Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Rio de Janeiro and Picton

For one person, living is cheaper in Picton: $1,000 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 Picton
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Picton Living Index

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Rio de Janeiro

🇧🇷 Brazil

$1,289

/mo nomad

Picton

🇨🇦 Canada

$1,000

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,289 in Rio de Janeiro versus $1,000 in Picton.

Rio de Janeiro $1,289
Picton $1,000

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,868 in Rio de Janeiro versus $1,651 in Picton.

Rio de Janeiro $1,868
Picton $1,651

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $2,448 in Rio de Janeiro versus $2,302 in Picton.

Rio de Janeiro $2,448
Picton $2,302

Living in Rio de Janeiro is roughly 29% more expensive than in Picton, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

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

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$10.06 R$51.0

$17.76 CA$25.11

-43.36%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$40.44 R$205

$67.4 CA$95.2

-39.97%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$8.55 R$43.35

$9.52 CA$13.46

-10.19%

Cappuccino

$2.38 R$12.04

$3.58 CA$5.07

-33.52%

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

$1.61 R$8.18

$2.10 CA$2.97

-23.33%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.03 R$5.22

$1.67 CA$2.36

-38.32%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.47 R$12.54

$5.45 CA$7.70

-54.68%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.70 R$18.77

$5.74 CA$8.11

-35.54%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.19 R$6.05

$1.64 CA$2.32

-27.44%

White Bread (500g)

$2.05 R$10.38

$1.97 CA$2.78

4.06%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.28 R$6.49

$2.22 CA$3.14

-42.34%

Eggs

$2.29 R$11.60

$2.82 CA$3.99

-18.79%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$10.76 R$54.5

$9.07 CA$12.82

18.63%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$4.41 R$22.36

$11.24 CA$15.89

-60.77%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$9.84 R$49.86

$14.63 CA$20.69

-32.74%

Apples (1kg)

$2.81 R$14.25

$2.67 CA$3.77

5.24%

Banana (1kg)

$1.78 R$9.03

$1.15 CA$1.62

54.78%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.60 R$8.13

$3.44 CA$4.86

-53.49%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.80 R$9.11

$4.06 CA$5.74

-55.67%

Potato (1kg)

$1.22 R$6.17

$1.85 CA$2.61

-34.05%

Onion (1kg)

$1.04 R$5.26

$1.66 CA$2.35

-37.35%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.77 R$3.92

$2.17 CA$3.07

-64.52%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.67 R$3.38

$1.25 CA$1.77

-46.40%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$3.01 R$15.27

$13.35 CA$18.88

-77.45%

Wine (Bottle)

$8.08 R$40.94

$13.97 CA$19.75

-42.16%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.19 R$6.03

$2.12 CA$3.00

-43.87%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.51 R$12.73

$2.45 CA$3.46

2.45%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.99 R$5.00

$2.11 CA$2.99

-53.08%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$50.1 R$254

$19.44 CA$27.49

157.77%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.22 R$6.20

$3.02 CA$4.27

-59.60%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.92 R$4.66

$1.26 CA$1.78

-26.98%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$8.97 R$45.45

$21.90 CA$30.96

-59.04%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.30 R$6.57

$1.10 CA$1.56

18.18%

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

$23.9K R$121.0K

$27.2K CA$38.4K

-12.14%

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

$32.9K R$166.6K

$19.9K CA$28.1K

65.21%

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

$133 R$676

$118 CA$167

12.64%

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

$10.82 R$54.8

$28.18 CA$39.83

-61.60%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$22.90 R$116

$47.12 CA$66.6

-51.40%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$30.79 R$156

$41.58 CA$58.8

-25.95%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$31.85 R$161

Cinema Ticket

$8.05 R$40.83

$8.49 CA$12.01

-5.18%

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

$598 R$3,029

$283 CA$400

111.10%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$13.4K R$68.0K

$23.3K CA$33.0K

-42.52%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$42.04 R$213

$49.40 CA$69.8

-14.90%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$49.68 R$252

$34.84 CA$49.26

42.59%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$74.5 R$378

$83.2 CA$118

-10.46%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$68.7 R$348

$120 CA$169

-42.70%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$903 R$4,578

$1,016 CA$1,436

-11.09%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$529 R$2,684

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,326 R$6,724

$1,589 CA$2,247

-16.55%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$756 R$3,831

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$4,010 R$20.3K

$3,775 CA$5,337

6.22%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,560 R$7,910

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$640 R$3,242

$3,036 CA$4,292

-78.94%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

11.93

4.47

166.89%

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 Picton: October 13, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Rio de Janeiro

$529 41.1%

Picton

- * 0% 100%

Groceries & Markets

Rio de Janeiro

$215 16.7%

Picton

$314 31.4% 46.3% $99

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Rio de Janeiro

$167 13%

Picton

$194 19.4% 15.9% $27

Eating Out

Rio de Janeiro

$165 12.8%

Picton

$267 26.7% 62.1% $102

Clothing & Footwear

Rio de Janeiro

$106 8.2%

Picton

$129 12.9% 22.3% $24

Getting Around

Rio de Janeiro

$60 4.7%

Picton

$37 3.7% 37.8% $23

Sport & Entertainment

Rio de Janeiro

$47 3.6%

Picton

$59 5.9% 24.9% $12

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 $903 in Rio de Janeiro and $1,016 in Picton. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Picton pays 375% 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 $67.0 in Picton for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $215 vs $314 per month, with Rio de Janeiro cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇧🇷 Rio de Janeiro

🇨🇦 Picton

🕒 Local time

07:45 7:45 AM

06:45 6:45 AM

1 h behind Rio de Janeiro

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

6,211,223

4,702

💱 Currency

Brazilian Real BRL R$

Canadian Dollar CAD $

📈 Exchange rate

1 BRL = 0.197 USD

1 BRL = 0.175 EUR

1 CAD = 0.707 USD

1 CAD = 0.629 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

CAD, 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).

Canadian Dollar exchange rates as of October 19, 2026: 1 USD = 1.41 CAD (1 CAD = 0.707 USD). 1 EUR = 1.59 CAD (1 CAD = 0.629 EUR).

USD to BRL in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Rio de Janeiro Picton 8,200 km ≈ 11 h nonstop flight

From you

Rio de Janeiro
Picton

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 Picton: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Rio de Janeiro and Picton differ by about 29% in total monthly costs ($1,289 vs $1,000 including rent). Picton is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

On paper, salaries run 375% lower in Picton. 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 $1,016 in Picton. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Dining out is cheaper in Picton – a meal for two runs $67.0 versus $40.00 in Rio de Janeiro. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

All in, you'll spend $1,289 per month in Rio de Janeiro versus $1,000 in Picton – a 29% gap that adds up to real savings over time for anyone picking the cheaper option.

At $1,000 in Picton versus $1,289 in Rio de Janeiro, a $2,000 budget is realistic in Picton but tight or insufficient in Rio de Janeiro. The gap between the two cities makes Picton 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.

Safety-wise, Rio de Janeiro and Picton 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 Picton 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.