Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Santos and Lima

For one person, living is cheaper in Lima: $996 a month against $1,132 in Santos, rent and utilities included – about $1,600 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

56

Cost of Living Index in Santos
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Santos Living Index
49

Cost of Living Index in Lima
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Lima Living Index

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Santos

🇧🇷 Brazil

$1,132

/mo nomad

Lima

🇵🇪 Peru

$996

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,132 in Santos versus $996 in Lima.

Santos $1,132
Lima $996

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,745 in Santos versus $1,594 in Lima.

Santos $1,745
Lima $1,594

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $2,359 in Santos versus $2,191 in Lima.

Santos $2,359
Lima $2,191

Living in Santos is roughly 14% more expensive than in Lima, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Both cities sit below the global median: Santos 16% lower, Lima 26% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$7.80 R$38.94

$4.42 PEN 15.16

76.47%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$32.51 R$162

$35.04 PEN 120

-7.22%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$6.91 R$34.48

$6.84 PEN 23.44

1.02%

Cappuccino

$2.78 R$13.86

$3.27 PEN 11.22

-14.98%

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

$1.41 R$7.05

$1.10 PEN 3.78

28.18%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.01 R$5.03

$0.65 PEN 2.22

55.38%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.64 R$13.17

$2.58 PEN 8.85

2.33%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.96 R$14.80

$4.47 PEN 15.34

-33.78%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.08 R$5.38

$1.59 PEN 5.46

-32.08%

White Bread (500g)

$1.85 R$9.22

$2.58 PEN 8.86

-28.29%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.38 R$6.91

$1.36 PEN 4.65

1.47%

Eggs

$2.52 R$12.56

$2.95 PEN 10.11

-14.58%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$12.16 R$60.7

$9.10 PEN 31.19

33.63%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$4.91 R$24.49

$5.81 PEN 19.91

-15.49%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$10.06 R$50.2

$9.83 PEN 33.68

2.34%

Apples (1kg)

$2.12 R$10.60

$2.01 PEN 6.89

5.47%

Banana (1kg)

$1.26 R$6.27

$1.08 PEN 3.69

16.67%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.98 R$9.89

$1.37 PEN 4.70

44.53%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.81 R$9.01

$1.48 PEN 5.06

22.30%

Potato (1kg)

$1.32 R$6.59

$0.96 PEN 3.30

37.50%

Onion (1kg)

$1.30 R$6.49

$0.85 PEN 2.92

52.94%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.21 R$6.03

$0.88 PEN 3.02

37.50%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.91 R$4.55

$0.87 PEN 2.97

4.60%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$2.43 R$12.11

$5.90 PEN 20.24

-58.81%

Wine (Bottle)

$8.18 R$40.85

$8.81 PEN 30.21

-7.15%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.39 R$6.95

$1.92 PEN 6.57

-27.60%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.90 R$9.49

$3.20 PEN 10.98

-40.63%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.12 R$5.59

$0.68 PEN 2.33

64.71%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$50.4 R$252

$26.74 PEN 91.7

88.48%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.51 R$7.56

$3.81 PEN 13.06

-60.37%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.62 R$8.10

$2.04 PEN 7.00

-20.59%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$18.35 R$91.6

$7.14 PEN 24.49

157.00%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.27 R$6.32

$1.65 PEN 5.65

-23.03%

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

$23.9K R$119.1K

$22.2K PEN 76.0K

7.61%

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

$33.1K R$165.2K

$25.7K PEN 88.0K

28.90%

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

$104 R$518

$73.0 PEN 250

42.09%

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

$12.45 R$62.1

$16.26 PEN 55.7

-23.43%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$22.68 R$113

$27.60 PEN 94.6

-17.83%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$29.14 R$145

$33.07 PEN 113

-11.88%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$56.9 R$284

$19.49 PEN 66.8

191.74%

Cinema Ticket

$9.03 R$45.06

$7.39 PEN 25.33

22.19%

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

$277 R$1,385

$182 PEN 624

52.45%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$10.4K R$51.9K

$13.3K PEN 45.7K

-21.97%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$56.1 R$280

$52.6 PEN 180

6.74%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$36.85 R$184

$34.23 PEN 117

7.65%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$97.5 R$486

$83.8 PEN 287

16.34%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$60.1 R$300

$79.0 PEN 271

-23.92%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$536 R$2,677

$723 PEN 2,479

-25.86%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$422 R$2,106

$340 PEN 1,166

24.05%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$988 R$4,933

$1,184 PEN 4,060

-16.57%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$710 R$3,547

$635 PEN 2,176

11.94%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,477 R$12.4K

$2,449 PEN 8,394

1.14%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,794 R$8,955

$1,372 PEN 4,702

30.79%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$585 R$2,922

$653 PEN 2,237

-10.30%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

12.79

8.94

43.06%

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

Last update for Santos: October 4, 2026

Last update for Lima: October 4, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Santos

$422 36.7%

Lima

$340 33.6% 19.4% $82

Groceries & Markets

Santos

$221 19.2%

Lima

$226 22.4% 2.6% $5.7

Eating Out

Santos

$145 12.6%

Lima

$124 12.3% 14.6% $21

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Santos

$139 12.1%

Lima

$117 11.6% 15.8% $22

Clothing & Footwear

Santos

$113 9.8%

Lima

$112 11.1% 0.4% $0.4

Getting Around

Santos

$65 5.6%

Lima

$43 4.3% 32.6% $21

Sport & Entertainment

Santos

$47 4.1%

Lima

$48 4.7% 1.4% $0.7

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $536 in Santos and $723 in Lima. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Lima pays 11% more on average while also being the cheaper of the two. The combined effect is a noticeably stronger local purchasing power.

Dining out: $33.00 in Santos vs $35.00 in Lima for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $221 vs $226 per month, with Santos cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇧🇷 Santos

🇵🇪 Lima

🕒 Local time

23:22 11:22 PM

21:22 9:22 PM

2 h behind Santos

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

418,608

9,989,369 Capital

💱 Currency

Brazilian Real BRL R$

Peruvian Sol PEN S/

📈 Exchange rate

1 BRL = 0.2 USD

1 BRL = 0.179 EUR

1 PEN = 0.292 USD

1 PEN = 0.26 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

PEN, USD, EUR to BRL – Brazilian Real Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇧🇷 Brazilian Real (R$)

Brazilian Real exchange rates as of October 10, 2026: 1 USD = 4.99 BRL (1 BRL = 0.2 USD). 1 EUR = 5.6 BRL (1 BRL = 0.179 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 BRL in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Santos Lima 3,490 km ≈ 4 h 45 min nonstop flight

From you

Santos
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

Santos vs Lima: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Santos and Lima differ by about 14% in total monthly costs ($1,132 vs $996 including rent). Lima is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

On paper, salaries run 11% 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.

Rent for a central apartment: $536 in Santos versus $723 in Lima. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $277 in Santos versus $182 in Lima. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Shoppers in Santos pay roughly 3% less for everyday groceries. It's an unusual reversal that partly offsets higher costs elsewhere.

At $996 in Lima versus $1,132 in Santos, a $2,000 budget is realistic in Lima but tight or insufficient in Santos. 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.

Expats usually find Lima gentler on the wallet – expenses run 14% less than in Santos. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.