Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Acapulco and Rio de Janeiro

For one person, living is cheaper in Acapulco: $859 a month against $1,289 in Rio de Janeiro, rent and utilities included – about $5,200 less a year. Higher rent and utilities in Rio de Janeiro outweigh lower spending on other living expenses.

42

Cost of Living Index in Acapulco
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Acapulco Living Index
63

Cost of Living Index in Rio de Janeiro
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Rio de Janeiro Living Index

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Acapulco

🇲🇽 Mexico

$859

/mo nomad

Rio de Janeiro

🇧🇷 Brazil

$1,289

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Acapulco and in Rio de Janeiro

Real prices from locals and on-the-ground checks – rent, groceries, transit and the daily extras. Here's what a month in Acapulco and in Rio de Janeiro actually costs, broken down by who's living it.

A single person spends $859 per month in Acapulco vs $1,289 in Rio de Janeiro, rent included.

Acapulco $859
Rio de Janeiro $1,289

A couple spends around $1,435 per month in Acapulco vs $1,868 in Rio de Janeiro, rent included.

Acapulco $1,435
Rio de Janeiro $1,868

A family of three spends $2,012 per month in Acapulco vs $2,448 in Rio de Janeiro, rent included.

Acapulco $2,012
Rio de Janeiro $2,448

Acapulco is about 33% cheaper than Rio de Janeiro, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Both Acapulco and Rio de Janeiro are more affordable than the global median – Acapulco 36% lower, Rio de Janeiro 5% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$9.48 MX$175

$10.06 R$51.0

-5.77%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$37.64 MX$696

$40.44 R$205

-6.92%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.97 MX$221

$8.55 R$43.35

40.00%

Cappuccino

$3.76 MX$69.5

$2.38 R$12.04

57.98%

Coke/Pepsi/Fanta/Sprite (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.63 MX$30.10

$1.61 R$8.18

1.24%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.66 MX$30.65

$1.03 R$5.22

61.17%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.00 MX$55.4

$2.47 R$12.54

21.46%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.79 MX$88.4

$3.70 R$18.77

29.46%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.59 MX$29.36

$1.19 R$6.05

33.61%

White Bread (500g)

$2.89 MX$53.5

$2.05 R$10.38

40.98%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.68 MX$31.11

$1.28 R$6.49

31.25%

Eggs

$1.79 MX$33.06

$2.29 R$11.60

-21.83%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$6.64 MX$123

$10.76 R$54.5

-38.29%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$8.04 MX$149

$4.41 R$22.36

82.31%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$10.78 MX$199

$9.84 R$49.86

9.55%

Apples (1kg)

$4.58 MX$84.7

$2.81 R$14.25

62.99%

Banana (1kg)

$1.65 MX$30.46

$1.78 R$9.03

-7.30%

Oranges (1kg)

$3.38 MX$62.5

$1.60 R$8.13

111.25%

Tomato (1kg)

$3.13 MX$57.9

$1.80 R$9.11

73.89%

Potato (1kg)

$3.47 MX$64.2

$1.22 R$6.17

184.43%

Onion (1kg)

$2.96 MX$54.7

$1.04 R$5.26

184.62%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.31 MX$24.12

$0.77 R$3.92

70.13%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.78 MX$14.46

$0.67 R$3.38

16.42%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$8.16 MX$151

$3.01 R$15.27

171.10%

Wine (Bottle)

$6.66 MX$123

$8.08 R$40.94

-17.57%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.12 MX$20.74

$1.19 R$6.03

-5.88%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.70 MX$49.94

$2.51 R$12.73

7.57%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.88 MX$16.27

$0.99 R$5.00

-11.11%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$50.1 R$254

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$4.85 MX$89.6

$1.22 R$6.20

297.54%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.92 R$4.66

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$8.97 R$45.45

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.47 MX$27.16

$1.30 R$6.57

13.08%

Midsize Hatchback 1.4l (Volkswagen Golf, Toyota Prius, Honda Civic, etc)

$21.1K MX$389.7K

$23.9K R$121.0K

-11.66%

Compact Sedan 1.6l (Toyota Corolla, Mazda3, Kia K4, Hyundai Elantra, etc)

$24.8K MX$458.4K

$32.9K R$166.6K

-24.52%

Utilities for 2 People in 2-bedroom Apartment (Heating, Electricity, Gas, Water, Garbage) (85m2)

$39.89 MX$737

$133 R$676

-70.10%

SIM Card Monthly Plan (Calls and 10GB+ Data)

$14.81 MX$274

$10.82 R$54.8

36.88%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$21.72 MX$401

$22.90 R$116

-5.15%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$19.02 MX$351

$30.79 R$156

-38.23%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$13.85 MX$256

$31.85 R$161

-56.51%

Cinema Ticket

$3.87 MX$71.6

$8.05 R$40.83

-51.93%

Preschool or Kindergarten, Full Day, Private, 1 Child (Monthly)

$162 MX$2,994

$598 R$3,029

-72.88%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$13.4K R$68.0K

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$64.4 MX$1,191

$42.04 R$213

53.26%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$44.58 MX$824

$49.68 R$252

-10.27%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$107 MX$1,985

$74.5 R$378

44.12%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$83.2 MX$1,538

$68.7 R$348

21.15%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$519 MX$9,593

$903 R$4,578

-42.52%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$150 MX$2,763

$529 R$2,684

-71.76%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$956 MX$17.7K

$1,326 R$6,724

-27.90%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$331 MX$6,118

$756 R$3,831

-56.19%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$4,010 R$20.3K

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,560 R$7,910

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$449 MX$8,293

$640 R$3,242

-29.83%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

11.6

11.93

-2.77%

CityCost data is based on AI and user input – minor inaccuracies may occur.

Last update for Acapulco: October 11, 2026

Last update for Rio de Janeiro: October 10, 2026

Monthly budget structure

Share of the monthly basket for one person, rent included.

Groceries & Markets

Acapulco

$269 31.3%

Rio de Janeiro

$215 16.7% 20.1% $54

Eating Out

Acapulco

$195 22.7%

Rio de Janeiro

$165 12.8% 15.2% $30

Accommodation & Living

Acapulco

$150 17.4%

Rio de Janeiro

$529 41.1% 254% $380

Clothing & Footwear

Acapulco

$135 15.7%

Rio de Janeiro

$106 8.2% 21.6% $29

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Acapulco

$76 8.9%

Rio de Janeiro

$167 13% 119% $91

Sport & Entertainment

Acapulco

$27 3.1%

Rio de Janeiro

$47 3.6% 75.2% $20

Getting Around

Acapulco

$8.4 * 1%

Rio de Janeiro

$60 4.7% 615% $52

Categories marked with * are only partly priced – their share counts the items that do have prices.

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $519 in Acapulco versus $903 in Rio de Janeiro. Rent is usually the largest line item in a monthly budget, so the gap here sets the tone for the overall comparison.

Salaries run about 43% higher in Rio de Janeiro, which partly offsets the higher cost of living there. Purchasing power depends on which expenses matter most to you.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $38.00 in Acapulco versus $40.00 in Rio de Janeiro. Groceries tell a different story – $269 in Acapulco vs $215 in Rio de Janeiro – so Rio de Janeiro wins on supermarket bills even if dining out costs more.

Good to know

🇲🇽 Acapulco

🇧🇷 Rio de Janeiro

🕒 Local time

08:44 8:44 AM

11:44 11:44 AM

3 h ahead of Acapulco

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

658,609

6,211,223

💱 Currency

Mexican Peso MXN $

Brazilian Real BRL R$

📈 Exchange rate

100 MXN = 5.41 USD

100 MXN = 4.81 EUR

1 BRL = 0.197 USD

1 BRL = 0.175 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

BRL, USD, EUR to MXN – Mexican Peso Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇲🇽 Mexican Peso ($)

Mexican Peso exchange rates as of October 19, 2026: 1 USD = 18.48 MXN (100 MXN = 5.41 USD). 1 EUR = 20.77 MXN (100 MXN = 4.81 EUR).

Brazilian Real exchange rates as of October 19, 2026: 1 USD = 5.07 BRL (1 BRL = 0.197 USD). 1 EUR = 5.7 BRL (1 BRL = 0.175 EUR).

USD to MXN in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Acapulco Rio de Janeiro 7,580 km ≈ 10 h nonstop flight

From you

Acapulco
Rio de Janeiro

Distances are measured in a straight line. Your location is detected approximately.

City Median Internet Speeds Comparison (Updated April 2026)

The chart highlights the Precision Threshold for mobile and fixed broadband internet speeds, updated quarterly.

Digital Nomad Cost of Living Index

Acapulco vs Rio de Janeiro: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Rio de Janeiro costs about 50% more than Acapulco, and outside of rent the gap comes mainly from groceries. That's enough to noticeably affect everyday spending and lifestyle for anyone choosing between the two.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $1,288 per month in Acapulco and $1,933 in Rio de Janeiro. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

Rent is clearly cheaper in Acapulco, especially for central apartments. Housing is actually the single biggest factor behind the overall cost gap between these two cities.

Monthly expenses with rent come to $859 in Acapulco and $1,289 in Rio de Janeiro. That's a gap of about 50%.

Kindergarten costs $162 per month in Acapulco and $598 in Rio de Janeiro. For families with young kids, this one expense can tip the scales when choosing between the two cities.

A $1,000 monthly budget goes further in Acapulco, where all-in costs run around $859, than in Rio de Janeiro at $1,289. In Acapulco it covers expenses comfortably, while in Rio de Janeiro it requires careful planning or may not stretch far enough.

For digital nomads, it depends on budget. Acapulco costs $859 versus $1,289 in Rio de Janeiro. Both have workable remote work infrastructure, but the cost gap matters when income varies month to month.

If budget matters most, go with Acapulco. If higher salaries, better infrastructure, or specific career opportunities are the priority, Rio de Janeiro makes more sense. Both are solid long-term options with distinct trade-offs.