Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Rio de Janeiro and Ningbo

For one person, living is cheaper in Ningbo: $691 a month against $1,273 in Rio de Janeiro, rent and utilities included – about $7,000 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

62

Cost of Living Index in Rio de Janeiro
Learn more

Rio de Janeiro Living Index
33

Cost of Living Index in Ningbo
Learn more

Ningbo Living Index

Jump to prices

Rio de Janeiro

🇧🇷 Brazil

$1,273

/mo nomad

Ningbo

🇨🇳 China

$691

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,273 in Rio de Janeiro versus $691 in Ningbo.

Rio de Janeiro $1,273
Ningbo $691

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,841 in Rio de Janeiro versus $1,179 in Ningbo.

Rio de Janeiro $1,841
Ningbo $1,179

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $2,409 in Rio de Janeiro versus $1,668 in Ningbo.

Rio de Janeiro $2,409
Ningbo $1,668

Living in Rio de Janeiro is roughly 84% more expensive than in Ningbo, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Both cities sit below the global median: Rio de Janeiro 6% lower, Ningbo 49% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$9.38 R$47.54

$2.89 ¥19.32

224.57%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$40.00 R$203

$30.12 ¥201

32.80%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$8.34 R$42.28

$4.46 ¥29.83

87.00%

Cappuccino

$2.29 R$11.62

$3.52 ¥23.55

-34.94%

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

$1.59 R$8.05

$0.44 ¥2.93

261.36%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.01 R$5.10

$0.31 ¥2.08

225.81%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.14 R$10.85

$1.04 ¥6.95

105.77%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.66 R$18.55

$3.44 ¥23.00

6.40%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.13 R$5.72

$1.74 ¥11.65

-35.06%

White Bread (500g)

$2.09 R$10.60

$1.16 ¥7.79

80.17%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.25 R$6.36

$0.70 ¥4.66

78.57%

Eggs

$2.25 R$11.39

$1.56 ¥10.46

44.23%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$10.92 R$55.3

$15.18 ¥101

-28.06%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$4.36 R$22.10

$3.67 ¥24.53

18.80%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$9.60 R$48.66

$8.78 ¥58.7

9.34%

Apples (1kg)

$2.85 R$14.46

$1.07 ¥7.13

166.36%

Banana (1kg)

$1.81 R$9.16

$1.56 ¥10.42

16.03%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.58 R$8.02

$1.57 ¥10.52

0.64%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.83 R$9.28

$1.22 ¥8.13

50.00%

Potato (1kg)

$1.20 R$6.10

$0.62 ¥4.12

93.55%

Onion (1kg)

$1.06 R$5.35

$0.70 ¥4.69

51.43%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.75 R$3.81

$0.65 ¥4.32

15.38%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.68 R$3.45

$0.57 ¥3.83

19.30%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$2.94 R$14.90

$4.61 ¥30.79

-36.23%

Wine (Bottle)

$7.98 R$40.43

$8.03 ¥53.7

-0.62%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.18 R$5.98

$0.81 ¥5.43

45.68%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.42 R$12.26

$1.50 ¥10.04

61.33%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.94 R$4.78

$0.31 ¥2.08

203.23%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$50.3 R$255

$16.67 ¥111

201.86%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.20 R$6.10

$1.68 ¥11.21

-28.57%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.83 R$4.20

$0.35 ¥2.31

137.14%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$8.97 R$45.48

$7.16 ¥47.90

25.28%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.29 R$6.53

$1.33 ¥8.88

-3.01%

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

$22.8K R$115.5K

$19.6K ¥131.1K

16.12%

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

$34.0K R$172.1K

$18.1K ¥121.3K

87.25%

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

$134 R$681

$51.9 ¥347

158.76%

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

$10.73 R$54.4

$6.67 ¥44.63

60.87%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$22.84 R$116

$7.80 ¥52.1

192.82%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$30.16 R$153

$25.44 ¥170

18.55%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$31.49 R$160

$14.16 ¥94.7

122.39%

Cinema Ticket

$7.73 R$39.17

$8.05 ¥53.8

-3.98%

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

$584 R$2,960

$932 ¥6,234

-37.38%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$12.8K R$64.9K

$15.9K ¥106.6K

-19.70%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$41.12 R$208

$63.8 ¥427

-35.56%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$49.26 R$250

$26.75 ¥179

84.15%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$73.7 R$373

$62.2 ¥416

18.44%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$65.9 R$334

$52.6 ¥351

25.41%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$900 R$4,561

$358 ¥2,394

151.32%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$527 R$2,673

$184 ¥1,230

186.49%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,332 R$6,754

$766 ¥5,121

73.94%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$748 R$3,790

$469 ¥3,136

59.43%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,990 R$20.2K

$3,784 ¥25.3K

5.45%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,560 R$7,908

$2,053 ¥13.7K

-24.01%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$640 R$3,246

$1,193 ¥7,977

-46.32%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

11.93

3.18

275.16%

CityCost data is based on AI and user input – minor inaccuracies may occur.

Last update for Rio de Janeiro: October 18, 2026

Last update for Ningbo: October 18, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Rio de Janeiro

$527 41.4%

Ningbo

$184 26.6% 65.1% $343

Groceries & Markets

Rio de Janeiro

$214 16.8%

Ningbo

$191 27.7% 10.5% $22

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Rio de Janeiro

$168 13.2%

Ningbo

$66 9.6% 60.5% $102

Eating Out

Rio de Janeiro

$156 12.3%

Ningbo

$94 13.6% 39.8% $62

Clothing & Footwear

Rio de Janeiro

$103 8.1%

Ningbo

$92 13.4% 10.7% $11

Getting Around

Rio de Janeiro

$59 4.7%

Ningbo

$21 3.1% 64.1% $38

Sport & Entertainment

Rio de Janeiro

$46 3.6%

Ningbo

$42 6% 8.9% $4.1

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $900 in Rio de Janeiro and $358 in Ningbo. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Ningbo pays 86% more on average while also being the cheaper of the two. The combined effect is a noticeably stronger local purchasing power.

Dining out: $40.00 in Rio de Janeiro vs $30.00 in Ningbo for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $214 vs $191 per month, with Ningbo cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇧🇷 Rio de Janeiro

🇨🇳 Ningbo

🕒 Local time

21:53 9:53 PM

08:53 8:53 AM

11 h ahead of Rio de Janeiro

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

6,211,223

7,605,689

💱 Currency

Brazilian Real BRL R$

Chinese Yuan CNY ¥

📈 Exchange rate

1 BRL = 0.197 USD

1 BRL = 0.175 EUR

1 CNY = 0.15 USD

1 CNY = 0.133 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

CNY, USD, EUR to BRL – Brazilian Real Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇧🇷 Brazilian Real (R$)

Brazilian Real exchange rates as of October 21, 2026: 1 USD = 5.07 BRL (1 BRL = 0.197 USD). 1 EUR = 5.7 BRL (1 BRL = 0.175 EUR).

Chinese Yuan exchange rates as of October 21, 2026: 1 USD = 6.69 CNY (1 CNY = 0.15 USD). 1 EUR = 7.52 CNY (1 CNY = 0.133 EUR).

USD to BRL in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Rio de Janeiro Ningbo 18,320 km ≈ 23 h nonstop flight

From you

Rio de Janeiro
Ningbo

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 Ningbo: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Ningbo wins on cost – living expenses run 84% lower than in Rio de Janeiro. Housing and daily spending are where you'll feel the difference most, making Ningbo the obvious pick if budget is a priority.

On paper, salaries run 86% lower in Ningbo. 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: $900 in Rio de Janeiro versus $358 in Ningbo. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $584 in Rio de Janeiro versus $932 in Ningbo. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Supermarket bills run roughly 12% higher in Rio de Janeiro. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

At $691 in Ningbo versus $1,273 in Rio de Janeiro, a $1,000 budget is realistic in Ningbo but tight or insufficient in Rio de Janeiro. The gap between the two cities makes Ningbo the clear choice for anyone on this budget.

Both work as nomad bases, but Ningbo delivers better value – similar infrastructure at $691 monthly. If stretching your runway or maximizing savings is the goal, the price difference makes Ningbo hard to pass up.

Expats usually find Ningbo gentler on the wallet – expenses run 84% less than in Rio de Janeiro. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.