Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Rio de Janeiro and San Francisco de Macoris

For one person, living is cheaper in San Francisco de Macoris: $694 a month against $1,289 in Rio de Janeiro, rent and utilities included – about $7,100 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

63

Cost of Living Index in Rio de Janeiro
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Rio de Janeiro Living Index
34

Cost of Living Index in San Francisco de Macoris
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San Francisco de Macoris Living Index

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Rio de Janeiro

🇧🇷 Brazil

$1,289

/mo nomad

San Francisco de Macoris

🇩🇴 Dominican Republic

$694

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

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 Francisco de Macoris actually costs, broken down by who's living it.

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,289 in Rio de Janeiro versus $694 in San Francisco de Macoris.

Rio de Janeiro $1,289
San Francisco de Macoris $694

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,868 in Rio de Janeiro versus $1,144 in San Francisco de Macoris.

Rio de Janeiro $1,868
San Francisco de Macoris $1,144

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $2,448 in Rio de Janeiro versus $1,595 in San Francisco de Macoris.

Rio de Janeiro $2,448
San Francisco de Macoris $1,595

Living in Rio de Janeiro is roughly 86% more expensive than in San Francisco de Macoris, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in transport.

Both cities sit below the global median: Rio de Janeiro 5% lower, San Francisco de Macoris 49% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$10.06 R$50.6

$9.74 DOP 595

3.29%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$40.44 R$203

$49.20 DOP 3,005

-17.80%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$8.55 R$42.99

$7.53 DOP 460

13.55%

Cappuccino

$2.38 R$11.95

$2.19 DOP 134

8.68%

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

$1.61 R$8.11

$1.00 DOP 61.3

61.00%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.03 R$5.18

$0.54 DOP 33.23

90.74%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.47 R$12.44

$2.44 DOP 149

1.23%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.70 R$18.62

$3.15 DOP 192

17.46%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.19 R$6.00

$1.39 DOP 84.9

-14.39%

White Bread (500g)

$2.05 R$10.30

$1.47 DOP 90.0

39.46%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.28 R$6.44

$1.59 DOP 97.3

-19.50%

Eggs

$2.29 R$11.50

$2.38 DOP 146

-3.78%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$10.76 R$54.1

$7.16 DOP 437

50.28%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$4.41 R$22.18

$5.40 DOP 330

-18.33%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$9.84 R$49.46

$6.43 DOP 392

53.03%

Apples (1kg)

$2.81 R$14.14

$3.10 DOP 189

-9.35%

Banana (1kg)

$1.78 R$8.96

$0.81 DOP 49.55

119.75%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.60 R$8.07

$2.65 DOP 162

-39.62%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.80 R$9.03

$1.84 DOP 113

-2.17%

Potato (1kg)

$1.22 R$6.12

$1.96 DOP 120

-37.76%

Onion (1kg)

$1.04 R$5.22

$2.17 DOP 133

-52.07%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.77 R$3.88

$0.99 DOP 60.4

-22.22%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.67 R$3.35

$1.02 DOP 62.2

-34.31%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$3.01 R$15.15

$5.24 DOP 320

-42.56%

Wine (Bottle)

$8.08 R$40.61

$10.46 DOP 639

-22.75%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.19 R$5.98

$2.57 DOP 157

-53.70%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.51 R$12.62

$2.99 DOP 183

-16.05%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.99 R$4.96

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$50.1 R$252

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.22 R$6.15

$3.24 DOP 198

-62.35%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.92 R$4.62

$2.27 DOP 139

-59.47%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$8.97 R$45.08

$5.60 DOP 342

60.18%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.30 R$6.52

$1.45 DOP 88.3

-10.34%

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

$23.9K R$120.0K

$23.4K DOP 1.4M

1.89%

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

$32.9K R$165.2K

$33.2K DOP 2.0M

-0.93%

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

$133 R$671

$91.2 DOP 5,569

46.27%

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

$10.82 R$54.4

$31.66 DOP 1,934

-65.82%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$22.90 R$115

$36.44 DOP 2,226

-37.16%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$30.79 R$155

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$31.85 R$160

Cinema Ticket

$8.05 R$40.50

$7.28 DOP 445

10.58%

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

$598 R$3,005

$250 DOP 15.3K

138.85%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$13.4K R$67.5K

$7,404 DOP 452.2K

81.23%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$42.04 R$211

$45.90 DOP 2,803

-8.41%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$49.68 R$250

$46.47 DOP 2,838

6.91%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$74.5 R$375

$84.8 DOP 5,181

-12.16%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$68.7 R$345

$123 DOP 7,537

-44.34%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$903 R$4,541

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$529 R$2,662

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,326 R$6,669

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$756 R$3,800

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$4,010 R$20.2K

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,560 R$7,845

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$640 R$3,216

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

11.93

13.56

-12.02%

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 San Francisco de Macoris: October 11, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Rio de Janeiro

$529 41.1%

San Francisco de Macoris

- * 0% 100%

Groceries & Markets

Rio de Janeiro

$215 16.7%

San Francisco de Macoris

$219 31.5% 1.9% $4

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Rio de Janeiro

$167 13%

San Francisco de Macoris

$159 23% 4.7% $7.8

Eating Out

Rio de Janeiro

$165 12.8%

San Francisco de Macoris

$152 21.8% 8.2% $13

Clothing & Footwear

Rio de Janeiro

$106 8.2%

San Francisco de Macoris

$135 19.5% 28% $30

Getting Around

Rio de Janeiro

$60 4.7%

San Francisco de Macoris

$15 * 2.1% 75.6% $45

Sport & Entertainment

Rio de Janeiro

$47 3.6%

San Francisco de Macoris

$15 * 2.1% 68.9% $32

Categories marked with * are only partly priced – their share counts the items that do have prices.

Cost Breakdown

Dining out: $40.00 in Rio de Janeiro vs $49.00 in San Francisco de Macoris for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $215 vs $219 per month, with Rio de Janeiro cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇧🇷 Rio de Janeiro

🇩🇴 San Francisco de Macoris

🕒 Local time

17:40 5:40 PM

16:40 4:40 PM

1 h behind Rio de Janeiro

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

6,211,223

245,397

💱 Currency

Brazilian Real BRL R$

Dominican Peso DOP $

📈 Exchange rate

1 BRL = 0.199 USD

1 BRL = 0.178 EUR

100 DOP = 1.64 USD

100 DOP = 1.46 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

DOP, USD, EUR to BRL – Brazilian Real Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇧🇷 Brazilian Real (R$)

Brazilian Real exchange rates as of October 15, 2026: 1 USD = 5.03 BRL (1 BRL = 0.199 USD). 1 EUR = 5.63 BRL (1 BRL = 0.178 EUR).

Dominican Peso exchange rates as of October 15, 2026: 1 USD = 61.07 DOP (100 DOP = 1.64 USD). 1 EUR = 68.39 DOP (100 DOP = 1.46 EUR).

USD to BRL in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Rio de Janeiro San Francisco de Macoris 5,540 km ≈ 7 h nonstop flight

From you

Rio de Janeiro
San Francisco de Macoris

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 Francisco de Macoris: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Rio de Janeiro and San Francisco de Macoris differ by about 86% in total monthly costs ($1,289 vs $694 including rent). San Francisco de Macoris is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

You'd need roughly $1,933 in Rio de Janeiro and $1,041 in San Francisco de Macoris 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.

Childcare runs $598 in Rio de Janeiro versus $250 in San Francisco de Macoris. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Dining out is cheaper in San Francisco de Macoris – a meal for two runs $49.00 versus $40.00 in Rio de Janeiro. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

At $694 in San Francisco de Macoris versus $1,289 in Rio de Janeiro, a $1,000 budget is realistic in San Francisco de Macoris but tight or insufficient in Rio de Janeiro. The gap between the two cities makes San Francisco de Macoris 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.

Expats usually find San Francisco de Macoris gentler on the wallet – expenses run 86% less than in Rio de Janeiro. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.