Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Rio de Janeiro and Cayo Coco

For one person, living costs are similar in Rio de Janeiro and in Cayo Coco: $1,285 and $1,224 a month, rent and utilities included.

63

Cost of Living Index in Rio de Janeiro
Learn more

Rio de Janeiro Living Index
60

Cost of Living Index in Cayo Coco
Learn more

Cayo Coco Living Index

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Rio de Janeiro

🇧🇷 Brazil

$1,285

/mo nomad

Cayo Coco

🇨🇺 Cuba

$1,224

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Rio de Janeiro and in Cayo Coco

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,285 in Rio de Janeiro versus $1,224 in Cayo Coco.

Rio de Janeiro $1,285
Cayo Coco $1,224

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,888 in Rio de Janeiro versus $1,695 in Cayo Coco.

Rio de Janeiro $1,888
Cayo Coco $1,695

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $2,491 in Rio de Janeiro versus $2,166 in Cayo Coco.

Rio de Janeiro $2,491
Cayo Coco $2,166

Living in Rio de Janeiro is roughly 5% more expensive than in Cayo Coco, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in utilities.

Both cities sit below the global median: Rio de Janeiro 4% lower, Cayo Coco 9% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$9.98 R$49.83

$5.05 CUP 121

97.62%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$40.34 R$201

$15.06 CUP 361

167.86%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$8.48 R$42.35

$7.07 CUP 170

19.94%

Cappuccino

$2.36 R$11.80

$0.98 CUP 23.43

140.82%

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

$1.63 R$8.13

$1.95 CUP 46.88

-16.41%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.01 R$5.06

$1.03 CUP 24.67

-1.94%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.44 R$12.19

$2.05 CUP 49.15

19.02%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.69 R$18.43

$3.08 CUP 73.8

19.81%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.15 R$5.72

$2.94 CUP 70.6

-60.88%

White Bread (500g)

$2.07 R$10.34

$1.01 CUP 24.27

104.95%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.29 R$6.42

$1.95 CUP 46.77

-33.85%

Eggs

$2.27 R$11.32

$3.58 CUP 85.9

-36.59%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$11.00 R$54.9

$6.12 CUP 147

79.74%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$4.31 R$21.51

$4.86 CUP 117

-11.32%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$9.74 R$48.63

$9.94 CUP 239

-2.01%

Apples (1kg)

$2.83 R$14.12

$4.91 CUP 118

-42.36%

Banana (1kg)

$1.84 R$9.17

$1.01 CUP 24.28

82.18%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.60 R$7.96

$1.01 CUP 24.28

58.42%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.80 R$9.00

$0.99 CUP 23.72

81.82%

Potato (1kg)

$1.26 R$6.28

$1.01 CUP 24.26

24.75%

Onion (1kg)

$1.07 R$5.34

$3.05 CUP 73.2

-64.92%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.75 R$3.75

$1.03 CUP 24.61

-27.18%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.66 R$3.29

$0.99 CUP 23.70

-33.33%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$3.05 R$15.21

$2.96 CUP 71.0

3.04%

Wine (Bottle)

$8.18 R$40.84

$10.06 CUP 241

-18.69%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.19 R$5.92

$2.04 CUP 48.93

-41.67%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.39 R$11.92

$2.05 CUP 49.27

16.59%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.01 R$5.06

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$50.2 R$250

$19.65 CUP 472

155.22%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.27 R$6.33

$1.02 CUP 24.52

24.51%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.90 R$4.51

$1.02 CUP 24.57

-11.76%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$9.44 R$47.13

$19.61 CUP 471

-51.86%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.33 R$6.65

$0.97 CUP 23.38

37.11%

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

$23.4K R$117.0K

$68.9K CUP 1.7M

-66.00%

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

$33.6K R$167.6K

$79.5K CUP 1.9M

-57.74%

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

$134 R$666

$39.37 CUP 945

239.09%

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

$12.23 R$61.0

$40.66 CUP 976

-69.92%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$22.65 R$113

$216 CUP 5,191

-89.53%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$31.56 R$158

$39.22 CUP 941

-19.53%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$30.87 R$154

$9.85 CUP 236

213.40%

Cinema Ticket

$8.23 R$41.07

$0.98 CUP 23.44

739.80%

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

$603 R$3,011

$89.9 CUP 2,158

570.76%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$13.2K R$66.1K

$14.8K CUP 355.5K

-10.61%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$41.62 R$208

$40.14 CUP 963

3.69%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$49.94 R$249

$30.02 CUP 720

66.36%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$75.0 R$375

$74.7 CUP 1,793

0.47%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$68.3 R$341

$80.7 CUP 1,937

-15.37%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$905 R$4,519

$403 CUP 9,664

124.83%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$527 R$2,633

$426 CUP 10.2K

23.73%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,346 R$6,720

$1,030 CUP 24.7K

30.66%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$774 R$3,865

$622 CUP 14.9K

24.51%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,981 R$19.9K

$302 CUP 7,243

1219.02%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,562 R$7,798

$356 CUP 8,541

338.92%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$643 R$3,210

$20.21 CUP 485

3081.64%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

11.93

19.30%

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 Cayo Coco: October 3, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Rio de Janeiro

$527 41%

Cayo Coco

$426 34.8% 19.2% $101

Groceries & Markets

Rio de Janeiro

$215 16.7%

Cayo Coco

$233 19% 8.7% $19

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Rio de Janeiro

$168 13.1%

Cayo Coco

$296 24.2% 76% $128

Eating Out

Rio de Janeiro

$164 12.7%

Cayo Coco

$102 8.3% 38% $62

Clothing & Footwear

Rio de Janeiro

$106 8.2%

Cayo Coco

$102 8.3% 4% $4.2

Getting Around

Rio de Janeiro

$60 4.7%

Cayo Coco

$26 * 2.1% 57% $34

Sport & Entertainment

Rio de Janeiro

$48 3.7%

Cayo Coco

$41 3.4% 14.3% $6.9

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 $403 in Cayo Coco. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Rio de Janeiro pays 3082% 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 $15.00 in Cayo Coco. Groceries flip the comparison at $215 vs $233, with Rio de Janeiro cheaper for home cooking.

Good to know

🇧🇷 Rio de Janeiro

🇨🇺 Cayo Coco

🕒 Local time

10:43 10:43 AM

09:43 9:43 AM

1 h behind Rio de Janeiro

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

6,211,223

💱 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

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Rio de Janeiro Cayo Coco 6,320 km ≈ 8 h nonstop flight

From you

Rio de Janeiro
Cayo Coco

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 Cayo Coco: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Cayo Coco wins on cost – living expenses run 5% lower than in Rio de Janeiro. Housing and daily spending are where you'll feel the difference most, making Cayo Coco the obvious pick if budget is a priority.

Average pay runs 3082% 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 $403 in Cayo Coco. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

A monthly transit pass in Cayo Coco runs roughly 155% less than in Rio de Janeiro. Both cities have functional networks, but the price difference matters if you're watching your budget.

Childcare runs $603 in Rio de Janeiro versus $89.9 in Cayo Coco. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

At $1,224 in Cayo Coco versus $1,285 in Rio de Janeiro, a $1,000 budget is realistic in Cayo Coco but tight or insufficient in Rio de Janeiro. The gap between the two cities makes Cayo Coco the clear choice for anyone on this budget.

Both work as nomad bases, but Cayo Coco delivers better value – similar infrastructure at $1,224 monthly. If stretching your runway or maximizing savings is the goal, the price difference makes Cayo Coco hard to pass up.

Expats usually find Cayo Coco gentler on the wallet – expenses run 5% less than in Rio de Janeiro. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.