Cost of living comparison

 Lima, Peru
compared to
 Santa Ana, Costa Rica
Santa Ana vs. Lima Cost of Living Summary

Santa Ana is 62.7% more expensive than Lima.

Restaurants
pay 2.1 times more in Santa Ana
Groceries
pay 73.0% more in Santa Ana
Transportation
pay 3.4% more in Santa Ana
Housing
pay 46.8% more in Santa Ana
Childcare
pay 94.1% more in Santa Ana
Entertainment and Sports
pay 63.3% more in Santa Ana
Clothing
pay 45.4% more in Santa Ana

The cost of restaurants, childcare, groceries, entertainment and sports, housing, and clothing in Santa Ana are more expensive than in Lima. Notably, restaurants and childcare are significantly more expensive in Santa Ana.

Santa Ana vs. Lima Cost Breakdown

If you lived in Santa Ana instead of Lima, you would:

pay 2.1 times more for restaurants

 
Lima
Santa Ana
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant $5.23
PEN18.52
$9.72
CRC4,905.71
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
$6.10
PEN21.61
$9.23
CRC4,660.42
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) $0.83
PEN2.94
$1.88
CRC948.44

Improve prices ·

pay 73.0% more for groceries

 
Lima
Santa Ana
Bread
1 loaf
$2.42
PEN8.59
$2.59
CRC1,309.08
Local cheese (8 oz) $4.22
PEN14.96
$4.26
CRC2,153.06
Milk (1 gallon) $4.95
PEN17.56
$6.45
CRC3,255.96

Improve prices ·

pay 3.4% more for transportation

 
Lima
Santa Ana
Gasoline (1 gallon) $5.39
PEN19.09
$5.49
CRC2,769.80
Monthly public transit pass $23.85
PEN84.55
$19.43
CRC9,811.42
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) $23,163.52
PEN82,111.54
$34,982.04
CRC17,660,552.15

Improve prices ·

pay 46.8% more for housing

 
Lima
Santa Ana
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
$26.56
PEN94.16
$47.29
CRC23,874.45
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area $575.58
PEN2,040.35
$831.69
CRC419,875.41
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center $363.71
PEN1,289.29
$586.85
CRC296,269.31

Improve prices ·

pay 94.1% more for childcare

 
Lima
Santa Ana
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly $213.68
PEN757.46
$521.49
CRC263,273.05
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters $7,818.35
PEN27,714.99
$11,268.88
CRC5,689,052.53

Improve prices ·

pay 63.3% more for entertainment and sports

 
Lima
Santa Ana
Domestic/local beer (1 pint) $2.12
PEN7.52
$2.92
CRC1,471.71
Cappuccino in mid-range area $2.62
PEN9.29
$3.69
CRC1,861.47
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
$5.30
PEN18.79
$5.05
CRC2,550.97

Improve prices ·

pay 45.4% more for clothing

 
Lima
Santa Ana
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
$42.79
PEN151.69
$73.45
CRC37,081.83
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
$34.98
PEN124.01
$50.76
CRC25,625.29
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
$85.21
PEN302.05
$119.85
CRC60,503.74

Improve prices ·
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: July 2025
Share this

Compare countries by overall cost of living

See the cost of living in Peru vs. Costa Rica. This provides a comparison of the average cost of living from cities within Peru and Costa Rica.

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 Santa Ana or Lima. It's a free, question-and-answer based forum to discuss what life is like in countries and cities around the world.