Cost of living comparison

El Salvador

compared to

Peru

Lima vs. San Salvador Cost of Living Summary

Lima is 25.5% cheaper than San Salvador.

Restaurants: pay 20.8% less in Lima
Groceries: pay 38.9% less in Lima
Transportation: pay 6.0% less in Lima
Housing: pay 40.6% less in Lima
Childcare: pay 74.8% more in Lima
Entertainment and Sports: pay 18.8% more in Lima
Clothing: pay 27.3% less in Lima

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

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Lima vs. San Salvador Cost Breakdown

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

Display currency: USD

pay 20.8% less for restaurants

	San Salvador	Lima
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$6.75 SVC59.06	$4.36 PEN15.00	-35.5%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$7.00 SVC61.25	$6.94 PEN23.91	-0.9%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$1.14 SVC10.01	$1.09 PEN3.75	-4.9%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$0.83 SVC7.29	$0.63 PEN2.18	-24.0%
Average			-20.8%

San Salvador vs. Lima - Cost of restaurants

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pay 38.9% less for groceries

	San Salvador	Lima
Bread 1 loaf	$2.85 SVC24.94	$2.57 PEN8.87	-9.7%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$3.85 SVC33.72	$4.53 PEN15.62	+17.7%
Milk (1 gallon)	$6.95 SVC60.81	$6.09 PEN20.97	-12.4%
Eggs 1 dozen	$3.02 SVC26.39	$2.91 PEN10.03	-3.5%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$3.16 SVC27.66	$2.68 PEN9.25	-15.1%
Apples (1 lb)	$2.29 SVC20.07	$0.91 PEN3.14	-60.3%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.63 SVC5.54	$0.48 PEN1.64	-24.7%
Oranges (1 lb)	$1.18 SVC10.35	$0.63 PEN2.18	-46.6%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$1.56 SVC13.68	$0.68 PEN2.33	-56.7%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$1.33 SVC11.65	$0.42 PEN1.44	-68.6%
Onions (1 lb)	$1.49 SVC13.05	$0.40 PEN1.38	-73.1%
Average			-38.9%

San Salvador vs. Lima - Cost of groceries

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pay 6.0% less for transportation

	San Salvador	Lima
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$4.75 SVC41.60	$6.39 PEN22.00	+34.3%
Monthly public transit pass	$37.50 SVC328.13	$26.51 PEN91.33	-29.3%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$25,000.00 SVC219K	$21,990.00 PEN75,751.70	-12.0%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$30.00 SVC262.50	$20.18 PEN69.52	-32.7%
Average			-6.0%

San Salvador vs. Lima - Cost of transportation

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pay 40.6% less for housing

	San Salvador	Lima
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$42.50 SVC371.88	$27.55 PEN94.90	-35.2%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$898.99 SVC7,866.27	$734.53 PEN2,530.34	-18.3%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$770.00 SVC6,737.58	$337.21 PEN1,161.65	-56.2%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$99.35 SVC869.35	$55.42 PEN190.93	-44.2%
Average			-40.6%

San Salvador vs. Lima - Cost of housing

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pay 74.8% more for childcare

	San Salvador	Lima
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$162.67 SVC1,423.35	$179.06 PEN616.82	+10.1%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$4,720.00 SVC41,300.50	$13,095.48 PEN45,111.65	+177.4%
Average			+74.8%

San Salvador vs. Lima - Cost of childcare

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pay 18.8% more for entertainment and sports

	San Salvador	Lima
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$2.00 SVC17.50	$2.61 PEN9.00	+30.7%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$3.55 SVC31.02	$3.24 PEN11.16	-8.6%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$4.00 SVC35.00	$5.76 PEN19.85	+44.1%
Monthly membership at local gym	$31.60 SVC276.50	$32.49 PEN111.92	+2.8%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$5.00 SVC43.75	$7.26 PEN25.01	+45.2%
Average			+18.8%

San Salvador vs. Lima - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 27.3% less for clothing

	San Salvador	Lima
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$67.15 SVC587.57	$52.80 PEN181.88	-21.4%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$47.00 SVC411.25	$34.89 PEN120.20	-25.8%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$118.33 SVC1,035.43	$83.72 PEN288.40	-29.3%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$117.00 SVC1,023.76	$78.93 PEN271.88	-32.5%
Average			-27.3%

San Salvador vs. Lima - 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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