Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Rio de Janeiro and San Juan del Sur

For one person, living is cheaper in San Juan del Sur: $1,058 a month against $1,289 in Rio de Janeiro, rent and utilities included – about $2,800 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
51

Cost of Living Index in San Juan del Sur
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San Juan del Sur Living Index

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Rio de Janeiro

🇧🇷 Brazil

$1,289

/mo nomad

San Juan del Sur

🇳🇮 Nicaragua

$1,058

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

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 del Sur actually costs, broken down by who's living it.

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,289 in Rio de Janeiro versus $1,058 in San Juan del Sur.

Rio de Janeiro $1,289
San Juan del Sur $1,058

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,868 in Rio de Janeiro versus $1,682 in San Juan del Sur.

Rio de Janeiro $1,868
San Juan del Sur $1,682

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $2,448 in Rio de Janeiro versus $2,307 in San Juan del Sur.

Rio de Janeiro $2,448
San Juan del Sur $2,307

Living in Rio de Janeiro is roughly 22% more expensive than in San Juan del Sur, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in clothing.

Both cities sit below the global median: Rio de Janeiro 5% lower, San Juan del Sur 22% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$10.06 R$51.0

$4.17 NIO 153

141.25%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$40.44 R$205

$34.08 NIO 1,248

18.66%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$8.55 R$43.35

$5.57 NIO 204

53.50%

Cappuccino

$2.38 R$12.04

$2.56 NIO 93.7

-7.03%

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

$1.61 R$8.18

$0.86 NIO 31.37

87.21%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.03 R$5.22

$0.68 NIO 25.02

51.47%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.47 R$12.54

$1.47 NIO 53.8

68.03%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.70 R$18.77

$2.23 NIO 81.8

65.92%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.19 R$6.05

$1.24 NIO 45.36

-4.03%

White Bread (500g)

$2.05 R$10.38

$1.53 NIO 55.9

33.99%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.28 R$6.49

$1.19 NIO 43.56

7.56%

Eggs

$2.29 R$11.60

$2.44 NIO 89.2

-6.15%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$10.76 R$54.5

$7.71 NIO 283

39.56%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$4.41 R$22.36

$6.15 NIO 225

-28.29%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$9.84 R$49.86

$7.84 NIO 287

25.51%

Apples (1kg)

$2.81 R$14.25

$4.10 NIO 150

-31.46%

Banana (1kg)

$1.78 R$9.03

$0.62 NIO 22.71

187.10%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.60 R$8.13

$1.84 NIO 67.3

-13.04%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.80 R$9.11

$2.45 NIO 89.9

-26.53%

Potato (1kg)

$1.22 R$6.17

$3.11 NIO 114

-60.77%

Onion (1kg)

$1.04 R$5.26

$2.18 NIO 79.9

-52.29%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.77 R$3.92

$1.05 NIO 38.54

-26.67%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.67 R$3.38

$1.05 NIO 38.52

-36.19%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$3.01 R$15.27

$2.76 NIO 101

9.06%

Wine (Bottle)

$8.08 R$40.94

$9.76 NIO 357

-17.21%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.19 R$6.03

$1.42 NIO 51.9

-16.20%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.51 R$12.73

$2.18 NIO 79.7

15.14%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.99 R$5.00

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$50.1 R$254

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.22 R$6.20

$1.58 NIO 58.0

-22.78%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.92 R$4.66

$1.64 NIO 60.3

-43.90%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$8.97 R$45.45

$6.87 NIO 252

30.57%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.30 R$6.57

$1.34 NIO 49.13

-2.99%

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

$23.9K R$121.0K

$22.8K NIO 836.8K

4.50%

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

$32.9K R$166.6K

$26.7K NIO 977.1K

23.18%

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

$133 R$676

$60.8 NIO 2,225

119.55%

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

$10.82 R$54.8

$10.32 NIO 378

4.84%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$22.90 R$116

$33.01 NIO 1,209

-30.63%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$30.79 R$156

$30.51 NIO 1,118

0.92%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$31.85 R$161

Cinema Ticket

$8.05 R$40.83

$9.23 NIO 338

-12.78%

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

$598 R$3,029

$233 NIO 8,530

156.57%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$13.4K R$68.0K

$6,128 NIO 224.4K

118.96%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$42.04 R$213

$61.1 NIO 2,237

-31.16%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$49.68 R$252

$66.1 NIO 2,421

-24.84%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$74.5 R$378

$123 NIO 4,500

-39.36%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$68.7 R$348

$146 NIO 5,331

-52.81%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$903 R$4,578

$423 NIO 15.5K

113.45%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$529 R$2,684

$393 NIO 14.4K

34.65%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,326 R$6,724

$930 NIO 34.1K

42.64%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$756 R$3,831

$797 NIO 29.2K

-5.23%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$4,010 R$20.3K

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,560 R$7,910

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$640 R$3,242

$346 NIO 12.7K

84.87%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

11.93

11.92

0.08%

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 del Sur: October 12, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Rio de Janeiro

$529 41.1%

San Juan del Sur

$393 37.2% 25.7% $136

Groceries & Markets

Rio de Janeiro

$215 16.7%

San Juan del Sur

$225 21.3% 4.8% $10

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Rio de Janeiro

$167 13%

San Juan del Sur

$104 9.8% 37.7% $63

Eating Out

Rio de Janeiro

$165 12.8%

San Juan del Sur

$99 9.3% 40.2% $66

Clothing & Footwear

Rio de Janeiro

$106 8.2%

San Juan del Sur

$178 16.8% 68.4% $72

Getting Around

Rio de Janeiro

$60 4.7%

San Juan del Sur

$9.8 * 0.9% 83.6% $50

Sport & Entertainment

Rio de Janeiro

$47 3.6%

San Juan del Sur

$49 4.6% 4.4% $2.1

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 $423 in San Juan del Sur. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Rio de Janeiro pays 85% 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 $34.00 in San Juan del Sur. Groceries flip the comparison at $215 vs $225, with Rio de Janeiro cheaper for home cooking.

Good to know

🇧🇷 Rio de Janeiro

🇳🇮 San Juan del Sur

🕒 Local time

20:21 8:21 PM

17:21 5:21 PM

3 h behind Rio de Janeiro

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

6,211,223

14,741

💱 Currency

Brazilian Real BRL R$

Nicaraguan Córdoba NIO C$

📈 Exchange rate

1 BRL = 0.197 USD

1 BRL = 0.175 EUR

100 NIO = 2.73 USD

100 NIO = 2.43 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

NIO, USD, EUR to BRL – Brazilian Real Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇧🇷 Brazilian Real (R$)

Brazilian Real exchange rates as of October 17, 2026: 1 USD = 5.07 BRL (1 BRL = 0.197 USD). 1 EUR = 5.7 BRL (1 BRL = 0.175 EUR).

Nicaraguan Córdoba exchange rates as of October 17, 2026: 1 USD = 36.62 NIO (100 NIO = 2.73 USD). 1 EUR = 41.17 NIO (100 NIO = 2.43 EUR).

USD to BRL in detail →

On the map

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Highest

Between locations

Rio de Janeiro San Juan del Sur 6,000 km ≈ 8 h nonstop flight

From you

Rio de Janeiro
San Juan del Sur

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 del Sur: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Rio de Janeiro and San Juan del Sur differ by about 22% in total monthly costs ($1,289 vs $1,058 including rent). San Juan del Sur is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

Average pay runs 85% higher in Rio de Janeiro, which matters when comparing affordability. Whether that higher income actually nets you more depends on your spending habits and housing choices.

Rent for a central apartment: $903 in Rio de Janeiro versus $423 in San Juan del Sur. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $598 in Rio de Janeiro versus $233 in San Juan del Sur. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Dining out is cheaper in San Juan del Sur – a meal for two runs $34.00 versus $40.00 in Rio de Janeiro. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

At $1,058 in San Juan del Sur versus $1,289 in Rio de Janeiro, a $2,000 budget is realistic in San Juan del Sur but tight or insufficient in Rio de Janeiro. The gap between the two cities makes San Juan del Sur 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 Juan del Sur gentler on the wallet – expenses run 22% less than in Rio de Janeiro. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.