Cost of living comparison

compared to

Matagalpa vs. Lima Cost of Living Summary

Matagalpa is 5.3% cheaper than Lima.

Restaurants: pay 8.2% less in Matagalpa
Groceries: pay 10.3% more in Matagalpa
Transportation: pay 21.1% less in Matagalpa
Housing: pay 16.2% less in Matagalpa
Childcare: pay 37.5% less in Matagalpa
Entertainment and Sports: pay 25.1% less in Matagalpa
Clothing: pay 60.4% more in Matagalpa

The cost of clothing and groceries in Matagalpa are more expensive than in Lima. Expenses including childcare, entertainment and sports, transportation, housing, and restaurants are lower in Matagalpa.

Matagalpa vs. Lima Cost Breakdown

If you lived in Matagalpa instead of Lima, you would:

Display currency: USD

pay 8.2% less for restaurants

	Lima	Matagalpa
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$4.28 PEN14.40	$4.91 NIO180.65	+14.6%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$7.14 PEN24.00	$7.30 NIO268.83	+2.3%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$1.01 PEN3.38	$0.82 NIO30.13	-18.5%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$0.65 PEN2.19	$0.45 NIO16.56	-31.1%
Average			-8.2%

Lima vs. Matagalpa - Cost of restaurants

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pay 10.3% more for groceries

	Lima	Matagalpa
Bread 1 loaf	$2.67 PEN8.96	$1.50 NIO55.20	-43.7%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$4.52 PEN15.19	$0.97 NIO35.70	-78.5%
Milk (1 gallon)	$5.76 PEN19.35	$4.41 NIO162.29	-23.4%
Eggs 1 dozen	$2.96 PEN9.96	$2.20 NIO80.96	-25.8%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$2.63 PEN8.85	$1.91 NIO70.28	-27.5%
Apples (1 lb)	$1.02 PEN3.41	$1.77 NIO65.14	+74.4%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.51 PEN1.71	$0.39 NIO14.48	-22.4%
Oranges (1 lb)	$0.58 PEN1.94	$0.82 NIO30.05	+41.7%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$0.56 PEN1.89	$1.01 NIO37.27	+79.9%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$0.46 PEN1.55	$0.50 NIO18.40	+8.3%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.43 PEN1.46	$1.00 NIO36.82	+130.6%
Average			+10.3%

Lima vs. Matagalpa - Cost of groceries

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pay 21.1% less for transportation

	Lima	Matagalpa
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$5.20 PEN17.47	$5.05 NIO185.96	-2.8%
Monthly public transit pass	$22.85 PEN76.80	??
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$19,990.85 PEN67,196.30	$22,973.64 NIO845,447.14	+14.9%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$21.70 PEN72.96	$5.32 NIO195.87	-75.5%
Average			-21.1%

Lima vs. Matagalpa - Cost of transportation

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pay 16.2% less for housing

	Lima	Matagalpa
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$24.99 PEN83.99	$35.67 NIO1,312.56	+42.7%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$661.42 PEN2,223.28	$200.00 NIO7,360.15	-69.8%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$374.24 PEN1,257.94	$262.50 NIO9,660.20	-29.9%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$43.53 PEN146.32	$40.15 NIO1,477.44	-7.8%
Average			-16.2%

Lima vs. Matagalpa - Cost of housing

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pay 37.5% less for childcare

	Lima	Matagalpa
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$192.22 PEN646.12	$100.00 NIO3,680.08	-48.0%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$8,215.29 PEN27,614.48	$6,000.00 NIO220,804.53	-27.0%
Average			-37.5%

Lima vs. Matagalpa - Cost of childcare

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pay 25.1% less for entertainment and sports

	Lima	Matagalpa
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$2.28 PEN7.68	$1.20 NIO44.16	-47.5%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$2.61 PEN8.79	$2.31 NIO84.89	-11.8%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$5.71 PEN19.20	$2.66 NIO97.86	-53.4%
Monthly membership at local gym	$31.13 PEN104.63	??
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$7.14 PEN24.00	$8.00 NIO294.41	+12.1%
Average			-25.1%

Lima vs. Matagalpa - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 60.4% more for clothing

	Lima	Matagalpa
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$51.07 PEN171.67	$77.43 NIO2,849.66	+51.6%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$35.74 PEN120.12	$72.50 NIO2,668.05	+102.9%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$83.99 PEN282.33	$132.64 NIO4,881.41	+57.9%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$83.70 PEN281.35	$108.16 NIO3,980.34	+29.2%
Average			+60.4%

Lima vs. Matagalpa - Cost of clothing

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The statistics used to build this comparison are calculated using data from users just like you. We average the price of thousands of data points entered by users across the world. Learn more about our data sources. Page last updated: December 2025

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