Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Rio de Janeiro and San Juan de Pasto

For one person, living is cheaper in Rio de Janeiro: $1,289 a month against $1,371 in San Juan de Pasto, rent and utilities included – about $980 less a year. The total is higher in San Juan de Pasto despite lower rent and utilities.

63

Cost of Living Index in Rio de Janeiro
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Rio de Janeiro Living Index
63

Cost of Living Index in San Juan de Pasto
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San Juan de Pasto Living Index

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Rio de Janeiro

🇧🇷 Brazil

$1,289

/mo nomad

San Juan de Pasto

🇨🇴 Colombia

$1,371

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

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 Juan de Pasto actually costs, broken down by who's living it.

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,289 in Rio de Janeiro versus $1,371 in San Juan de Pasto.

Rio de Janeiro $1,289
San Juan de Pasto $1,371

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,868 in Rio de Janeiro versus $2,031 in San Juan de Pasto.

Rio de Janeiro $1,868
San Juan de Pasto $2,031

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $2,448 in Rio de Janeiro versus $2,691 in San Juan de Pasto.

Rio de Janeiro $2,448
San Juan de Pasto $2,691

Living in Rio de Janeiro costs roughly 6% less than in San Juan de Pasto, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in clothing.

The two cities straddle the global median: Rio de Janeiro is 5% below, San Juan de Pasto is 2% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$10.06 R$51.0

$6.63 COP 21.0K

51.73%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$40.44 R$205

$45.64 COP 144.7K

-11.39%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$8.55 R$43.35

$9.96 COP 31.6K

-14.16%

Cappuccino

$2.38 R$12.04

$2.57 COP 8,146

-7.39%

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

$1.61 R$8.18

$1.56 COP 4,948

3.21%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.03 R$5.22

$0.86 COP 2,715

19.77%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.47 R$12.54

$3.07 COP 9,733

-19.54%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.70 R$18.77

$4.05 COP 12.9K

-8.64%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.19 R$6.05

$1.43 COP 4,538

-16.78%

White Bread (500g)

$2.05 R$10.38

$2.41 COP 7,629

-14.94%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.28 R$6.49

$1.83 COP 5,795

-30.05%

Eggs

$2.29 R$11.60

$3.33 COP 10.6K

-31.23%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$10.76 R$54.5

$7.27 COP 23.1K

48.01%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$4.41 R$22.36

$11.06 COP 35.1K

-60.13%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$9.84 R$49.86

$13.41 COP 42.5K

-26.62%

Apples (1kg)

$2.81 R$14.25

$3.58 COP 11.3K

-21.51%

Banana (1kg)

$1.78 R$9.03

$1.40 COP 4,426

27.14%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.60 R$8.13

$2.01 COP 6,359

-20.40%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.80 R$9.11

$1.78 COP 5,640

1.12%

Potato (1kg)

$1.22 R$6.17

$1.41 COP 4,481

-13.48%

Onion (1kg)

$1.04 R$5.26

$1.27 COP 4,041

-18.11%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.77 R$3.92

$1.12 COP 3,566

-31.25%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.67 R$3.38

$1.12 COP 3,555

-40.18%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$3.01 R$15.27

$3.65 COP 11.6K

-17.53%

Wine (Bottle)

$8.08 R$40.94

$13.43 COP 42.6K

-39.84%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.19 R$6.03

$1.46 COP 4,635

-18.49%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.51 R$12.73

$2.73 COP 8,670

-8.06%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.99 R$5.00

$1.07 COP 3,390

-7.48%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$50.1 R$254

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.22 R$6.20

$1.61 COP 5,102

-24.22%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.92 R$4.66

$2.39 COP 7,590

-61.51%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$8.97 R$45.45

$9.04 COP 28.7K

-0.77%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.30 R$6.57

$1.19 COP 3,770

9.24%

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

$23.9K R$121.0K

$22.6K COP 71.7M

5.61%

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

$32.9K R$166.6K

$32.0K COP 101.4M

2.78%

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

$133 R$676

$124 COP 392.5K

7.76%

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

$10.82 R$54.8

$13.01 COP 41.2K

-16.83%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$22.90 R$116

$29.19 COP 92.5K

-21.55%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$30.79 R$156

$42.67 COP 135.3K

-27.84%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$31.85 R$161

Cinema Ticket

$8.05 R$40.83

$6.19 COP 19.6K

30.05%

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

$598 R$3,029

$682 COP 2.2M

-12.36%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$13.4K R$68.0K

$6,774 COP 21.5M

98.09%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$42.04 R$213

$91.0 COP 288.5K

-53.80%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$49.68 R$252

$61.1 COP 193.8K

-18.73%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$74.5 R$378

$153 COP 486.6K

-51.44%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$68.7 R$348

$102 COP 323.0K

-32.58%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$903 R$4,578

$706 COP 2.2M

27.93%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$529 R$2,684

$518 COP 1.6M

2.13%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,326 R$6,724

$1,082 COP 3.4M

22.63%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$756 R$3,831

$789 COP 2.5M

-4.17%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$4,010 R$20.3K

$2,028 COP 6.4M

97.72%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,560 R$7,910

$1,580 COP 5.0M

-1.22%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$640 R$3,242

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

11.93

11.58

3.02%

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 Juan de Pasto: 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 Juan de Pasto

$518 37.8% 2.1% $11

Groceries & Markets

Rio de Janeiro

$215 16.7%

San Juan de Pasto

$284 20.7% 32.3% $69

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Rio de Janeiro

$167 13%

San Juan de Pasto

$166 12.1% 0.7% $1.1

Eating Out

Rio de Janeiro

$165 12.8%

San Juan de Pasto

$147 10.7% 11% $18

Clothing & Footwear

Rio de Janeiro

$106 8.2%

San Juan de Pasto

$183 13.4% 73.4% $78

Getting Around

Rio de Janeiro

$60 4.7%

San Juan de Pasto

$18 * 1.3% 70.2% $42

Sport & Entertainment

Rio de Janeiro

$47 3.6%

San Juan de Pasto

$55 4% 17.4% $8.1

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 $903 in Rio de Janeiro and $706 in San Juan de Pasto. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Dining out: $40.00 in Rio de Janeiro vs $46.00 in San Juan de Pasto for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $215 vs $284 per month, with Rio de Janeiro cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇧🇷 Rio de Janeiro

🇨🇴 San Juan de Pasto

🕒 Local time

23:39 11:39 PM

21:39 9:39 PM

2 h behind Rio de Janeiro

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

6,211,223

392,930

💱 Currency

Brazilian Real BRL R$

Colombian Peso COP $

📈 Exchange rate

1 BRL = 0.197 USD

1 BRL = 0.175 EUR

10,000 COP = 3.15 USD

10,000 COP = 2.81 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

COP, USD, EUR to BRL – Brazilian Real Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇧🇷 Brazilian Real (R$)

Brazilian Real exchange rates as of October 19, 2026: 1 USD = 5.07 BRL (1 BRL = 0.197 USD). 1 EUR = 5.7 BRL (1 BRL = 0.175 EUR).

Colombian Peso exchange rates as of October 19, 2026: 1 USD = 3,171 COP (10,000 COP = 3.15 USD). 1 EUR = 3,565 COP (10,000 COP = 2.81 EUR).

USD to BRL in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Rio de Janeiro San Juan de Pasto 4,560 km ≈ 6 h nonstop flight

From you

Rio de Janeiro
San Juan de Pasto

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 Juan de Pasto: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Rio de Janeiro and San Juan de Pasto differ by about 6% in total monthly costs ($1,289 vs $1,371 including rent). Rio de Janeiro 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 $2,057 in San Juan de Pasto 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: $903 in Rio de Janeiro versus $706 in San Juan de Pasto. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $598 in Rio de Janeiro versus $682 in San Juan de Pasto. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Dining out is cheaper in Rio de Janeiro – a meal for two runs $40.00 versus $46.00 in San Juan de Pasto. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

At $1,289 in Rio de Janeiro versus $1,371 in San Juan de Pasto, a $2,000 budget is realistic in Rio de Janeiro but tight or insufficient in San Juan de Pasto. 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 San Juan de Pasto 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 6% less than in San Juan de Pasto. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.