Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Rio de Janeiro and Bayamo

For one person, living is cheaper in Rio de Janeiro: $1,285 a month against $1,460 in Bayamo, rent and utilities included – about $2,100 less a year. The total is higher in Bayamo despite lower rent and utilities.

63

Cost of Living Index in Rio de Janeiro
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Rio de Janeiro Living Index
72

Cost of Living Index in Bayamo
Learn more

Bayamo Living Index

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Rio de Janeiro

🇧🇷 Brazil

$1,285

/mo nomad

Bayamo

🇨🇺 Cuba

$1,460

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Rio de Janeiro and in Bayamo

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 Bayamo actually costs, broken down by who's living it.

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,285 in Rio de Janeiro versus $1,460 in Bayamo.

Rio de Janeiro $1,285
Bayamo $1,460

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,888 in Rio de Janeiro versus $2,049 in Bayamo.

Rio de Janeiro $1,888
Bayamo $2,049

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $2,491 in Rio de Janeiro versus $2,637 in Bayamo.

Rio de Janeiro $2,491
Bayamo $2,637

Living in Rio de Janeiro costs roughly 12% less than in Bayamo, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in utilities.

The two cities straddle the global median: Rio de Janeiro is 4% below, Bayamo is 9% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$9.98 R$49.83

$3.24 CUP 77.7

208.02%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$40.34 R$201

$49.76 CUP 1,194

-18.93%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$8.48 R$42.35

$6.96 CUP 167

21.84%

Cappuccino

$2.36 R$11.80

$3.31 CUP 79.5

-28.70%

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

$1.63 R$8.13

$1.45 CUP 34.76

12.41%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.01 R$5.06

$1.08 CUP 26.03

-6.48%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.44 R$12.19

$1.96 CUP 46.97

24.49%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.69 R$18.43

$1.76 CUP 42.24

109.66%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.15 R$5.72

$3.04 CUP 73.1

-62.17%

White Bread (500g)

$2.07 R$10.34

$0.99 CUP 23.68

109.09%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.29 R$6.42

$3.07 CUP 73.7

-57.98%

Eggs

$2.27 R$11.32

$3.58 CUP 85.8

-36.59%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$11.00 R$54.9

$6.07 CUP 146

81.22%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$4.31 R$21.51

$6.15 CUP 148

-29.92%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$9.74 R$48.63

$11.80 CUP 283

-17.46%

Apples (1kg)

$2.83 R$14.12

$5.04 CUP 121

-43.85%

Banana (1kg)

$1.84 R$9.17

$1.17 CUP 28.15

57.26%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.60 R$7.96

$1.48 CUP 35.52

8.11%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.80 R$9.00

$1.48 CUP 35.60

21.62%

Potato (1kg)

$1.26 R$6.28

$1.99 CUP 47.67

-36.68%

Onion (1kg)

$1.07 R$5.34

$3.08 CUP 73.8

-65.26%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.75 R$3.75

$0.98 CUP 23.53

-23.47%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.66 R$3.29

$1.08 CUP 25.90

-38.89%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$3.05 R$15.21

$4.10 CUP 98.5

-25.61%

Wine (Bottle)

$8.18 R$40.84

$9.92 CUP 238

-17.54%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.19 R$5.92

$1.97 CUP 47.37

-39.59%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.39 R$11.92

$1.95 CUP 46.74

22.56%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.01 R$5.06

$0.17 CUP 4.18

494.12%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$50.2 R$250

$34.95 CUP 839

43.49%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.27 R$6.33

$2.34 CUP 56.1

-45.73%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.90 R$4.51

$0.41 CUP 9.95

119.51%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$9.44 R$47.13

$19.76 CUP 474

-52.23%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.33 R$6.65

$1.23 CUP 29.53

8.13%

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

$23.4K R$117.0K

$74.8K CUP 1.8M

-68.68%

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

$33.6K R$167.6K

$90.6K CUP 2.2M

-62.93%

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

$134 R$666

$30.47 CUP 731

338.14%

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

$12.23 R$61.0

$9.91 CUP 238

23.41%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$22.65 R$113

$246 CUP 5,904

-90.79%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$31.56 R$158

$39.56 CUP 949

-20.22%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$30.87 R$154

$10.16 CUP 244

203.84%

Cinema Ticket

$8.23 R$41.07

$0.99 CUP 23.73

731.31%

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

$603 R$3,011

$93.8 CUP 2,251

542.95%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$13.2K R$66.1K

$14.8K CUP 356.0K

-10.74%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$41.62 R$208

$19.64 CUP 471

111.91%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$49.94 R$249

$24.51 CUP 588

103.75%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$75.0 R$375

$69.4 CUP 1,665

8.17%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$68.3 R$341

$55.1 CUP 1,323

23.95%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$905 R$4,519

$426 CUP 10.2K

112.63%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$527 R$2,633

$664 CUP 15.9K

-20.53%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,346 R$6,720

$584 CUP 14.0K

130.37%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$774 R$3,865

$974 CUP 23.4K

-20.51%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,981 R$19.9K

$401 CUP 9,619

893.13%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,562 R$7,798

$345 CUP 8,270

353.34%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$643 R$3,210

$20.02 CUP 481

3111.84%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

11.93

98.83%

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 Bayamo: October 4, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Rio de Janeiro

$527 41%

Bayamo

$664 44.9% 25.8% $136

Groceries & Markets

Rio de Janeiro

$215 16.7%

Bayamo

$259 17.6% 20.9% $45

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Rio de Janeiro

$168 13.1%

Bayamo

$286 19.4% 70.1% $118

Eating Out

Rio de Janeiro

$164 12.7%

Bayamo

$110 7.5% 32.9% $54

Clothing & Footwear

Rio de Janeiro

$106 8.2%

Bayamo

$76 5.1% 28.2% $30

Getting Around

Rio de Janeiro

$60 4.7%

Bayamo

$40 2.7% 33.2% $20

Sport & Entertainment

Rio de Janeiro

$48 3.7%

Bayamo

$42 2.8% 13.5% $6.5

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $905 in Rio de Janeiro and $426 in Bayamo. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Rio de Janeiro pays 3112% more on average while also being the cheaper of the two. The combined effect is a noticeably stronger local purchasing power.

Dining out: $40.00 in Rio de Janeiro vs $50.0 in Bayamo for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $215 vs $259 per month, with Rio de Janeiro cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇧🇷 Rio de Janeiro

🇨🇺 Bayamo

🕒 Local time

09:25 9:25 AM

08:25 8:25 AM

1 h behind Rio de Janeiro

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

6,211,223

225,567

💱 Currency

Brazilian Real BRL R$

Cuban Peso CUP $

📈 Exchange rate

1 BRL = 0.2 USD

1 BRL = 0.179 EUR

100 CUP = 4.17 USD

100 CUP = 3.72 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

CUP, 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 = 5.59 BRL (1 BRL = 0.179 EUR).

Cuban Peso exchange rates as of October 10, 2026: 1 USD = 24 CUP (100 CUP = 4.17 USD). 1 EUR = 26.89 CUP (100 CUP = 3.72 EUR).

USD to BRL in detail →

On the map

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Highest

Between locations

Rio de Janeiro Bayamo 6,030 km ≈ 8 h nonstop flight

From you

Rio de Janeiro
Bayamo

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 Bayamo: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Rio de Janeiro is cheaper overall, especially in groceries and utilities. The 14% gap adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

Average pay runs 3112% 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 $426 in Bayamo. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Dining out is cheaper in Rio de Janeiro – a meal for two runs $40.00 versus $50.0 in Bayamo. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

All in, you'll spend $1,285 per month in Rio de Janeiro versus $1,460 in Bayamo – a 14% gap that adds up to real savings over time for anyone picking the cheaper option.

At $1,285 in Rio de Janeiro versus $1,460 in Bayamo, a $2,000 budget is realistic in Rio de Janeiro but tight or insufficient in Bayamo. The gap between the two cities makes Rio de Janeiro the clear choice for anyone on this budget.

For families, Rio de Janeiro is more practical. Housing and childcare are both notably cheaper than in Bayamo, and the savings on those two alone free up budget for education, activities, and family trips.

Expats usually find Rio de Janeiro gentler on the wallet – expenses run 14% less than in Bayamo. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.