Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Coatzacoalcos and Rio de Janeiro

For one person, living is cheaper in Coatzacoalcos: $1,156 a month against $1,289 in Rio de Janeiro, rent and utilities included – about $1,600 less a year. Higher rent and utilities in Rio de Janeiro outweigh lower spending on other living expenses.

Coatzacoalcos
🇲🇽 Mexico
$1,156
/mo nomad
Rio de Janeiro
🇧🇷 Brazil
$1,289
/mo nomad
Monthly Cost of Living

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

A single person spends $1,156 per month in Coatzacoalcos vs $1,289 in Rio de Janeiro, rent included.

  • Coatzacoalcos $1,156
  • Rio de Janeiro $1,289

A couple spends around $1,845 per month in Coatzacoalcos vs $1,868 in Rio de Janeiro, rent included.

  • Coatzacoalcos $1,845
  • Rio de Janeiro $1,868

A family of three spends $2,535 per month in Coatzacoalcos vs $2,448 in Rio de Janeiro, rent included.

  • Coatzacoalcos $2,535
  • Rio de Janeiro $2,448

Coatzacoalcos is about 10% cheaper than Rio de Janeiro, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Both Coatzacoalcos and Rio de Janeiro are more affordable than the global median – Coatzacoalcos 14% lower, Rio de Janeiro 5% lower.

Currency
🍽 Eating Out
Coatzacoalcos
Rio de Janeiro
Difference
Meal at Budget Restaurant
$11.20 MX$207
$10.06 R$51.0
11.33%
Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range
$43.55 MX$805
$40.44 R$205
7.69%
Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)
$8.70 MX$161
$8.55 R$43.35
1.75%
Cappuccino
$3.97 MX$73.3
$2.38 R$12.04
66.81%
Coke/Pepsi/Fanta/Sprite (0.33 liter bottle)
$1.21 MX$22.43
$1.61 R$8.18
-24.84%
Water (0.33 liter bottle)
$1.05 MX$19.47
$1.03 R$5.22
1.94%
Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)
$2.73 MX$50.4
$2.47 R$12.54
10.53%
Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)
$4.32 MX$79.8
$3.70 R$18.77
16.76%
🛒 Groceries & Markets
Coatzacoalcos
Rio de Janeiro
Difference
Milk (1 liter)
$1.59 MX$29.34
$1.19 R$6.05
33.61%
White Bread (500g)
$2.93 MX$54.2
$2.05 R$10.38
42.93%
Rice (white) (1kg)
$1.64 MX$30.24
$1.28 R$6.49
28.12%
Eggs
$2.78 MX$51.4
$2.29 R$11.60
21.40%
Local Cheese (1kg)
$9.00 MX$166
$10.76 R$54.5
-16.36%
Chicken Fillets (1kg)
$8.74 MX$162
$4.41 R$22.36
98.19%
Beef Round Steak (1kg)
$12.36 MX$228
$9.84 R$49.86
25.61%
Apples (1kg)
$2.45 MX$45.33
$2.81 R$14.25
-12.81%
Banana (1kg)
$1.51 MX$27.86
$1.78 R$9.03
-15.17%
Oranges (1kg)
$1.97 MX$36.49
$1.60 R$8.13
23.12%
Tomato (1kg)
$1.73 MX$31.97
$1.80 R$9.11
-3.89%
Potato (1kg)
$1.79 MX$33.14
$1.22 R$6.17
46.72%
Onion (1kg)
$1.93 MX$35.75
$1.04 R$5.26
85.58%
Lettuce (1 head)
$1.55 MX$28.69
$0.77 R$3.92
101.30%
Water (1.5 liter bottle)
$0.99 MX$18.37
$0.67 R$3.38
47.76%
Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)
$4.66 MX$86.2
$3.01 R$15.27
54.82%
Wine (Bottle)
$10.11 MX$187
$8.08 R$40.94
25.12%
Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)
$1.79 MX$33.09
$1.19 R$6.03
50.42%
Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)
$3.17 MX$58.7
$2.51 R$12.73
26.29%
🚌 Getting Around
Coatzacoalcos
Rio de Janeiro
Difference
One-way Ticket (Public Transport)
$0.56 MX$10.43
$0.99 R$5.00
-43.43%
Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)
-
$50.1 R$254
-
Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)
$2.61 MX$48.31
$1.22 R$6.20
113.93%
Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)
$1.82 MX$33.65
$0.92 R$4.66
97.83%
Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)
$11.93 MX$220
$8.97 R$45.45
33.00%
Gasoline (1 liter)
$1.26 MX$23.37
$1.30 R$6.57
-3.08%
Midsize Hatchback 1.4l (Volkswagen Golf, Toyota Prius, Honda Civic, etc)
$20.5K MX$378.1K
$23.9K R$121.0K
-14.30%
Compact Sedan 1.6l (Toyota Corolla, Mazda3, Kia K4, Hyundai Elantra, etc)
$23.2K MX$427.9K
$32.9K R$166.6K
-29.54%
🧾 Monthly Utilities & Internet
Coatzacoalcos
Rio de Janeiro
Difference
Utilities for 2 People in 2-bedroom Apartment (Heating, Electricity, Gas, Water, Garbage) (85m2)
$52.7 MX$974
$133 R$676
-60.48%
SIM Card Monthly Plan (Calls and 10GB+ Data)
$25.25 MX$467
$10.82 R$54.8
133.36%
Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)
$30.28 MX$560
$22.90 R$116
32.23%
🎉 Sport & Entertainment
Coatzacoalcos
Rio de Janeiro
Difference
Gym Membership (Monthly)
$30.66 MX$567
$30.79 R$156
-0.42%
Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)
$21.77 MX$402
$31.85 R$161
-31.65%
Cinema Ticket
$5.56 MX$103
$8.05 R$40.83
-30.93%
🧸 Childcare & Education
Coatzacoalcos
Rio de Janeiro
Difference
Preschool or Kindergarten, Full Day, Private, 1 Child (Monthly)
$240 MX$4,438
$598 R$3,029
-59.81%
International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)
$4,095 MX$75.7K
$13.4K R$68.0K
-69.48%
👕👟 Clothing & Footwear
Coatzacoalcos
Rio de Janeiro
Difference
Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)
$51.1 MX$945
$42.04 R$213
21.62%
Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)
$44.31 MX$819
$49.68 R$252
-10.81%
Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)
$88.6 MX$1,637
$74.5 R$378
18.88%
Men's Leather Business Shoes
$76.9 MX$1,421
$68.7 R$348
11.92%
🏠 Accommodation & Living
Coatzacoalcos
Rio de Janeiro
Difference
1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)
$661 MX$12.2K
$903 R$4,578
-26.84%
1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)
$408 MX$7,542
$529 R$2,684
-22.91%
3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)
$1,158 MX$21.4K
$1,326 R$6,724
-12.66%
3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)
$770 MX$14.2K
$756 R$3,831
1.90%
Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)
$1,883 MX$34.8K
$4,010 R$20.3K
-53.06%
Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)
$1,026 MX$19.0K
$1,560 R$7,910
-34.27%
💵 Salaries & Financials
Coatzacoalcos
Rio de Janeiro
Difference
Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)
-
$640 R$3,242
-
20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)
11.3
11.93
-5.28%

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

Last update for Coatzacoalcos: 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.
Accommodation & Living
Coatzacoalcos
$408
Rio de Janeiro
$529 29.7% $121
Groceries & Markets
Coatzacoalcos
$271
Rio de Janeiro
$215 20.9% $57
Eating Out
Coatzacoalcos
$195
Rio de Janeiro
$165 15.2% $30
Clothing & Footwear
Coatzacoalcos
$117
Rio de Janeiro
$106 10% $12
Monthly Utilities & Internet
Coatzacoalcos
$108
Rio de Janeiro
$167 54.4% $59
Sport & Entertainment
Coatzacoalcos
$42
Rio de Janeiro
$47 12.2% $5.1
Getting Around
Coatzacoalcos
$14 *
Rio de Janeiro
$60 328% $46

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

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $661 in Coatzacoalcos 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.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $44.00 in Coatzacoalcos versus $40.00 in Rio de Janeiro. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $271 vs $215 – making Rio de Janeiro the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know
🇲🇽 Coatzacoalcos
🇧🇷 Rio de Janeiro
🕒 Local time
08:13 8:13 AM
11:13 11:13 AM
3 h ahead of Coatzacoalcos
🌤 Weather
👥 Population
212,540
6,211,223
💱 Currency
Exchange rates and currency converter

BRL, USD, EUR to MXN – Mexican Peso Converter

Mexican Peso exchange rates as of October 18, 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 18, 2026: 1 USD = 5.07 BRL (1 BRL = 0.197 USD). 1 EUR = 5.7 BRL (1 BRL = 0.175 EUR).

On the map
Between locations
  • Coatzacoalcos Rio de Janeiro 7,200 km ≈ 9 h nonstop flight
From you
  • Coatzacoalcos
  • 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
Coatzacoalcos vs Rio de Janeiro: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions
Is Rio de Janeiro cheaper than Coatzacoalcos?
Yes – Rio de Janeiro is pricier by about 12%, and outside of rent the gap shows up most in groceries.
What income do you need for each city?
For a comfortable life, plan on about $1,733 per month in Coatzacoalcos and $1,933 in Rio de Janeiro. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.
Which city has lower housing costs?
Rent is clearly cheaper in Coatzacoalcos, especially for central apartments. Housing is actually the single biggest factor behind the overall cost gap between these two cities.
Is eating out cheaper in Coatzacoalcos or in Rio de Janeiro?
A mid-range dinner for two costs $44.00 in Coatzacoalcos and $40.00 in Rio de Janeiro. That's a good indicator of the overall restaurant and café pricing gap between the two cities.
How do food prices compare in Coatzacoalcos and in Rio de Janeiro?
Interestingly, groceries are about 26% cheaper in Rio de Janeiro – one category where the pricier city actually offers better value, probably thanks to stronger retail competition or local farming.
Is $1,500 a realistic budget for living in Coatzacoalcos or in Rio de Janeiro?
A $1,500 monthly budget goes further in Coatzacoalcos, where all-in costs run around $1,156, than in Rio de Janeiro at $1,289. In Coatzacoalcos it covers expenses comfortably, while in Rio de Janeiro it requires careful planning or may not stretch far enough.
Is Coatzacoalcos or Rio de Janeiro more family-friendly?
Families tend to lean toward Coatzacoalcos – lower housing and cheaper childcare make a real difference, especially on a single income or when paying for private education.
Which city is the better choice to relocate to?
If budget matters most, go with Coatzacoalcos. 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.

Coatzacoalcos vs other spots: cost of living compared

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