Cost of living comparison

Peru

compared to

El Salvador

San Salvador vs. Lima Cost of Living Summary

San Salvador is 34.1% more expensive than Lima.

Restaurants: pay 26.2% more in San Salvador
Groceries: pay 63.6% more in San Salvador
Transportation: pay 6.3% more in San Salvador
Housing: pay 68.3% more in San Salvador
Childcare: pay 42.8% less in San Salvador
Entertainment and Sports: pay 15.8% less in San Salvador
Clothing: pay 37.6% more in San Salvador

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

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San Salvador vs. Lima Cost Breakdown

If you lived in San Salvador instead of Lima, you would:

Display currency: USD

pay 26.2% more for restaurants

	Lima	San Salvador
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$4.36 PEN15.00	$6.75 SVC59.06	+55.0%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$6.94 PEN23.91	$7.00 SVC61.25	+0.9%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$1.09 PEN3.75	$1.14 SVC10.01	+5.1%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$0.63 PEN2.18	$0.83 SVC7.29	+31.7%
Average			+26.2%

Lima vs. San Salvador - Cost of restaurants

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pay 63.6% more for groceries

	Lima	San Salvador
Bread 1 loaf	$2.57 PEN8.87	$2.85 SVC24.94	+10.7%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$4.53 PEN15.62	$3.85 SVC33.72	-15.0%
Milk (1 gallon)	$6.09 PEN20.97	$6.95 SVC60.81	+14.2%
Eggs 1 dozen	$2.91 PEN10.03	$3.02 SVC26.39	+3.6%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$2.68 PEN9.25	$3.16 SVC27.66	+17.7%
Apples (1 lb)	$0.91 PEN3.14	$2.29 SVC20.07	+151.8%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.48 PEN1.64	$0.63 SVC5.54	+32.8%
Oranges (1 lb)	$0.63 PEN2.18	$1.18 SVC10.35	+87.3%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$0.68 PEN2.33	$1.56 SVC13.68	+131.0%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$0.42 PEN1.44	$1.33 SVC11.65	+218.0%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.40 PEN1.38	$1.49 SVC13.05	+272.4%
Average			+63.6%

Lima vs. San Salvador - Cost of groceries

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pay 6.3% more for transportation

	Lima	San Salvador
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$6.39 PEN22.00	$4.75 SVC41.60	-25.6%
Monthly public transit pass	$26.51 PEN91.33	$37.50 SVC328.13	+41.4%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$21,990.00 PEN75,751.70	$25,000.00 SVC219K	+13.7%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$20.18 PEN69.52	$30.00 SVC262.50	+48.7%
Average			+6.3%

Lima vs. San Salvador - Cost of transportation

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pay 68.3% more for housing

	Lima	San Salvador
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$27.55 PEN94.90	$42.50 SVC371.88	+54.3%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$734.53 PEN2,530.34	$898.99 SVC7,866.27	+22.4%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$337.21 PEN1,161.65	$770.00 SVC6,737.58	+128.3%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$55.42 PEN190.93	$99.35 SVC869.35	+79.3%
Average			+68.3%

Lima vs. San Salvador - Cost of housing

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pay 42.8% less for childcare

	Lima	San Salvador
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$179.06 PEN616.82	$162.67 SVC1,423.35	-9.2%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$13,095.48 PEN45,111.65	$4,720.00 SVC41,300.50	-64.0%
Average			-42.8%

Lima vs. San Salvador - Cost of childcare

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pay 15.8% less for entertainment and sports

	Lima	San Salvador
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$2.61 PEN9.00	$2.00 SVC17.50	-23.5%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$3.24 PEN11.16	$3.55 SVC31.02	+9.5%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$5.76 PEN19.85	$4.00 SVC35.00	-30.6%
Monthly membership at local gym	$32.49 PEN111.92	$31.60 SVC276.50	-2.7%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$7.26 PEN25.01	$5.00 SVC43.75	-31.1%
Average			-15.8%

Lima vs. San Salvador - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 37.6% more for clothing

	Lima	San Salvador
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$52.80 PEN181.88	$67.15 SVC587.57	+27.2%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$34.89 PEN120.20	$47.00 SVC411.25	+34.7%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$83.72 PEN288.40	$118.33 SVC1,035.43	+41.3%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$78.93 PEN271.88	$117.00 SVC1,023.76	+48.2%
Average			+37.6%

Lima vs. San Salvador - Cost of clothing

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We average the price of thousands of data points entered by users across the world. Sources: MyLifeElsewhere's cost-of-living dataset (prices updated October 2026). How we calculate this

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