Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Rio de Janeiro and San Miguel Dueñas

For one person, living is cheaper in San Miguel Dueñas: $751 a month against $1,289 in Rio de Janeiro, rent and utilities included – about $6,500 less a year. Higher rent and utilities in Rio de Janeiro outweigh lower spending on other living expenses.

63

Cost of Living Index in Rio de Janeiro
Learn more

Rio de Janeiro Living Index
35

Cost of Living Index in San Miguel Dueñas
Learn more

San Miguel Dueñas Living Index

Jump to prices

Rio de Janeiro

🇧🇷 Brazil

$1,289

/mo nomad

San Miguel Dueñas

🇬🇹 Guatemala

$751

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

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 Miguel Dueñas actually costs, broken down by who's living it.

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,289 in Rio de Janeiro versus $751 in San Miguel Dueñas.

Rio de Janeiro $1,289
San Miguel Dueñas $751

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,868 in Rio de Janeiro versus $1,255 in San Miguel Dueñas.

Rio de Janeiro $1,868
San Miguel Dueñas $1,255

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $2,448 in Rio de Janeiro versus $1,758 in San Miguel Dueñas.

Rio de Janeiro $2,448
San Miguel Dueñas $1,758

Living in Rio de Janeiro is roughly 71% more expensive than in San Miguel Dueñas, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Both cities sit below the global median: Rio de Janeiro 5% lower, San Miguel Dueñas 44% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$10.06 R$51.3

$6.86 Q 52.4

46.65%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$40.44 R$206

$50.8 Q 388

-20.44%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$8.55 R$43.57

$8.08 Q 61.7

5.82%

Cappuccino

$2.38 R$12.11

$3.40 Q 25.99

-30.00%

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

$1.61 R$8.22

$1.11 Q 8.46

45.05%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.03 R$5.25

$0.99 Q 7.54

4.04%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.47 R$12.60

$3.36 Q 25.67

-26.49%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.70 R$18.87

$4.70 Q 35.90

-21.28%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.19 R$6.08

$2.10 Q 16.05

-43.33%

White Bread (500g)

$2.05 R$10.44

$2.99 Q 22.84

-31.44%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.28 R$6.52

$2.09 Q 15.97

-38.76%

Eggs

$2.29 R$11.66

$2.50 Q 19.10

-8.40%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$10.76 R$54.8

$6.36 Q 48.63

69.18%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$4.41 R$22.47

$9.44 Q 72.2

-53.28%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$9.84 R$50.1

$13.49 Q 103

-27.06%

Apples (1kg)

$2.81 R$14.33

$3.96 Q 30.25

-29.04%

Banana (1kg)

$1.78 R$9.08

$1.65 Q 12.60

7.88%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.60 R$8.17

$2.92 Q 22.34

-45.21%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.80 R$9.16

$1.65 Q 12.63

9.09%

Potato (1kg)

$1.22 R$6.20

$1.50 Q 11.45

-18.67%

Onion (1kg)

$1.04 R$5.29

$2.17 Q 16.54

-52.07%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.77 R$3.94

$0.70 Q 5.34

10.00%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.67 R$3.40

$1.21 Q 9.26

-44.63%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$3.01 R$15.35

$4.01 Q 30.67

-24.94%

Wine (Bottle)

$8.08 R$41.15

$8.08 Q 61.8

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.19 R$6.06

$1.78 Q 13.63

-33.15%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.51 R$12.79

$2.67 Q 20.40

-5.99%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.99 R$5.03

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$50.1 R$255

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.22 R$6.23

$5.15 Q 39.33

-76.31%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.92 R$4.68

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$8.97 R$45.68

$10.50 Q 80.3

-14.57%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.30 R$6.61

$1.32 Q 10.09

-1.52%

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

$23.9K R$121.7K

$26.9K Q 205.7K

-11.30%

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

$32.9K R$167.5K

$25.4K Q 194.1K

29.40%

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

$133 R$680

$73.9 Q 565

80.42%

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

$10.82 R$55.1

$29.58 Q 226

-63.42%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$22.90 R$117

$46.04 Q 352

-50.26%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$30.79 R$157

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$31.85 R$162

Cinema Ticket

$8.05 R$41.04

$6.43 Q 49.16

25.19%

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

$598 R$3,045

$333 Q 2,547

79.24%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$13.4K R$68.4K

$6,715 Q 51.3K

99.84%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$42.04 R$214

$49.11 Q 375

-14.40%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$49.68 R$253

$47.48 Q 363

4.63%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$74.5 R$380

$118 Q 901

-36.80%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$68.7 R$350

$112 Q 859

-38.88%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$903 R$4,602

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$529 R$2,698

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,326 R$6,758

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$756 R$3,851

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$4,010 R$20.4K

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,560 R$7,950

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$640 R$3,259

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

11.93

11.62

2.67%

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 Miguel Dueñas: October 13, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Rio de Janeiro

$529 41.1%

San Miguel Dueñas

- * 0% 100%

Groceries & Markets

Rio de Janeiro

$215 16.7%

San Miguel Dueñas

$282 37.6% 31.5% $68

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Rio de Janeiro

$167 13%

San Miguel Dueñas

$150 19.9% 10.5% $18

Eating Out

Rio de Janeiro

$165 12.8%

San Miguel Dueñas

$155 20.6% 6.3% $10

Clothing & Footwear

Rio de Janeiro

$106 8.2%

San Miguel Dueñas

$147 19.6% 39.1% $41

Getting Around

Rio de Janeiro

$60 4.7%

San Miguel Dueñas

$5.2 * 0.7% 91.4% $55

Sport & Entertainment

Rio de Janeiro

$47 3.6%

San Miguel Dueñas

$13 * 1.7% 72.6% $34

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 $51.0 in San Miguel Dueñas for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $215 vs $282 per month, with Rio de Janeiro cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇧🇷 Rio de Janeiro

🇬🇹 San Miguel Dueñas

🕒 Local time

10:47 10:47 AM

07:47 7:47 AM

3 h behind Rio de Janeiro

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

6,211,223

11,000

💱 Currency

Brazilian Real BRL R$

Guatemalan Quetzal GTQ Q

📈 Exchange rate

1 BRL = 0.196 USD

1 BRL = 0.175 EUR

1 GTQ = 0.131 USD

1 GTQ = 0.117 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

GTQ, USD, EUR to BRL – Brazilian Real Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇧🇷 Brazilian Real (R$)

Brazilian Real exchange rates as of October 16, 2026: 1 USD = 5.1 BRL (1 BRL = 0.196 USD). 1 EUR = 5.71 BRL (1 BRL = 0.175 EUR).

Guatemalan Quetzal exchange rates as of October 16, 2026: 1 USD = 7.64 GTQ (1 GTQ = 0.131 USD). 1 EUR = 8.57 GTQ (1 GTQ = 0.117 EUR).

USD to BRL in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Rio de Janeiro San Miguel Dueñas 6,640 km ≈ 9 h nonstop flight

From you

Rio de Janeiro
San Miguel Dueñas

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 Miguel Dueñas: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Rio de Janeiro and San Miguel Dueñas differ by about 71% in total monthly costs ($1,289 vs $751 including rent). San Miguel Dueñas 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 $1,127 in San Miguel Dueñas 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 $333 in San Miguel Dueñas. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Dining out is cheaper in San Miguel Dueñas – a meal for two runs $51.0 versus $40.00 in Rio de Janeiro. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

At $751 in San Miguel Dueñas versus $1,289 in Rio de Janeiro, a $1,500 budget is realistic in San Miguel Dueñas but tight or insufficient in Rio de Janeiro. The gap between the two cities makes San Miguel Dueñas 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 Miguel Dueñas gentler on the wallet – expenses run 71% less than in Rio de Janeiro. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.