Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between San Rafael and Lima

For one person, living is cheaper in Lima: $996 a month against $1,318 in San Rafael, rent and utilities included – about $3,900 less a year. Other living expenses account for most of the difference.

63

Cost of Living Index in San Rafael
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San Rafael Living Index
49

Cost of Living Index in Lima
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Lima Living Index

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San Rafael

🇦🇷 Argentina

$1,318

/mo nomad

Lima

🇵🇪 Peru

$996

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,318 in San Rafael versus $996 in Lima.

San Rafael $1,318
Lima $996

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,096 in San Rafael versus $1,594 in Lima.

San Rafael $2,096
Lima $1,594

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $2,875 in San Rafael versus $2,191 in Lima.

San Rafael $2,875
Lima $2,191

Living in San Rafael is roughly 32% more expensive than in Lima, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in clothing.

Both cities sit below the global median: San Rafael 2% lower, Lima 26% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$11.20 ARS 17.0K

$4.42 PEN 15.16

153.39%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$49.65 ARS 75.3K

$35.04 PEN 120

41.70%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$14.69 ARS 22.3K

$6.84 PEN 23.44

114.77%

Cappuccino

$4.34 ARS 6,580

$3.27 PEN 11.22

32.72%

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

$2.42 ARS 3,663

$1.10 PEN 3.78

120.00%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.98 ARS 3,006

$0.65 PEN 2.22

204.62%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.94 ARS 5,969

$2.58 PEN 8.85

52.71%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.42 ARS 6,701

$4.47 PEN 15.34

-1.12%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.35 ARS 2,046

$1.59 PEN 5.46

-15.09%

White Bread (500g)

$2.27 ARS 3,435

$2.58 PEN 8.86

-12.02%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.67 ARS 4,052

$1.36 PEN 4.65

96.32%

Eggs

$3.18 ARS 4,820

$2.95 PEN 10.11

7.80%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$14.56 ARS 22.1K

$9.10 PEN 31.19

60.00%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$6.21 ARS 9,418

$5.81 PEN 19.91

6.88%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$11.16 ARS 16.9K

$9.83 PEN 33.68

13.53%

Apples (1kg)

$2.38 ARS 3,604

$2.01 PEN 6.89

18.41%

Banana (1kg)

$2.21 ARS 3,347

$1.08 PEN 3.69

104.63%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.35 ARS 2,048

$1.37 PEN 4.70

-1.46%

Tomato (1kg)

$3.30 ARS 5,012

$1.48 PEN 5.06

122.97%

Potato (1kg)

$2.01 ARS 3,055

$0.96 PEN 3.30

109.37%

Onion (1kg)

$1.45 ARS 2,203

$0.85 PEN 2.92

70.59%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.94 ARS 2,935

$0.88 PEN 3.02

120.45%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$2.46 ARS 3,725

$0.87 PEN 2.97

182.76%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$2.82 ARS 4,279

$5.90 PEN 20.24

-52.20%

Wine (Bottle)

$5.05 ARS 7,656

$8.81 PEN 30.21

-42.68%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.73 ARS 2,625

$1.92 PEN 6.57

-9.90%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.05 ARS 4,619

$3.20 PEN 10.98

-4.69%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.00 ARS 1,513

$0.68 PEN 2.33

47.06%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$26.74 PEN 91.7

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.96 ARS 2,966

$3.81 PEN 13.06

-48.56%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.02 ARS 1,540

$2.04 PEN 7.00

-50.00%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$4.89 ARS 7,412

$7.14 PEN 24.49

-31.51%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.27 ARS 1,929

$1.65 PEN 5.65

-23.03%

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

$26.6K ARS 40.4M

$22.2K PEN 76.0K

20.16%

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

$32.6K ARS 49.4M

$25.7K PEN 88.0K

26.95%

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

$135 ARS 205.3K

$73.0 PEN 250

85.32%

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

$17.43 ARS 26.4K

$16.26 PEN 55.7

7.20%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$23.44 ARS 35.6K

$27.60 PEN 94.6

-15.07%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$31.21 ARS 47.3K

$33.07 PEN 113

-5.62%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$19.49 PEN 66.8

Cinema Ticket

$6.91 ARS 10.5K

$7.39 PEN 25.33

-6.50%

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

$177 ARS 268.1K

$182 PEN 624

-2.86%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$4,090 ARS 6.2M

$13.3K PEN 45.7K

-69.30%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$116 ARS 175.9K

$52.6 PEN 180

120.66%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$125 ARS 188.9K

$34.23 PEN 117

263.83%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$136 ARS 206.8K

$83.8 PEN 287

62.77%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$125 ARS 189.8K

$79.0 PEN 271

58.43%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$489 ARS 740.9K

$723 PEN 2,479

-32.45%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$318 ARS 482.7K

$340 PEN 1,166

-6.41%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$937 ARS 1.4M

$1,184 PEN 4,060

-20.88%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$725 ARS 1.1M

$635 PEN 2,176

14.24%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,449 PEN 8,394

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,372 PEN 4,702

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$653 PEN 2,237

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 Rafael: October 5, 2026

Last update for Lima: October 4, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

San Rafael

$318 24.6%

Lima

$340 33.6% 6.8% $22

Groceries & Markets

San Rafael

$286 22.1%

Lima

$226 22.4% 20.8% $59

Eating Out

San Rafael

$232 17.9%

Lima

$124 12.3% 46.5% $108

Clothing & Footwear

San Rafael

$226 17.5%

Lima

$112 11.1% 50.3% $114

Monthly Utilities & Internet

San Rafael

$176 13.6%

Lima

$117 11.6% 33.7% $59

Sport & Entertainment

San Rafael

$45 3.5%

Lima

$48 4.7% 6.3% $2.8

Getting Around

San Rafael

$11 * 0.9%

Lima

$43 4.3% 295% $32

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 $489 in San Rafael and $723 in Lima. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Dining out: $50.0 in San Rafael vs $35.00 in Lima for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $286 vs $226 per month, with Lima cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇦🇷 San Rafael

🇵🇪 Lima

🕒 Local time

03:28 3:28 AM

01:28 1:28 AM

2 h behind San Rafael

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

118,850

9,989,369 Capital

💱 Currency

Argentine Peso ARS $

Peruvian Sol PEN S/

📈 Exchange rate

10,000 ARS = 6.59 USD

10,000 ARS = 5.88 EUR

1 PEN = 0.292 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 10, 2026: 1 USD = 1,517 ARS (10,000 ARS = 6.59 USD). 1 EUR = 1,701 ARS (10,000 ARS = 5.88 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).

USD to ARS in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

San Rafael Lima 2,660 km ≈ 3 h 45 min nonstop flight

From you

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

San Rafael and Lima differ by about 32% in total monthly costs ($1,318 vs $996 including rent). Lima is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

You'd need roughly $1,978 in San Rafael and $1,494 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: $489 in San Rafael versus $723 in Lima. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Supermarket bills run roughly 26% higher in San Rafael. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

All in, you'll spend $1,318 per month in San Rafael versus $996 in Lima – a 32% gap that adds up to real savings over time for anyone picking the cheaper option.

At $996 in Lima versus $1,318 in San Rafael, a $2,000 budget is realistic in Lima but tight or insufficient in San Rafael. 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 Rafael 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 32% less than in San Rafael. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.