Last update: Nov 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Rio de Janeiro and Saint John, New Brunswick

For one person, living is cheaper in Rio de Janeiro: $1,185 a month against $1,977 in Saint John, New Brunswick, rent and utilities included – about $9,500 less a year. Rent and utilities account for about half of the difference.

57

Cost of Living Index in Rio de Janeiro
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Rio de Janeiro Living Index
95

Cost of Living Index in Saint John, New Brunswick
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Saint John, New Brunswick Living Index

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Rio de Janeiro

🇧🇷 Brazil

$1,185

/mo nomad

Saint John, New Brunswick

🇨🇦 Canada

$1,977

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Rio de Janeiro and in Saint John, New Brunswick

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 John, New Brunswick actually costs, broken down by who's living it.

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,185 in Rio de Janeiro versus $1,977 in Saint John, New Brunswick.

Rio de Janeiro $1,185
Saint John, New Brunswick $1,977

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,737 in Rio de Janeiro versus $2,872 in Saint John, New Brunswick.

Rio de Janeiro $1,737
Saint John, New Brunswick $2,872

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $2,289 in Rio de Janeiro versus $3,767 in Saint John, New Brunswick.

Rio de Janeiro $2,289
Saint John, New Brunswick $3,767

Living in Rio de Janeiro costs roughly 40% less than in Saint John, New Brunswick, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

The two cities straddle the global median: Rio de Janeiro is 12% below, Saint John, New Brunswick is 46% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$8.16 R$44.89

$19.03 CA$26.77

-57.12%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$37.20 R$205

$60.8 CA$85.5

-38.78%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$7.52 R$41.40

$10.65 CA$14.98

-29.39%

Cappuccino

$2.10 R$11.58

$3.05 CA$4.29

-31.15%

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

$1.36 R$7.49

$1.73 CA$2.44

-21.39%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.96 R$5.29

$1.12 CA$1.58

-14.29%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$1.98 R$10.88

$4.55 CA$6.40

-56.48%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.26 R$17.94

$5.13 CA$7.21

-36.45%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.09 R$5.97

$2.53 CA$3.55

-56.92%

White Bread (500g)

$1.87 R$10.27

$2.72 CA$3.82

-31.25%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.12 R$6.19

$3.16 CA$4.45

-64.56%

Eggs

$2.20 R$12.12

$3.63 CA$5.11

-39.39%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$9.91 R$54.6

$13.41 CA$18.86

-26.10%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$4.11 R$22.62

$9.16 CA$12.88

-55.13%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$9.25 R$50.9

$12.97 CA$18.24

-28.68%

Apples (1kg)

$2.59 R$14.26

$4.92 CA$6.92

-47.36%

Banana (1kg)

$1.69 R$9.28

$1.56 CA$2.20

8.33%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.47 R$8.08

$4.13 CA$5.81

-64.41%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.72 R$9.45

$4.12 CA$5.80

-58.25%

Potato (1kg)

$1.16 R$6.36

$2.01 CA$2.83

-42.29%

Onion (1kg)

$1.00 R$5.50

$2.14 CA$3.01

-53.27%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.66 R$3.61

$2.60 CA$3.66

-74.62%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.61 R$3.35

$1.39 CA$1.95

-56.12%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$2.69 R$14.81

$14.19 CA$19.95

-81.04%

Wine (Bottle)

$7.20 R$39.64

$10.19 CA$14.33

-29.34%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.07 R$5.90

$1.74 CA$2.45

-38.51%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.24 R$12.32

$2.16 CA$3.04

3.70%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.88 R$4.82

$2.18 CA$3.07

-59.63%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$52.3 R$288

$58.2 CA$81.9

-10.15%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.18 R$6.49

$2.82 CA$3.97

-58.16%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.68 R$3.72

$1.20 CA$1.69

-43.33%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$8.71 R$47.94

$21.49 CA$30.23

-59.47%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.20 R$6.59

$1.23 CA$1.73

-2.44%

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

$21.9K R$120.4K

$26.6K CA$37.3K

-17.63%

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

$31.0K R$170.7K

$21.6K CA$30.3K

43.83%

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

$126 R$691

$122 CA$171

3.07%

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

$10.14 R$55.8

$41.38 CA$58.2

-75.50%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$20.95 R$115

$65.7 CA$92.4

-68.10%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$28.51 R$157

$36.77 CA$51.7

-22.46%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$28.87 R$159

$36.38 CA$51.2

-20.64%

Cinema Ticket

$7.40 R$40.75

$12.49 CA$17.57

-40.75%

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

$537 R$2,955

$386 CA$543

38.93%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$15.9K R$87.4K

$11.3K CA$15.9K

40.87%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$38.68 R$213

$49.43 CA$69.5

-21.75%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$45.06 R$248

$36.24 CA$51.0

24.34%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$68.6 R$378

$102 CA$143

-32.70%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$64.1 R$353

$107 CA$150

-39.99%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$768 R$4,225

$1,053 CA$1,481

-27.13%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$491 R$2,701

$867 CA$1,219

-43.37%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,458 R$8,026

$1,514 CA$2,129

-3.65%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$743 R$4,088

$1,236 CA$1,738

-39.88%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,325 R$18.3K

$2,290 CA$3,220

45.23%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,552 R$8,542

$1,746 CA$2,455

-11.09%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$674 R$3,708

$2,608 CA$3,668

-74.17%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

11.93

4.69

154.37%

CityCost data is based on AI and user input – minor inaccuracies may occur.

Last update for Rio de Janeiro: November 3, 2026

Last update for Saint John, New Brunswick: November 1, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Rio de Janeiro

$491 41.4%

Saint John, New Brunswick

$867 43.8% 76.6% $376

Groceries & Markets

Rio de Janeiro

$198 16.7%

Saint John, New Brunswick

$346 17.5% 75% $148

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Rio de Janeiro

$157 13.2%

Saint John, New Brunswick

$229 11.6% 46.1% $72

Eating Out

Rio de Janeiro

$139 11.7%

Saint John, New Brunswick

$265 13.4% 91.2% $127

Clothing & Footwear

Rio de Janeiro

$97 8.2%

Saint John, New Brunswick

$132 6.7% 36% $35

Getting Around

Rio de Janeiro

$60 5.1%

Saint John, New Brunswick

$76 3.8% 25.5% $15

Sport & Entertainment

Rio de Janeiro

$43 3.7%

Saint John, New Brunswick

$62 3.1% 42.6% $18

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $768 in Rio de Janeiro and $1,053 in Saint John, New Brunswick. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Saint John, New Brunswick pays about 3.9 times more on average. How far that income stretches comes down to housing choices and lifestyle.

Dining out: $37 in Rio de Janeiro vs $61 in Saint John, New Brunswick for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $198 vs $346 per month, with Rio de Janeiro cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇧🇷 Rio de Janeiro

🇨🇦 Saint John, New Brunswick

🕒 Local time

20:18 8:18 PM

19:18 7:18 PM

1 h behind Rio de Janeiro

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

6,211,223

70,063

💱 Currency

Brazilian Real BRL R$

Canadian Dollar CAD $

📈 Exchange rate

1 BRL = 0.182 USD

1 BRL = 0.163 EUR

1 CAD = 0.711 USD

1 CAD = 0.636 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 November 6, 2026: 1 USD = 5.5 BRL (1 BRL = 0.182 USD). 1 EUR = 6.15 BRL (1 BRL = 0.163 EUR).

Canadian Dollar exchange rates as of November 6, 2026: 1 USD = 1.41 CAD (1 CAD = 0.711 USD). 1 EUR = 1.57 CAD (1 CAD = 0.636 EUR).

USD to BRL in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Rio de Janeiro Saint John, New Brunswick 7,930 km ≈ 10 h nonstop flight

From you

Rio de Janeiro
Saint John, New Brunswick

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 John, New Brunswick: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Total monthly costs including rent come to $1,185 in Rio de Janeiro and $1,977 in Saint John, New Brunswick, so Rio de Janeiro is about 40% cheaper – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

On paper, salaries run 74% lower in Rio de Janeiro. 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: $768 in Rio de Janeiro versus $1,053 in Saint John, New Brunswick. 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 $37 versus $61 in Saint John, New Brunswick. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

All in, you’ll spend $1,185 per month in Rio de Janeiro versus $1,977 in Saint John, New Brunswick – Rio de Janeiro is about 40% cheaper, which adds up to real savings over time.

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.

Expats usually find Rio de Janeiro gentler on the wallet – expenses run 40% less than in Saint John, New Brunswick. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.