Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Palma Soriano and Rio de Janeiro

For one person, living is cheaper in Rio de Janeiro: $1,289 a month against $1,552 in Palma Soriano, rent and utilities included – about $3,200 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

76

Cost of Living Index in Palma Soriano
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Palma Soriano Living Index
63

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

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Palma Soriano

🇨🇺 Cuba

$1,552

/mo nomad

Rio de Janeiro

🇧🇷 Brazil

$1,289

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,552 in Palma Soriano versus $1,289 in Rio de Janeiro.

Palma Soriano $1,552
Rio de Janeiro $1,289

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,866 in Palma Soriano versus $1,868 in Rio de Janeiro.

Palma Soriano $1,866
Rio de Janeiro $1,868

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $2,180 in Palma Soriano versus $2,448 in Rio de Janeiro.

Palma Soriano $2,180
Rio de Janeiro $2,448

Living in Palma Soriano is roughly 20% more expensive than in Rio de Janeiro, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in utilities.

The two cities straddle the global median: Palma Soriano is 15% above, Rio de Janeiro is 5% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$5.05 CUP 121

$10.06 R$51.0

-49.80%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$25.36 CUP 609

$40.44 R$205

-37.29%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$5.15 CUP 124

$8.55 R$43.35

-39.77%

Cappuccino

$3.11 CUP 74.6

$2.38 R$12.04

30.67%

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

$1.29 CUP 30.86

$1.61 R$8.18

-19.88%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.91 CUP 21.94

$1.03 R$5.22

-11.65%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.04 CUP 72.9

$2.47 R$12.54

23.08%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.42 CUP 58.0

$3.70 R$18.77

-34.59%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.98 CUP 47.48

$1.19 R$6.05

66.39%

White Bread (500g)

$1.49 CUP 35.65

$2.05 R$10.38

-27.32%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$0.98 CUP 23.44

$1.28 R$6.49

-23.44%

Eggs

$1.17 CUP 28.04

$2.29 R$11.60

-48.91%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$6.12 CUP 147

$10.76 R$54.5

-43.12%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$6.09 CUP 146

$4.41 R$22.36

38.10%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$11.06 CUP 266

$9.84 R$49.86

12.40%

Apples (1kg)

$1.83 CUP 43.94

$2.81 R$14.25

-34.88%

Banana (1kg)

$1.19 CUP 28.45

$1.78 R$9.03

-33.15%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.48 CUP 35.60

$1.60 R$8.13

-7.50%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.47 CUP 35.35

$1.80 R$9.11

-18.33%

Potato (1kg)

$0.98 CUP 23.44

$1.22 R$6.17

-19.67%

Onion (1kg)

$0.97 CUP 23.33

$1.04 R$5.26

-6.73%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.01 CUP 24.33

$0.77 R$3.92

31.17%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.08 CUP 25.83

$0.67 R$3.38

61.19%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$2.95 CUP 70.9

$3.01 R$15.27

-1.99%

Wine (Bottle)

$10.08 CUP 242

$8.08 R$40.94

24.75%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$3.08 CUP 73.9

$1.19 R$6.03

158.82%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.03 CUP 48.75

$2.51 R$12.73

-19.12%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.26 CUP 6.26

$0.99 R$5.00

-73.74%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$29.79 CUP 715

$50.1 R$254

-40.55%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.85 CUP 44.30

$1.22 R$6.20

51.64%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.36 CUP 8.74

$0.92 R$4.66

-60.87%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$13.10 CUP 314

$8.97 R$45.45

46.04%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.18 CUP 28.37

$1.30 R$6.57

-9.23%

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

$66.0K CUP 1.6M

$23.9K R$121.0K

176.27%

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

$47.3K CUP 1.1M

$32.9K R$166.6K

44.05%

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

$55.4 CUP 1,331

$133 R$676

-58.44%

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

$10.01 CUP 240

$10.82 R$54.8

-7.49%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$150 CUP 3,590

$22.90 R$116

553.23%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$40.30 CUP 967

$30.79 R$156

30.89%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$10.06 CUP 242

$31.85 R$161

-68.41%

Cinema Ticket

$1.03 CUP 24.64

$8.05 R$40.83

-87.20%

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

$100 CUP 2,402

$598 R$3,029

-83.25%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$12.2K CUP 292.6K

$13.4K R$68.0K

-9.14%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$63.7 CUP 1,530

$42.04 R$213

51.59%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$35.61 CUP 855

$49.68 R$252

-28.32%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$84.1 CUP 2,019

$74.5 R$378

12.88%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$110 CUP 2,647

$68.7 R$348

60.55%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$896 CUP 21.5K

$903 R$4,578

-0.78%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$790 CUP 18.9K

$529 R$2,684

49.13%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$744 CUP 17.9K

$1,326 R$6,724

-43.90%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$647 CUP 15.5K

$756 R$3,831

-14.33%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$323 CUP 7,745

$4,010 R$20.3K

-91.95%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$326 CUP 7,826

$1,560 R$7,910

-79.10%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$40.28 CUP 967

$640 R$3,242

-93.70%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

8.33

11.93

-30.18%

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

Last update for Palma Soriano: 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

Palma Soriano

$790 50.9%

Rio de Janeiro

$529 41.1% 32.9% $260

Groceries & Markets

Palma Soriano

$216 13.9%

Rio de Janeiro

$215 16.7% 0.8% $1.7

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Palma Soriano

$215 13.9%

Rio de Janeiro

$167 13% 22.3% $48

Clothing & Footwear

Palma Soriano

$132 8.5%

Rio de Janeiro

$106 8.2% 20% $26

Eating Out

Palma Soriano

$122 7.9%

Rio de Janeiro

$165 12.8% 35.3% $43

Sport & Entertainment

Palma Soriano

$42 2.7%

Rio de Janeiro

$47 3.6% 10.7% $4.5

Getting Around

Palma Soriano

$35 2.2%

Rio de Janeiro

$60 4.7% 73.6% $25

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $896 in Palma Soriano and $903 in Rio de Janeiro. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Rio de Janeiro pays 1488% more on average while also being the cheaper of the two. The combined effect is a noticeably stronger local purchasing power.

Dining out: $25.00 in Palma Soriano vs $40.00 in Rio de Janeiro. Groceries flip the comparison at $216 vs $215, with Rio de Janeiro cheaper for home cooking.

Good to know

🇨🇺 Palma Soriano

🇧🇷 Rio de Janeiro

🕒 Local time

14:33 2:33 PM

15:33 3:33 PM

1 h ahead of Palma Soriano

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

74,930

6,211,223

💱 Currency

Cuban Peso CUP $

Brazilian Real BRL R$

📈 Exchange rate

100 CUP = 4.17 USD

100 CUP = 3.71 EUR

1 BRL = 0.197 USD

1 BRL = 0.175 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

BRL, USD, EUR to CUP – Cuban Peso Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇨🇺 Cuban Peso ($)

Cuban Peso exchange rates as of October 17, 2026: 1 USD = 24 CUP (100 CUP = 4.17 USD). 1 EUR = 26.98 CUP (100 CUP = 3.71 EUR).

Brazilian Real exchange rates as of October 17, 2026: 1 USD = 5.07 BRL (1 BRL = 0.197 USD). 1 EUR = 5.7 BRL (1 BRL = 0.175 EUR).

USD to CUP in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Palma Soriano Rio de Janeiro 5,970 km ≈ 8 h nonstop flight

From you

Palma Soriano
Rio de Janeiro

Distances are measured in a straight line. Your location is detected approximately.

City Median Internet Speeds Comparison (Updated March 2026)

The chart highlights the Precision Threshold for mobile and fixed broadband internet speeds, updated quarterly.

Digital Nomad Cost of Living Index

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

Rio de Janeiro wins on cost – living expenses run 20% lower than in Palma Soriano. Housing and daily spending are where you'll feel the difference most, making Rio de Janeiro the obvious pick if budget is a priority.

On paper, salaries run 1488% 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: $896 in Palma Soriano versus $903 in Rio de Janeiro. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

A monthly transit pass in Rio de Janeiro runs roughly 68% less than in Palma Soriano. Both cities have functional networks, but the price difference matters if you're watching your budget.

Childcare runs $100 in Palma Soriano versus $598 in Rio de Janeiro. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

At $1,289 in Rio de Janeiro versus $1,552 in Palma Soriano, a $2,000 budget is realistic in Rio de Janeiro but tight or insufficient in Palma Soriano. The gap between the two cities makes Rio de Janeiro the clear choice for anyone on this budget.

Both work as nomad bases, but Rio de Janeiro delivers better value – similar infrastructure at $1,289 monthly. If stretching your runway or maximizing savings is the goal, the price difference makes Rio de Janeiro hard to pass up.

Expats usually find Rio de Janeiro gentler on the wallet – expenses run 20% less than in Palma Soriano. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.