Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Rio de Janeiro and Pachuca

For one person, living is cheaper in Pachuca: $886 a month against $1,289 in Rio de Janeiro, rent and utilities included – about $4,800 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

63

Cost of Living Index in Rio de Janeiro
Learn more

Rio de Janeiro Living Index
43

Cost of Living Index in Pachuca
Learn more

Pachuca Living Index

Jump to prices

Rio de Janeiro

🇧🇷 Brazil

$1,289

/mo nomad

Pachuca

🇲🇽 Mexico

$886

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,289 in Rio de Janeiro versus $886 in Pachuca.

Rio de Janeiro $1,289
Pachuca $886

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,868 in Rio de Janeiro versus $1,483 in Pachuca.

Rio de Janeiro $1,868
Pachuca $1,483

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $2,448 in Rio de Janeiro versus $2,079 in Pachuca.

Rio de Janeiro $2,448
Pachuca $2,079

Living in Rio de Janeiro is roughly 45% more expensive than in Pachuca, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Both cities sit below the global median: Rio de Janeiro 5% lower, Pachuca 34% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$10.06 R$51.0

$4.80 MX$88.8

109.58%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$40.44 R$205

$26.48 MX$489

52.72%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$8.55 R$43.35

$8.03 MX$148

6.48%

Cappuccino

$2.38 R$12.04

$3.09 MX$57.0

-22.98%

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

$1.61 R$8.18

$1.16 MX$21.50

38.79%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.03 R$5.22

$0.82 MX$15.16

25.61%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.47 R$12.54

$1.61 MX$29.79

53.42%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.70 R$18.77

$3.36 MX$62.2

10.12%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.19 R$6.05

$1.58 MX$29.20

-24.68%

White Bread (500g)

$2.05 R$10.38

$2.54 MX$46.99

-19.29%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.28 R$6.49

$1.89 MX$34.93

-32.28%

Eggs

$2.29 R$11.60

$2.72 MX$50.4

-15.81%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$10.76 R$54.5

$7.22 MX$133

49.03%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$4.41 R$22.36

$4.74 MX$87.5

-6.96%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$9.84 R$49.86

$7.44 MX$138

32.26%

Apples (1kg)

$2.81 R$14.25

$2.08 MX$38.53

35.10%

Banana (1kg)

$1.78 R$9.03

$1.29 MX$23.82

37.98%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.60 R$8.13

$1.52 MX$28.10

5.26%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.80 R$9.11

$1.62 MX$29.91

11.11%

Potato (1kg)

$1.22 R$6.17

$1.53 MX$28.33

-20.26%

Onion (1kg)

$1.04 R$5.26

$1.34 MX$24.70

-22.39%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.77 R$3.92

$0.93 MX$17.14

-17.20%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.67 R$3.38

$0.94 MX$17.46

-28.72%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$3.01 R$15.27

$4.33 MX$80.0

-30.48%

Wine (Bottle)

$8.08 R$40.94

$8.19 MX$151

-1.34%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.19 R$6.03

$1.39 MX$25.71

-14.39%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.51 R$12.73

$2.49 MX$46.08

0.80%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.99 R$5.00

$0.57 MX$10.52

73.68%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$50.1 R$254

$26.85 MX$496

86.63%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.22 R$6.20

$2.63 MX$48.55

-53.61%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.92 R$4.66

$2.62 MX$48.34

-64.89%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$8.97 R$45.45

$11.11 MX$205

-19.26%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.30 R$6.57

$1.38 MX$25.51

-5.80%

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

$23.9K R$121.0K

$21.4K MX$395.5K

11.56%

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

$32.9K R$166.6K

$23.5K MX$433.6K

40.06%

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

$133 R$676

$47.05 MX$869

183.53%

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

$10.82 R$54.8

$19.21 MX$355

-43.68%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$22.90 R$116

$22.45 MX$415

2.00%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$30.79 R$156

$23.51 MX$434

30.97%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$31.85 R$161

$10.99 MX$203

189.81%

Cinema Ticket

$8.05 R$40.83

$4.30 MX$79.4

87.21%

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

$598 R$3,029

$165 MX$3,049

262.24%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$13.4K R$68.0K

$2,599 MX$48.0K

416.35%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$42.04 R$213

$53.2 MX$983

-20.99%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$49.68 R$252

$40.32 MX$745

23.21%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$74.5 R$378

$94.8 MX$1,751

-21.37%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$68.7 R$348

$77.4 MX$1,430

-11.22%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$903 R$4,578

$400 MX$7,386

125.94%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$529 R$2,684

$269 MX$4,963

97.11%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,326 R$6,724

$603 MX$11.1K

119.85%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$756 R$3,831

$688 MX$12.7K

9.91%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$4,010 R$20.3K

$728 MX$13.5K

450.93%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,560 R$7,910

$638 MX$11.8K

144.50%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$640 R$3,242

$663 MX$12.2K

-3.48%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

11.93

10.8

10.46%

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 Pachuca: October 12, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Rio de Janeiro

$529 41.1%

Pachuca

$269 30.3% 49.3% $261

Groceries & Markets

Rio de Janeiro

$215 16.7%

Pachuca

$210 23.7% 2% $4.3

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Rio de Janeiro

$167 13%

Pachuca

$89 10% 46.9% $78

Eating Out

Rio de Janeiro

$165 12.8%

Pachuca

$122 13.8% 25.9% $43

Clothing & Footwear

Rio de Janeiro

$106 8.2%

Pachuca

$120 13.5% 13.1% $14

Getting Around

Rio de Janeiro

$60 4.7%

Pachuca

$45 5.1% 25.1% $15

Sport & Entertainment

Rio de Janeiro

$47 3.6%

Pachuca

$32 3.6% 31.5% $15

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $903 in Rio de Janeiro and $400 in Pachuca. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Pachuca pays 4% 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 $26.00 in Pachuca for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $215 vs $210 per month, with Pachuca cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇧🇷 Rio de Janeiro

🇲🇽 Pachuca

🕒 Local time

06:29 6:29 AM

03:29 3:29 AM

3 h behind Rio de Janeiro

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

6,211,223

297,848

💱 Currency

Brazilian Real BRL R$

Mexican Peso MXN $

📈 Exchange rate

1 BRL = 0.197 USD

1 BRL = 0.175 EUR

100 MXN = 5.41 USD

100 MXN = 4.81 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

MXN, USD, EUR to BRL – Brazilian Real Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇧🇷 Brazilian Real (R$)

Brazilian Real exchange rates as of October 18, 2026: 1 USD = 5.07 BRL (1 BRL = 0.197 USD). 1 EUR = 5.7 BRL (1 BRL = 0.175 EUR).

Mexican Peso exchange rates as of October 18, 2026: 1 USD = 18.48 MXN (100 MXN = 5.41 USD). 1 EUR = 20.77 MXN (100 MXN = 4.81 EUR).

USD to BRL in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Rio de Janeiro Pachuca 7,690 km ≈ 10 h nonstop flight

From you

Rio de Janeiro
Pachuca

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 Pachuca: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Pachuca is cheaper overall, especially in groceries, eating out, and transport. The 45% gap adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

On paper, salaries run 4% lower in Pachuca. 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: $903 in Rio de Janeiro versus $400 in Pachuca. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $598 in Rio de Janeiro versus $165 in Pachuca. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Supermarket bills run roughly 2% higher in Rio de Janeiro. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

At $886 in Pachuca versus $1,289 in Rio de Janeiro, a $1,500 budget is realistic in Pachuca but tight or insufficient in Rio de Janeiro. The gap between the two cities makes Pachuca the clear choice for anyone on this budget.

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

Safety-wise, Rio de Janeiro and Pachuca are on par. Petty crime is typical for cities this size, and most residents feel comfortable going about their daily routines in either place.

Expats usually find Pachuca gentler on the wallet – expenses run 45% less than in Rio de Janeiro. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.