Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Rio de Janeiro and Philipsburg

For one person, living is cheaper in Rio de Janeiro: $1,285 a month against $3,149 in Philipsburg, rent and utilities included – about $22,400 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
148

Cost of Living Index in Philipsburg
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Philipsburg Living Index

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Rio de Janeiro

🇧🇷 Brazil

$1,285

/mo nomad

Philipsburg

🇸🇽 Sint Maarten

$3,149

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,285 in Rio de Janeiro versus $3,149 in Philipsburg.

Rio de Janeiro $1,285
Philipsburg $3,149

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,888 in Rio de Janeiro versus $6,004 in Philipsburg.

Rio de Janeiro $1,888
Philipsburg $6,004

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $2,491 in Rio de Janeiro versus $8,859 in Philipsburg.

Rio de Janeiro $2,491
Philipsburg $8,859

Living in Rio de Janeiro costs roughly 59% less than in Philipsburg, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

The two cities straddle the global median: Rio de Janeiro is 4% below, Philipsburg is 135% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$9.98 R$49.83

$15.49 ANG 27.73

-35.57%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$40.34 R$201

$70.8 ANG 127

-43.04%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$8.48 R$42.35

$8.04 ANG 14.39

5.47%

Cappuccino

$2.36 R$11.80

$4.38 ANG 7.83

-46.12%

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

$1.63 R$8.13

$2.90 ANG 5.19

-43.79%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.01 R$5.06

$4.11 ANG 7.35

-75.43%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.44 R$12.19

$2.97 ANG 5.31

-17.85%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.69 R$18.43

$6.55 ANG 11.72

-43.66%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.15 R$5.72

$3.06 ANG 5.48

-62.42%

White Bread (500g)

$2.07 R$10.34

$2.64 ANG 4.72

-21.59%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.29 R$6.42

$2.53 ANG 4.53

-49.01%

Eggs

$2.27 R$11.32

$6.54 ANG 11.70

-65.29%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$11.00 R$54.9

$18.69 ANG 33.46

-41.14%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$4.31 R$21.51

$13.75 ANG 24.61

-68.65%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$9.74 R$48.63

$14.89 ANG 26.66

-34.59%

Apples (1kg)

$2.83 R$14.12

$5.07 ANG 9.07

-44.18%

Banana (1kg)

$1.84 R$9.17

$5.07 ANG 9.08

-63.71%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.60 R$7.96

$9.20 ANG 16.46

-82.61%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.80 R$9.00

$7.58 ANG 13.57

-76.25%

Potato (1kg)

$1.26 R$6.28

$4.06 ANG 7.27

-68.97%

Onion (1kg)

$1.07 R$5.34

$4.04 ANG 7.22

-73.51%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.75 R$3.75

$4.88 ANG 8.74

-84.63%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.66 R$3.29

$1.34 ANG 2.40

-50.75%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$3.05 R$15.21

$8.16 ANG 14.61

-62.62%

Wine (Bottle)

$8.18 R$40.84

$10.82 ANG 19.37

-24.40%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.19 R$5.92

$5.13 ANG 9.19

-76.80%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.39 R$11.92

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.01 R$5.06

$2.26 ANG 4.05

-55.31%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$50.2 R$250

$1.47 ANG 2.63

3311.56%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.27 R$6.33

$15.04 ANG 26.92

-91.56%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.90 R$4.51

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$9.44 R$47.13

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.33 R$6.65

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

$23.4K R$117.0K

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

$33.6K R$167.6K

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

$134 R$666

$152 ANG 271

-11.89%

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

$12.23 R$61.0

$32.40 ANG 58.0

-62.25%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$22.65 R$113

$65.8 ANG 118

-65.58%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$31.56 R$158

$62.7 ANG 112

-49.67%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$30.87 R$154

Cinema Ticket

$8.23 R$41.07

$10.92 ANG 19.54

-24.63%

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

$603 R$3,011

$248 ANG 443

143.48%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$13.2K R$66.1K

$12.0K ANG 21.4K

10.50%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$41.62 R$208

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$49.94 R$249

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$75.0 R$375

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$68.3 R$341

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$905 R$4,519

$2,145 ANG 3,840

-57.80%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$527 R$2,633

$1,994 ANG 3,570

-73.55%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,346 R$6,720

$6,614 ANG 11.8K

-79.65%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$774 R$3,865

$6,466 ANG 11.6K

-88.02%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,981 R$19.9K

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,562 R$7,798

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$643 R$3,210

$1,132 ANG 2,026

-43.18%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

11.93

138.60%

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 Philipsburg: October 5, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Rio de Janeiro

$527 41%

Philipsburg

$2K 64.2% 278% $1.5K

Groceries & Markets

Rio de Janeiro

$215 16.7%

Philipsburg

$496 * 16% 131% $282

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Rio de Janeiro

$168 13.1%

Philipsburg

$250 8% 48.3% $81

Eating Out

Rio de Janeiro

$164 12.7%

Philipsburg

$256 8.3% 56.5% $93

Clothing & Footwear

Rio de Janeiro

$106 8.2%

Philipsburg

- * 0% 100%

Getting Around

Rio de Janeiro

$60 4.7%

Philipsburg

$26 * 0.8% 57.4% $34

Sport & Entertainment

Rio de Janeiro

$48 3.7%

Philipsburg

$85 2.7% 76.1% $37

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

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $905 in Rio de Janeiro and $2,145 in Philipsburg. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Philipsburg pays 76% 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 Philipsburg for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $215 vs $496 per month, with Rio de Janeiro cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇧🇷 Rio de Janeiro

🇸🇽 Philipsburg

🕒 Local time

09:23 9:23 AM

08:23 8:23 AM

1 h behind Rio de Janeiro

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

6,211,223

1,900 Capital

💱 Currency

Brazilian Real BRL R$

Netherlands Antillean Guilder ANG ƒ

📈 Exchange rate

1 BRL = 0.2 USD

1 BRL = 0.179 EUR

1 ANG = 0.559 USD

1 ANG = 0.499 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

ANG, 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).

Netherlands Antillean Guilder exchange rates as of October 10, 2026: 1 USD = 1.79 ANG (1 ANG = 0.559 USD). 1 EUR = 2.01 ANG (1 ANG = 0.499 EUR).

USD to BRL in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Rio de Janeiro Philipsburg 5,040 km ≈ 7 h nonstop flight

From you

Rio de Janeiro
Philipsburg

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 Philipsburg: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Rio de Janeiro wins on cost – living expenses run 145% lower than in Philipsburg. Housing and daily spending are where you'll feel the difference most, making Rio de Janeiro the obvious pick if budget is a priority.

On paper, salaries run 76% lower in Philipsburg. 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 $2,145 in Philipsburg. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Supermarket bills run roughly 131% higher in Philipsburg. 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 Philipsburg. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

At $1,285 in Rio de Janeiro versus $3,149 in Philipsburg, a $2,000 budget is realistic in Rio de Janeiro but tight or insufficient in Philipsburg. The gap between the two cities makes Rio de Janeiro the clear choice for anyone on this budget.

Both work as nomad bases, but Rio de Janeiro delivers better value – similar infrastructure at $1,285 monthly. If stretching your runway or maximizing savings is the goal, the price difference makes Rio de Janeiro hard to pass up.

Expats usually find Rio de Janeiro gentler on the wallet – expenses run 145% less than in Philipsburg. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.