Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Quebec City and Rio de Janeiro

For one person, living is cheaper in Rio de Janeiro: $1,285 a month against $1,893 in Quebec City, rent and utilities included – about $7,300 less a year. Other living expenses account for most of the difference.

91

Cost of Living Index in Quebec City
Learn more

Quebec City Living Index
63

Cost of Living Index in Rio de Janeiro
Learn more

Rio de Janeiro Living Index

Jump to prices

Quebec City

🇨🇦 Canada

$1,893

/mo nomad

Rio de Janeiro

🇧🇷 Brazil

$1,285

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,893 in Quebec City versus $1,285 in Rio de Janeiro.

Quebec City $1,893
Rio de Janeiro $1,285

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,839 in Quebec City versus $1,888 in Rio de Janeiro.

Quebec City $2,839
Rio de Janeiro $1,888

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,785 in Quebec City versus $2,491 in Rio de Janeiro.

Quebec City $3,785
Rio de Janeiro $2,491

Living in Quebec City is roughly 47% more expensive than in Rio de Janeiro, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Quebec City is 41% above, Rio de Janeiro is 4% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$21.19 CA$30.14

$9.98 R$50.1

112.32%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$64.1 CA$91.1

$40.34 R$202

58.80%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$10.97 CA$15.60

$8.48 R$42.57

29.36%

Cappuccino

$3.66 CA$5.21

$2.36 R$11.86

55.08%

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

$2.07 CA$2.95

$1.63 R$8.18

26.99%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.41 CA$2.01

$1.01 R$5.09

39.60%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$5.58 CA$7.93

$2.44 R$12.25

128.69%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$5.56 CA$7.91

$3.69 R$18.53

50.68%

Milk (1 liter)

$2.12 CA$3.01

$1.15 R$5.75

84.35%

White Bread (500g)

$2.85 CA$4.05

$2.07 R$10.40

37.68%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$4.25 CA$6.04

$1.29 R$6.45

229.46%

Eggs

$3.18 CA$4.52

$2.27 R$11.38

40.09%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$8.87 CA$12.62

$11.00 R$55.2

-19.36%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$10.52 CA$14.96

$4.31 R$21.62

144.08%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$10.39 CA$14.78

$9.74 R$48.88

6.67%

Apples (1kg)

$4.21 CA$5.99

$2.83 R$14.19

48.76%

Banana (1kg)

$1.59 CA$2.26

$1.84 R$9.21

-13.59%

Oranges (1kg)

$3.70 CA$5.26

$1.60 R$8.01

131.25%

Tomato (1kg)

$3.91 CA$5.56

$1.80 R$9.04

117.22%

Potato (1kg)

$2.86 CA$4.06

$1.26 R$6.31

126.98%

Onion (1kg)

$2.79 CA$3.97

$1.07 R$5.37

160.75%

Lettuce (1 head)

$2.69 CA$3.83

$0.75 R$3.77

258.67%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.43 CA$2.03

$0.66 R$3.31

116.67%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$14.87 CA$21.16

$3.05 R$15.29

387.54%

Wine (Bottle)

$11.16 CA$15.88

$8.18 R$41.05

36.43%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$3.15 CA$4.48

$1.19 R$5.95

164.71%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.40 CA$4.84

$2.39 R$11.98

42.26%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$2.77 CA$3.93

$1.01 R$5.08

174.26%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$69.6 CA$99.0

$50.2 R$252

38.84%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$2.90 CA$4.13

$1.27 R$6.37

128.35%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.48 CA$2.11

$0.90 R$4.53

64.44%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$34.24 CA$48.70

$9.44 R$47.37

262.71%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.25 CA$1.78

$1.33 R$6.69

-6.02%

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

$28.3K CA$40.2K

$23.4K R$117.6K

20.71%

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

$21.3K CA$30.3K

$33.6K R$168.5K

-36.58%

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

$100 CA$143

$134 R$670

-24.92%

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

$31.82 CA$45.26

$12.23 R$61.4

160.18%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$44.74 CA$63.6

$22.65 R$114

97.53%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$34.56 CA$49.16

$31.56 R$158

9.51%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$15.27 CA$21.72

$30.87 R$155

-50.53%

Cinema Ticket

$10.87 CA$15.46

$8.23 R$41.29

32.08%

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

$685 CA$975

$603 R$3,027

13.61%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$9,148 CA$13.0K

$13.2K R$66.4K

-30.91%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$59.7 CA$84.9

$41.62 R$209

43.44%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$50.2 CA$71.4

$49.94 R$251

0.50%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$89.7 CA$128

$75.0 R$377

19.52%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$108 CA$153

$68.3 R$343

57.52%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,025 CA$1,458

$905 R$4,543

13.21%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$774 CA$1,101

$527 R$2,647

46.71%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,565 CA$2,226

$1,346 R$6,755

16.26%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,278 CA$1,818

$774 R$3,885

65.10%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$4,737 CA$6,737

$3,981 R$20.0K

18.99%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$2,731 CA$3,884

$1,562 R$7,838

74.80%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$3,037 CA$4,320

$643 R$3,227

372.38%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

4.44

11.93

-62.78%

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

Last update for Quebec City: 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

Quebec City

$774 41.2%

Rio de Janeiro

$527 41% 31.8% $246

Groceries & Markets

Quebec City

$342 18.2%

Rio de Janeiro

$215 16.7% 37.2% $127

Eating Out

Quebec City

$299 16%

Rio de Janeiro

$164 12.7% 45.3% $135

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Quebec City

$177 9.4%

Rio de Janeiro

$168 13.1% 4.8% $8.4

Clothing & Footwear

Quebec City

$138 7.4%

Rio de Janeiro

$106 8.2% 23.5% $33

Getting Around

Quebec City

$91 4.9%

Rio de Janeiro

$60 4.7% 34.1% $31

Sport & Entertainment

Quebec City

$56 3%

Rio de Janeiro

$48 3.7% 14.7% $8.3

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,025 in Quebec City and $905 in Rio de Janeiro. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Quebec City pays 372% 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: $64.0 in Quebec City vs $40.00 in Rio de Janeiro for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $342 vs $215 per month, with Rio de Janeiro cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇨🇦 Quebec City

🇧🇷 Rio de Janeiro

🕒 Local time

02:44 2:44 AM

03:44 3:44 AM

1 h ahead of Quebec City

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

530,168

6,211,223

💱 Currency

Canadian Dollar CAD $

Brazilian Real BRL R$

📈 Exchange rate

1 CAD = 0.703 USD

1 CAD = 0.627 EUR

1 BRL = 0.199 USD

1 BRL = 0.178 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

BRL, USD, EUR to CAD – Canadian Dollar Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇨🇦 Canadian Dollar ($)

Canadian Dollar exchange rates as of October 10, 2026: 1 USD = 1.42 CAD (1 CAD = 0.703 USD). 1 EUR = 1.6 CAD (1 CAD = 0.627 EUR).

Brazilian Real exchange rates as of October 10, 2026: 1 USD = 5.02 BRL (1 BRL = 0.199 USD). 1 EUR = 5.63 BRL (1 BRL = 0.178 EUR).

USD to CAD in detail →

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Between locations

Quebec City Rio de Janeiro 8,250 km ≈ 11 h nonstop flight

From you

Quebec 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

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

Rio de Janeiro wins on cost – living expenses run 47% lower than in Quebec City. Housing and daily spending are where you'll feel the difference most, making Rio de Janeiro the obvious pick if budget is a priority.

Average pay runs 372% higher in Quebec 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: $1,025 in Quebec City versus $905 in Rio de Janeiro. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

All in, you'll spend $1,893 per month in Quebec City versus $1,285 in Rio de Janeiro – a 47% gap that adds up to real savings over time for anyone picking the cheaper option.

A monthly transit pass in Rio de Janeiro runs roughly 39% less than in Quebec City. Both cities have functional networks, but the price difference matters if you're watching your budget.

At $1,285 in Rio de Janeiro versus $1,893 in Quebec City, a $2,000 budget is realistic in Rio de Janeiro but tight or insufficient in Quebec City. 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 $1,285 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 47% less than in Quebec City. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.