Cost of living comparison

compared to

Lima vs. Madrid Cost of Living Summary

Lima is 2.6% more expensive than Madrid.

Restaurants
pay 8.1% more in Lima
Groceries
pay 2.4% more in Lima
Transportation
pay 20.3% less in Lima
Housing
pay 2.0% more in Lima
Childcare
pay 2.1 times more in Lima
Entertainment and Sports
pay 25.9% more in Lima
Clothing
pay 20.5% less in Lima

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

Lima vs. Madrid Cost Breakdown

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

pay 8.1% more for restaurants

 
Madrid
Lima
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant $17.92
€16.07
$22.00
 
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
$11.20
€10.05
$12.00
 
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) $3.30
€2.96
$2.52
 

Improve prices ·

pay 2.4% more for groceries

 
Madrid
Lima
Bread
1 loaf
$1.57
€1.41
$3.16
 
Local cheese (8 oz) $8.35
€7.49
$4.41
 
Milk (1 gallon) $5.25
€4.71
$2.00
 

Improve prices ·

pay 20.3% less for transportation

 
Madrid
Lima
Gasoline (1 gallon) $6.88
€6.17
$3.33
 
Monthly public transit pass $36.95
€33.15
$43.00
 
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) $35,271.67
€31,643.98
$36,168.00
 

Improve prices ·

pay 2.0% more for housing

 
Madrid
Lima
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
$34.86
€31.28
$67.75
 
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area $1,491.38
€1,337.99
$1,292.67
 
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center $1,193.86
€1,071.07
$1,250.00
 

Improve prices ·

pay 2.1 times more for childcare

 
Madrid
Lima
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly $668.48
€599.73
$1,593.33
 
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters $17,859.91
€16,023.02
$34,300.00
 

Improve prices ·

pay 25.9% more for entertainment and sports

 
Madrid
Lima
Domestic/local beer (1 pint) $3.92
€3.52
$6.00
 
Cappuccino in mid-range area $3.07
€2.76
$5.39
 
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
$6.72
€6.03
$10.00
 

Improve prices ·

pay 20.5% less for clothing

 
Madrid
Lima
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
$86.50
€77.60
$49.77
 
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
$42.98
€38.56
$41.35
 
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
$108.99
€97.78
$81.28
 

Improve prices ·

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

Share this

Compare countries by overall cost of living

See the cost of living in Spain vs. United States. This provides a comparison of the average cost of living from cities within Spain and United States.

Help us improve these prices

MyLifeElsewhere is a collaborative project. Please enter price information for your location to help assist us in making these comparisons more accurate. Learn more

Ask the Elsewhere Community

Join the Elsewhere community and ask a question about Lima or Madrid. It's a free, question-and-answer based forum to discuss what life is like in countries and cities around the world.