Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Cuautla and Rio de Janeiro

For one person, living costs are similar in Cuautla and in Rio de Janeiro: $1,253 and $1,289 a month, rent and utilities included.

59

Cost of Living Index in Cuautla
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Cuautla Living Index
63

Cost of Living Index in Rio de Janeiro
Learn more

Rio de Janeiro Living Index

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Cuautla

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,253

/mo nomad

Rio de Janeiro

🇧🇷 Brazil

$1,289

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,253 in Cuautla versus $1,289 in Rio de Janeiro.

Cuautla $1,253
Rio de Janeiro $1,289

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,999 in Cuautla versus $1,868 in Rio de Janeiro.

Cuautla $1,999
Rio de Janeiro $1,868

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $2,745 in Cuautla versus $2,448 in Rio de Janeiro.

Cuautla $2,745
Rio de Janeiro $2,448

Living in Cuautla costs roughly 3% less than in Rio de Janeiro, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Both cities sit below the global median: Cuautla 7% lower, Rio de Janeiro 5% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$11.03 MX$204

$10.06 R$51.0

9.64%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$64.2 MX$1,186

$40.44 R$205

58.75%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$9.42 MX$174

$8.55 R$43.35

10.18%

Cappuccino

$3.71 MX$68.5

$2.38 R$12.04

55.88%

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

$1.63 MX$30.20

$1.61 R$8.18

1.24%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.04 MX$19.22

$1.03 R$5.22

0.97%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.27 MX$60.5

$2.47 R$12.54

32.39%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$5.54 MX$102

$3.70 R$18.77

49.73%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.92 MX$35.52

$1.19 R$6.05

61.34%

White Bread (500g)

$2.79 MX$51.6

$2.05 R$10.38

36.10%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.94 MX$35.82

$1.28 R$6.49

51.56%

Eggs

$2.75 MX$50.8

$2.29 R$11.60

20.09%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$8.75 MX$162

$10.76 R$54.5

-18.68%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.17 MX$169

$4.41 R$22.36

107.94%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$13.77 MX$255

$9.84 R$49.86

39.94%

Apples (1kg)

$3.39 MX$62.7

$2.81 R$14.25

20.64%

Banana (1kg)

$1.60 MX$29.55

$1.78 R$9.03

-10.11%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.14 MX$39.45

$1.60 R$8.13

33.75%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.94 MX$35.78

$1.80 R$9.11

7.78%

Potato (1kg)

$1.86 MX$34.37

$1.22 R$6.17

52.46%

Onion (1kg)

$1.76 MX$32.51

$1.04 R$5.26

69.23%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.51 MX$27.96

$0.77 R$3.92

96.10%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.19 MX$22.07

$0.67 R$3.38

77.61%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.50 MX$83.2

$3.01 R$15.27

49.50%

Wine (Bottle)

$17.50 MX$323

$8.08 R$40.94

116.58%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.24 MX$41.32

$1.19 R$6.03

88.24%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.95 MX$73.0

$2.51 R$12.73

57.37%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.63 MX$11.60

$0.99 R$5.00

-36.36%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$50.1 R$254

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.23 MX$59.6

$1.22 R$6.20

164.75%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$2.54 MX$47.02

$0.92 R$4.66

176.09%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$11.09 MX$205

$8.97 R$45.45

23.63%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.31 MX$24.22

$1.30 R$6.57

0.77%

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

$20.8K MX$384.9K

$23.9K R$121.0K

-12.75%

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

$24.0K MX$444.0K

$32.9K R$166.6K

-26.88%

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

$58.8 MX$1,087

$133 R$676

-55.91%

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

$26.84 MX$496

$10.82 R$54.8

148.06%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$24.52 MX$453

$22.90 R$116

7.07%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$36.29 MX$671

$30.79 R$156

17.86%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$20.97 MX$387

$31.85 R$161

-34.16%

Cinema Ticket

$7.36 MX$136

$8.05 R$40.83

-8.57%

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

$263 MX$4,865

$598 R$3,029

-55.95%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$5,033 MX$93.0K

$13.4K R$68.0K

-62.49%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$51.9 MX$959

$42.04 R$213

23.48%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$45.28 MX$837

$49.68 R$252

-8.86%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$99.8 MX$1,844

$74.5 R$378

33.88%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$98.4 MX$1,817

$68.7 R$348

43.18%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$645 MX$11.9K

$903 R$4,578

-28.62%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$434 MX$8,019

$529 R$2,684

-18.04%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,182 MX$21.8K

$1,326 R$6,724

-10.86%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$736 MX$13.6K

$756 R$3,831

-2.65%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$1,712 MX$31.6K

$4,010 R$20.3K

-57.32%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,075 MX$19.9K

$1,560 R$7,910

-31.08%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$640 R$3,242

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

11.99

11.93

0.50%

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

Last update for Cuautla: October 13, 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

Cuautla

$434 34.6%

Rio de Janeiro

$529 41.1% 22% $96

Groceries & Markets

Cuautla

$308 24.6%

Rio de Janeiro

$215 16.7% 30.2% $93

Eating Out

Cuautla

$199 15.9%

Rio de Janeiro

$165 12.8% 17.1% $34

Clothing & Footwear

Cuautla

$133 10.6%

Rio de Janeiro

$106 8.2% 20.4% $27

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Cuautla

$110 8.8%

Rio de Janeiro

$167 13% 51.7% $57

Sport & Entertainment

Cuautla

$51 4.1%

Rio de Janeiro

$47 3.6% 8.1% $4.1

Getting Around

Cuautla

$18 * 1.5%

Rio de Janeiro

$60 4.7% 224% $41

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 $645 in Cuautla and $903 in Rio de Janeiro. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Dining out: $64.0 in Cuautla vs $40.00 in Rio de Janeiro for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $308 vs $215 per month, with Rio de Janeiro cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇲🇽 Cuautla

🇧🇷 Rio de Janeiro

🕒 Local time

09:12 9:12 AM

12:12 12:12 PM

3 h ahead of Cuautla

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

157,336

6,211,223

💱 Currency

Mexican Peso MXN $

Brazilian Real BRL R$

📈 Exchange rate

100 MXN = 5.41 USD

100 MXN = 4.81 EUR

1 BRL = 0.197 USD

1 BRL = 0.175 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

BRL, USD, EUR to MXN – Mexican Peso Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇲🇽 Mexican Peso ($)

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).

USD to MXN in detail →

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Between locations

Cuautla Rio de Janeiro 7,630 km ≈ 10 h nonstop flight

From you

Cuautla
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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

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

Cuautla is cheaper overall, especially in transport. The 3% gap adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

You'd need roughly $1,880 in Cuautla and $1,933 in Rio de Janeiro to live well. The gap comes down to housing and overall price levels. Both cities are liveable on less, but these numbers represent actual comfort.

Rent for a central apartment: $645 in Cuautla versus $903 in Rio de Janeiro. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $263 in Cuautla versus $598 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 Cuautla – a meal for two runs $64.0 versus $40.00 in Rio de Janeiro. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

At $1,253 in Cuautla versus $1,289 in Rio de Janeiro, a $1,500 budget is realistic in Cuautla but tight or insufficient in Rio de Janeiro. The gap between the two cities makes Cuautla the clear choice for anyone on this budget.

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

Expats usually find Cuautla gentler on the wallet – expenses run 3% less than in Rio de Janeiro. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.