Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Rio de Janeiro and Franco da Rocha

For one person, living is cheaper in Franco da Rocha: $890 a month against $1,182 in Rio de Janeiro, rent and utilities included – about $3,500 less a year. Higher rent and utilities in Rio de Janeiro outweigh lower spending on other living expenses.

57

Cost of Living Index in Rio de Janeiro
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Rio de Janeiro Living Index
41

Cost of Living Index in Franco da Rocha
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Franco da Rocha Living Index

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Rio de Janeiro

🇧🇷 Brazil

$1,182

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Franco da Rocha

🇧🇷 Brazil

$890

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Rio de Janeiro and in Franco da Rocha

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 Franco da Rocha actually costs, broken down by who's living it.

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,182 in Rio de Janeiro versus $890 in Franco da Rocha.

Rio de Janeiro $1,182
Franco da Rocha $890

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,750 in Rio de Janeiro versus $1,429 in Franco da Rocha.

Rio de Janeiro $1,750
Franco da Rocha $1,429

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $2,318 in Rio de Janeiro versus $1,969 in Franco da Rocha.

Rio de Janeiro $2,318
Franco da Rocha $1,969

Living in Rio de Janeiro is roughly 33% more expensive than in Franco da Rocha, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Both cities sit below the global median: Rio de Janeiro 13% lower, Franco da Rocha 35% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$9.08 R$48.54

$6.52 R$34.87

39.26%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$37.25 R$199

$37.96 R$203

-1.87%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$8.02 R$42.87

$8.26 R$44.19

-2.91%

Cappuccino

$2.19 R$11.71

$2.11 R$11.28

3.79%

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

$1.46 R$7.82

$1.57 R$8.40

-7.01%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.99 R$5.27

$1.13 R$6.05

-12.39%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.03 R$10.84

$2.57 R$13.77

-21.01%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.45 R$18.43

$4.06 R$21.72

-15.02%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.06 R$5.66

$1.17 R$6.28

-9.40%

White Bread (500g)

$1.98 R$10.61

$1.91 R$10.19

3.66%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.17 R$6.27

$1.07 R$5.73

9.35%

Eggs

$2.21 R$11.80

$2.47 R$13.21

-10.53%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$10.11 R$54.1

$8.42 R$45.03

20.07%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$4.12 R$22.00

$4.11 R$21.97

0.24%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$9.17 R$49.04

$10.26 R$54.9

-10.62%

Apples (1kg)

$2.72 R$14.54

$2.67 R$14.26

1.87%

Banana (1kg)

$1.71 R$9.15

$1.74 R$9.30

-1.72%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.53 R$8.18

$1.65 R$8.81

-7.27%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.66 R$8.89

$1.68 R$8.99

-1.19%

Potato (1kg)

$1.14 R$6.09

$1.27 R$6.80

-10.24%

Onion (1kg)

$0.99 R$5.32

$1.27 R$6.78

-22.05%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.65 R$3.46

$0.85 R$4.53

-23.53%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.60 R$3.20

$0.73 R$3.91

-17.81%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$2.79 R$14.94

$2.63 R$14.06

6.08%

Wine (Bottle)

$7.48 R$39.99

$8.20 R$43.87

-8.78%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.09 R$5.83

$1.53 R$8.17

-28.76%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.33 R$12.48

$4.30 R$22.98

-45.81%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.90 R$4.79

$0.94 R$5.03

-4.26%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$53.0 R$283

$41.14 R$220

28.83%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.17 R$6.24

$1.25 R$6.71

-6.40%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.78 R$4.17

$1.34 R$7.14

-41.79%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$8.37 R$44.75

$9.00 R$48.10

-7.00%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.21 R$6.48

$1.18 R$6.30

2.54%

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

$21.5K R$114.8K

$22.5K R$120.5K

-4.73%

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

$31.1K R$166.5K

$31.2K R$167.0K

-0.29%

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

$124 R$665

$40.45 R$216

207.69%

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

$10.03 R$53.7

$13.60 R$72.7

-26.25%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$20.88 R$112

$16.88 R$90.3

23.70%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$28.35 R$152

$24.01 R$128

18.08%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$29.33 R$157

$28.68 R$153

2.27%

Cinema Ticket

$7.62 R$40.72

$7.51 R$40.17

1.46%

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

$563 R$3,010

$405 R$2,164

39.08%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$12.0K R$64.4K

$7,204 R$38.5K

67.21%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$39.25 R$210

$52.5 R$281

-25.20%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$46.36 R$248

$54.4 R$291

-14.80%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$68.4 R$366

$88.5 R$473

-22.72%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$63.4 R$339

$78.7 R$421

-19.42%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$776 R$4,150

$335 R$1,792

131.55%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$473 R$2,530

$258 R$1,380

83.34%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,391 R$7,437

$638 R$3,411

118.04%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$739 R$3,951

$455 R$2,432

62.47%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,393 R$18.1K

$1,715 R$9,171

97.84%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,570 R$8,396

$1,244 R$6,652

26.21%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$597 R$3,192

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

11.93

11.12

7.28%

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 Franco da Rocha: October 24, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Rio de Janeiro

$473 40%

Franco da Rocha

$258 29% 45.5% $215

Groceries & Markets

Rio de Janeiro

$201 17%

Franco da Rocha

$212 23.8% 5.3% $11

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Rio de Janeiro

$155 13.1%

Franco da Rocha

$71 8% 54.3% $84

Eating Out

Rio de Janeiro

$150 12.7%

Franco da Rocha

$134 15.1% 10.5% $16

Clothing & Footwear

Rio de Janeiro

$98 8.3%

Franco da Rocha

$123 13.9% 26.1% $26

Getting Around

Rio de Janeiro

$62 5.2%

Franco da Rocha

$53 5.9% 14.3% $8.8

Sport & Entertainment

Rio de Janeiro

$44 3.7%

Franco da Rocha

$39 4.4% 10.4% $4.5

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $776 in Rio de Janeiro and $335 in Franco da Rocha. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Dining out: $37 in Rio de Janeiro vs $38 in Franco da Rocha for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $201 vs $212 per month, with Rio de Janeiro cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇧🇷 Rio de Janeiro

🇧🇷 Franco da Rocha

🕒 Local time

13:54 1:54 PM

Same time as Rio de Janeiro

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

6,211,223

144,849

💱 Currency

Brazilian Real BRL R$

📈 Exchange rate

1 BRL = 0.187 USD

1 BRL = 0.168 EUR

1 BRL = 0.187 USD

1 BRL = 0.168 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

On the map

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Between locations

Rio de Janeiro Franco da Rocha 360 km

From you

Rio de Janeiro
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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 Franco da Rocha: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Rio de Janeiro and Franco da Rocha differ by about 33% in total monthly costs ($1,182 vs $890 including rent). Franco da Rocha is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

You’d need roughly $1,774 in Rio de Janeiro and $1,335 in Franco da Rocha 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: $776 in Rio de Janeiro versus $335 in Franco da Rocha. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

All in, you’ll spend $1,182 per month in Rio de Janeiro versus $890 in Franco da Rocha – a 33% gap that adds up to real savings over time for anyone picking the cheaper option.

A monthly transit pass in Franco da Rocha runs roughly 22% less than in Rio de Janeiro. Both cities have functional networks, but the price difference matters if you’re watching your 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.