Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Rio de Janeiro and Cabarete

For one person, living is cheaper in Cabarete: $1,189 a month against $1,289 in Rio de Janeiro, rent and utilities included – about $1,200 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

63

Cost of Living Index in Rio de Janeiro
Learn more

Rio de Janeiro Living Index
58

Cost of Living Index in Cabarete
Learn more

Cabarete Living Index

Jump to prices

Rio de Janeiro

🇧🇷 Brazil

$1,289

/mo nomad

Cabarete

🇩🇴 Dominican Republic

$1,189

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,289 in Rio de Janeiro versus $1,189 in Cabarete.

Rio de Janeiro $1,289
Cabarete $1,189

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,868 in Rio de Janeiro versus $1,792 in Cabarete.

Rio de Janeiro $1,868
Cabarete $1,792

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $2,448 in Rio de Janeiro versus $2,396 in Cabarete.

Rio de Janeiro $2,448
Cabarete $2,396

Living in Rio de Janeiro is roughly 8% more expensive than in Cabarete, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in transport.

Both cities sit below the global median: Rio de Janeiro 5% lower, Cabarete 12% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$10.06 R$51.0

$7.85 DOP 481

28.15%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$40.44 R$205

$49.97 DOP 3,061

-19.07%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$8.55 R$43.35

$6.88 DOP 422

24.27%

Cappuccino

$2.38 R$12.04

$2.00 DOP 122

19.00%

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

$1.61 R$8.18

$1.01 DOP 62.1

59.41%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.03 R$5.22

$0.55 DOP 33.47

87.27%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.47 R$12.54

$2.40 DOP 147

2.92%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.70 R$18.77

$3.16 DOP 194

17.09%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.19 R$6.05

$1.39 DOP 84.9

-14.39%

White Bread (500g)

$2.05 R$10.38

$1.53 DOP 93.4

33.99%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.28 R$6.49

$1.61 DOP 98.3

-20.50%

Eggs

$2.29 R$11.60

$2.27 DOP 139

0.88%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$10.76 R$54.5

$6.99 DOP 428

53.93%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$4.41 R$22.36

$5.45 DOP 334

-19.08%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$9.84 R$49.86

$6.47 DOP 396

52.09%

Apples (1kg)

$2.81 R$14.25

$2.86 DOP 175

-1.75%

Banana (1kg)

$1.78 R$9.03

$0.77 DOP 46.88

131.17%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.60 R$8.13

$2.67 DOP 164

-40.07%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.80 R$9.11

$1.85 DOP 113

-2.70%

Potato (1kg)

$1.22 R$6.17

$2.01 DOP 123

-39.30%

Onion (1kg)

$1.04 R$5.26

$2.21 DOP 136

-52.94%

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

$0.79 DOP 48.39

-15.19%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$3.01 R$15.27

$4.03 DOP 247

-25.31%

Wine (Bottle)

$8.08 R$40.94

$10.43 DOP 639

-22.53%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.19 R$6.03

$2.58 DOP 158

-53.88%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.51 R$12.73

$2.50 DOP 153

0.40%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.99 R$5.00

$1.01 DOP 62.1

-1.98%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$50.1 R$254

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.22 R$6.20

$3.20 DOP 196

-61.88%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.92 R$4.66

$2.27 DOP 139

-59.47%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$8.97 R$45.45

$5.69 DOP 349

57.64%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.30 R$6.57

$1.20 DOP 73.5

8.33%

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

$23.9K R$121.0K

$22.8K DOP 1.4M

4.73%

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

$32.9K R$166.6K

$33.3K DOP 2.0M

-1.31%

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

$133 R$676

$91.3 DOP 5,593

46.11%

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

$10.82 R$54.8

$31.47 DOP 1,928

-65.62%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$22.90 R$116

$36.12 DOP 2,213

-36.60%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$30.79 R$156

$25.15 DOP 1,541

22.43%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$31.85 R$161

Cinema Ticket

$8.05 R$40.83

$7.56 DOP 463

6.48%

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

$598 R$3,029

$249 DOP 15.3K

139.73%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$13.4K R$68.0K

$7,256 DOP 444.5K

84.92%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$42.04 R$213

$45.97 DOP 2,816

-8.55%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$49.68 R$252

$45.57 DOP 2,792

9.02%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$74.5 R$378

$85.7 DOP 5,253

-13.09%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$68.7 R$348

$121 DOP 7,441

-43.45%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$903 R$4,578

$706 DOP 43.2K

28.00%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$529 R$2,684

$491 DOP 30.1K

7.77%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,326 R$6,724

$1,189 DOP 72.9K

11.52%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$756 R$3,831

$790 DOP 48.4K

-4.35%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$4,010 R$20.3K

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,560 R$7,910

$297 DOP 18.2K

426.06%

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 Cabarete: October 13, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Rio de Janeiro

$529 41.1%

Cabarete

$491 41.3% 7.2% $38

Groceries & Markets

Rio de Janeiro

$215 16.7%

Cabarete

$214 18% 0.4% $0.8

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Rio de Janeiro

$167 13%

Cabarete

$159 13.4% 4.9% $8.2

Eating Out

Rio de Janeiro

$165 12.8%

Cabarete

$132 11.1% 20% $33

Clothing & Footwear

Rio de Janeiro

$106 8.2%

Cabarete

$134 11.3% 27.2% $29

Getting Around

Rio de Janeiro

$60 4.7%

Cabarete

$19 * 1.6% 69% $41

Sport & Entertainment

Rio de Janeiro

$47 3.6%

Cabarete

$40 3.4% 14.1% $6.6

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 $903 in Rio de Janeiro and $706 in Cabarete. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Dining out: $40.00 in Rio de Janeiro vs $50.0 in Cabarete. Groceries flip the comparison at $215 vs $214, with Cabarete cheaper for home cooking.

Good to know

🇧🇷 Rio de Janeiro

🇩🇴 Cabarete

🕒 Local time

19:04 7:04 PM

18:04 6:04 PM

1 h behind Rio de Janeiro

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

6,211,223

4,094

💱 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 17, 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 17, 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

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Rio de Janeiro Cabarete 5,590 km ≈ 7 h nonstop flight

From you

Rio de Janeiro
Cabarete

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 Cabarete: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Cabarete wins on cost – living expenses run 8% lower than in Rio de Janeiro. Housing and daily spending are where you'll feel the difference most, making Cabarete the obvious pick if budget is a priority.

You'd need roughly $1,933 in Rio de Janeiro and $1,784 in Cabarete 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.

Rent for a central apartment: $903 in Rio de Janeiro versus $706 in Cabarete. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $598 in Rio de Janeiro versus $249 in Cabarete. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

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

At $1,189 in Cabarete versus $1,289 in Rio de Janeiro, a $1,000 budget is realistic in Cabarete but tight or insufficient in Rio de Janeiro. The gap between the two cities makes Cabarete the clear choice for anyone on this budget.

Both work as nomad bases, but Cabarete delivers better value – similar infrastructure at $1,189 monthly. If stretching your runway or maximizing savings is the goal, the price difference makes Cabarete hard to pass up.

Safety-wise, Rio de Janeiro and Cabarete 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 Cabarete gentler on the wallet – expenses run 8% less than in Rio de Janeiro. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.