Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Rio de Janeiro and Saint George's

For one person, living is cheaper in Rio de Janeiro: $1,285 a month against $1,625 in Saint George's, rent and utilities included – about $4,100 less a year. Other living expenses account for most of the difference.

63

Cost of Living Index in Rio de Janeiro
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Rio de Janeiro Living Index
78

Cost of Living Index in Saint George's
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Saint George's Living Index

Jump to prices

Rio de Janeiro

🇧🇷 Brazil

$1,285

/mo nomad

Saint George's

🇬🇩 Grenada

$1,625

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Rio de Janeiro and in Saint George's

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,285 in Rio de Janeiro versus $1,625 in Saint George's.

Rio de Janeiro $1,285
Saint George's $1,625

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,888 in Rio de Janeiro versus $2,647 in Saint George's.

Rio de Janeiro $1,888
Saint George's $2,647

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $2,491 in Rio de Janeiro versus $3,669 in Saint George's.

Rio de Janeiro $2,491
Saint George's $3,669

Living in Rio de Janeiro costs roughly 21% less than in Saint George's, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

The two cities straddle the global median: Rio de Janeiro is 4% below, Saint George's is 21% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$9.98 R$49.83

$7.52 EC$20.30

32.71%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$40.34 R$201

$137 EC$370

-70.52%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$8.48 R$42.35

$8.52 EC$23.00

-0.47%

Cappuccino

$2.36 R$11.80

$4.35 EC$11.75

-45.75%

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

$1.63 R$8.13

$1.90 EC$5.13

-14.21%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.01 R$5.06

$1.95 EC$5.28

-48.21%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.44 R$12.19

$2.80 EC$7.55

-12.86%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.69 R$18.43

$3.61 EC$9.74

2.22%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.15 R$5.72

$4.01 EC$10.83

-71.32%

White Bread (500g)

$2.07 R$10.34

$2.40 EC$6.47

-13.75%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.29 R$6.42

$1.80 EC$4.85

-28.33%

Eggs

$2.27 R$11.32

$4.38 EC$11.82

-48.17%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$11.00 R$54.9

$14.11 EC$38.09

-22.04%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$4.31 R$21.51

$9.23 EC$24.93

-53.30%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$9.74 R$48.63

$13.65 EC$36.87

-28.64%

Apples (1kg)

$2.83 R$14.12

$13.37 EC$36.11

-78.83%

Banana (1kg)

$1.84 R$9.17

$2.51 EC$6.77

-26.69%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.60 R$7.96

$1.61 EC$4.35

-0.62%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.80 R$9.00

$5.80 EC$15.66

-68.97%

Potato (1kg)

$1.26 R$6.28

$2.79 EC$7.53

-54.84%

Onion (1kg)

$1.07 R$5.34

$3.59 EC$9.68

-70.19%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.75 R$3.75

$1.13 EC$3.06

-33.63%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.66 R$3.29

$2.00 EC$5.41

-67.00%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$3.05 R$15.21

Wine (Bottle)

$8.18 R$40.84

$15.42 EC$41.63

-46.95%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.19 R$5.92

$2.18 EC$5.88

-45.41%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.39 R$11.92

$2.48 EC$6.69

-3.63%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.01 R$5.06

$0.97 EC$2.63

4.12%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$50.2 R$250

$63.6 EC$172

-21.17%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.27 R$6.33

$30.16 EC$81.4

-95.79%

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

$1.36 EC$3.68

-2.21%

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

$23.4K R$117.0K

$25.5K EC$68.7K

-7.94%

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

$33.6K R$167.6K

$31.8K EC$85.9K

5.55%

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

$134 R$666

$250 EC$674

-46.53%

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

$12.23 R$61.0

$20.09 EC$54.2

-39.12%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$22.65 R$113

$50.9 EC$137

-55.46%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$31.56 R$158

$37.30 EC$101

-15.39%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$30.87 R$154

$18.19 EC$49.12

69.71%

Cinema Ticket

$8.23 R$41.07

$11.04 EC$29.81

-25.45%

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

$603 R$3,011

$54.8 EC$148

1001.24%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$13.2K R$66.1K

$3,394 EC$9,163

290.15%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$41.62 R$208

$35.12 EC$94.8

18.51%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$49.94 R$249

$44.63 EC$120

11.90%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$75.0 R$375

$50.6 EC$136

48.45%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$68.3 R$341

$86.2 EC$233

-20.72%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$905 R$4,519

$1,153 EC$3,113

-21.47%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$527 R$2,633

$437 EC$1,179

20.77%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,346 R$6,720

$2,068 EC$5,584

-34.92%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$774 R$3,865

$690 EC$1,864

12.14%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,981 R$19.9K

$4,297 EC$11.6K

-7.36%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,562 R$7,798

$113.2K EC$305.6K

-98.62%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$643 R$3,210

$925 EC$2,496

-30.46%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

11.93

70.43%

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 Saint George's: October 4, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Rio de Janeiro

$527 41%

Saint George's

$437 27.1% 17.2% $91

Groceries & Markets

Rio de Janeiro

$215 16.7%

Saint George's

$426 26.4% 98.7% $212

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Rio de Janeiro

$168 13.1%

Saint George's

$321 19.9% 90.4% $152

Eating Out

Rio de Janeiro

$164 12.7%

Saint George's

$175 10.8% 6.5% $11

Clothing & Footwear

Rio de Janeiro

$106 8.2%

Saint George's

$97 6% 7.9% $8.3

Getting Around

Rio de Janeiro

$60 4.7%

Saint George's

$98 * 6.1% 62.8% $38

Sport & Entertainment

Rio de Janeiro

$48 3.7%

Saint George's

$59 3.7% 23.7% $11

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 $1,153 in Saint George's. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Saint George's pays 44% 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 $137 in Saint George's for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $215 vs $426 per month, with Rio de Janeiro cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇧🇷 Rio de Janeiro

🇬🇩 Saint George's

🕒 Local time

06:47 6:47 AM

05:47 5:47 AM

1 h behind Rio de Janeiro

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

6,211,223

7,500 Capital

💱 Currency

Brazilian Real BRL R$

East Caribbean Dollar XCD $

📈 Exchange rate

1 BRL = 0.2 USD

1 BRL = 0.179 EUR

1 XCD = 0.37 USD

1 XCD = 0.331 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

XCD, 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).

East Caribbean Dollar exchange rates as of October 10, 2026: 1 USD = 2.7 XCD (1 XCD = 0.37 USD). 1 EUR = 3.03 XCD (1 XCD = 0.331 EUR).

USD to BRL in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Rio de Janeiro Saint George's 4,380 km ≈ 6 h nonstop flight

From you

Rio de Janeiro
Saint George's

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 Saint George's: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Rio de Janeiro and Saint George's differ by about 26% in total monthly costs ($1,285 vs $1,625 including rent). Rio de Janeiro is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

On paper, salaries run 44% lower in Saint George's. 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 $1,153 in Saint George's. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Dining out is cheaper in Rio de Janeiro – a meal for two runs $40.00 versus $137 in Saint George's. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

All in, you'll spend $1,285 per month in Rio de Janeiro versus $1,625 in Saint George's – a 26% gap that adds up to real savings over time for anyone picking the cheaper option.

At $1,285 in Rio de Janeiro versus $1,625 in Saint George's, a $2,000 budget is realistic in Rio de Janeiro but tight or insufficient in Saint George's. The gap between the two cities makes Rio de Janeiro 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 Saint George's 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 26% less than in Saint George's. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.