Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Rio de Janeiro and San Felipe

For one person, living is cheaper in San Felipe: $1,106 a month against $1,273 in Rio de Janeiro, rent and utilities included – about $2,000 less a year. Higher rent and utilities in Rio de Janeiro outweigh lower spending on other living expenses.

62

Cost of Living Index in Rio de Janeiro
Learn more

Rio de Janeiro Living Index
54

Cost of Living Index in San Felipe
Learn more

San Felipe Living Index

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Rio de Janeiro

🇧🇷 Brazil

$1,273

/mo nomad

San Felipe

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,106

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Rio de Janeiro and in San Felipe

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,273 in Rio de Janeiro versus $1,106 in San Felipe.

Rio de Janeiro $1,273
San Felipe $1,106

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,841 in Rio de Janeiro versus $1,777 in San Felipe.

Rio de Janeiro $1,841
San Felipe $1,777

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $2,409 in Rio de Janeiro versus $2,448 in San Felipe.

Rio de Janeiro $2,409
San Felipe $2,448

Living in Rio de Janeiro is roughly 15% more expensive than in San Felipe, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Both cities sit below the global median: Rio de Janeiro 6% lower, San Felipe 18% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$9.38 R$47.54

$7.35 MX$136

27.62%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$40.00 R$203

$43.63 MX$806

-8.32%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$8.34 R$42.28

$8.27 MX$153

0.85%

Cappuccino

$2.29 R$11.62

$3.49 MX$64.4

-34.38%

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

$1.59 R$8.05

$1.35 MX$24.91

17.78%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.01 R$5.10

$1.05 MX$19.41

-3.81%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.14 R$10.85

$2.45 MX$45.34

-12.65%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.66 R$18.55

$4.10 MX$75.8

-10.73%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.13 R$5.72

$1.64 MX$30.38

-31.10%

White Bread (500g)

$2.09 R$10.60

$2.54 MX$46.89

-17.72%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.25 R$6.36

$1.72 MX$31.80

-27.33%

Eggs

$2.25 R$11.39

$2.53 MX$46.82

-11.07%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$10.92 R$55.3

$8.42 MX$156

29.69%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$4.36 R$22.10

$8.46 MX$156

-48.46%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$9.60 R$48.66

$11.72 MX$217

-18.09%

Apples (1kg)

$2.85 R$14.46

$2.67 MX$49.26

6.74%

Banana (1kg)

$1.81 R$9.16

$1.53 MX$28.23

18.30%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.58 R$8.02

$1.89 MX$35.02

-16.40%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.83 R$9.28

$1.83 MX$33.76

Potato (1kg)

$1.20 R$6.10

$1.99 MX$36.84

-39.70%

Onion (1kg)

$1.06 R$5.35

$1.87 MX$34.64

-43.32%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.75 R$3.81

$1.43 MX$26.39

-47.55%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.68 R$3.45

$1.08 MX$20.02

-37.04%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$2.94 R$14.90

$4.50 MX$83.1

-34.67%

Wine (Bottle)

$7.98 R$40.43

$10.26 MX$190

-22.22%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.18 R$5.98

$1.75 MX$32.42

-32.57%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.42 R$12.26

$3.07 MX$56.8

-21.17%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.94 R$4.78

$0.63 MX$11.65

49.21%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$50.3 R$255

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.20 R$6.10

$2.63 MX$48.65

-54.37%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.83 R$4.20

$1.93 MX$35.73

-56.99%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$8.97 R$45.48

$11.06 MX$204

-18.90%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.29 R$6.53

$1.45 MX$26.73

-11.03%

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

$22.8K R$115.5K

$21.4K MX$395.3K

6.47%

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

$34.0K R$172.1K

$24.5K MX$452.2K

38.76%

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

$134 R$681

$57.9 MX$1,070

131.99%

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

$10.73 R$54.4

$23.12 MX$427

-53.59%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$22.84 R$116

$29.50 MX$545

-22.58%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$30.16 R$153

$33.66 MX$622

-10.40%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$31.49 R$160

$20.47 MX$378

53.83%

Cinema Ticket

$7.73 R$39.17

$5.36 MX$99.0

44.22%

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

$584 R$2,960

$219 MX$4,051

166.31%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$12.8K R$64.9K

$4,580 MX$84.6K

179.62%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$41.12 R$208

$54.2 MX$1,002

-24.19%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$49.26 R$250

$40.18 MX$742

22.60%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$73.7 R$373

$99.7 MX$1,842

-26.09%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$65.9 R$334

$90.0 MX$1,662

-26.70%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$900 R$4,561

$617 MX$11.4K

45.72%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$527 R$2,673

$389 MX$7,184

35.62%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,332 R$6,754

$1,059 MX$19.6K

25.78%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$748 R$3,790

$757 MX$14.0K

-1.16%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,990 R$20.2K

$1,934 MX$35.7K

106.30%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,560 R$7,908

$1,147 MX$21.2K

36.06%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$640 R$3,246

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

11.93

11.3

5.58%

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

Last update for Rio de Janeiro: October 18, 2026

Last update for San Felipe: October 17, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Rio de Janeiro

$527 41.4%

San Felipe

$389 35.1% 26.3% $138

Groceries & Markets

Rio de Janeiro

$214 16.8%

San Felipe

$265 23.9% 23.8% $51

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Rio de Janeiro

$168 13.2%

San Felipe

$111 10% 34.2% $57

Eating Out

Rio de Janeiro

$156 12.3%

San Felipe

$156 14.1% 0.3% $0.4

Clothing & Footwear

Rio de Janeiro

$103 8.1%

San Felipe

$128 11.6% 23.5% $24

Getting Around

Rio de Janeiro

$59 4.7%

San Felipe

$15 * 1.3% 75.1% $45

Sport & Entertainment

Rio de Janeiro

$46 3.6%

San Felipe

$44 4% 2.7% $1.2

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 $900 in Rio de Janeiro and $617 in San Felipe. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Dining out: $40.00 in Rio de Janeiro vs $44.00 in San Felipe for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $214 vs $265 per month, with Rio de Janeiro cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇧🇷 Rio de Janeiro

🇲🇽 San Felipe

🕒 Local time

21:20 9:20 PM

18:20 6:20 PM

3 h behind Rio de Janeiro

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

6,211,223

28,452

💱 Currency

Brazilian Real BRL R$

Mexican Peso MXN $

📈 Exchange rate

1 BRL = 0.197 USD

1 BRL = 0.175 EUR

100 MXN = 5.41 USD

100 MXN = 4.81 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 21, 2026: 1 USD = 5.07 BRL (1 BRL = 0.197 USD). 1 EUR = 5.7 BRL (1 BRL = 0.175 EUR).

Mexican Peso exchange rates as of October 21, 2026: 1 USD = 18.48 MXN (100 MXN = 5.41 USD). 1 EUR = 20.77 MXN (100 MXN = 4.81 EUR).

USD to BRL in detail →

On the map

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Highest

Between locations

Rio de Janeiro San Felipe 7,990 km ≈ 10 h nonstop flight

From you

Rio de Janeiro
San Felipe

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 San Felipe: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Rio de Janeiro and San Felipe differ by about 15% in total monthly costs ($1,273 vs $1,106 including rent). San Felipe is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

You'd need roughly $1,910 in Rio de Janeiro and $1,660 in San Felipe to live well. The gap comes down to housing and overall price levels. Both cities are liveable on less, but these numbers represent actual comfort.

Rent for a central apartment: $900 in Rio de Janeiro versus $617 in San Felipe. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $584 in Rio de Janeiro versus $219 in San Felipe. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Dining out is cheaper in San Felipe – a meal for two runs $44.00 versus $40.00 in Rio de Janeiro. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

At $1,106 in San Felipe versus $1,273 in Rio de Janeiro, a $1,500 budget is realistic in San Felipe but tight or insufficient in Rio de Janeiro. The gap between the two cities makes San Felipe 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 San Felipe 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 San Felipe gentler on the wallet – expenses run 15% less than in Rio de Janeiro. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.