Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Rio de Janeiro and Old Harbour

For one person, living is cheaper in Old Harbour: $998 a month against $1,289 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.

63

Cost of Living Index in Rio de Janeiro
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Rio de Janeiro Living Index
49

Cost of Living Index in Old Harbour
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Old Harbour Living Index

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Rio de Janeiro

🇧🇷 Brazil

$1,289

/mo nomad

Old Harbour

🇯🇲 Jamaica

$998

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Rio de Janeiro and in Old Harbour

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,289 in Rio de Janeiro versus $998 in Old Harbour.

Rio de Janeiro $1,289
Old Harbour $998

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,868 in Rio de Janeiro versus $1,652 in Old Harbour.

Rio de Janeiro $1,868
Old Harbour $1,652

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $2,448 in Rio de Janeiro versus $2,305 in Old Harbour.

Rio de Janeiro $2,448
Old Harbour $2,305

Living in Rio de Janeiro is roughly 29% more expensive than in Old Harbour, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Both cities sit below the global median: Rio de Janeiro 5% lower, Old Harbour 26% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$10.06 R$51.0

$13.53 JMD 2,138

-25.65%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$40.44 R$205

$74.1 JMD 11.7K

-45.39%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$8.55 R$43.35

$7.93 JMD 1,253

7.82%

Cappuccino

$2.38 R$12.04

$5.24 JMD 828

-54.58%

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

$1.61 R$8.18

$1.20 JMD 190

34.17%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.03 R$5.22

$0.73 JMD 115

41.10%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.47 R$12.54

$2.17 JMD 343

13.82%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.70 R$18.77

$3.17 JMD 500

16.72%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.19 R$6.05

$4.03 JMD 636

-70.47%

White Bread (500g)

$2.05 R$10.38

$3.77 JMD 595

-45.62%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.28 R$6.49

$1.59 JMD 251

-19.50%

Eggs

$2.29 R$11.60

$3.47 JMD 548

-34.01%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$10.76 R$54.5

$11.28 JMD 1,783

-4.61%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$4.41 R$22.36

$6.38 JMD 1,008

-30.88%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$9.84 R$49.86

$10.30 JMD 1,628

-4.47%

Apples (1kg)

$2.81 R$14.25

$6.09 JMD 963

-53.86%

Banana (1kg)

$1.78 R$9.03

$3.80 JMD 601

-53.16%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.60 R$8.13

$7.45 JMD 1,177

-78.52%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.80 R$9.11

$3.06 JMD 484

-41.18%

Potato (1kg)

$1.22 R$6.17

$3.28 JMD 519

-62.80%

Onion (1kg)

$1.04 R$5.26

$2.70 JMD 427

-61.48%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.77 R$3.92

$3.03 JMD 479

-74.59%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.67 R$3.38

$1.45 JMD 229

-53.79%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$3.01 R$15.27

$9.24 JMD 1,459

-67.42%

Wine (Bottle)

$8.08 R$40.94

$11.41 JMD 1,803

-29.18%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.19 R$6.03

$2.80 JMD 442

-57.50%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.51 R$12.73

$4.00 JMD 633

-37.25%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.99 R$5.00

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$50.1 R$254

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.22 R$6.20

$1.16 JMD 184

5.17%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.92 R$4.66

$3.07 JMD 486

-70.03%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$8.97 R$45.45

$6.13 JMD 968

46.33%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.30 R$6.57

$1.47 JMD 232

-11.56%

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

$23.9K R$121.0K

$44.8K JMD 7.1M

-46.68%

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

$32.9K R$166.6K

$32.8K JMD 5.2M

0.13%

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

$133 R$676

$164 JMD 26.0K

-18.80%

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

$10.82 R$54.8

$29.43 JMD 4,650

-63.23%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$22.90 R$116

$53.0 JMD 8,374

-56.79%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$30.79 R$156

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$31.85 R$161

Cinema Ticket

$8.05 R$40.83

$13.05 JMD 2,062

-38.31%

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

$598 R$3,029

$361 JMD 57.0K

65.64%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$13.4K R$68.0K

$8,389 JMD 1.3M

59.96%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$42.04 R$213

$23.49 JMD 3,710

78.97%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$49.68 R$252

$31.98 JMD 5,053

55.35%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$74.5 R$378

$76.2 JMD 12.0K

-2.15%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$68.7 R$348

$104 JMD 16.4K

-33.90%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$903 R$4,578

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$529 R$2,684

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,326 R$6,724

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$756 R$3,831

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$4,010 R$20.3K

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,560 R$7,910

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$640 R$3,242

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

11.93

9.45

26.24%

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

Last update for Rio de Janeiro: October 10, 2026

Last update for Old Harbour: October 12, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Rio de Janeiro

$529 41.1%

Old Harbour

- * 0% 100%

Groceries & Markets

Rio de Janeiro

$215 16.7%

Old Harbour

$383 38.4% 78.4% $168

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Rio de Janeiro

$167 13%

Old Harbour

$247 24.7% 47.6% $80

Eating Out

Rio de Janeiro

$165 12.8%

Old Harbour

$220 22% 33.3% $55

Clothing & Footwear

Rio de Janeiro

$106 8.2%

Old Harbour

$106 10.6% 0.3% $0.3

Getting Around

Rio de Janeiro

$60 4.7%

Old Harbour

$17 * 1.7% 72.4% $43

Sport & Entertainment

Rio de Janeiro

$47 3.6%

Old Harbour

$26 * 2.6% 44.3% $21

Categories marked with * are only partly priced – their share counts the items that do have prices.

Cost Breakdown

Dining out: $40.00 in Rio de Janeiro vs $74.0 in Old Harbour for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $215 vs $383 per month, with Rio de Janeiro cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇧🇷 Rio de Janeiro

🇯🇲 Old Harbour

🕒 Local time

21:09 9:09 PM

19:09 7:09 PM

2 h behind Rio de Janeiro

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

6,211,223

26,024

💱 Currency

Brazilian Real BRL R$

Jamaican Dollar JMD $

📈 Exchange rate

1 BRL = 0.197 USD

1 BRL = 0.175 EUR

1,000 JMD = 6.33 USD

1,000 JMD = 5.63 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

JMD, USD, EUR to BRL – Brazilian Real Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇧🇷 Brazilian Real (R$)

Brazilian Real exchange rates as of October 19, 2026: 1 USD = 5.07 BRL (1 BRL = 0.197 USD). 1 EUR = 5.7 BRL (1 BRL = 0.175 EUR).

Jamaican Dollar exchange rates as of October 19, 2026: 1 USD = 158 JMD (1,000 JMD = 6.33 USD). 1 EUR = 178 JMD (1,000 JMD = 5.63 EUR).

USD to BRL in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Rio de Janeiro Old Harbour 5,850 km ≈ 8 h nonstop flight

From you

Rio de Janeiro
Old Harbour

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 Old Harbour: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Rio de Janeiro and Old Harbour differ by about 29% in total monthly costs ($1,289 vs $998 including rent). Old Harbour is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

You'd need roughly $1,933 in Rio de Janeiro and $1,497 in Old Harbour 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.

Childcare runs $598 in Rio de Janeiro versus $361 in Old Harbour. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Dining out is cheaper in Old Harbour – a meal for two runs $74.0 versus $40.00 in Rio de Janeiro. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

At $998 in Old Harbour versus $1,289 in Rio de Janeiro, a $2,000 budget is realistic in Old Harbour but tight or insufficient in Rio de Janeiro. The gap between the two cities makes Old Harbour the clear choice for anyone on this 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.

Expats usually find Old Harbour gentler on the wallet – expenses run 29% less than in Rio de Janeiro. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.