Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Porto Alegre and Baia Mare

For one person, living is cheaper in Baia Mare: $935 a month against $965 in Porto Alegre, rent and utilities included – about $360 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

46

Cost of Living Index in Porto Alegre
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Porto Alegre Living Index
45

Cost of Living Index in Baia Mare
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Baia Mare Living Index

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Porto Alegre

🇧🇷 Brazil

$965

/mo nomad

Baia Mare

🇷🇴 Romania

$935

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Porto Alegre and in Baia Mare

Real prices from locals and on-the-ground checks – rent, groceries, transit and the daily extras. Here's what a month in Porto Alegre and in Baia Mare actually costs, broken down by who's living it.

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $965 in Porto Alegre versus $935 in Baia Mare.

Porto Alegre $965
Baia Mare $935

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,487 in Porto Alegre versus $1,452 in Baia Mare.

Porto Alegre $1,487
Baia Mare $1,452

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $2,009 in Porto Alegre versus $1,969 in Baia Mare.

Porto Alegre $2,009
Baia Mare $1,969

Living in Porto Alegre is roughly 3% more expensive than in Baia Mare, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in transport.

Both cities sit below the global median: Porto Alegre 29% lower, Baia Mare 31% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$7.55 R$41.06

$12.61 RON 60.1

-40.13%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$37.17 R$202

$32.99 RON 157

12.67%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$6.43 R$34.98

$8.16 RON 38.92

-21.20%

Cappuccino

$2.42 R$13.15

$2.07 RON 9.86

16.91%

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

$1.26 R$6.83

$1.81 RON 8.64

-30.39%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.03 R$5.59

$1.39 RON 6.63

-25.90%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.28 R$12.41

$1.61 RON 7.67

41.61%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.73 R$14.82

$2.15 RON 10.23

26.98%

Milk (1 liter)

$0.96 R$5.24

$1.45 RON 6.91

-33.79%

White Bread (500g)

$1.57 R$8.51

$1.40 RON 6.70

12.14%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.04 R$5.67

$1.54 RON 7.33

-32.47%

Eggs

$2.35 R$12.80

$2.82 RON 13.45

-16.67%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$9.78 R$53.2

$5.92 RON 28.24

65.20%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$4.57 R$24.86

$6.82 RON 32.50

-32.99%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$9.43 R$51.3

$10.77 RON 51.3

-12.44%

Apples (1kg)

$2.29 R$12.47

$1.08 RON 5.16

112.04%

Banana (1kg)

$1.35 R$7.34

$1.47 RON 6.99

-8.16%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.32 R$7.20

$1.37 RON 6.52

-3.65%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.54 R$8.35

$2.61 RON 12.45

-41.00%

Potato (1kg)

$1.13 R$6.17

$0.92 RON 4.39

22.83%

Onion (1kg)

$1.05 R$5.72

$1.08 RON 5.16

-2.78%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.86 R$4.69

$1.11 RON 5.30

-22.52%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.77 R$4.17

$0.81 RON 3.85

-4.94%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$2.36 R$12.85

$6.12 RON 29.15

-61.44%

Wine (Bottle)

$7.26 R$39.45

$4.52 RON 21.53

60.62%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.04 R$5.65

$1.05 RON 4.98

-0.95%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.03 R$11.06

$1.62 RON 7.72

25.31%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.95 R$5.17

$0.71 RON 3.37

33.80%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$56.3 R$306

$14.38 RON 68.6

291.45%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.19 R$6.46

$0.77 RON 3.66

54.55%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.79 R$4.31

$0.75 RON 3.55

5.33%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$7.50 R$40.78

$5.94 RON 28.34

26.26%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.25 R$6.79

$1.73 RON 8.27

-27.75%

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

$22.1K R$120.2K

$28.5K RON 136.0K

-22.50%

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

$31.7K R$172.1K

$25.2K RON 119.9K

25.82%

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

$72.6 R$394

$102 RON 488

-29.11%

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

$11.86 R$64.5

$15.11 RON 72.0

-21.51%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$20.42 R$111

$11.75 RON 56.0

73.79%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$27.19 R$148

$37.40 RON 178

-27.30%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$29.04 R$158

$16.21 RON 77.3

79.15%

Cinema Ticket

$6.89 R$37.43

$10.01 RON 47.70

-31.17%

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

$516 R$2,804

$520 RON 2,480

-0.86%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$23.5K R$127.7K

$5,441 RON 25.9K

331.82%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$47.70 R$259

$37.34 RON 178

27.75%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$54.6 R$297

$42.05 RON 200

29.80%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$94.6 R$514

$62.3 RON 297

51.90%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$73.5 R$399

$74.7 RON 356

-1.67%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$425 R$2,309

$368 RON 1,753

15.50%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$304 R$1,653

$255 RON 1,215

19.31%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$707 R$3,845

$582 RON 2,774

21.54%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$474 R$2,575

$440 RON 2,096

7.74%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$1,456 R$7,916

$2,187 RON 10.4K

-33.41%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,127 R$6,126

$1,477 RON 7,041

-23.71%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$521 R$2,831

$853 RON 4,069

-38.98%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

11.5

7.48

53.74%

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

Last update for Porto Alegre: October 24, 2026

Last update for Baia Mare: October 27, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Porto Alegre

$304 31.5%

Baia Mare

$255 27.3% 16.2% $49

Groceries & Markets

Porto Alegre

$194 20.1%

Baia Mare

$199 21.3% 2.9% $5.6

Eating Out

Porto Alegre

$135 14%

Baia Mare

$175 18.7% 30.1% $41

Clothing & Footwear

Porto Alegre

$122 12.6%

Baia Mare

$97 10.4% 20% $24

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Porto Alegre

$105 10.9%

Baia Mare

$129 13.8% 23.3% $24

Getting Around

Porto Alegre

$65 6.8%

Baia Mare

$22 2.3% 66.7% $44

Sport & Entertainment

Porto Alegre

$41 4.2%

Baia Mare

$57 6.1% 40.2% $16

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $425 in Porto Alegre and $368 in Baia Mare. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Baia Mare pays 64% more on average while also being the cheaper of the two. The combined effect is a noticeably stronger local purchasing power.

Dining out: $37 in Porto Alegre vs $33 in Baia Mare. Groceries flip the comparison at $194 vs $199, with Porto Alegre cheaper for home cooking.

Good to know

🇧🇷 Porto Alegre

🇷🇴 Baia Mare

🕒 Local time

07:30 7:30 AM

12:30 12:30 PM

5 h ahead of Porto Alegre

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

1,332,833

123,738

💱 Currency

Brazilian Real BRL R$

Romanian Leu RON lei

📈 Exchange rate

1 BRL = 0.184 USD

1 BRL = 0.164 EUR

1 RON = 0.21 USD

1 RON = 0.187 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

RON, USD, EUR to BRL – Brazilian Real Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇧🇷 Brazilian Real (R$)

Brazilian Real exchange rates as of November 3, 2026: 1 USD = 5.44 BRL (1 BRL = 0.184 USD). 1 EUR = 6.09 BRL (1 BRL = 0.164 EUR).

Romanian Leu exchange rates as of November 3, 2026: 1 USD = 4.77 RON (1 RON = 0.21 USD). 1 EUR = 5.34 RON (1 RON = 0.187 EUR).

USD to BRL in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Porto Alegre Baia Mare 11,400 km ≈ 15 h nonstop flight

From you

Porto Alegre
Baia Mare

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

Porto Alegre vs Baia Mare: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Baia Mare is about 3% cheaper overall, especially in transport, clothing, and utilities. That difference adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

On paper, salaries run 39% lower in Porto Alegre. 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: $425 in Porto Alegre versus $368 in Baia Mare. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $516 in Porto Alegre versus $520 in Baia Mare. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Shoppers in Porto Alegre pay roughly 3% less for everyday groceries. It’s an unusual reversal that partly offsets higher costs elsewhere.

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.