Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Rio de Janeiro and Puerto Vallarta

For one person, living is cheaper in Rio de Janeiro: $1,285 a month against $1,635 in Puerto Vallarta, rent and utilities included – about $4,200 less a year. Other living expenses account for most of the difference.

63

Cost of Living Index in Rio de Janeiro
Learn more

Rio de Janeiro Living Index
79

Cost of Living Index in Puerto Vallarta
Learn more

Puerto Vallarta Living Index

Jump to prices

Rio de Janeiro

🇧🇷 Brazil

$1,285

/mo nomad

Puerto Vallarta

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,635

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Rio de Janeiro and in Puerto Vallarta

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,285 in Rio de Janeiro versus $1,635 in Puerto Vallarta.

Rio de Janeiro $1,285
Puerto Vallarta $1,635

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,888 in Rio de Janeiro versus $2,465 in Puerto Vallarta.

Rio de Janeiro $1,888
Puerto Vallarta $2,465

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $2,491 in Rio de Janeiro versus $3,295 in Puerto Vallarta.

Rio de Janeiro $2,491
Puerto Vallarta $3,295

Living in Rio de Janeiro costs roughly 21% less than in Puerto Vallarta, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

The two cities straddle the global median: Rio de Janeiro is 4% below, Puerto Vallarta is 22% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$9.98 R$49.83

$13.94 MX$256

-28.41%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$40.34 R$201

$57.4 MX$1,054

-29.73%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$8.48 R$42.35

$10.90 MX$200

-22.20%

Cappuccino

$2.36 R$11.80

$4.06 MX$74.5

-41.87%

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

$1.63 R$8.13

$1.95 MX$35.86

-16.41%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.01 R$5.06

$1.39 MX$25.45

-27.34%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.44 R$12.19

$3.09 MX$56.7

-21.04%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.69 R$18.43

$4.34 MX$79.7

-14.98%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.15 R$5.72

$1.91 MX$34.99

-39.79%

White Bread (500g)

$2.07 R$10.34

$3.49 MX$64.1

-40.69%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.29 R$6.42

$2.02 MX$37.07

-36.14%

Eggs

$2.27 R$11.32

$2.25 MX$41.33

0.89%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$11.00 R$54.9

$9.93 MX$182

10.78%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$4.31 R$21.51

$11.00 MX$202

-60.82%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$9.74 R$48.63

$16.15 MX$296

-39.69%

Apples (1kg)

$2.83 R$14.12

$2.86 MX$52.5

-1.05%

Banana (1kg)

$1.84 R$9.17

$1.54 MX$28.23

19.48%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.60 R$7.96

$1.93 MX$35.50

-17.10%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.80 R$9.00

$2.12 MX$38.99

-15.09%

Potato (1kg)

$1.26 R$6.28

$2.34 MX$43.02

-46.15%

Onion (1kg)

$1.07 R$5.34

$3.19 MX$58.5

-66.46%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.75 R$3.75

$1.39 MX$25.55

-46.04%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.66 R$3.29

$1.15 MX$21.16

-42.61%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$3.05 R$15.21

$4.48 MX$82.3

-31.92%

Wine (Bottle)

$8.18 R$40.84

$10.88 MX$200

-24.82%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.19 R$5.92

$1.87 MX$34.42

-36.36%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.39 R$11.92

$2.71 MX$49.77

-11.81%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.01 R$5.06

$0.62 MX$11.42

62.90%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$50.2 R$250

$21.37 MX$392

134.67%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.27 R$6.33

$4.60 MX$84.4

-72.39%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.90 R$4.51

$3.01 MX$55.3

-70.10%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$9.44 R$47.13

$4.48 MX$82.3

110.71%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.33 R$6.65

$1.56 MX$28.71

-14.74%

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

$23.4K R$117.0K

$21.4K MX$393.8K

9.25%

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

$33.6K R$167.6K

$24.7K MX$453.5K

35.92%

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

$134 R$666

$85.6 MX$1,572

55.90%

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

$12.23 R$61.0

$26.25 MX$482

-53.41%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$22.65 R$113

$32.63 MX$599

-30.59%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$31.56 R$158

$36.80 MX$676

-14.24%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$30.87 R$154

$15.19 MX$279

103.23%

Cinema Ticket

$8.23 R$41.07

$8.75 MX$161

-5.94%

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

$603 R$3,011

$328 MX$6,021

83.92%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$13.2K R$66.1K

$6,190 MX$113.6K

113.92%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$41.62 R$208

$55.0 MX$1,010

-24.31%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$49.94 R$249

$34.89 MX$641

43.14%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$75.0 R$375

$103 MX$1,897

-27.38%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$68.3 R$341

$97.8 MX$1,796

-30.18%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$905 R$4,519

$1,303 MX$23.9K

-30.52%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$527 R$2,633

$699 MX$12.8K

-24.52%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,346 R$6,720

$2,040 MX$37.5K

-34.02%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$774 R$3,865

$1,145 MX$21.0K

-32.37%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,981 R$19.9K

$5,090 MX$93.4K

-21.79%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,562 R$7,798

$2,598 MX$47.7K

-39.86%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$643 R$3,210

$948 MX$17.4K

-32.16%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

11.93

11.7

1.97%

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 Puerto Vallarta: October 3, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Rio de Janeiro

$527 41%

Puerto Vallarta

$699 43.2% 32.5% $171

Groceries & Markets

Rio de Janeiro

$215 16.7%

Puerto Vallarta

$316 19.5% 47% $101

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Rio de Janeiro

$168 13.1%

Puerto Vallarta

$145 8.9% 14.2% $24

Eating Out

Rio de Janeiro

$164 12.7%

Puerto Vallarta

$230 14.2% 40.6% $66

Clothing & Footwear

Rio de Janeiro

$106 8.2%

Puerto Vallarta

$131 8.1% 23.9% $25

Getting Around

Rio de Janeiro

$60 4.7%

Puerto Vallarta

$44 2.7% 27.5% $16

Sport & Entertainment

Rio de Janeiro

$48 3.7%

Puerto Vallarta

$54 3.4% 13.1% $6.3

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $905 in Rio de Janeiro and $1,303 in Puerto Vallarta. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Puerto Vallarta pays 47% 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 $57.0 in Puerto Vallarta for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $215 vs $316 per month, with Rio de Janeiro cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇧🇷 Rio de Janeiro

🇲🇽 Puerto Vallarta

🕒 Local time

03:49 3:49 AM

00:49 12:49 AM

3 h behind Rio de Janeiro

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

6,211,223

224,166

💱 Currency

Brazilian Real BRL R$

Mexican Peso MXN $

📈 Exchange rate

1 BRL = 0.2 USD

1 BRL = 0.179 EUR

100 MXN = 5.45 USD

100 MXN = 4.86 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 10, 2026: 1 USD = 4.99 BRL (1 BRL = 0.2 USD). 1 EUR = 5.6 BRL (1 BRL = 0.179 EUR).

Mexican Peso exchange rates as of October 10, 2026: 1 USD = 18.36 MXN (100 MXN = 5.45 USD). 1 EUR = 20.59 MXN (100 MXN = 4.86 EUR).

USD to BRL in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Rio de Janeiro Puerto Vallarta 8,280 km ≈ 11 h nonstop flight

From you

Rio de Janeiro
Puerto Vallarta

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 Puerto Vallarta: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Rio de Janeiro is cheaper overall, especially in groceries, eating out, and clothing. The 27% gap adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

On paper, salaries run 47% lower in Puerto Vallarta. 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 $1,303 in Puerto Vallarta. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

A monthly transit pass in Rio de Janeiro runs roughly 135% less than in Puerto Vallarta. Both cities have functional networks, but the price difference matters if you're watching your budget.

Childcare runs $603 in Rio de Janeiro versus $328 in Puerto Vallarta. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

At $1,285 in Rio de Janeiro versus $1,635 in Puerto Vallarta, a $2,000 budget is realistic in Rio de Janeiro but tight or insufficient in Puerto Vallarta. The gap between the two cities makes Rio de Janeiro the clear choice for anyone on this budget.

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

Safety-wise, Rio de Janeiro and Puerto Vallarta 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 Rio de Janeiro gentler on the wallet – expenses run 27% less than in Puerto Vallarta. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.