Last update: Nov 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Mexico City and Rio de Janeiro

For one person, living is cheaper in Rio de Janeiro: $1,185 a month against $1,674 in Mexico City, rent and utilities included – about $5,900 less a year. Other living expenses account for most of the difference.

80

Cost of Living Index in Mexico City
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Mexico City Living Index
57

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

Jump to prices

Mexico City

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,674

/mo nomad

Rio de Janeiro

🇧🇷 Brazil

$1,185

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,674 in Mexico City versus $1,185 in Rio de Janeiro.

Mexico City $1,674
Rio de Janeiro $1,185

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,606 in Mexico City versus $1,737 in Rio de Janeiro.

Mexico City $2,606
Rio de Janeiro $1,737

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,537 in Mexico City versus $2,289 in Rio de Janeiro.

Mexico City $3,537
Rio de Janeiro $2,289

Living in Mexico City is roughly 41% more expensive than in Rio de Janeiro, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

The two cities straddle the global median: Mexico City is 24% above, Rio de Janeiro is 12% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$10.59 MX$197

$8.16 R$44.54

29.78%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$52.0 MX$967

$37.20 R$203

39.68%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$10.73 MX$200

$7.52 R$41.08

42.69%

Cappuccino

$3.80 MX$70.6

$2.10 R$11.49

80.95%

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

$1.61 MX$30.01

$1.36 R$7.44

18.38%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.21 MX$22.55

$0.96 R$5.25

26.04%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.18 MX$59.1

$1.98 R$10.79

60.61%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$5.44 MX$101

$3.26 R$17.80

66.87%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.72 MX$31.96

$1.09 R$5.93

57.80%

White Bread (500g)

$2.97 MX$55.2

$1.87 R$10.19

58.82%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.93 MX$35.84

$1.12 R$6.14

72.32%

Eggs

$2.77 MX$51.6

$2.20 R$12.03

25.91%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$11.67 MX$217

$9.91 R$54.1

17.76%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.48 MX$176

$4.11 R$22.44

130.66%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$15.37 MX$286

$9.25 R$50.5

66.16%

Apples (1kg)

$3.10 MX$57.8

$2.59 R$14.15

19.69%

Banana (1kg)

$1.96 MX$36.49

$1.69 R$9.21

15.98%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.98 MX$36.88

$1.47 R$8.02

34.69%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.34 MX$43.46

$1.72 R$9.37

36.05%

Potato (1kg)

$2.02 MX$37.66

$1.16 R$6.31

74.14%

Onion (1kg)

$1.82 MX$33.95

$1.00 R$5.45

82.00%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.54 MX$28.74

$0.66 R$3.59

133.33%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.31 MX$24.42

$0.61 R$3.33

114.75%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$5.35 MX$99.6

$2.69 R$14.70

98.88%

Wine (Bottle)

$16.19 MX$301

$7.20 R$39.33

124.86%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.96 MX$36.46

$1.07 R$5.86

83.18%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.35 MX$81.0

$2.24 R$12.22

94.20%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.30 MX$5.67

$0.88 R$4.78

-65.91%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$19.49 MX$363

$52.3 R$286

-62.75%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.92 MX$35.68

$1.18 R$6.44

62.71%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.47 MX$8.80

$0.68 R$3.69

-30.88%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$5.41 MX$101

$8.71 R$47.56

-37.89%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.48 MX$27.61

$1.20 R$6.54

23.33%

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

$21.4K MX$397.7K

$21.9K R$119.4K

-2.28%

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

$23.8K MX$442.1K

$31.0K R$169.3K

-23.39%

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

$62.0 MX$1,154

$126 R$686

-50.65%

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

$28.47 MX$530

$10.14 R$55.4

180.77%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$34.11 MX$635

$20.95 R$114

62.82%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$58.4 MX$1,087

$28.51 R$156

104.81%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$24.50 MX$456

$28.87 R$158

-15.14%

Cinema Ticket

$6.59 MX$123

$7.40 R$40.43

-10.95%

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

$434 MX$8,081

$537 R$2,932

-19.12%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$14.0K MX$261.2K

$15.9K R$86.8K

-11.66%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$68.4 MX$1,272

$38.68 R$211

76.71%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$54.8 MX$1,020

$45.06 R$246

21.62%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$111 MX$2,063

$68.6 R$375

61.61%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$116 MX$2,158

$64.1 R$350

81.01%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,179 MX$21.9K

$768 R$4,192

53.63%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$771 MX$14.3K

$491 R$2,680

57.09%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,570 MX$47.8K

$1,458 R$7,964

76.25%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,420 MX$26.4K

$743 R$4,056

91.10%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,586 MX$66.7K

$3,325 R$18.2K

7.83%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$2,064 MX$38.4K

$1,552 R$8,475

32.99%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,003 MX$18.7K

$674 R$3,679

48.83%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

11.35

11.93

-4.86%

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

Last update for Mexico City: November 1, 2026

Last update for Rio de Janeiro: November 3, 2026

Monthly budget structure

Share of the monthly basket for one person, rent included.

Accommodation & Living

Mexico City

$771 46.1%

Rio de Janeiro

$491 41.4% 36.3% $280

Groceries & Markets

Mexico City

$324 19.3%

Rio de Janeiro

$198 16.7% 38.8% $126

Eating Out

Mexico City

$201 12%

Rio de Janeiro

$139 11.7% 30.8% $62

Clothing & Footwear

Mexico City

$158 9.4%

Rio de Janeiro

$97 8.2% 38.2% $60

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Mexico City

$125 7.4%

Rio de Janeiro

$157 13.2% 25.8% $32

Sport & Entertainment

Mexico City

$72 4.3%

Rio de Janeiro

$43 3.7% 39.5% $28

Getting Around

Mexico City

$25 1.5%

Rio de Janeiro

$60 5.1% 142% $35

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,179 in Mexico City and $768 in Rio de Janeiro. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Mexico City pays 49% more on average. How far that income stretches comes down to housing choices and lifestyle.

Dining out: $52 in Mexico City vs $37 in Rio de Janeiro for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $324 vs $198 per month, with Rio de Janeiro cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇲🇽 Mexico City

🇧🇷 Rio de Janeiro

🕒 Local time

16:25 4:25 PM

19:25 7:25 PM

3 h ahead of Mexico City

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

9,209,944 Capital

6,211,223

💱 Currency

Mexican Peso MXN $

Brazilian Real BRL R$

📈 Exchange rate

100 MXN = 5.37 USD

100 MXN = 4.81 EUR

1 BRL = 0.183 USD

1 BRL = 0.164 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 November 3, 2026: 1 USD = 18.61 MXN (100 MXN = 5.37 USD). 1 EUR = 20.81 MXN (100 MXN = 4.81 EUR).

Brazilian Real exchange rates as of November 3, 2026: 1 USD = 5.46 BRL (1 BRL = 0.183 USD). 1 EUR = 6.11 BRL (1 BRL = 0.164 EUR).

USD to MXN in detail →

On the map

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Highest

Between locations

Mexico City Rio de Janeiro 7,680 km ≈ 10 h nonstop flight

From you

Mexico City
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

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

Total monthly costs including rent come to $1,674 in Mexico City and $1,185 in Rio de Janeiro, so Rio de Janeiro is about 29% cheaper – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

Average pay runs 49% higher in Mexico City, which matters when comparing affordability. Whether that higher income actually nets you more depends on your spending habits and housing choices.

Rent for a central apartment: $1,179 in Mexico City versus $768 in Rio de Janeiro. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

A monthly transit pass in Mexico City runs roughly 63% less than in Rio de Janeiro. The price difference matters if you commute daily and watch your budget.

Childcare runs $434 in Mexico City versus $537 in Rio de Janeiro. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Either city works on $2,000 a month, though Rio de Janeiro gives you more room to save. At this income level, the choice is more about lifestyle than financial pressure.

Both work as nomad bases, but Rio de Janeiro delivers better value at $1,185 monthly. If stretching your runway or maximizing savings is the goal, the price difference makes Rio de Janeiro hard to pass up.

It comes down to priorities – Rio de Janeiro wins on affordability, Mexico City on earning potential. Factor in climate, language, visa rules, and proximity to places that matter to you before deciding.