Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Rio de Janeiro and Mexico

For one person, living costs are similar in Rio de Janeiro and in Mexico: $1,285 and $1,284 a month, rent and utilities included.

Rio de Janeiro
🇧🇷 Brazil
$1,285
/mo nomad
🇲🇽 Mexico
$1,284
/mo nomad
🙂 Solo nomad: Rio de Janeiro is 15.5% cheaper than Mexico without rent, and 0.1% more expensive with rent.
🙂 Family of 3: Rio de Janeiro is 12.9% cheaper than Mexico without rent, and 10.3% cheaper with rent.
Currency
🍽 Eating Out
Rio de Janeiro
Mexico
Difference
Meal at Budget Restaurant
$9.98 R$49.83
$11.13 MX$204
-10.33%
Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range
$40.34 R$201
$43.65 MX$801
-7.58%
Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)
$8.48 R$42.35
$9.32 MX$171
-9.01%
Cappuccino
$2.36 R$11.80
$3.59 MX$66.0
-34.26%
Coke/Pepsi/Fanta/Sprite (0.33 liter bottle)
$1.63 R$8.13
$1.43 MX$26.21
13.99%
Water (0.33 liter bottle)
$1.01 R$5.06
$1.04 MX$19.01
-2.88%
Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)
$2.44 R$12.19
$2.79 MX$51.2
-12.54%
Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)
$3.69 R$18.43
$4.47 MX$82.1
-17.45%
🛒 Groceries & Markets
Rio de Janeiro
Mexico
Difference
Milk (1 liter)
$1.15 R$5.72
$1.63 MX$30.01
-29.45%
White Bread (500g)
$2.07 R$10.34
$2.82 MX$51.8
-26.60%
Rice (white) (1kg)
$1.29 R$6.42
$1.77 MX$32.52
-27.12%
Eggs
$2.27 R$11.32
$2.46 MX$45.07
-7.72%
Local Cheese (1kg)
$11.00 R$54.9
$9.12 MX$167
20.61%
Chicken Fillets (1kg)
$4.31 R$21.51
$8.15 MX$150
-47.12%
Beef Round Steak (1kg)
$9.74 R$48.63
$11.83 MX$217
-17.67%
Apples (1kg)
$2.83 R$14.12
$2.93 MX$53.9
-3.41%
Banana (1kg)
$1.84 R$9.17
$1.58 MX$28.93
16.46%
Oranges (1kg)
$1.60 R$7.96
$2.02 MX$37.02
-20.79%
Tomato (1kg)
$1.80 R$9.00
$2.01 MX$36.85
-10.45%
Potato (1kg)
$1.26 R$6.28
$2.09 MX$38.43
-39.71%
Onion (1kg)
$1.07 R$5.34
$2.05 MX$37.63
-47.80%
Lettuce (1 head)
$0.75 R$3.75
$1.44 MX$26.52
-47.92%
Water (1.5 liter bottle)
$0.66 R$3.29
$1.16 MX$21.29
-43.10%
Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)
$3.05 R$15.21
$4.61 MX$84.7
-33.84%
Wine (Bottle)
$8.18 R$40.84
$10.91 MX$200
-25.02%
Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)
$1.19 R$5.92
$1.76 MX$32.23
-32.39%
Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)
$2.39 R$11.92
$3.24 MX$59.5
-26.23%
🚌 Getting Around
Rio de Janeiro
Mexico
Difference
One-way Ticket (Public Transport)
$1.01 R$5.06
$0.64 MX$11.68
57.81%
Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)
$50.2 R$250
$27.30 MX$501
83.70%
Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)
$1.27 R$6.33
$2.82 MX$51.9
-54.96%
Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)
$0.90 R$4.51
$2.70 MX$49.54
-66.67%
Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)
$9.44 R$47.13
$11.13 MX$204
-15.18%
Gasoline (1 liter)
$1.33 R$6.65
$1.45 MX$26.66
-8.28%
Midsize Hatchback 1.4l (Volkswagen Golf, Toyota Prius, Honda Civic, etc)
$23.4K R$117.0K
$21.3K MX$391.0K
10.02%
Compact Sedan 1.6l (Toyota Corolla, Mazda3, Kia K4, Hyundai Elantra, etc)
$33.6K R$167.6K
$24.1K MX$442.7K
39.25%
🧾 Monthly Utilities & Internet
Rio de Janeiro
Mexico
Difference
Utilities for 2 People in 2-bedroom Apartment (Heating, Electricity, Gas, Water, Garbage) (85m2)
$134 R$666
$69.8 MX$1,281
91.34%
SIM Card Monthly Plan (Calls and 10GB+ Data)
$12.23 R$61.0
$23.51 MX$432
-47.98%
Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)
$22.65 R$113
$29.45 MX$541
-23.09%
🎉 Sport & Entertainment
Rio de Janeiro
Mexico
Difference
Gym Membership (Monthly)
$31.56 R$158
$37.76 MX$693
-16.42%
Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)
$30.87 R$154
$18.53 MX$340
66.59%
Cinema Ticket
$8.23 R$41.07
$5.28 MX$97.0
55.87%
🧸 Childcare & Education
Rio de Janeiro
Mexico
Difference
Preschool or Kindergarten, Full Day, Private, 1 Child (Monthly)
$603 R$3,011
$259 MX$4,764
132.46%
International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)
$13.2K R$66.1K
$6,247 MX$114.7K
111.95%
👕👟 Clothing & Footwear
Rio de Janeiro
Mexico
Difference
Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)
$41.62 R$208
$58.2 MX$1,069
-28.54%
Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)
$49.94 R$249
$41.62 MX$764
19.99%
Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)
$75.0 R$375
$100 MX$1,841
-25.16%
Men's Leather Business Shoes
$68.3 R$341
$93.5 MX$1,716
-26.90%
🏠 Accommodation & Living
Rio de Janeiro
Mexico
Difference
1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)
$905 R$4,519
$728 MX$13.4K
24.43%
1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)
$527 R$2,633
$467 MX$8,575
12.93%
3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)
$1,346 R$6,720
$1,377 MX$25.3K
-2.22%
3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)
$774 R$3,865
$902 MX$16.6K
-14.17%
Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)
$3,981 R$19.9K
$2,602 MX$47.8K
53.01%
Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)
$1,562 R$7,798
$1,513 MX$27.8K
3.22%
💵 Salaries & Financials
Rio de Janeiro
Mexico
Difference
Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)
$643 R$3,210
$801 MX$14.7K
-19.76%
20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)
11.93
11.44
4.28%

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 Mexico: October 4, 2026

Monthly budget structure
Share of the monthly basket for one person, rent included.
Accommodation & Living
Rio de Janeiro
$527
Mexico
$467 11.4% $60
Groceries & Markets
Rio de Janeiro
$215
Mexico
$274 27.9% $60
Monthly Utilities & Internet
Rio de Janeiro
$168
Mexico
$123 27.1% $46
Eating Out
Rio de Janeiro
$164
Mexico
$193 17.7% $29
Clothing & Footwear
Rio de Janeiro
$106
Mexico
$132 25% $26
Getting Around
Rio de Janeiro
$60
Mexico
$46 23.1% $14
Sport & Entertainment
Rio de Janeiro
$48
Mexico
$48 0.6% $0.3
Good to know
🇧🇷 Rio de Janeiro
🇲🇽 Mexico
🕒 Local time
08:21 8:21 AM
05:21 5:21 AM
3 h behind Rio de Janeiro
🌤 Weather
👥 Population
6,211,223
124,777,324
💱 Currency
Exchange rates and currency converter

MXN, USD, EUR to BRL – Brazilian Real Converter

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).

Mexican Peso exchange rates as of October 10, 2026: 1 USD = 18.36 MXN (100 MXN = 5.45 USD). 1 EUR = 20.57 MXN (100 MXN = 4.86 EUR).

On the map
Between locations
  • Rio de Janeiro Mexico 7,680 km ≈ 10 h nonstop flight
From you
  • Rio de Janeiro
  • Mexico

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

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