kg)
$2.43 HNL 65.2
$0.96 PEN 3.30
153.13%
Onion (1kg)
$2.32 HNL 62.3
$0.85 PEN 2.92
172.94%
Lettuce (1 head)
$1.43 HNL 38.29
$0.88 PEN 3.02
62.50%
Water (1.5 liter bottle)
$1.61 HNL 43.20
$0.87 PEN 2.97
85.06%
Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)
$2.92 HNL 78.4
$5.90 PEN 20.24
-50.51%
Wine (Bottle)
$13.14 HNL 353
$8.81 PEN 30.21
49.15%
Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)
$0.79 HNL 21.19
$1.92 PEN 6.57
-58.85%
Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)
$1.34 HNL 36.06
$3.20 PEN 10.98
-58.13%
🚌 Getting Around
San Pedro Sula
Lima
Difference
One-way Ticket (Public Transport)
$0.63 HNL 17.00
$0.68 PEN 2.33
-7.35%
Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)
$35.83 HNL 962
$26.74 PEN 91.7
33.99%
Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)
$2.83 HNL 76.1
$3.81 PEN 13.06
-25.72%
Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)
$1.88 HNL 50.4
$2.04 PEN 7.00
-7.84%
Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)
$11.29 HNL 303
$7.14 PEN 24.49
58.12%
Gasoline (1 liter)
$1.01 HNL 27.05
$1.65 PEN 5.65
-38.79%
Midsize Hatchback 1.4l (Volkswagen Golf, Toyota Prius, Honda Civic, etc)
$22.8K HNL 613.4K
$22.2K PEN 76.0K
2.98%
Compact Sedan 1.6l (Toyota Corolla, Mazda3, Kia K4, Hyundai Elantra, etc)
$25.3K HNL 678.9K
$25.7K PEN 88.0K
-1.53%
🧾 Monthly Utilities & Internet
San Pedro Sula
Lima
Difference
Utilities for 2 People in 2-bedroom Apartment (Heating, Electricity, Gas, Water, Garbage) (85m2)
$130 HNL 3,497
$73.0 PEN 250
78.26%
SIM Card Monthly Plan (Calls and 10GB+ Data)
$11.37 HNL 305
$16.26 PEN 55.7
-30.07%
Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)
$43.66 HNL 1,173
$27.60 PEN 94.6
58.19%
🎉 Sport & Entertainment
San Pedro Sula
Lima
Difference
Gym Membership (Monthly)
$37.58 HNL 1,009
$33.07 PEN 113
13.64%
Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)
$13.86 HNL 372
$19.49 PEN 66.8
-28.89%
Cinema Ticket
$5.59 HNL 150
$7.39 PEN 25.33
-24.36%
🧸 Childcare & Education
San Pedro Sula
Lima
Difference
Preschool or Kindergarten, Full Day, Private, 1 Child (Monthly)
$146 HNL 3,932
$182 PEN 624
-19.55%
International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)
$3,243 HNL 87.1K
$13.3K PEN 45.7K
-75.65%
👕👟 Clothing & Footwear
San Pedro Sula
Lima
Difference
Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)
$75.5 HNL 2,029
$52.6 PEN 180
43.70%
Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)
$39.70 HNL 1,066
$34.23 PEN 117
15.98%
Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)
$79.7 HNL 2,139
$83.8 PEN 287
-4.91%
Men's Leather Business Shoes
$76.2 HNL 2,045
$79.0 PEN 271
-3.63%
🏠 Accommodation & Living
San Pedro Sula
Lima
Difference
1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)
$560 HNL 15.0K
$723 PEN 2,479
-22.58%
1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)
$422 HNL 11.3K
$340 PEN 1,166
23.95%
3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)
$814 HNL 21.9K
$1,184 PEN 4,060
-31.31%
3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)
$710 HNL 19.1K
$635 PEN 2,176
11.93%
Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)
$1,017 HNL 27.3K
$2,449 PEN 8,394
-58.46%
Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)
$436 HNL 11.7K
$1,372 PEN 4,702
-68.20%
💵 Salaries & Financials
San Pedro Sula
Lima
Difference
Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)
$604 HNL 16.2K
$653 PEN 2,237
-7.39%
20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)
12.33
8.94
37.92%

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

Last update for San Pedro Sula: 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
San Pedro Sula
$422
Lima
$340 19.3% $81
Groceries & Markets
San Pedro Sula
$254
Lima
$226 11% $28
Monthly Utilities & Internet
San Pedro Sula
$185
Lima
$117 36.9% $68
Eating Out
San Pedro Sula
$140
Lima
$124 11.6% $16
Clothing & Footwear
San Pedro Sula
$122
Lima
$112 7.9% $9.6
Getting Around
San Pedro Sula
$51
Lima
$43 14% $7.1
Sport & Entertainment
San Pedro Sula
$49
Lima
$48 1.9% $0.9

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $560 in San Pedro Sula and $723 in Lima. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Lima 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: $34.00 in San Pedro Sula vs $35.00 in Lima. Groceries flip the comparison at $254 vs $226, with Lima cheaper for home cooking.

Good to know
🇭🇳 San Pedro Sula
🇵🇪 Lima
🕒 Local time
21:24 9:24 PM
22:24 10:24 PM
1 h ahead of San Pedro Sula
🌤 Weather
👥 Population
719,064
9,989,369 Capital
💱 Currency
Exchange rates and currency converter

PEN, USD, EUR to HNL – Honduran Lempira Converter

Honduran Lempira exchange rates as of October 10, 2026: 1 USD = 26.86 HNL (100 HNL = 3.72 USD). 1 EUR = 30.12 HNL (100 HNL = 3.32 EUR).

Peruvian Sol exchange rates as of October 10, 2026: 1 USD = 3.43 PEN (1 PEN = 0.292 USD). 1 EUR = 3.84 PEN (1 PEN = 0.26 EUR).

On the map
Between locations
  • San Pedro Sula Lima 3,300 km ≈ 4 h 30 min nonstop flight
From you
  • San Pedro Sula
  • 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 Pedro Sula vs Lima: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions
What is the total cost difference between living in San Pedro Sula and in Lima?
San Pedro Sula and Lima differ by about 22% in total monthly costs ($1,214 vs $996 including rent). Lima is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.
Which city has better-paying jobs?
On paper, salaries run 8% 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.
How do apartment prices compare in San Pedro Sula and in Lima?
Rent for a central apartment: $560 in San Pedro Sula versus $723 in Lima. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.
What is the difference in childcare costs between San Pedro Sula and Lima?
Childcare runs $146 in San Pedro Sula versus $182 in Lima. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.
Which city has cheaper grocery shopping?
Supermarket bills run roughly 12% higher in San Pedro Sula. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.
Which city is more doable on $2,000 per month?
At $996 in Lima versus $1,214 in San Pedro Sula, a $2,000 budget is realistic in Lima but tight or insufficient in San Pedro Sula. The gap between the two cities makes Lima the clear choice for anyone on this budget.
How does quality of life compare between San Pedro Sula and Lima?
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.
Where should expats move: San Pedro Sula or Lima?
Expats usually find Lima gentler on the wallet – expenses run 22% less than in San Pedro Sula. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.

San Pedro Sula vs other spots: cost of living compared

Similar cities

Show times on the 12-hour clock, temperatures in °F and distances in miles?