Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Cusco and Rio de Janeiro

For one person, living is cheaper in Cusco: $688 a month against $1,285 in Rio de Janeiro, rent and utilities included – about $7,200 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

33

Cost of Living Index in Cusco
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Cusco Living Index
63

Cost of Living Index in Rio de Janeiro
Learn more

Rio de Janeiro Living Index

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Cusco

🇵🇪 Peru

$688

/mo nomad

Rio de Janeiro

🇧🇷 Brazil

$1,285

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $688 in Cusco versus $1,285 in Rio de Janeiro.

Cusco $688
Rio de Janeiro $1,285

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,096 in Cusco versus $1,888 in Rio de Janeiro.

Cusco $1,096
Rio de Janeiro $1,888

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $1,505 in Cusco versus $2,491 in Rio de Janeiro.

Cusco $1,505
Rio de Janeiro $2,491

Living in Cusco costs roughly 46% less than in Rio de Janeiro, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Both cities sit below the global median: Cusco 49% lower, Rio de Janeiro 4% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$1.99 PEN 6.82

$9.98 R$49.83

-80.06%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$20.55 PEN 70.4

$40.34 R$201

-49.06%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$6.70 PEN 22.96

$8.48 R$42.35

-20.99%

Cappuccino

$2.11 PEN 7.22

$2.36 R$11.80

-10.59%

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

$0.78 PEN 2.68

$1.63 R$8.13

-52.15%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.33 PEN 1.13

$1.01 R$5.06

-67.33%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$1.72 PEN 5.90

$2.44 R$12.19

-29.51%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.33 PEN 14.85

$3.69 R$18.43

17.34%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.24 PEN 4.26

$1.15 R$5.72

7.83%

White Bread (500g)

$2.32 PEN 7.95

$2.07 R$10.34

12.08%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.29 PEN 4.42

$1.29 R$6.42

Eggs

$3.63 PEN 12.44

$2.27 R$11.32

59.91%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$4.69 PEN 16.08

$11.00 R$54.9

-57.36%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$4.43 PEN 15.19

$4.31 R$21.51

2.78%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$7.37 PEN 25.26

$9.74 R$48.63

-24.33%

Apples (1kg)

$2.55 PEN 8.75

$2.83 R$14.12

-9.89%

Banana (1kg)

$0.77 PEN 2.62

$1.84 R$9.17

-58.15%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.47 PEN 5.02

$1.60 R$7.96

-8.13%

Tomato (1kg)

$0.85 PEN 2.93

$1.80 R$9.00

-52.78%

Potato (1kg)

$1.02 PEN 3.51

$1.26 R$6.28

-19.05%

Onion (1kg)

$1.10 PEN 3.79

$1.07 R$5.34

2.80%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.49 PEN 1.66

$0.75 R$3.75

-34.67%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.75 PEN 2.57

$0.66 R$3.29

13.64%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$3.05 R$15.21

Wine (Bottle)

$5.93 PEN 20.34

$8.18 R$40.84

-27.51%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.85 PEN 6.36

$1.19 R$5.92

55.46%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.12 PEN 14.11

$2.39 R$11.92

72.38%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.30 PEN 1.04

$1.01 R$5.06

-70.30%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$50.2 R$250

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.72 PEN 5.89

$1.27 R$6.33

35.43%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.93 PEN 6.63

$0.90 R$4.51

114.44%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$2.82 PEN 9.65

$9.44 R$47.13

-70.13%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.57 PEN 5.40

$1.33 R$6.65

18.05%

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

$23.4K R$117.0K

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

$28.9K PEN 99.2K

$33.6K R$167.6K

-13.82%

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

$29.31 PEN 100

$134 R$666

-78.04%

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

$14.31 PEN 49.05

$12.23 R$61.0

17.01%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$44.13 PEN 151

$22.65 R$113

94.83%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$28.51 PEN 97.7

$31.56 R$158

-9.66%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$30.87 R$154

Cinema Ticket

$4.26 PEN 14.59

$8.23 R$41.07

-48.24%

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

$603 R$3,011

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$13.2K R$66.1K

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$37.39 PEN 128

$41.62 R$208

-10.16%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$33.43 PEN 115

$49.94 R$249

-33.06%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$54.4 PEN 186

$75.0 R$375

-27.55%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$72.2 PEN 248

$68.3 R$341

5.74%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$218 PEN 746

$905 R$4,519

-75.97%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$191 PEN 654

$527 R$2,633

-63.82%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$538 PEN 1,843

$1,346 R$6,720

-60.07%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$416 PEN 1,426

$774 R$3,865

-46.27%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,249 PEN 11.1K

$3,981 R$19.9K

-18.38%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,823 PEN 6,248

$1,562 R$7,798

16.69%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$433 PEN 1,485

$643 R$3,210

-32.63%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

11.93

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

Last update for Cusco: 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

Cusco

$191 27.8%

Rio de Janeiro

$527 41% 176% $337

Groceries & Markets

Cusco

$187 27.2%

Rio de Janeiro

$215 16.7% 15% $28

Clothing & Footwear

Cusco

$89 12.9%

Rio de Janeiro

$106 8.2% 19% $17

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Cusco

$88 12.8%

Rio de Janeiro

$168 13.1% 91.9% $81

Eating Out

Cusco

$83 12.1%

Rio de Janeiro

$164 12.7% 97.4% $81

Sport & Entertainment

Cusco

$37 5.4%

Rio de Janeiro

$48 3.7% 29.7% $11

Getting Around

Cusco

$13 * 1.8%

Rio de Janeiro

$60 4.7% 376% $47

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 $218 in Cusco and $905 in Rio de Janeiro. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Rio de Janeiro pays 48% 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: $21.00 in Cusco vs $40.00 in Rio de Janeiro for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $187 vs $215 per month, with Cusco cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇵🇪 Cusco

🇧🇷 Rio de Janeiro

🕒 Local time

02:15 2:15 AM

04:15 4:15 AM

2 h ahead of Cusco

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

428,450

6,211,223

💱 Currency

Peruvian Sol PEN S/

Brazilian Real BRL R$

📈 Exchange rate

1 PEN = 0.292 USD

1 PEN = 0.26 EUR

1 BRL = 0.2 USD

1 BRL = 0.179 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

BRL, USD, EUR to PEN – Peruvian Sol Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇵🇪 Peruvian Sol (S/)

Peruvian Sol exchange rates as of October 10, 2026: 1 USD = 3.43 PEN (1 PEN = 0.292 USD). 1 EUR = 3.84 PEN (1 PEN = 0.26 EUR).

Brazilian Real exchange rates as of October 10, 2026: 1 USD = 4.99 BRL (1 BRL = 0.2 USD). 1 EUR = 5.6 BRL (1 BRL = 0.179 EUR).

USD to PEN in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Cusco Rio de Janeiro 3,210 km ≈ 4 h 30 min nonstop flight

From you

Cusco
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

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

Cusco is cheaper overall, especially in groceries, clothing, and eating out. The 87% gap adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

On paper, salaries run 48% 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: $218 in Cusco versus $905 in Rio de Janeiro. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Supermarket bills run roughly 15% higher in Rio de Janeiro. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

Dining out is cheaper in Cusco – a meal for two runs $21.00 versus $40.00 in Rio de Janeiro. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

At $688 in Cusco versus $1,285 in Rio de Janeiro, a $1,500 budget is realistic in Cusco but tight or insufficient in Rio de Janeiro. The gap between the two cities makes Cusco the clear choice for anyone on this budget.

For families, Cusco 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 Cusco gentler on the wallet – expenses run 87% less than in Rio de Janeiro. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.