Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Rio de Janeiro and San Pedro

For one person, living is cheaper in Rio de Janeiro: $1,289 a month against $1,623 in San Pedro, rent and utilities included – about $4,000 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

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

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Rio de Janeiro

🇧🇷 Brazil

$1,289

/mo nomad

San Pedro

🇧🇿 Belize

$1,623

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,289 in Rio de Janeiro versus $1,623 in San Pedro.

Rio de Janeiro $1,289
San Pedro $1,623

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,868 in Rio de Janeiro versus $2,725 in San Pedro.

Rio de Janeiro $1,868
San Pedro $2,725

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $2,448 in Rio de Janeiro versus $3,828 in San Pedro.

Rio de Janeiro $2,448
San Pedro $3,828

Living in Rio de Janeiro costs roughly 21% less than in San Pedro, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

The two cities straddle the global median: Rio de Janeiro is 5% below, San Pedro is 20% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$10.06 R$51.0

$9.42 BZD 18.84

6.79%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$40.44 R$205

$29.94 BZD 59.9

35.07%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$8.55 R$43.35

Cappuccino

$2.38 R$12.04

$3.07 BZD 6.13

-22.48%

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

$1.61 R$8.18

$1.33 BZD 2.66

21.05%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.03 R$5.22

$1.49 BZD 2.98

-30.87%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.47 R$12.54

$2.96 BZD 5.93

-16.55%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.70 R$18.77

$4.05 BZD 8.11

-8.64%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.19 R$6.05

$5.09 BZD 10.18

-76.62%

White Bread (500g)

$2.05 R$10.38

$2.46 BZD 4.91

-16.67%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.28 R$6.49

$5.62 BZD 11.23

-77.22%

Eggs

$2.29 R$11.60

$1.87 BZD 3.73

22.46%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$10.76 R$54.5

$11.55 BZD 23.11

-6.84%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$4.41 R$22.36

$12.95 BZD 25.90

-65.95%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$9.84 R$49.86

$10.65 BZD 21.31

-7.61%

Apples (1kg)

$2.81 R$14.25

$14.23 BZD 28.47

-80.25%

Banana (1kg)

$1.78 R$9.03

$1.09 BZD 2.17

63.30%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.60 R$8.13

Tomato (1kg)

$1.80 R$9.11

$7.72 BZD 15.44

-76.68%

Potato (1kg)

$1.22 R$6.17

$6.75 BZD 13.49

-81.93%

Onion (1kg)

$1.04 R$5.26

$3.70 BZD 7.40

-71.89%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.77 R$3.92

$1.28 BZD 2.56

-39.84%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.67 R$3.38

$1.90 BZD 3.81

-64.74%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$3.01 R$15.27

Wine (Bottle)

$8.08 R$40.94

$23.93 BZD 47.87

-66.23%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.19 R$6.03

$3.77 BZD 7.54

-68.44%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.51 R$12.73

$4.00 BZD 8.00

-37.25%

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

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.92 R$4.66

$5.01 BZD 10.03

-81.64%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$8.97 R$45.45

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.30 R$6.57

$1.63 BZD 3.27

-20.25%

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

$23.9K R$121.0K

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

$32.9K R$166.6K

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

$133 R$676

$177 BZD 355

-24.74%

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

$10.82 R$54.8

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$22.90 R$116

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$30.79 R$156

$29.47 BZD 59.0

4.48%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$31.85 R$161

Cinema Ticket

$8.05 R$40.83

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

$598 R$3,029

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$13.4K R$68.0K

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$42.04 R$213

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$49.68 R$252

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$74.5 R$378

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$68.7 R$348

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$903 R$4,578

$992 BZD 1,984

-8.93%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$529 R$2,684

$761 BZD 1,522

-30.43%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,326 R$6,724

$2,768 BZD 5,537

-52.09%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$756 R$3,831

$1,998 BZD 3,997

-62.18%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$4,010 R$20.3K

$2,724 BZD 5,450

47.19%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,560 R$7,910

$1,645 BZD 3,291

-5.16%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$640 R$3,242

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

11.93

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 Pedro: 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 Pedro

–

Groceries & Markets

Rio de Janeiro

$215 16.7%

San Pedro

–

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Rio de Janeiro

$167 13%

San Pedro

–

Eating Out

Rio de Janeiro

$165 12.8%

San Pedro

–

Clothing & Footwear

Rio de Janeiro

$106 8.2%

San Pedro

–

Getting Around

Rio de Janeiro

$60 4.7%

San Pedro

–

Sport & Entertainment

Rio de Janeiro

$47 3.6%

San Pedro

–

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $903 in Rio de Janeiro and $992 in San Pedro. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Dining out: $40.00 in Rio de Janeiro vs $30.00 in San Pedro. Groceries flip the comparison at $215 vs $483, with Rio de Janeiro cheaper for home cooking.

Good to know

🇧🇷 Rio de Janeiro

🇧🇿 San Pedro

🕒 Local time

08:32 8:32 AM

05:32 5:32 AM

3 h behind Rio de Janeiro

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

6,211,223

15,456

💱 Currency

Brazilian Real BRL R$

Belize Dollar BZD $

📈 Exchange rate

1 BRL = 0.197 USD

1 BRL = 0.175 EUR

1 BZD = 0.5 USD

1 BZD = 0.445 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

BZD, USD, EUR to BRL – Brazilian Real Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇧🇷 Brazilian Real (R$)

Brazilian Real exchange rates as of October 18, 2026: 1 USD = 5.07 BRL (1 BRL = 0.197 USD). 1 EUR = 5.7 BRL (1 BRL = 0.175 EUR).

Belize Dollar exchange rates as of October 18, 2026: 1 USD = 2 BZD (1 BZD = 0.5 USD). 1 EUR = 2.25 BZD (1 BZD = 0.445 EUR).

USD to BRL in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Rio de Janeiro San Pedro 6,650 km ≈ 9 h nonstop flight

From you

Rio de Janeiro
San Pedro

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 Pedro: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Rio de Janeiro and San Pedro differ by about 26% in total monthly costs ($1,289 vs $1,623 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 $2,434 in San Pedro 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 $992 in San Pedro. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Dining out is cheaper in Rio de Janeiro – a meal for two runs $40.00 versus $30.00 in San Pedro. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

All in, you'll spend $1,289 per month in Rio de Janeiro versus $1,623 in San Pedro – a 26% gap that adds up to real savings over time for anyone picking the cheaper option.

At $1,289 in Rio de Janeiro versus $1,623 in San Pedro, a $2,000 budget is realistic in Rio de Janeiro but tight or insufficient in San Pedro. 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 Pedro 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 26% less than in San Pedro. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.