Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Rio de Janeiro and Curepipe

For one person, living is cheaper in Curepipe: $998 a month against $1,182 in Rio de Janeiro, rent and utilities included – about $2,200 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

57

Cost of Living Index in Rio de Janeiro
Learn more

Rio de Janeiro Living Index
48

Cost of Living Index in Curepipe
Learn more

Curepipe Living Index

Jump to prices

Rio de Janeiro

🇧🇷 Brazil

$1,182

/mo nomad

Curepipe

🇲🇺 Mauritius

$998

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,182 in Rio de Janeiro versus $998 in Curepipe.

Rio de Janeiro $1,182
Curepipe $998

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,750 in Rio de Janeiro versus $1,564 in Curepipe.

Rio de Janeiro $1,750
Curepipe $1,564

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $2,318 in Rio de Janeiro versus $2,129 in Curepipe.

Rio de Janeiro $2,318
Curepipe $2,129

Living in Rio de Janeiro is roughly 18% more expensive than in Curepipe, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Both cities sit below the global median: Rio de Janeiro 13% lower, Curepipe 27% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$9.08 R$49.36

$3.15 MUR 147

188.25%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$37.25 R$203

$38.01 MUR 1,771

-2.00%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$8.02 R$43.60

$5.21 MUR 243

53.93%

Cappuccino

$2.19 R$11.90

$2.68 MUR 125

-18.28%

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

$1.46 R$7.95

$1.06 MUR 49.29

37.74%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.99 R$5.36

$0.67 MUR 31.40

47.76%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.03 R$11.02

$1.72 MUR 80.0

18.02%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.45 R$18.75

$2.72 MUR 127

26.84%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.06 R$5.76

$1.60 MUR 74.5

-33.75%

White Bread (500g)

$1.98 R$10.79

$0.74 MUR 34.51

167.57%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.17 R$6.38

$1.10 MUR 51.2

6.36%

Eggs

$2.21 R$12.00

$2.35 MUR 109

-5.96%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$10.11 R$55.0

$5.33 MUR 249

89.68%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$4.12 R$22.38

$5.39 MUR 251

-23.56%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$9.17 R$49.87

$9.36 MUR 436

-2.03%

Apples (1kg)

$2.72 R$14.78

$2.03 MUR 94.5

33.99%

Banana (1kg)

$1.71 R$9.30

$2.01 MUR 93.6

-14.93%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.53 R$8.32

$1.45 MUR 67.7

5.52%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.66 R$9.04

$2.88 MUR 134

-42.36%

Potato (1kg)

$1.14 R$6.19

$1.02 MUR 47.50

11.76%

Onion (1kg)

$0.99 R$5.41

$0.99 MUR 46.28

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.65 R$3.52

$0.70 MUR 32.54

-7.14%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.60 R$3.25

$0.65 MUR 30.43

-7.69%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$2.79 R$15.20

$6.35 MUR 296

-56.06%

Wine (Bottle)

$7.48 R$40.67

$3.83 MUR 179

95.30%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.09 R$5.93

$1.70 MUR 79.4

-35.88%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.33 R$12.69

$2.38 MUR 111

-2.10%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.90 R$4.87

$0.71 MUR 33.07

26.76%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$53.0 R$288

$42.16 MUR 1,964

25.71%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.17 R$6.34

$4.37 MUR 204

-73.23%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.78 R$4.24

$3.26 MUR 152

-76.07%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$8.37 R$45.51

$4.16 MUR 194

101.20%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.21 R$6.59

$1.37 MUR 63.8

-11.68%

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

$21.5K R$116.7K

$29.8K MUR 1.4M

-27.97%

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

$31.1K R$169.3K

$31.2K MUR 1.5M

-0.28%

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

$124 R$677

$41.93 MUR 1,953

196.83%

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

$10.03 R$54.6

$21.49 MUR 1,001

-53.33%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$20.88 R$114

$29.40 MUR 1,369

-28.98%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$28.35 R$154

$14.95 MUR 696

89.63%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$29.33 R$159

Cinema Ticket

$7.62 R$41.41

$5.21 MUR 243

46.26%

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

$563 R$3,061

$127 MUR 5,912

343.56%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$12.0K R$65.5K

$7,551 MUR 351.8K

59.51%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$39.25 R$213

$43.78 MUR 2,039

-10.35%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$46.36 R$252

$32.14 MUR 1,497

44.24%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$68.4 R$372

$93.6 MUR 4,361

-26.92%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$63.4 R$345

$53.6 MUR 2,497

18.34%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$776 R$4,220

$593 MUR 27.6K

30.92%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$473 R$2,573

$433 MUR 20.2K

9.36%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,391 R$7,562

$1,202 MUR 56.0K

15.74%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$739 R$4,018

$795 MUR 37.0K

-7.04%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,393 R$18.4K

$743 MUR 34.6K

356.69%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,570 R$8,537

$646 MUR 30.1K

143.22%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$597 R$3,245

$894 MUR 41.6K

-33.22%

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 25, 2026

Last update for Curepipe: October 25, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Rio de Janeiro

$473 40%

Curepipe

$433 43.4% 8.6% $40

Groceries & Markets

Rio de Janeiro

$201 17%

Curepipe

$187 18.8% 6.8% $14

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Rio de Janeiro

$155 13.1%

Curepipe

$93 9.3% 40.3% $63

Eating Out

Rio de Janeiro

$150 12.7%

Curepipe

$94 9.4% 37.3% $56

Clothing & Footwear

Rio de Janeiro

$98 8.3%

Curepipe

$100 10.1% 2.6% $2.6

Getting Around

Rio de Janeiro

$62 5.2%

Curepipe

$66 6.6% 6.6% $4

Sport & Entertainment

Rio de Janeiro

$44 3.7%

Curepipe

$25 2.5% 41.8% $18

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $776 in Rio de Janeiro and $593 in Curepipe. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Curepipe pays 50% more on average while also being the cheaper of the two. The combined effect is a noticeably stronger local purchasing power.

Dining out: $37 in Rio de Janeiro vs $38 in Curepipe. Groceries flip the comparison at $201 vs $187, with Curepipe cheaper for home cooking.

Good to know

🇧🇷 Rio de Janeiro

🇲🇺 Curepipe

🕒 Local time

17:32 5:32 PM

00:32 12:32 AM

7 h ahead of Rio de Janeiro

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

6,211,223

81,600

💱 Currency

Brazilian Real BRL R$

Mauritian Rupee MUR ₨

📈 Exchange rate

1 BRL = 0.184 USD

1 BRL = 0.164 EUR

100 MUR = 2.15 USD

100 MUR = 1.92 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

MUR, USD, EUR to BRL – Brazilian Real Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇧🇷 Brazilian Real (R$)

Brazilian Real exchange rates as of November 2, 2026: 1 USD = 5.44 BRL (1 BRL = 0.184 USD). 1 EUR = 6.09 BRL (1 BRL = 0.164 EUR).

Mauritian Rupee exchange rates as of November 2, 2026: 1 USD = 46.58 MUR (100 MUR = 2.15 USD). 1 EUR = 52.21 MUR (100 MUR = 1.92 EUR).

USD to BRL in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Rio de Janeiro Curepipe 10,170 km ≈ 13 h nonstop flight

From you

Rio de Janeiro
Curepipe

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 Curepipe: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Curepipe is about 16% cheaper overall, especially in eating out, leisure, and groceries. That difference adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

On paper, salaries run 33% lower in Rio de Janeiro. 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: $776 in Rio de Janeiro versus $593 in Curepipe. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

A monthly transit pass in Curepipe runs roughly 20% less than in Rio de Janeiro. The price difference matters if you commute daily and watch your budget.

Childcare runs $563 in Rio de Janeiro versus $127 in Curepipe. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

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.