Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Upala and Lima

For one person, living is cheaper in Lima: $1,014 a month against $1,421 in Upala, rent and utilities included – about $4,900 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

69

Cost of Living Index in Upala
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Upala Living Index
49

Cost of Living Index in Lima
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Lima Living Index

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Upala

🇨🇷 Costa Rica

$1,421

/mo nomad

Lima

🇵🇪 Peru

$1,014

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,421 in Upala versus $1,014 in Lima.

Upala $1,421
Lima $1,014

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,267 in Upala versus $1,613 in Lima.

Upala $2,267
Lima $1,613

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,112 in Upala versus $2,211 in Lima.

Upala $3,112
Lima $2,211

Living in Upala is roughly 40% more expensive than in Lima, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Upala is 5% above, Lima is 25% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$12.15 ₡5,448

$4.42 PEN 15.19

174.89%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$54.3 ₡24.4K

$34.56 PEN 119

57.20%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.68 ₡5,238

$6.80 PEN 23.37

71.76%

Cappuccino

$3.68 ₡1,650

$3.30 PEN 11.34

11.52%

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

$1.74 ₡781

$1.06 PEN 3.64

64.15%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.81 ₡812

$0.66 PEN 2.26

174.24%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.35 ₡1,503

$2.54 PEN 8.71

31.89%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.33 ₡1,944

$4.24 PEN 14.55

2.12%

Milk (1 liter)

$2.18 ₡976

$1.58 PEN 5.43

37.97%

White Bread (500g)

$1.61 ₡722

$2.61 PEN 8.97

-38.31%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.53 ₡1,134

$1.34 PEN 4.60

88.81%

Eggs

$2.67 ₡1,198

$2.93 PEN 10.08

-8.87%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$3.22 ₡1,444

$9.45 PEN 32.45

-65.93%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$6.54 ₡2,931

$5.75 PEN 19.75

13.74%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$8.73 ₡3,914

$9.69 PEN 33.29

-9.91%

Apples (1kg)

$1.72 ₡772

$2.02 PEN 6.95

-14.85%

Banana (1kg)

$0.69 ₡308

$1.07 PEN 3.66

-35.51%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.78 ₡1,246

$1.37 PEN 4.70

102.92%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.71 ₡1,213

$1.47 PEN 5.05

84.35%

Potato (1kg)

$3.75 ₡1,680

$0.95 PEN 3.25

294.74%

Onion (1kg)

$2.65 ₡1,186

$0.91 PEN 3.14

191.21%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.09 ₡488

$0.90 PEN 3.10

21.11%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$2.70 ₡1,209

$0.89 PEN 3.04

203.37%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$6.10 ₡2,736

$5.74 PEN 19.71

6.27%

Wine (Bottle)

$8.87 ₡3,980

$9.21 PEN 31.64

-3.69%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.65 ₡1,188

$1.84 PEN 6.31

44.02%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.57 ₡1,603

$3.11 PEN 10.67

14.79%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.29 ₡579

$0.72 PEN 2.46

79.17%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$26.03 PEN 89.4

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$2.49 ₡1,115

$3.54 PEN 12.17

-29.66%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.63 ₡733

$2.07 PEN 7.12

-21.26%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$6.41 ₡2,873

$7.75 PEN 26.62

-17.29%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.41 ₡633

$1.71 PEN 5.86

-17.54%

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

$22.3K ₡10.0M

$21.6K PEN 74.1K

3.15%

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

$35.0K ₡15.7M

$28.6K PEN 98.2K

22.50%

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

$56.6 ₡25.4K

$68.2 PEN 234

-17.02%

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

$36.14 ₡16.2K

$15.73 PEN 54.0

129.75%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$21.59 ₡9,684

$26.48 PEN 90.9

-18.47%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$71.6 ₡32.1K

$33.94 PEN 117

111.08%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$20.10 PEN 69.0

Cinema Ticket

$7.53 ₡3,375

$7.22 PEN 24.80

4.29%

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

$997 ₡447.0K

$201 PEN 689

396.68%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$16.9K ₡7.6M

$12.9K PEN 44.3K

31.21%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$32.85 ₡14.7K

$53.7 PEN 184

-38.84%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$22.25 ₡9,981

$35.88 PEN 123

-37.99%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$127 ₡57.1K

$83.8 PEN 288

52.14%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$33.14 ₡14.9K

$78.8 PEN 271

-57.95%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$797 ₡357.5K

$729 PEN 2,505

9.28%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$635 ₡285.0K

$349 PEN 1,197

82.28%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,883 ₡844.6K

$1,186 PEN 4,073

58.80%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,264 ₡566.7K

$696 PEN 2,391

81.47%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,360 PEN 8,105

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,356 PEN 4,657

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$663 PEN 2,278

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

8.62

8.78

-1.82%

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

Last update for Upala: October 20, 2026

Last update for Lima: October 17, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Upala

$635 44.7%

Lima

$349 34.4% 45.1% $287

Groceries & Markets

Upala

$256 18%

Lima

$227 22.4% 11.2% $29

Eating Out

Upala

$216 15.2%

Lima

$123 12.2% 42.8% $93

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Upala

$114 8%

Lima

$110 10.9% 3.4% $3.9

Clothing & Footwear

Upala

$97 6.8%

Lima

$113 11.2% 16.9% $16

Sport & Entertainment

Upala

$87 6.1%

Lima

$48 4.8% 44.2% $38

Getting Around

Upala

$16 * 1.1%

Lima

$43 4.2% 171% $27

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 $797 in Upala and $729 in Lima. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Dining out: $54.0 in Upala vs $35.00 in Lima for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $256 vs $227 per month, with Lima cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇨🇷 Upala

🇵🇪 Lima

🕒 Local time

20:43 8:43 PM

21:43 9:43 PM

1 h ahead of Upala

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

15,000

9,989,369 Capital

💱 Currency

Costa Rican Colón CRC ₡

Peruvian Sol PEN S/

📈 Exchange rate

1,000 CRC = 2.23 USD

1,000 CRC = 1.98 EUR

1 PEN = 0.291 USD

1 PEN = 0.259 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

PEN, USD, EUR to CRC – Costa Rican Colón Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇨🇷 Costa Rican Colón (₡)

Costa Rican Colón exchange rates as of October 21, 2026: 1 USD = 448 CRC (1,000 CRC = 2.23 USD). 1 EUR = 504 CRC (1,000 CRC = 1.98 EUR).

Peruvian Sol exchange rates as of October 21, 2026: 1 USD = 3.43 PEN (1 PEN = 0.291 USD). 1 EUR = 3.86 PEN (1 PEN = 0.259 EUR).

USD to CRC in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Upala Lima 2,700 km ≈ 4 h nonstop flight

From you

Upala
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

Upala vs Lima: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Upala and Lima differ by about 40% in total monthly costs ($1,421 vs $1,014 including rent). Lima is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

You'd need roughly $2,132 in Upala and $1,522 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: $797 in Upala versus $729 in Lima. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Supermarket bills run roughly 13% higher in Upala. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

All in, you'll spend $1,421 per month in Upala versus $1,014 in Lima – a 40% gap that adds up to real savings over time for anyone picking the cheaper option.

At $1,014 in Lima versus $1,421 in Upala, a $2,000 budget is realistic in Lima but tight or insufficient in Upala. 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 40% less than in Upala. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.