Cost of living comparison

compared to

Lima vs. Pietermaritzburg Cost of Living Summary

Lima is 36.4% more expensive than Pietermaritzburg.

Restaurants: pay 1.4% less in Lima
Groceries: pay 24.0% more in Lima
Transportation: pay 75.9% more in Lima
Housing: pay 54.3% more in Lima
Childcare: pay 49.5% more in Lima
Entertainment and Sports: pay 34.3% more in Lima
Clothing: pay 18.1% more in Lima

The cost of transportation, housing, childcare, entertainment and sports, groceries, and clothing in Lima are more expensive than in Pietermaritzburg. Notably, transportation is significantly more expensive in Lima.

Lima vs. Pietermaritzburg Cost Breakdown

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

Display currency: USD

pay 1.4% less for restaurants

	Pietermaritzburg	Lima
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$7.20 ZAR121.91	$4.28 PEN14.40	-40.5%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$5.19 ZAR87.77	$7.14 PEN24.00	+37.7%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$0.93 ZAR15.73	$1.01 PEN3.38	+8.1%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$0.73 ZAR12.42	$0.65 PEN2.19	-11.1%
Average			-1.4%

Pietermaritzburg vs. Lima - Cost of restaurants

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pay 24.0% more for groceries

	Pietermaritzburg	Lima
Bread 1 loaf	$0.88 ZAR14.85	$2.67 PEN8.96	+203.9%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$3.69 ZAR62.46	$4.52 PEN15.19	+22.4%
Milk (1 gallon)	$4.08 ZAR69.13	$5.76 PEN19.35	+41.0%
Eggs 1 dozen	$2.19 ZAR37.09	$2.96 PEN9.96	+35.2%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$2.11 ZAR35.68	$2.63 PEN8.85	+24.9%
Apples (1 lb)	$0.75 ZAR12.67	$1.02 PEN3.41	+35.6%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.67 ZAR11.26	$0.51 PEN1.71	-23.7%
Oranges (1 lb)	$0.64 ZAR10.80	$0.58 PEN1.94	-9.7%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$0.63 ZAR10.72	$0.56 PEN1.89	-11.1%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$0.64 ZAR10.76	$0.46 PEN1.55	-27.4%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.59 ZAR10.05	$0.43 PEN1.46	-26.9%
Average			+24.0%

Pietermaritzburg vs. Lima - Cost of groceries

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pay 75.9% more for transportation

	Pietermaritzburg	Lima
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$4.79 ZAR81.09	$5.20 PEN17.47	+8.5%
Monthly public transit pass	$18.73 ZAR316.96	$22.85 PEN76.80	+22.0%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$20,742.57 ZAR351,094.99	$19,990.85 PEN67,196.30	-3.6%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$5.76 ZAR97.53	$21.70 PEN72.96	+276.7%
Average			+75.9%

Pietermaritzburg vs. Lima - Cost of transportation

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pay 54.3% more for housing

	Pietermaritzburg	Lima
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$34.57 ZAR585.16	$24.99 PEN83.99	-27.7%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$211.27 ZAR3,575.97	$661.42 PEN2,223.28	+213.1%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$192.06 ZAR3,250.88	$374.24 PEN1,257.94	+94.9%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$118.42 ZAR2,004.48	$43.53 PEN146.32	-63.2%
Average			+54.3%

Pietermaritzburg vs. Lima - Cost of housing

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pay 49.5% more for childcare

	Pietermaritzburg	Lima
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$153.65 ZAR2,600.70	$192.22 PEN646.12	+25.1%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$4,727.26 ZAR80,014.98	$8,215.29 PEN27,614.48	+73.8%
Average			+49.5%

Pietermaritzburg vs. Lima - Cost of childcare

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pay 34.3% more for entertainment and sports

	Pietermaritzburg	Lima
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$1.73 ZAR29.26	$2.28 PEN7.68	+32.2%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$2.01 ZAR34.09	$2.61 PEN8.79	+29.8%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$2.97 ZAR50.23	$5.71 PEN19.20	+92.5%
Monthly membership at local gym	$39.18 ZAR663.18	$31.13 PEN104.63	-20.6%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$5.19 ZAR87.77	$7.14 PEN24.00	+37.7%
Average			+34.3%

Pietermaritzburg vs. Lima - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 18.1% more for clothing

	Pietermaritzburg	Lima
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$46.62 ZAR789.13	$51.07 PEN171.67	+9.5%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$28.81 ZAR487.63	$35.74 PEN120.12	+24.0%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$94.71 ZAR1,603.03	$83.99 PEN282.33	-11.3%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$55.70 ZAR942.76	$83.70 PEN281.35	+50.3%
Average			+18.1%

Pietermaritzburg vs. Lima - 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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