Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Antigua Guatemala and Rio de Janeiro

For one person, living costs are similar in Antigua Guatemala and in Rio de Janeiro: $1,269 and $1,285 a month, rent and utilities included.

61

Cost of Living Index in Antigua Guatemala
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Antigua Guatemala Living Index
63

Cost of Living Index in Rio de Janeiro
Learn more

Rio de Janeiro Living Index

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Antigua Guatemala

🇬🇹 Guatemala

$1,269

/mo nomad

Rio de Janeiro

🇧🇷 Brazil

$1,285

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Antigua Guatemala 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 Antigua Guatemala and in Rio de Janeiro actually costs, broken down by who's living it.

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,269 in Antigua Guatemala versus $1,285 in Rio de Janeiro.

Antigua Guatemala $1,269
Rio de Janeiro $1,285

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,123 in Antigua Guatemala versus $1,888 in Rio de Janeiro.

Antigua Guatemala $2,123
Rio de Janeiro $1,888

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $2,977 in Antigua Guatemala versus $2,491 in Rio de Janeiro.

Antigua Guatemala $2,977
Rio de Janeiro $2,491

Living in Antigua Guatemala costs roughly 1% less than in Rio de Janeiro, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Both cities sit below the global median: Antigua Guatemala 5% lower, Rio de Janeiro 4% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$6.63 Q 50.7

$9.98 R$49.83

-33.57%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$51.7 Q 395

$40.34 R$201

28.24%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$7.64 Q 58.4

$8.48 R$42.35

-9.91%

Cappuccino

$3.41 Q 26.08

$2.36 R$11.80

44.49%

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

$1.15 Q 8.81

$1.63 R$8.13

-29.45%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.93 Q 7.14

$1.01 R$5.06

-7.92%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.23 Q 24.69

$2.44 R$12.19

32.38%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.63 Q 35.41

$3.69 R$18.43

25.47%

Milk (1 liter)

$2.04 Q 15.60

$1.15 R$5.72

77.39%

White Bread (500g)

$3.11 Q 23.78

$2.07 R$10.34

50.24%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.93 Q 14.76

$1.29 R$6.42

49.61%

Eggs

$2.44 Q 18.65

$2.27 R$11.32

7.49%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$5.48 Q 41.88

$11.00 R$54.9

-50.18%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.20 Q 70.3

$4.31 R$21.51

113.46%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$10.54 Q 80.6

$9.74 R$48.63

8.21%

Apples (1kg)

$3.79 Q 28.97

$2.83 R$14.12

33.92%

Banana (1kg)

$1.64 Q 12.55

$1.84 R$9.17

-10.87%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.83 Q 21.62

$1.60 R$7.96

76.88%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.67 Q 12.75

$1.80 R$9.00

-7.22%

Potato (1kg)

$1.53 Q 11.67

$1.26 R$6.28

21.43%

Onion (1kg)

$1.74 Q 13.27

$1.07 R$5.34

62.62%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.67 Q 5.16

$0.75 R$3.75

-10.67%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.19 Q 9.10

$0.66 R$3.29

80.30%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$3.86 Q 29.49

$3.05 R$15.21

26.56%

Wine (Bottle)

$8.02 Q 61.3

$8.18 R$40.84

-1.96%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.74 Q 13.30

$1.19 R$5.92

46.22%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.58 Q 19.74

$2.39 R$11.92

7.95%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$2.58 Q 19.75

$1.01 R$5.06

155.45%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$50.2 R$250

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$4.56 Q 34.81

$1.27 R$6.33

259.06%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.90 R$4.51

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$10.49 Q 80.2

$9.44 R$47.13

11.12%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.28 Q 9.82

$1.33 R$6.65

-3.76%

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

$22.8K Q 174.4K

$23.4K R$117.0K

-2.62%

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

$21.8K Q 166.8K

$33.6K R$167.6K

-34.99%

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

$57.0 Q 436

$134 R$666

-57.28%

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

$28.77 Q 220

$12.23 R$61.0

135.24%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$45.71 Q 349

$22.65 R$113

101.81%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$41.18 Q 315

$31.56 R$158

30.48%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$28.13 Q 215

$30.87 R$154

-8.88%

Cinema Ticket

$6.51 Q 49.73

$8.23 R$41.07

-20.90%

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

$338 Q 2,585

$603 R$3,011

-43.92%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$6,808 Q 52.0K

$13.2K R$66.1K

-48.58%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$43.44 Q 332

$41.62 R$208

4.37%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$48.13 Q 368

$49.94 R$249

-3.62%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$92.1 Q 704

$75.0 R$375

22.76%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$79.5 Q 608

$68.3 R$341

16.43%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$884 Q 6,757

$905 R$4,519

-2.32%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$518 Q 3,960

$527 R$2,633

-1.75%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,900 Q 14.5K

$1,346 R$6,720

41.17%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,195 Q 9,129

$774 R$3,865

54.28%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,963 Q 22.6K

$3,981 R$19.9K

-25.55%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,198 Q 9,155

$1,562 R$7,798

-23.30%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$609 Q 4,655

$643 R$3,210

-5.27%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

11.62

11.93

-2.60%

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

Last update for Antigua Guatemala: October 4, 2026

Last update for Rio de Janeiro: October 6, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Antigua Guatemala

$518 41.3%

Rio de Janeiro

$527 41% 1.8% $9.2

Groceries & Markets

Antigua Guatemala

$267 21.2%

Rio de Janeiro

$215 16.7% 19.5% $52

Eating Out

Antigua Guatemala

$151 12%

Rio de Janeiro

$164 12.7% 8.7% $13

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Antigua Guatemala

$132 10.5%

Rio de Janeiro

$168 13.1% 28% $37

Clothing & Footwear

Antigua Guatemala

$118 9.4%

Rio de Janeiro

$106 8.2% 10.8% $13

Sport & Entertainment

Antigua Guatemala

$54 4.3%

Rio de Janeiro

$48 3.7% 11.4% $6.2

Getting Around

Antigua Guatemala

$15 * 1.2%

Rio de Janeiro

$60 4.7% 303% $45

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

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $884 in Antigua Guatemala and $905 in Rio de Janeiro. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Rio de Janeiro pays 6% more on average. The extra income cushions the higher costs, though housing choices and lifestyle decide how much of the gap is truly closed.

Dining out: $52.0 in Antigua Guatemala vs $40.00 in Rio de Janeiro for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $267 vs $215 per month, with Rio de Janeiro cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇬🇹 Antigua Guatemala

🇧🇷 Rio de Janeiro

🕒 Local time

21:01 9:01 PM

00:01 12:01 AM

3 h ahead of Antigua Guatemala

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

46,054

6,211,223

💱 Currency

Guatemalan Quetzal GTQ Q

Brazilian Real BRL R$

📈 Exchange rate

1 GTQ = 0.131 USD

1 GTQ = 0.117 EUR

1 BRL = 0.2 USD

1 BRL = 0.179 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

BRL, USD, EUR to GTQ – Guatemalan Quetzal Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇬🇹 Guatemalan Quetzal (Q)

Guatemalan Quetzal exchange rates as of October 10, 2026: 1 USD = 7.64 GTQ (1 GTQ = 0.131 USD). 1 EUR = 8.57 GTQ (1 GTQ = 0.117 EUR).

Brazilian Real exchange rates as of October 10, 2026: 1 USD = 4.99 BRL (1 BRL = 0.2 USD). 1 EUR = 5.6 BRL (1 BRL = 0.179 EUR).

USD to GTQ in detail →

On the map

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Highest

Between locations

Antigua Guatemala Rio de Janeiro 6,640 km ≈ 9 h nonstop flight

From you

Antigua Guatemala
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

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

Antigua Guatemala and Rio de Janeiro differ by about 1% in total monthly costs ($1,269 vs $1,285 including rent). Antigua Guatemala is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

On paper, salaries run 6% lower in Rio de Janeiro. That's worth factoring in alongside costs, though remote workers earning in a stronger currency may not notice the difference at all.

Rent for a central apartment: $884 in Antigua Guatemala versus $905 in Rio de Janeiro. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $338 in Antigua Guatemala versus $603 in Rio de Janeiro. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Dining out is cheaper in Antigua Guatemala – a meal for two runs $52.0 versus $40.00 in Rio de Janeiro. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

At $1,269 in Antigua Guatemala versus $1,285 in Rio de Janeiro, a $2,000 budget is realistic in Antigua Guatemala but tight or insufficient in Rio de Janeiro. The gap between the two cities makes Antigua Guatemala the clear choice for anyone on this budget.

Both cities offer a good standard of living with different trade-offs. Neither is objectively better – the right pick depends on what matters most: affordability, career, cultural scene, or climate.

Safety-wise, Antigua Guatemala and Rio de Janeiro are on par. Petty crime is typical for cities this size, and most residents feel comfortable going about their daily routines in either place.

Expats usually find Antigua Guatemala gentler on the wallet – expenses run 1% less than in Rio de Janeiro. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.