Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Rio de Janeiro and Guelph

For one person, living is cheaper in Rio de Janeiro: $1,285 a month against $2,586 in Guelph, rent and utilities included – about $15,600 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

63

Cost of Living Index in Rio de Janeiro
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Rio de Janeiro Living Index
125

Cost of Living Index in Guelph
Learn more

Guelph Living Index

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Rio de Janeiro

🇧🇷 Brazil

$1,285

/mo nomad

Guelph

🇨🇦 Canada

$2,586

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,285 in Rio de Janeiro versus $2,586 in Guelph.

Rio de Janeiro $1,285
Guelph $2,586

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,888 in Rio de Janeiro versus $3,627 in Guelph.

Rio de Janeiro $1,888
Guelph $3,627

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $2,491 in Rio de Janeiro versus $4,669 in Guelph.

Rio de Janeiro $2,491
Guelph $4,669

Living in Rio de Janeiro costs roughly 50% less than in Guelph, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

The two cities straddle the global median: Rio de Janeiro is 4% below, Guelph is 93% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$9.98 R$49.83

$21.26 CA$30.31

-53.06%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$40.34 R$201

$70.6 CA$101

-42.83%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$8.48 R$42.35

$11.25 CA$16.03

-24.62%

Cappuccino

$2.36 R$11.80

$3.40 CA$4.84

-30.59%

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

$1.63 R$8.13

$1.49 CA$2.12

9.40%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.01 R$5.06

$1.35 CA$1.92

-25.19%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.44 R$12.19

$5.03 CA$7.16

-51.49%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.69 R$18.43

$5.97 CA$8.52

-38.19%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.15 R$5.72

$2.10 CA$3.00

-45.24%

White Bread (500g)

$2.07 R$10.34

$2.84 CA$4.05

-27.11%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.29 R$6.42

$3.76 CA$5.36

-65.69%

Eggs

$2.27 R$11.32

$2.86 CA$4.08

-20.63%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$11.00 R$54.9

$10.08 CA$14.37

9.13%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$4.31 R$21.51

$15.42 CA$21.98

-72.05%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$9.74 R$48.63

$21.75 CA$31.00

-55.22%

Apples (1kg)

$2.83 R$14.12

$3.64 CA$5.19

-22.25%

Banana (1kg)

$1.84 R$9.17

$1.30 CA$1.86

41.54%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.60 R$7.96

$4.42 CA$6.29

-63.80%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.80 R$9.00

$4.50 CA$6.41

-60.00%

Potato (1kg)

$1.26 R$6.28

$3.40 CA$4.85

-62.94%

Onion (1kg)

$1.07 R$5.34

$2.34 CA$3.33

-54.27%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.75 R$3.75

$2.91 CA$4.15

-74.23%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.66 R$3.29

$1.51 CA$2.15

-56.29%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$3.05 R$15.21

$10.77 CA$15.36

-71.68%

Wine (Bottle)

$8.18 R$40.84

$11.04 CA$15.74

-25.91%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.19 R$5.92

$3.45 CA$4.92

-65.51%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.39 R$11.92

$3.12 CA$4.45

-23.40%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.01 R$5.06

$2.23 CA$3.18

-54.71%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$50.2 R$250

$65.5 CA$93.3

-23.42%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.27 R$6.33

$2.39 CA$3.41

-46.86%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.90 R$4.51

$1.77 CA$2.52

-49.15%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$9.44 R$47.13

$24.16 CA$34.43

-60.93%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.33 R$6.65

$1.13 CA$1.61

17.70%

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

$23.4K R$117.0K

$28.2K CA$40.2K

-16.91%

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

$33.6K R$167.6K

$20.2K CA$28.7K

66.53%

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

$134 R$666

$123 CA$175

8.94%

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

$12.23 R$61.0

$42.86 CA$61.1

-71.47%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$22.65 R$113

$55.1 CA$78.6

-58.92%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$31.56 R$158

$54.7 CA$77.9

-42.27%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$30.87 R$154

$14.12 CA$20.13

118.63%

Cinema Ticket

$8.23 R$41.07

$10.42 CA$14.85

-21.02%

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

$603 R$3,011

$812 CA$1,158

-25.74%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$13.2K R$66.1K

$16.6K CA$23.7K

-20.37%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$41.62 R$208

$61.8 CA$88.0

-32.60%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$49.94 R$249

$36.02 CA$51.3

38.65%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$75.0 R$375

$85.7 CA$122

-12.42%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$68.3 R$341

$123 CA$176

-44.64%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$905 R$4,519

$1,453 CA$2,072

-37.71%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$527 R$2,633

$1,378 CA$1,964

-61.73%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,346 R$6,720

$2,018 CA$2,876

-33.28%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$774 R$3,865

$1,934 CA$2,757

-59.97%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,981 R$19.9K

$4,827 CA$6,881

-17.54%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,562 R$7,798

$4,691 CA$6,686

-66.70%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$643 R$3,210

$3,147 CA$4,486

-79.57%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

11.93

4.99

139.08%

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 Guelph: October 5, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Rio de Janeiro

$527 41%

Guelph

$1.4K 53.1% 161% $851

Groceries & Markets

Rio de Janeiro

$215 16.7%

Guelph

$405 15.6% 88.7% $190

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Rio de Janeiro

$168 13.1%

Guelph

$221 8.5% 31% $52

Eating Out

Rio de Janeiro

$164 12.7%

Guelph

$293 11.3% 78.8% $129

Clothing & Footwear

Rio de Janeiro

$106 8.2%

Guelph

$138 5.3% 30.6% $32

Getting Around

Rio de Janeiro

$60 4.7%

Guelph

$86 3.3% 42.8% $26

Sport & Entertainment

Rio de Janeiro

$48 3.7%

Guelph

$76 2.9% 57.2% $27

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $905 in Rio de Janeiro and $1,453 in Guelph. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Guelph pays 389% 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 $71.0 in Guelph for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $215 vs $405 per month, with Rio de Janeiro cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇧🇷 Rio de Janeiro

🇨🇦 Guelph

🕒 Local time

11:11 11:11 AM

10:11 10:11 AM

1 h behind Rio de Janeiro

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

6,211,223

131,794

💱 Currency

Brazilian Real BRL R$

Canadian Dollar CAD $

📈 Exchange rate

1 BRL = 0.2 USD

1 BRL = 0.179 EUR

1 CAD = 0.702 USD

1 CAD = 0.626 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

CAD, 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).

Canadian Dollar exchange rates as of October 10, 2026: 1 USD = 1.43 CAD (1 CAD = 0.702 USD). 1 EUR = 1.6 CAD (1 CAD = 0.626 EUR).

USD to BRL in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Rio de Janeiro Guelph 8,300 km ≈ 11 h nonstop flight

From you

Rio de Janeiro
Guelph

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 Guelph: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Rio de Janeiro is cheaper overall, especially in groceries, eating out, and clothing. The 101% gap adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

On paper, salaries run 389% lower in Guelph. 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 $1,453 in Guelph. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Supermarket bills run roughly 89% higher in Guelph. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

Dining out is cheaper in Rio de Janeiro – a meal for two runs $40.00 versus $71.0 in Guelph. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

At $1,285 in Rio de Janeiro versus $2,586 in Guelph, a $2,000 budget is realistic in Rio de Janeiro but tight or insufficient in Guelph. The gap between the two cities makes Rio de Janeiro the clear choice for anyone on this budget.

For families, Rio de Janeiro is more practical. Housing and childcare are both notably cheaper than in Guelph, and the savings on those two alone free up budget for education, activities, and family trips.

Expats usually find Rio de Janeiro gentler on the wallet – expenses run 101% less than in Guelph. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.