Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Isla Mujeres and Rio de Janeiro

For one person, living is cheaper in Isla Mujeres: $1,087 a month against $1,285 in Rio de Janeiro, rent and utilities included – about $2,400 less a year. Higher rent and utilities in Rio de Janeiro outweigh lower spending on other living expenses.

54

Cost of Living Index in Isla Mujeres
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Isla Mujeres Living Index
63

Cost of Living Index in Rio de Janeiro
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Rio de Janeiro Living Index

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Isla Mujeres

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,087

/mo nomad

Rio de Janeiro

🇧🇷 Brazil

$1,285

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,087 in Isla Mujeres versus $1,285 in Rio de Janeiro.

Isla Mujeres $1,087
Rio de Janeiro $1,285

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,747 in Isla Mujeres versus $1,888 in Rio de Janeiro.

Isla Mujeres $1,747
Rio de Janeiro $1,888

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $2,407 in Isla Mujeres versus $2,491 in Rio de Janeiro.

Isla Mujeres $2,407
Rio de Janeiro $2,491

Living in Isla Mujeres costs roughly 15% less than in Rio de Janeiro, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in transport.

Both cities sit below the global median: Isla Mujeres 19% lower, Rio de Janeiro 4% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$10.60 MX$193

$9.98 R$49.78

6.21%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$39.12 MX$714

$40.34 R$201

-3.02%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$8.06 MX$147

$8.48 R$42.31

-4.95%

Cappuccino

$3.38 MX$61.8

$2.36 R$11.79

43.22%

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

$1.24 MX$22.59

$1.63 R$8.12

-23.93%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.96 MX$17.61

$1.01 R$5.06

-4.95%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.24 MX$40.87

$2.44 R$12.17

-8.20%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.80 MX$69.3

$3.69 R$18.41

2.98%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.43 MX$26.12

$1.15 R$5.71

24.35%

White Bread (500g)

$2.64 MX$48.25

$2.07 R$10.33

27.54%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.57 MX$28.74

$1.29 R$6.41

21.71%

Eggs

$2.38 MX$43.51

$2.27 R$11.31

4.85%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$8.23 MX$150

$11.00 R$54.8

-25.18%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$8.00 MX$146

$4.31 R$21.48

85.61%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$10.78 MX$197

$9.74 R$48.58

10.68%

Apples (1kg)

$2.72 MX$49.58

$2.83 R$14.10

-3.89%

Banana (1kg)

$1.40 MX$25.58

$1.84 R$9.16

-23.91%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.78 MX$32.53

$1.60 R$7.95

11.25%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.65 MX$30.19

$1.80 R$8.99

-8.33%

Potato (1kg)

$1.84 MX$33.66

$1.26 R$6.27

46.03%

Onion (1kg)

$1.93 MX$35.22

$1.07 R$5.33

80.37%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.26 MX$22.92

$0.75 R$3.75

68.00%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.97 MX$17.72

$0.66 R$3.29

46.97%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.27 MX$78.0

$3.05 R$15.19

40.00%

Wine (Bottle)

$10.66 MX$195

$8.18 R$40.79

30.32%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.55 MX$28.30

$1.19 R$5.91

30.25%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.74 MX$50.0

$2.39 R$11.91

14.64%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.66 MX$11.98

$1.01 R$5.05

-34.65%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$50.2 R$250

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$2.65 MX$48.47

$1.27 R$6.33

108.66%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.52 MX$27.81

$0.90 R$4.50

68.89%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$8.37 MX$153

$9.44 R$47.08

-11.33%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.33 MX$24.25

$1.33 R$6.64

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

$21.2K MX$387.4K

$23.4K R$116.8K

-9.45%

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

$22.8K MX$416.8K

$33.6K R$167.4K

-32.00%

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

$56.0 MX$1,023

$134 R$666

-58.03%

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

$22.35 MX$408

$12.23 R$61.0

82.75%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$27.89 MX$509

$22.65 R$113

23.13%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$36.84 MX$673

$31.56 R$157

16.73%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$16.02 MX$292

$30.87 R$154

-48.10%

Cinema Ticket

$4.68 MX$85.4

$8.23 R$41.03

-43.13%

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

$206 MX$3,758

$603 R$3,007

-65.88%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$3,587 MX$65.5K

$13.2K R$66.0K

-72.91%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$53.9 MX$984

$41.62 R$208

29.46%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$39.65 MX$724

$49.94 R$249

-20.60%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$89.3 MX$1,630

$75.0 R$374

18.95%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$77.9 MX$1,423

$68.3 R$341

14.08%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$518 MX$9,466

$905 R$4,514

-42.73%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$390 MX$7,123

$527 R$2,630

-26.04%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$923 MX$16.9K

$1,346 R$6,712

-31.43%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$762 MX$13.9K

$774 R$3,861

-1.63%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$1,785 MX$32.6K

$3,981 R$19.8K

-55.15%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,153 MX$21.1K

$1,562 R$7,789

-26.19%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$643 R$3,206

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

11.48

11.93

-3.77%

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

Last update for Isla Mujeres: October 6, 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

Isla Mujeres

$390 35.4%

Rio de Janeiro

$527 41% 35.2% $137

Groceries & Markets

Isla Mujeres

$252 22.8%

Rio de Janeiro

$215 16.7% 14.7% $37

Eating Out

Isla Mujeres

$177 16.1%

Rio de Janeiro

$164 12.7% 7.5% $13

Clothing & Footwear

Isla Mujeres

$117 10.7%

Rio de Janeiro

$106 8.2% 9.9% $12

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Isla Mujeres

$106 9.7%

Rio de Janeiro

$168 13.1% 58.4% $62

Sport & Entertainment

Isla Mujeres

$46 4.2%

Rio de Janeiro

$48 3.7% 3.9% $1.8

Getting Around

Isla Mujeres

$13 * 1.2%

Rio de Janeiro

$60 4.7% 365% $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 $518 in Isla Mujeres and $905 in Rio de Janeiro. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Dining out: $39.00 in Isla Mujeres vs $40.00 in Rio de Janeiro. Groceries flip the comparison at $252 vs $215, with Rio de Janeiro cheaper for home cooking.

Good to know

🇲🇽 Isla Mujeres

🇧🇷 Rio de Janeiro

🕒 Local time

03:43 3:43 AM

05:43 5:43 AM

2 h ahead of Isla Mujeres

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

13,174

6,211,223

💱 Currency

Mexican Peso MXN $

Brazilian Real BRL R$

📈 Exchange rate

100 MXN = 5.48 USD

100 MXN = 4.89 EUR

1 BRL = 0.201 USD

1 BRL = 0.179 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 13, 2026: 1 USD = 18.26 MXN (100 MXN = 5.48 USD). 1 EUR = 20.46 MXN (100 MXN = 4.89 EUR).

Brazilian Real exchange rates as of October 13, 2026: 1 USD = 4.99 BRL (1 BRL = 0.201 USD). 1 EUR = 5.59 BRL (1 BRL = 0.179 EUR).

USD to MXN in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Isla Mujeres Rio de Janeiro 6,810 km ≈ 9 h nonstop flight

From you

Isla Mujeres
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

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

Isla Mujeres and Rio de Janeiro differ by about 18% in total monthly costs ($1,087 vs $1,285 including rent). Isla Mujeres is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

You'd need roughly $1,631 in Isla Mujeres and $1,927 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: $518 in Isla Mujeres versus $905 in Rio de Janeiro. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Shoppers in Rio de Janeiro pay roughly 17% less for everyday groceries. It's an unusual reversal that partly offsets higher costs elsewhere.

All in, you'll spend $1,087 per month in Isla Mujeres versus $1,285 in Rio de Janeiro – a 18% gap that adds up to real savings over time for anyone picking the cheaper option.

At $1,087 in Isla Mujeres versus $1,285 in Rio de Janeiro, a $2,000 budget is realistic in Isla Mujeres but tight or insufficient in Rio de Janeiro. The gap between the two cities makes Isla Mujeres the clear choice for anyone on this budget.

Both cities offer a good standard of living with different trade-offs. Neither is objectively better – the right pick depends on what matters most: affordability, career, cultural scene, or climate.

Safety-wise, Isla Mujeres and Rio de Janeiro are on par. Petty crime is typical for cities this size, and most residents feel comfortable going about their daily routines in either place.

Expats usually find Isla Mujeres gentler on the wallet – expenses run 18% less than in Rio de Janeiro. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.