Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Rio de Janeiro and Bonao

For one person, living is cheaper in Bonao: $686 a month against $1,289 in Rio de Janeiro, rent and utilities included – about $7,200 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

63

Cost of Living Index in Rio de Janeiro
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Rio de Janeiro Living Index
33

Cost of Living Index in Bonao
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Bonao Living Index

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Rio de Janeiro

🇧🇷 Brazil

$1,289

/mo nomad

Bonao

🇩🇴 Dominican Republic

$686

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,289 in Rio de Janeiro versus $686 in Bonao.

Rio de Janeiro $1,289
Bonao $686

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,868 in Rio de Janeiro versus $1,131 in Bonao.

Rio de Janeiro $1,868
Bonao $1,131

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $2,448 in Rio de Janeiro versus $1,575 in Bonao.

Rio de Janeiro $2,448
Bonao $1,575

Living in Rio de Janeiro is roughly 88% more expensive than in Bonao, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Both cities sit below the global median: Rio de Janeiro 5% lower, Bonao 49% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$10.06 R$51.0

$9.71 DOP 595

3.60%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$40.44 R$205

$49.73 DOP 3,047

-18.68%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$8.55 R$43.35

$7.65 DOP 468

11.76%

Cappuccino

$2.38 R$12.04

$2.00 DOP 123

19.00%

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

$1.61 R$8.18

$1.05 DOP 64.6

53.33%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.03 R$5.22

$0.60 DOP 36.58

71.67%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.47 R$12.54

$2.44 DOP 149

1.23%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.70 R$18.77

$3.14 DOP 192

17.83%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.19 R$6.05

$1.03 DOP 63.3

15.53%

White Bread (500g)

$2.05 R$10.38

$1.04 DOP 63.6

97.12%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.28 R$6.49

$0.66 DOP 40.65

93.94%

Eggs

$2.29 R$11.60

$1.21 DOP 74.1

89.26%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$10.76 R$54.5

$5.01 DOP 307

114.77%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$4.41 R$22.36

$5.61 DOP 344

-21.39%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$9.84 R$49.86

$6.51 DOP 399

51.15%

Apples (1kg)

$2.81 R$14.25

$2.36 DOP 145

19.07%

Banana (1kg)

$1.78 R$9.03

$0.63 DOP 38.55

182.54%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.60 R$8.13

$2.69 DOP 165

-40.52%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.80 R$9.11

$1.37 DOP 83.8

31.39%

Potato (1kg)

$1.22 R$6.17

$1.97 DOP 121

-38.07%

Onion (1kg)

$1.04 R$5.26

$1.57 DOP 95.9

-33.76%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.77 R$3.92

$1.00 DOP 61.0

-23.00%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.67 R$3.38

$0.51 DOP 31.40

31.37%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$3.01 R$15.27

$5.24 DOP 321

-42.56%

Wine (Bottle)

$8.08 R$40.94

$7.14 DOP 437

13.17%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.19 R$6.03

$2.18 DOP 133

-45.41%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.51 R$12.73

$2.91 DOP 178

-13.75%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.99 R$5.00

$0.58 DOP 35.60

70.69%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$50.1 R$254

$34.07 DOP 2,087

47.08%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.22 R$6.20

$3.12 DOP 191

-60.90%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.92 R$4.66

$2.17 DOP 133

-57.60%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$8.97 R$45.45

$2.41 DOP 147

272.20%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.30 R$6.57

$1.40 DOP 85.5

-7.14%

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

$23.9K R$121.0K

$22.8K DOP 1.4M

4.65%

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

$32.9K R$166.6K

$34.1K DOP 2.1M

-3.66%

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

$133 R$676

$92.9 DOP 5,691

43.60%

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

$10.82 R$54.8

$31.91 DOP 1,955

-66.09%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$22.90 R$116

$35.96 DOP 2,203

-36.32%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$30.79 R$156

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$31.85 R$161

Cinema Ticket

$8.05 R$40.83

$7.33 DOP 449

9.82%

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

$598 R$3,029

$248 DOP 15.2K

140.66%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$13.4K R$68.0K

$7,364 DOP 451.1K

82.21%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$42.04 R$213

$45.46 DOP 2,785

-7.52%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$49.68 R$252

$46.18 DOP 2,829

7.58%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$74.5 R$378

$86.4 DOP 5,291

-13.71%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$68.7 R$348

$126 DOP 7,698

-45.34%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$903 R$4,578

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$529 R$2,684

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,326 R$6,724

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$756 R$3,831

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$4,010 R$20.3K

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,560 R$7,910

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$640 R$3,242

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

11.93

13.56

-12.02%

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

Last update for Rio de Janeiro: October 10, 2026

Last update for Bonao: October 10, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Rio de Janeiro

$529 41.1%

Bonao

- * 0% 100%

Groceries & Markets

Rio de Janeiro

$215 16.7%

Bonao

$174 25.4% 18.9% $40

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Rio de Janeiro

$167 13%

Bonao

$161 23.4% 3.8% $6.3

Eating Out

Rio de Janeiro

$165 12.8%

Bonao

$150 21.8% 9.2% $15

Clothing & Footwear

Rio de Janeiro

$106 8.2%

Bonao

$137 19.9% 29.3% $31

Getting Around

Rio de Janeiro

$60 4.7%

Bonao

$50 7.3% 15.9% $9.5

Sport & Entertainment

Rio de Janeiro

$47 3.6%

Bonao

$15 * 2.1% 68.8% $32

Categories marked with * are only partly priced – their share counts the items that do have prices.

Cost Breakdown

Dining out: $40.00 in Rio de Janeiro vs $50.0 in Bonao. Groceries flip the comparison at $215 vs $174, with Bonao cheaper for home cooking.

Good to know

🇧🇷 Rio de Janeiro

🇩🇴 Bonao

🕒 Local time

12:09 12:09 PM

11:09 11:09 AM

1 h behind Rio de Janeiro

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

6,211,223

158,034

💱 Currency

Brazilian Real BRL R$

Dominican Peso DOP $

📈 Exchange rate

1 BRL = 0.197 USD

1 BRL = 0.175 EUR

100 DOP = 1.63 USD

100 DOP = 1.45 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

DOP, USD, EUR to BRL – Brazilian Real Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇧🇷 Brazilian Real (R$)

Brazilian Real exchange rates as of October 18, 2026: 1 USD = 5.07 BRL (1 BRL = 0.197 USD). 1 EUR = 5.7 BRL (1 BRL = 0.175 EUR).

Dominican Peso exchange rates as of October 18, 2026: 1 USD = 61.26 DOP (100 DOP = 1.63 USD). 1 EUR = 68.87 DOP (100 DOP = 1.45 EUR).

USD to BRL in detail →

On the map

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Highest

Between locations

Rio de Janeiro Bonao 5,510 km ≈ 7 h nonstop flight

From you

Rio de Janeiro
Bonao

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 Bonao: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Rio de Janeiro and Bonao differ by about 88% in total monthly costs ($1,289 vs $686 including rent). Bonao is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

You'd need roughly $1,933 in Rio de Janeiro and $1,029 in Bonao to live well. The gap comes down to housing and overall price levels. Both cities are liveable on less, but these numbers represent actual comfort.

A monthly transit pass in Bonao runs roughly 47% less than in Rio de Janeiro. Both cities have functional networks, but the price difference matters if you're watching your budget.

Childcare runs $598 in Rio de Janeiro versus $248 in Bonao. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

At $686 in Bonao versus $1,289 in Rio de Janeiro, a $2,000 budget is realistic in Bonao but tight or insufficient in Rio de Janeiro. The gap between the two cities makes Bonao 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.

Expats usually find Bonao gentler on the wallet – expenses run 88% less than in Rio de Janeiro. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.