Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Banjul and Rio de Janeiro

For one person, living is cheaper in Banjul: $677 a month against $1,182 in Rio de Janeiro, rent and utilities included – about $6,100 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

32

Cost of Living Index in Banjul
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Banjul Living Index
57

Cost of Living Index in Rio de Janeiro
Learn more

Rio de Janeiro Living Index

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Banjul

🇬🇲 Gambia

$677

/mo nomad

Rio de Janeiro

🇧🇷 Brazil

$1,182

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

A single person spends $677 per month in Banjul vs $1,182 in Rio de Janeiro, rent included.

Banjul $677
Rio de Janeiro $1,182

A couple spends around $1,191 per month in Banjul vs $1,750 in Rio de Janeiro, rent included.

Banjul $1,191
Rio de Janeiro $1,750

A family of three spends $1,706 per month in Banjul vs $2,318 in Rio de Janeiro, rent included.

Banjul $1,706
Rio de Janeiro $2,318

Banjul is about 43% cheaper than Rio de Janeiro, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in transport.

Both Banjul and Rio de Janeiro are more affordable than the global median – Banjul 50% lower, Rio de Janeiro 13% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$7.47 GMD 554

$9.08 R$48.54

-17.73%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$75.6 GMD 5,603

$37.25 R$199

103.01%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$8.04 GMD 596

$8.02 R$42.87

0.25%

Cappuccino

$3.72 GMD 276

$2.19 R$11.71

69.86%

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

$2.66 GMD 197

$1.46 R$7.82

82.19%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.53 GMD 114

$0.99 R$5.27

54.55%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$5.76 GMD 427

$2.03 R$10.84

183.74%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.46 GMD 331

$3.45 R$18.43

29.28%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.40 GMD 104

$1.06 R$5.66

32.08%

White Bread (500g)

$0.61 GMD 44.98

$1.98 R$10.61

-69.19%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.32 GMD 97.6

$1.17 R$6.27

12.82%

Eggs

$1.90 GMD 141

$2.21 R$11.80

-14.03%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$6.24 GMD 462

$10.11 R$54.1

-38.28%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$2.77 GMD 206

$4.12 R$22.00

-32.77%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$5.77 GMD 427

$9.17 R$49.04

-37.08%

Apples (1kg)

$2.08 GMD 154

$2.72 R$14.54

-23.53%

Banana (1kg)

$1.27 GMD 93.9

$1.71 R$9.15

-25.73%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.79 GMD 132

$1.53 R$8.18

16.99%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.40 GMD 104

$1.66 R$8.89

-15.66%

Potato (1kg)

$0.93 GMD 69.0

$1.14 R$6.09

-18.42%

Onion (1kg)

$1.00 GMD 74.0

$0.99 R$5.32

1.01%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.23 GMD 17.04

$0.65 R$3.46

-64.62%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.62 GMD 46.05

$0.60 R$3.20

3.33%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$1.69 GMD 125

$2.79 R$14.94

-39.43%

Wine (Bottle)

$6.55 GMD 486

$7.48 R$39.99

-12.43%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.51 GMD 112

$1.09 R$5.83

38.53%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.66 GMD 123

$2.33 R$12.48

-28.76%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.18 GMD 13.08

$0.90 R$4.79

-80.00%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$6.66 GMD 493

$53.0 R$283

-87.43%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.17 R$6.24

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.71 GMD 52.5

$0.78 R$4.17

-8.97%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$4.09 GMD 303

$8.37 R$44.75

-51.14%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.05 GMD 77.8

$1.21 R$6.48

-13.22%

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

$2,648 GMD 196.2K

$21.5K R$114.8K

-87.67%

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

$3,346 GMD 248.0K

$31.1K R$166.5K

-89.25%

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

$30.46 GMD 2,257

$124 R$665

-75.53%

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

$14.52 GMD 1,076

$10.03 R$53.7

44.77%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$44.51 GMD 3,298

$20.88 R$112

113.17%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$24.02 GMD 1,780

$28.35 R$152

-15.27%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$13.42 GMD 994

$29.33 R$157

-54.24%

Cinema Ticket

$3.33 GMD 247

$7.62 R$40.72

-56.30%

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

$6.92 GMD 513

$563 R$3,010

-98.77%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$139 GMD 10.3K

$12.0K R$64.4K

-98.85%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$56.3 GMD 4,170

$39.25 R$210

43.36%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$44.27 GMD 3,280

$46.36 R$248

-4.51%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$98.0 GMD 7,262

$68.4 R$366

43.23%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$86.9 GMD 6,439

$63.4 R$339

37.01%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$105 GMD 7,744

$776 R$4,150

-86.53%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$82.1 GMD 6,082

$473 R$2,530

-82.65%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$220 GMD 16.3K

$1,391 R$7,437

-84.15%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$138 GMD 10.2K

$739 R$3,951

-81.29%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$1,443 GMD 107.0K

$3,393 R$18.1K

-57.46%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,165 GMD 86.3K

$1,570 R$8,396

-25.81%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$62.4 GMD 4,622

$597 R$3,192

-89.55%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

11.93

25.73%

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

Last update for Banjul: October 26, 2026

Last update for Rio de Janeiro: October 25, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Eating Out

Banjul

$183 27.1%

Rio de Janeiro

$150 12.7% 18.2% $33

Groceries & Markets

Banjul

$152 22.5%

Rio de Janeiro

$201 17% 32.1% $49

Clothing & Footwear

Banjul

$128 19%

Rio de Janeiro

$98 8.3% 23.8% $31

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Banjul

$89 13.2%

Rio de Janeiro

$155 13.1% 73.6% $66

Accommodation & Living

Banjul

$82 12.1%

Rio de Janeiro

$473 40% 477% $391

Sport & Entertainment

Banjul

$31 4.5%

Rio de Janeiro

$44 3.7% 42% $13

Getting Around

Banjul

$11 * 1.6%

Rio de Janeiro

$62 5.2% 465% $51

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

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $105 in Banjul versus $776 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 in Rio de Janeiro are about 9.6 times higher. Purchasing power depends on which expenses matter most to you.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $76 in Banjul versus $37 in Rio de Janeiro. Groceries tell a different story – $152 in Banjul vs $201 in Rio de Janeiro – so Banjul wins on supermarket bills even if dining out costs more.

Good to know

🇬🇲 Banjul

🇧🇷 Rio de Janeiro

🕒 Local time

14:37 2:37 PM

11:37 11:37 AM

3 h behind Banjul

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

31,356 Capital

6,211,223

💱 Currency

Gambian Dalasi GMD D

Brazilian Real BRL R$

📈 Exchange rate

100 GMD = 1.35 USD

100 GMD = 1.21 EUR

1 BRL = 0.187 USD

1 BRL = 0.168 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

BRL, USD, EUR to GMD – Gambian Dalasi Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇬🇲 Gambian Dalasi (D)

Gambian Dalasi exchange rates as of October 28, 2026: 1 USD = 74.1 GMD (100 GMD = 1.35 USD). 1 EUR = 82.47 GMD (100 GMD = 1.21 EUR).

Brazilian Real exchange rates as of October 28, 2026: 1 USD = 5.35 BRL (1 BRL = 0.187 USD). 1 EUR = 5.95 BRL (1 BRL = 0.168 EUR).

USD to GMD in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Banjul Rio de Janeiro 4,980 km ≈ 7 h nonstop flight

From you

Banjul
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

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

Yes – Rio de Janeiro is pricier by about 75%, and outside of rent the gap shows up most in transport.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $1,015 per month in Banjul and $1,774 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 Banjul, especially for central apartments: a one-bedroom in the center costs $105 there versus $776 in Rio de Janeiro.

Monthly expenses with rent come to $677 in Banjul and $1,182 in Rio de Janeiro. That’s a gap of about 75%.

Public transport costs about 87% less in Banjul. For daily commuters, that gap adds up to noticeable savings over a year.

A $1,000 monthly budget goes further in Banjul, where all-in costs run around $677, than in Rio de Janeiro at $1,182. In Banjul it covers expenses comfortably, while in Rio de Janeiro it requires careful planning or may not stretch far enough.

Families tend to lean toward Banjul – lower housing and cheaper childcare make a real difference, especially on a single income or when paying for private education.

If budget matters most, go with Banjul. 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.