Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Rio de Janeiro and Antigua Guatemala

For one person, living costs are similar in Rio de Janeiro and in Antigua Guatemala: $1,285 and $1,269 a month, rent and utilities included.

63

Cost of Living Index in Rio de Janeiro
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Rio de Janeiro Living Index
61

Cost of Living Index in Antigua Guatemala
Learn more

Antigua Guatemala Living Index

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Rio de Janeiro

🇧🇷 Brazil

$1,285

/mo nomad

Antigua Guatemala

🇬🇹 Guatemala

$1,269

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Rio de Janeiro and in Antigua Guatemala

Real prices from locals and on-the-ground checks – rent, groceries, transit and the daily extras. Here's what a month in Rio de Janeiro and in Antigua Guatemala actually costs, broken down by who's living it.

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,285 in Rio de Janeiro versus $1,269 in Antigua Guatemala.

Rio de Janeiro $1,285
Antigua Guatemala $1,269

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,888 in Rio de Janeiro versus $2,123 in Antigua Guatemala.

Rio de Janeiro $1,888
Antigua Guatemala $2,123

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $2,491 in Rio de Janeiro versus $2,977 in Antigua Guatemala.

Rio de Janeiro $2,491
Antigua Guatemala $2,977

Living in Rio de Janeiro is roughly 1% more expensive than in Antigua Guatemala, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Both cities sit below the global median: Rio de Janeiro 4% lower, Antigua Guatemala 5% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$9.98 R$49.83

$6.63 Q 50.7

50.53%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$40.34 R$201

$51.7 Q 395

-22.02%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$8.48 R$42.35

$7.64 Q 58.4

10.99%

Cappuccino

$2.36 R$11.80

$3.41 Q 26.08

-30.79%

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

$1.63 R$8.13

$1.15 Q 8.81

41.74%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.01 R$5.06

$0.93 Q 7.14

8.60%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.44 R$12.19

$3.23 Q 24.69

-24.46%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.69 R$18.43

$4.63 Q 35.41

-20.30%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.15 R$5.72

$2.04 Q 15.60

-43.63%

White Bread (500g)

$2.07 R$10.34

$3.11 Q 23.78

-33.44%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.29 R$6.42

$1.93 Q 14.76

-33.16%

Eggs

$2.27 R$11.32

$2.44 Q 18.65

-6.97%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$11.00 R$54.9

$5.48 Q 41.88

100.73%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$4.31 R$21.51

$9.20 Q 70.3

-53.15%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$9.74 R$48.63

$10.54 Q 80.6

-7.59%

Apples (1kg)

$2.83 R$14.12

$3.79 Q 28.97

-25.33%

Banana (1kg)

$1.84 R$9.17

$1.64 Q 12.55

12.20%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.60 R$7.96

$2.83 Q 21.62

-43.46%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.80 R$9.00

$1.67 Q 12.75

7.78%

Potato (1kg)

$1.26 R$6.28

$1.53 Q 11.67

-17.65%

Onion (1kg)

$1.07 R$5.34

$1.74 Q 13.27

-38.51%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.75 R$3.75

$0.67 Q 5.16

11.94%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.66 R$3.29

$1.19 Q 9.10

-44.54%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$3.05 R$15.21

$3.86 Q 29.49

-20.98%

Wine (Bottle)

$8.18 R$40.84

$8.02 Q 61.3

2.00%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.19 R$5.92

$1.74 Q 13.30

-31.61%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.39 R$11.92

$2.58 Q 19.74

-7.36%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.01 R$5.06

$2.58 Q 19.75

-60.85%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$50.2 R$250

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.27 R$6.33

$4.56 Q 34.81

-72.15%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.90 R$4.51

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$9.44 R$47.13

$10.49 Q 80.2

-10.01%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.33 R$6.65

$1.28 Q 9.82

3.91%

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

$23.4K R$117.0K

$22.8K Q 174.4K

2.69%

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

$33.6K R$167.6K

$21.8K Q 166.8K

53.83%

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

$134 R$666

$57.0 Q 436

134.09%

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

$12.23 R$61.0

$28.77 Q 220

-57.49%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$22.65 R$113

$45.71 Q 349

-50.45%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$31.56 R$158

$41.18 Q 315

-23.36%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$30.87 R$154

$28.13 Q 215

9.74%

Cinema Ticket

$8.23 R$41.07

$6.51 Q 49.73

26.42%

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

$603 R$3,011

$338 Q 2,585

78.31%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$13.2K R$66.1K

$6,808 Q 52.0K

94.48%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$41.62 R$208

$43.44 Q 332

-4.19%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$49.94 R$249

$48.13 Q 368

3.76%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$75.0 R$375

$92.1 Q 704

-18.54%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$68.3 R$341

$79.5 Q 608

-14.11%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$905 R$4,519

$884 Q 6,757

2.38%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$527 R$2,633

$518 Q 3,960

1.78%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,346 R$6,720

$1,900 Q 14.5K

-29.17%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$774 R$3,865

$1,195 Q 9,129

-35.18%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,981 R$19.9K

$2,963 Q 22.6K

34.32%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,562 R$7,798

$1,198 Q 9,155

30.39%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$643 R$3,210

$609 Q 4,655

5.56%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

11.93

11.62

2.67%

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

Last update for Rio de Janeiro: October 6, 2026

Last update for Antigua Guatemala: October 4, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Rio de Janeiro

$527 41%

Antigua Guatemala

$518 41.3% 1.7% $9.2

Groceries & Markets

Rio de Janeiro

$215 16.7%

Antigua Guatemala

$267 21.2% 24.2% $52

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Rio de Janeiro

$168 13.1%

Antigua Guatemala

$132 10.5% 21.9% $37

Eating Out

Rio de Janeiro

$164 12.7%

Antigua Guatemala

$151 12% 8% $13

Clothing & Footwear

Rio de Janeiro

$106 8.2%

Antigua Guatemala

$118 9.4% 12.1% $13

Getting Around

Rio de Janeiro

$60 4.7%

Antigua Guatemala

$15 * 1.2% 75.2% $45

Sport & Entertainment

Rio de Janeiro

$48 3.7%

Antigua Guatemala

$54 4.3% 12.9% $6.2

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 $905 in Rio de Janeiro and $884 in Antigua Guatemala. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Rio de Janeiro pays 6% 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: $40.00 in Rio de Janeiro vs $52.0 in Antigua Guatemala for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $215 vs $267 per month, with Rio de Janeiro cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇧🇷 Rio de Janeiro

🇬🇹 Antigua Guatemala

🕒 Local time

04:59 4:59 AM

01:59 1:59 AM

3 h behind Rio de Janeiro

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

6,211,223

46,054

💱 Currency

Brazilian Real BRL R$

Guatemalan Quetzal GTQ Q

📈 Exchange rate

1 BRL = 0.2 USD

1 BRL = 0.179 EUR

1 GTQ = 0.131 USD

1 GTQ = 0.117 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

GTQ, USD, EUR to BRL – Brazilian Real Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇧🇷 Brazilian Real (R$)

Brazilian Real exchange rates as of October 10, 2026: 1 USD = 4.99 BRL (1 BRL = 0.2 USD). 1 EUR = 5.6 BRL (1 BRL = 0.179 EUR).

Guatemalan Quetzal exchange rates as of October 10, 2026: 1 USD = 7.64 GTQ (1 GTQ = 0.131 USD). 1 EUR = 8.57 GTQ (1 GTQ = 0.117 EUR).

USD to BRL in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Rio de Janeiro Antigua Guatemala 6,640 km ≈ 9 h nonstop flight

From you

Rio de Janeiro
Antigua Guatemala

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

Rio de Janeiro vs Antigua Guatemala: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Rio de Janeiro and Antigua Guatemala differ by about 1% in total monthly costs ($1,285 vs $1,269 including rent). Antigua Guatemala is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

Average pay runs 6% higher in Rio de Janeiro, 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: $905 in Rio de Janeiro versus $884 in Antigua Guatemala. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $603 in Rio de Janeiro versus $338 in Antigua Guatemala. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Dining out is cheaper in Antigua Guatemala – a meal for two runs $52.0 versus $40.00 in Rio de Janeiro. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

At $1,269 in Antigua Guatemala versus $1,285 in Rio de Janeiro, a $2,000 budget is realistic in Antigua Guatemala but tight or insufficient in Rio de Janeiro. The gap between the two cities makes Antigua Guatemala 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, Rio de Janeiro and Antigua Guatemala 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 Antigua Guatemala gentler on the wallet – expenses run 1% less than in Rio de Janeiro. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.