Cost of living comparison

compared to

South Africa vs. Lima Cost of Living Summary

South Africa is 1.0% more expensive than Lima.

Restaurants: pay 27.7% more in South Africa
Groceries: pay 1.5% less in South Africa
Transportation: pay 10.8% more in South Africa
Housing: pay 23.7% more in South Africa
Childcare: pay 33.5% less in South Africa
Entertainment and Sports: pay 18.8% less in South Africa
Clothing: pay 1.2% less in South Africa

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

South Africa vs. Lima Cost Breakdown

If you lived in South Africa instead of Lima, you would:

Display currency: USD

pay 27.7% more for restaurants

	Lima	South Africa
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$5.23 PEN19.58	$8.97 ZAR167.89	+71.7%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$6.10 PEN22.84	$4.77 ZAR89.27	-21.7%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$0.83 PEN3.10	$0.95 ZAR17.86	+15.2%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$0.51 PEN1.91	$0.74 ZAR13.87	+45.6%
Average			+27.7%

Lima vs. South Africa - Cost of restaurants

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pay 1.5% less for groceries

	Lima	South Africa
Bread 1 loaf	$2.42 PEN9.08	$0.99 ZAR18.54	-59.1%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$4.22 PEN15.82	$3.67 ZAR68.77	-12.9%
Milk (1 gallon)	$4.95 PEN18.56	$4.20 ZAR78.56	-15.2%
Eggs 1 dozen	$2.70 PEN10.14	$2.23 ZAR41.67	-17.7%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$2.25 PEN8.42	$2.03 ZAR37.95	-9.8%
Apples (1 lb)	$0.87 PEN3.28	$0.68 ZAR12.67	-22.6%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.50 PEN1.89	$0.62 ZAR11.55	+22.5%
Oranges (1 lb)	$0.48 PEN1.80	$0.64 ZAR12.01	+33.5%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$0.52 PEN1.96	$0.70 ZAR13.07	+33.6%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$0.53 PEN2.00	$0.55 ZAR10.36	+3.7%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.48 PEN1.79	$0.61 ZAR11.39	+27.8%
Average			-1.5%

Lima vs. South Africa - Cost of groceries

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pay 10.8% more for transportation

	Lima	South Africa
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$5.39 PEN20.18	$4.99 ZAR93.35	-7.4%
Monthly public transit pass	$23.85 PEN89.38	$52.31 ZAR978.84	+119.3%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$23,163.52 PEN86,801.71	$20,607.77 ZAR385,612.54	-11.0%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$20.14 PEN75.48	$8.55 ZAR159.97	-57.6%
Average			+10.8%

Lima vs. South Africa - Cost of transportation

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pay 23.7% more for housing

	Lima	South Africa
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$26.56 PEN99.54	$41.37 ZAR774.11	+55.7%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$575.58 PEN2,156.90	$382.55 ZAR7,158.34	-33.5%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$363.71 PEN1,362.93	$326.35 ZAR6,106.61	-10.3%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$44.01 PEN164.91	$80.40 ZAR1,504.41	+82.7%
Average			+23.7%

Lima vs. South Africa - Cost of housing

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pay 33.5% less for childcare

	Lima	South Africa
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$213.68 PEN800.73	$174.12 ZAR3,258.07	-18.5%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$7,818.35 PEN29,298.06	$4,033.53 ZAR75,475.36	-48.4%
Average			-33.5%

Lima vs. South Africa - Cost of childcare

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pay 18.8% less for entertainment and sports

	Lima	South Africa
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$2.12 PEN7.95	$2.11 ZAR39.44	-0.6%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$2.62 PEN9.82	$1.88 ZAR35.23	-28.1%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$5.30 PEN19.86	$2.90 ZAR54.34	-45.2%
Monthly membership at local gym	$30.52 PEN114.35	$29.50 ZAR552.01	-3.3%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$7.95 PEN29.79	$6.62 ZAR123.89	-16.7%
Average			-18.8%

Lima vs. South Africa - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 1.2% less for clothing

	Lima	South Africa
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$42.79 PEN160.36	$47.72 ZAR892.85	+11.5%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$34.98 PEN131.09	$32.06 ZAR599.89	-8.4%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$85.21 PEN319.30	$90.39 ZAR1,691.36	+6.1%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$94.35 PEN353.56	$81.37 ZAR1,522.54	-13.8%
Average			-1.2%

Lima vs. South Africa - 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: January 2025

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