Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Cayo Coco and Rio de Janeiro

For one person, living costs are similar in Cayo Coco and in Rio de Janeiro: $1,224 and $1,285 a month, rent and utilities included.

60

Cost of Living Index in Cayo Coco
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Cayo Coco Living Index
63

Cost of Living Index in Rio de Janeiro
Learn more

Rio de Janeiro Living Index

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Cayo Coco

🇨🇺 Cuba

$1,224

/mo nomad

Rio de Janeiro

🇧🇷 Brazil

$1,285

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,224 in Cayo Coco versus $1,285 in Rio de Janeiro.

Cayo Coco $1,224
Rio de Janeiro $1,285

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,695 in Cayo Coco versus $1,888 in Rio de Janeiro.

Cayo Coco $1,695
Rio de Janeiro $1,888

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $2,166 in Cayo Coco versus $2,491 in Rio de Janeiro.

Cayo Coco $2,166
Rio de Janeiro $2,491

Living in Cayo Coco costs roughly 5% less than in Rio de Janeiro, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in utilities.

Both cities sit below the global median: Cayo Coco 9% lower, Rio de Janeiro 4% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$5.05 CUP 121

$9.98 R$49.83

-49.40%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$15.06 CUP 361

$40.34 R$201

-62.67%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$7.07 CUP 170

$8.48 R$42.35

-16.63%

Cappuccino

$0.98 CUP 23.43

$2.36 R$11.80

-58.47%

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

$1.95 CUP 46.88

$1.63 R$8.13

19.63%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.03 CUP 24.67

$1.01 R$5.06

1.98%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.05 CUP 49.15

$2.44 R$12.19

-15.98%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.08 CUP 73.8

$3.69 R$18.43

-16.53%

Milk (1 liter)

$2.94 CUP 70.6

$1.15 R$5.72

155.65%

White Bread (500g)

$1.01 CUP 24.27

$2.07 R$10.34

-51.21%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.95 CUP 46.77

$1.29 R$6.42

51.16%

Eggs

$3.58 CUP 85.9

$2.27 R$11.32

57.71%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$6.12 CUP 147

$11.00 R$54.9

-44.36%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$4.86 CUP 117

$4.31 R$21.51

12.76%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$9.94 CUP 239

$9.74 R$48.63

2.05%

Apples (1kg)

$4.91 CUP 118

$2.83 R$14.12

73.50%

Banana (1kg)

$1.01 CUP 24.28

$1.84 R$9.17

-45.11%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.01 CUP 24.28

$1.60 R$7.96

-36.88%

Tomato (1kg)

$0.99 CUP 23.72

$1.80 R$9.00

-45.00%

Potato (1kg)

$1.01 CUP 24.26

$1.26 R$6.28

-19.84%

Onion (1kg)

$3.05 CUP 73.2

$1.07 R$5.34

185.05%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.03 CUP 24.61

$0.75 R$3.75

37.33%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.99 CUP 23.70

$0.66 R$3.29

50.00%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$2.96 CUP 71.0

$3.05 R$15.21

-2.95%

Wine (Bottle)

$10.06 CUP 241

$8.18 R$40.84

22.98%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.04 CUP 48.93

$1.19 R$5.92

71.43%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.05 CUP 49.27

$2.39 R$11.92

-14.23%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.01 R$5.06

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$19.65 CUP 472

$50.2 R$250

-60.82%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.02 CUP 24.52

$1.27 R$6.33

-19.69%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.02 CUP 24.57

$0.90 R$4.51

13.33%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$19.61 CUP 471

$9.44 R$47.13

107.73%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$0.97 CUP 23.38

$1.33 R$6.65

-27.07%

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

$68.9K CUP 1.7M

$23.4K R$117.0K

194.11%

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

$79.5K CUP 1.9M

$33.6K R$167.6K

136.64%

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

$39.37 CUP 945

$134 R$666

-70.51%

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

$40.66 CUP 976

$12.23 R$61.0

232.46%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$216 CUP 5,191

$22.65 R$113

854.97%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$39.22 CUP 941

$31.56 R$158

24.27%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$9.85 CUP 236

$30.87 R$154

-68.09%

Cinema Ticket

$0.98 CUP 23.44

$8.23 R$41.07

-88.09%

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

$89.9 CUP 2,158

$603 R$3,011

-85.09%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$14.8K CUP 355.5K

$13.2K R$66.1K

11.86%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$40.14 CUP 963

$41.62 R$208

-3.56%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$30.02 CUP 720

$49.94 R$249

-39.89%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$74.7 CUP 1,793

$75.0 R$375

-0.47%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$80.7 CUP 1,937

$68.3 R$341

18.17%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$403 CUP 9,664

$905 R$4,519

-55.52%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$426 CUP 10.2K

$527 R$2,633

-19.18%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,030 CUP 24.7K

$1,346 R$6,720

-23.46%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$622 CUP 14.9K

$774 R$3,865

-19.69%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$302 CUP 7,243

$3,981 R$19.9K

-92.42%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$356 CUP 8,541

$1,562 R$7,798

-77.22%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$20.21 CUP 485

$643 R$3,210

-96.86%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

11.93

-16.18%

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

Last update for Cayo Coco: October 3, 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

Cayo Coco

$426 34.8%

Rio de Janeiro

$527 41% 23.7% $101

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Cayo Coco

$296 24.2%

Rio de Janeiro

$168 13.1% 43.2% $128

Groceries & Markets

Cayo Coco

$233 19%

Rio de Janeiro

$215 16.7% 8% $19

Eating Out

Cayo Coco

$102 8.3%

Rio de Janeiro

$164 12.7% 61.2% $62

Clothing & Footwear

Cayo Coco

$102 8.3%

Rio de Janeiro

$106 8.2% 4.1% $4.2

Sport & Entertainment

Cayo Coco

$41 3.4%

Rio de Janeiro

$48 3.7% 16.6% $6.9

Getting Around

Cayo Coco

$26 * 2.1%

Rio de Janeiro

$60 4.7% 133% $34

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 $403 in Cayo Coco and $905 in Rio de Janeiro. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Rio de Janeiro pays 3082% 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: $15.00 in Cayo Coco vs $40.00 in Rio de Janeiro. Groceries flip the comparison at $233 vs $215, with Rio de Janeiro cheaper for home cooking.

Good to know

🇨🇺 Cayo Coco

🇧🇷 Rio de Janeiro

🕒 Local time

09:44 9:44 AM

10:44 10:44 AM

1 h ahead of Cayo Coco

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

6,211,223

💱 Currency

Cuban Peso CUP $

Brazilian Real BRL R$

📈 Exchange rate

100 CUP = 4.17 USD

100 CUP = 3.72 EUR

1 BRL = 0.2 USD

1 BRL = 0.179 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

BRL, USD, EUR to CUP – Cuban Peso Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇨🇺 Cuban Peso ($)

Cuban Peso exchange rates as of October 10, 2026: 1 USD = 24 CUP (100 CUP = 4.17 USD). 1 EUR = 26.89 CUP (100 CUP = 3.72 EUR).

Brazilian Real exchange rates as of October 10, 2026: 1 USD = 4.99 BRL (1 BRL = 0.2 USD). 1 EUR = 5.59 BRL (1 BRL = 0.179 EUR).

USD to CUP in detail →

On the map

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Highest

Between locations

Cayo Coco Rio de Janeiro 6,320 km ≈ 8 h nonstop flight

From you

Cayo Coco
Rio de Janeiro

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

City Median Internet Speeds Comparison (Updated March 2026)

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

Digital Nomad Cost of Living Index

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

Cayo Coco wins on cost – living expenses run 5% lower than in Rio de Janeiro. Housing and daily spending are where you'll feel the difference most, making Cayo Coco the obvious pick if budget is a priority.

On paper, salaries run 3082% 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: $403 in Cayo Coco versus $905 in Rio de Janeiro. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

A monthly transit pass in Cayo Coco runs roughly 155% less than in Rio de Janeiro. Both cities have functional networks, but the price difference matters if you're watching your budget.

Childcare runs $89.9 in Cayo Coco versus $603 in Rio de Janeiro. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

At $1,224 in Cayo Coco versus $1,285 in Rio de Janeiro, a $1,000 budget is realistic in Cayo Coco but tight or insufficient in Rio de Janeiro. The gap between the two cities makes Cayo Coco the clear choice for anyone on this budget.

Both work as nomad bases, but Cayo Coco delivers better value – similar infrastructure at $1,224 monthly. If stretching your runway or maximizing savings is the goal, the price difference makes Cayo Coco hard to pass up.

Expats usually find Cayo Coco gentler on the wallet – expenses run 5% less than in Rio de Janeiro. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.