Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Rio de Janeiro and Carrefour

For one person, living is cheaper in Rio de Janeiro: $1,285 a month against $1,802 in Carrefour, rent and utilities included – about $6,200 less a year. Other living expenses account for most of the difference.

63

Cost of Living Index in Rio de Janeiro
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Rio de Janeiro Living Index
88

Cost of Living Index in Carrefour
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Carrefour Living Index

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Rio de Janeiro

🇧🇷 Brazil

$1,285

/mo nomad

Carrefour

🇭🇹 Haiti

$1,802

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,285 in Rio de Janeiro versus $1,802 in Carrefour.

Rio de Janeiro $1,285
Carrefour $1,802

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,888 in Rio de Janeiro versus $2,666 in Carrefour.

Rio de Janeiro $1,888
Carrefour $2,666

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $2,491 in Rio de Janeiro versus $3,530 in Carrefour.

Rio de Janeiro $2,491
Carrefour $3,530

Living in Rio de Janeiro costs roughly 29% less than in Carrefour, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in utilities.

The two cities straddle the global median: Rio de Janeiro is 4% below, Carrefour is 34% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$9.98 R$49.83

$15.12 HTG 1,973

-33.99%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$40.34 R$201

$90.7 HTG 11.8K

-55.53%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$8.48 R$42.35

$7.12 HTG 929

19.10%

Cappuccino

$2.36 R$11.80

$1.61 HTG 211

46.58%

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

$1.63 R$8.13

$1.57 HTG 205

3.82%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.01 R$5.06

$1.46 HTG 191

-30.82%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.44 R$12.19

$5.10 HTG 666

-52.16%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.69 R$18.43

$6.83 HTG 891

-45.97%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.15 R$5.72

$1.54 HTG 201

-25.32%

White Bread (500g)

$2.07 R$10.34

$2.24 HTG 292

-7.59%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.29 R$6.42

$3.15 HTG 411

-59.05%

Eggs

$2.27 R$11.32

$2.79 HTG 364

-18.64%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$11.00 R$54.9

$7.68 HTG 1,002

43.23%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$4.31 R$21.51

$5.86 HTG 764

-26.45%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$9.74 R$48.63

$11.89 HTG 1,552

-18.08%

Apples (1kg)

$2.83 R$14.12

$1.81 HTG 236

56.35%

Banana (1kg)

$1.84 R$9.17

$2.49 HTG 325

-26.10%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.60 R$7.96

$0.89 HTG 116

79.78%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.80 R$9.00

$2.36 HTG 308

-23.73%

Potato (1kg)

$1.26 R$6.28

$6.27 HTG 818

-79.90%

Onion (1kg)

$1.07 R$5.34

$1.02 HTG 133

4.90%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.75 R$3.75

$0.70 HTG 91.6

7.14%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.66 R$3.29

$0.97 HTG 127

-31.96%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$3.05 R$15.21

$4.06 HTG 530

-24.88%

Wine (Bottle)

$8.18 R$40.84

$11.48 HTG 1,498

-28.75%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.19 R$5.92

$0.89 HTG 116

33.71%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.39 R$11.92

$1.57 HTG 205

52.23%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.01 R$5.06

$0.21 HTG 27.48

380.95%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$50.2 R$250

$20.40 HTG 2,661

145.83%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.27 R$6.33

$0.37 HTG 47.89

243.24%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.90 R$4.51

$0.39 HTG 50.6

130.77%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$9.44 R$47.13

$20.17 HTG 2,632

-53.20%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.33 R$6.65

$1.28 HTG 166

3.91%

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

$23.4K R$117.0K

$39.3K HTG 5.1M

-40.35%

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

$33.6K R$167.6K

$45.4K HTG 5.9M

-25.99%

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

$134 R$666

$99.6 HTG 13.0K

34.08%

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

$12.23 R$61.0

$49.10 HTG 6,407

-75.09%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$22.65 R$113

$164 HTG 21.4K

-86.22%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$31.56 R$158

$70.2 HTG 9,163

-55.06%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$30.87 R$154

$20.05 HTG 2,616

53.97%

Cinema Ticket

$8.23 R$41.07

$10.10 HTG 1,318

-18.51%

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

$603 R$3,011

$101 HTG 13.2K

497.12%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$13.2K R$66.1K

$7,098 HTG 926.1K

86.55%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$41.62 R$208

$81.1 HTG 10.6K

-48.66%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$49.94 R$249

$74.5 HTG 9,718

-32.95%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$75.0 R$375

$119 HTG 15.5K

-36.79%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$68.3 R$341

$148 HTG 19.3K

-53.75%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$905 R$4,519

$882 HTG 115.1K

2.63%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$527 R$2,633

$740 HTG 96.6K

-28.73%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,346 R$6,720

$1,295 HTG 168.9K

3.98%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$774 R$3,865

$1,070 HTG 139.6K

-27.64%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,981 R$19.9K

$760 HTG 99.2K

423.82%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,562 R$7,798

$596 HTG 77.8K

162.00%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$643 R$3,210

$1,387 HTG 181.0K

-53.66%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

11.93

-20.47%

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 Carrefour: October 5, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Rio de Janeiro

$527 41%

Carrefour

$740 40.6% 40.3% $213

Groceries & Markets

Rio de Janeiro

$215 16.7%

Carrefour

$255 14% 18.7% $40

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Rio de Janeiro

$168 13.1%

Carrefour

$313 17.2% 85.9% $145

Eating Out

Rio de Janeiro

$164 12.7%

Carrefour

$213 11.7% 30% $49

Clothing & Footwear

Rio de Janeiro

$106 8.2%

Carrefour

$190 10.4% 79.6% $84

Getting Around

Rio de Janeiro

$60 4.7%

Carrefour

$24 1.3% 60.8% $36

Sport & Entertainment

Rio de Janeiro

$48 3.7%

Carrefour

$90 5% 88.3% $42

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $905 in Rio de Janeiro and $882 in Carrefour. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Carrefour pays 116% 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 $91.0 in Carrefour for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $215 vs $255 per month, with Rio de Janeiro cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇧🇷 Rio de Janeiro

🇭🇹 Carrefour

🕒 Local time

10:43 10:43 AM

09:43 9:43 AM

1 h behind Rio de Janeiro

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

6,211,223

511,345

💱 Currency

Brazilian Real BRL R$

Haitian Gourde HTG G

📈 Exchange rate

1 BRL = 0.2 USD

1 BRL = 0.179 EUR

1,000 HTG = 7.66 USD

1,000 HTG = 6.84 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

HTG, 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).

Haitian Gourde exchange rates as of October 10, 2026: 1 USD = 130 HTG (1,000 HTG = 7.66 USD). 1 EUR = 146 HTG (1,000 HTG = 6.84 EUR).

USD to BRL in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

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

From you

Rio de Janeiro
Carrefour

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 Carrefour: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Rio de Janeiro and Carrefour differ by about 40% in total monthly costs ($1,285 vs $1,802 including rent). Rio de Janeiro is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

On paper, salaries run 116% lower in Carrefour. That's worth factoring in alongside costs, though remote workers earning in a stronger currency may not notice the difference at all.

Rent for a central apartment: $905 in Rio de Janeiro versus $882 in Carrefour. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $603 in Rio de Janeiro versus $101 in Carrefour. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Supermarket bills run roughly 19% higher in Carrefour. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

At $1,285 in Rio de Janeiro versus $1,802 in Carrefour, a $2,000 budget is realistic in Rio de Janeiro but tight or insufficient in Carrefour. The gap between the two cities makes Rio de Janeiro 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 Rio de Janeiro gentler on the wallet – expenses run 40% less than in Carrefour. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.