Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Cambridge and Rio de Janeiro

For one person, living is cheaper in Rio de Janeiro: $1,289 a month against $2,398 in Cambridge, rent and utilities included – about $13,300 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

118

Cost of Living Index in Cambridge
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Cambridge Living Index
63

Cost of Living Index in Rio de Janeiro
Learn more

Rio de Janeiro Living Index

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Cambridge

🇨🇦 Canada

$2,398

/mo nomad

Rio de Janeiro

🇧🇷 Brazil

$1,289

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,398 in Cambridge versus $1,289 in Rio de Janeiro.

Cambridge $2,398
Rio de Janeiro $1,289

Estimated couple costs with rent: $3,402 in Cambridge versus $1,868 in Rio de Janeiro.

Cambridge $3,402
Rio de Janeiro $1,868

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $4,406 in Cambridge versus $2,448 in Rio de Janeiro.

Cambridge $4,406
Rio de Janeiro $2,448

Living in Cambridge is roughly 86% more expensive than in Rio de Janeiro, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

The two cities straddle the global median: Cambridge is 78% above, Rio de Janeiro is 5% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$17.30 CA$24.45

$10.06 R$51.0

71.97%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$55.8 CA$78.9

$40.44 R$205

37.96%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$9.96 CA$14.07

$8.55 R$43.35

16.49%

Cappuccino

$3.51 CA$4.96

$2.38 R$12.04

47.48%

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

$1.98 CA$2.79

$1.61 R$8.18

22.98%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.32 CA$1.86

$1.03 R$5.22

28.16%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$5.11 CA$7.22

$2.47 R$12.54

106.88%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$6.24 CA$8.82

$3.70 R$18.77

68.65%

Milk (1 liter)

$2.06 CA$2.91

$1.19 R$6.05

73.11%

White Bread (500g)

$2.38 CA$3.36

$2.05 R$10.38

16.10%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$3.09 CA$4.36

$1.28 R$6.49

141.41%

Eggs

$3.20 CA$4.53

$2.29 R$11.60

39.74%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$10.84 CA$15.33

$10.76 R$54.5

0.74%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$11.33 CA$16.02

$4.41 R$22.36

156.92%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$14.30 CA$20.22

$9.84 R$49.86

45.33%

Apples (1kg)

$3.95 CA$5.58

$2.81 R$14.25

40.57%

Banana (1kg)

$1.18 CA$1.67

$1.78 R$9.03

-33.71%

Oranges (1kg)

$4.00 CA$5.66

$1.60 R$8.13

150.00%

Tomato (1kg)

$3.68 CA$5.20

$1.80 R$9.11

104.44%

Potato (1kg)

$2.61 CA$3.69

$1.22 R$6.17

113.93%

Onion (1kg)

$1.98 CA$2.79

$1.04 R$5.26

90.38%

Lettuce (1 head)

$2.04 CA$2.88

$0.77 R$3.92

164.94%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.41 CA$2.00

$0.67 R$3.38

110.45%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$12.82 CA$18.13

$3.01 R$15.27

325.91%

Wine (Bottle)

$12.20 CA$17.25

$8.08 R$40.94

50.99%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.57 CA$3.63

$1.19 R$6.03

115.97%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.85 CA$5.44

$2.51 R$12.73

53.39%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$2.44 CA$3.44

$0.99 R$5.00

146.46%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$63.9 CA$90.3

$50.1 R$254

27.52%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$2.42 CA$3.42

$1.22 R$6.20

98.36%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.78 CA$2.52

$0.92 R$4.66

93.48%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$22.60 CA$31.95

$8.97 R$45.45

151.95%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.16 CA$1.63

$1.30 R$6.57

-10.77%

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

$25.8K CA$36.5K

$23.9K R$121.0K

8.24%

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

$18.5K CA$26.2K

$32.9K R$166.6K

-43.62%

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

$149 CA$211

$133 R$676

11.66%

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

$42.05 CA$59.5

$10.82 R$54.8

288.63%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$49.52 CA$70.0

$22.90 R$116

116.24%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$28.59 CA$40.42

$30.79 R$156

-7.15%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$31.85 R$161

Cinema Ticket

$10.28 CA$14.53

$8.05 R$40.83

27.70%

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

$528 CA$746

$598 R$3,029

-11.72%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$16.2K CA$22.8K

$13.4K R$68.0K

20.37%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$54.2 CA$76.7

$42.04 R$213

29.02%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$29.82 CA$42.16

$49.68 R$252

-39.98%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$74.3 CA$105

$74.5 R$378

-0.28%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$103 CA$146

$68.7 R$348

50.23%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,305 CA$1,845

$903 R$4,578

44.49%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,299 CA$1,837

$529 R$2,684

145.42%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,509 CA$3,547

$1,326 R$6,724

89.15%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,989 CA$2,812

$756 R$3,831

163.20%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$4,236 CA$5,989

$4,010 R$20.3K

5.64%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$3,850 CA$5,443

$1,560 R$7,910

146.77%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$2,938 CA$4,153

$640 R$3,242

359.33%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

5.09

11.93

-57.33%

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

Last update for Cambridge: October 12, 2026

Last update for Rio de Janeiro: October 10, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Cambridge

$1.3K 54.2%

Rio de Janeiro

$529 41.1% 59.3% $770

Groceries & Markets

Cambridge

$345 14.4%

Rio de Janeiro

$215 16.7% 37.7% $130

Eating Out

Cambridge

$262 10.9%

Rio de Janeiro

$165 12.8% 36.9% $97

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Cambridge

$241 10%

Rio de Janeiro

$167 13% 30.5% $73

Clothing & Footwear

Cambridge

$118 4.9%

Rio de Janeiro

$106 8.2% 10.2% $12

Getting Around

Cambridge

$85 3.5%

Rio de Janeiro

$60 4.7% 29.5% $25

Sport & Entertainment

Cambridge

$49 2.1%

Rio de Janeiro

$47 3.6% 4.6% $2.3

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,305 in Cambridge and $903 in Rio de Janeiro. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Cambridge pays 359% 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: $56.0 in Cambridge vs $40.00 in Rio de Janeiro for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $345 vs $215 per month, with Rio de Janeiro cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇨🇦 Cambridge

🇧🇷 Rio de Janeiro

🕒 Local time

18:22 6:22 PM

19:22 7:22 PM

1 h ahead of Cambridge

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

138,479

6,211,223

💱 Currency

Canadian Dollar CAD $

Brazilian Real BRL R$

📈 Exchange rate

1 CAD = 0.707 USD

1 CAD = 0.629 EUR

1 BRL = 0.197 USD

1 BRL = 0.175 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

BRL, USD, EUR to CAD – Canadian Dollar Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇨🇦 Canadian Dollar ($)

Canadian Dollar exchange rates as of October 19, 2026: 1 USD = 1.41 CAD (1 CAD = 0.707 USD). 1 EUR = 1.59 CAD (1 CAD = 0.629 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 CAD in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Cambridge Rio de Janeiro 8,290 km ≈ 11 h nonstop flight

From you

Cambridge
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

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

Rio de Janeiro is cheaper overall, especially in groceries, eating out, and clothing. The 86% gap adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

Average pay runs 359% higher in Cambridge, which matters when comparing affordability. Whether that higher income actually nets you more depends on your spending habits and housing choices.

Rent for a central apartment: $1,305 in Cambridge versus $903 in Rio de Janeiro. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Supermarket bills run roughly 61% higher in Cambridge. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

Dining out is cheaper in Rio de Janeiro – a meal for two runs $40.00 versus $56.0 in Cambridge. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

At $1,289 in Rio de Janeiro versus $2,398 in Cambridge, a $2,000 budget is realistic in Rio de Janeiro but tight or insufficient in Cambridge. The gap between the two cities makes Rio de Janeiro the clear choice for anyone on this budget.

For families, Rio de Janeiro is more practical. Housing and childcare are both notably cheaper than in Cambridge, and the savings on those two alone free up budget for education, activities, and family trips.

Expats usually find Rio de Janeiro gentler on the wallet – expenses run 86% less than in Cambridge. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.