Cost of Living Comparison Between Rio de Janeiro and Sao Paulo Cost of Living Comparison Between Rio de Janeiro and Sao Paulo

🙂 Solo nomad: Rio de Janeiro is 12.3% cheaper than Sao Paulo without rent, and 9% cheaper with rent.

🙂 Family of 3: Rio de Janeiro is 13.1% cheaper than Sao Paulo without rent, and 12.3% cheaper with rent.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$7.43 R$39.78

$7.38 R$39.54

0.68%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$36.44 R$195

$39.15 R$210

-6.92%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$6.44 R$34.51

$7.17 R$38.41

-10.18%

Cappuccino

$2 R$10.7

$2.11 R$11.29

-5.21%

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

$1.28 R$6.86

$1.19 R$6.38

7.56%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.86 R$4.59

$0.83 R$4.46

3.61%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$1.85 R$9.89

$2.1 R$11.24

-11.90%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.73 R$14.63

$2.85 R$15.25

-4.21%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.16 R$6.22

$1.02 R$5.45

13.73%

White Bread (500g)

$1.7 R$9.09

$1.77 R$9.51

-3.95%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.47 R$7.86

$1.29 R$6.92

13.95%

Eggs

$2.01 R$10.75

$2.39 R$12.79

-15.90%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$8.04 R$43.06

$10.91 R$58.4

-26.31%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$3.55 R$18.99

$4.22 R$22.59

-15.88%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$8.31 R$44.49

$8.89 R$47.64

-6.52%

Apples (1kg)

$2.41 R$12.9

$2.83 R$15.19

-14.84%

Banana (1kg)

$1.56 R$8.33

$1.93 R$10.34

-19.17%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.51 R$8.08

$1.68 R$9

-10.12%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.57 R$8.44

$1.85 R$9.9

-15.14%

Potato (1kg)

$1.26 R$6.74

$1.42 R$7.63

-11.27%

Onion (1kg)

$1.11 R$5.96

$1.3 R$6.97

-14.62%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.68 R$3.62

$0.92 R$4.95

-26.09%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.6 R$3.24

$0.69 R$3.71

-13.04%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$2 R$10.69

$2.57 R$13.76

-22.18%

Wine (Bottle)

$7.38 R$39.54

$8.24 R$44.13

-10.44%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.23 R$6.57

$1.34 R$7.18

-8.21%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.07 R$11.11

$2.38 R$12.73

-13.03%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.24 R$6.67

$0.93 R$4.97

33.33%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$38.66 R$207

$45.51 R$244

-15.05%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.08 R$5.79

$1.11 R$5.95

-2.70%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.65 R$3.47

$0.75 R$4

-13.33%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$7.69 R$41.2

$8.95 R$47.97

-14.08%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.07 R$5.71

$1.11 R$5.93

-3.60%

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

$20.7K R$110.9K

$21.3K R$114.1K

-2.80%

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

$27.1K R$145.4K

$28.4K R$152.3K

-4.53%

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

$102 R$544

$55.6 R$298

82.74%

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

$12.03 R$64.5

$13.16 R$70.5

-8.59%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$19.2 R$103

$20.26 R$109

-5.23%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$26.04 R$140

$28.8 R$154

-9.58%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$24.41 R$131

$36.03 R$193

-32.25%

Cinema Ticket

$6.48 R$34.7

$8.13 R$43.56

-20.30%

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

$556 R$2,978

$488 R$2,614

13.91%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$11.5K R$61.9K

$15.4K R$82.4K

-24.94%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$45.55 R$244

$51 R$273

-10.69%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$41.67 R$223

$42.86 R$230

-2.78%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$75.8 R$406

$79.6 R$426

-4.85%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$61.2 R$328

$73.6 R$394

-16.86%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$441 R$2,361

$656 R$3,515

-32.84%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$332 R$1,777

$402 R$2,153

-17.45%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$843 R$4,517

$1,279 R$6,851

-34.07%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$571 R$3,057

$751 R$4,023

-24.00%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,327 R$12.5K

$2,855 R$15.3K

-18.48%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,233 R$6,605

$2,031 R$10.9K

-39.31%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$469 R$2,512

$809 R$4,333

-42.03%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

11.33

11.56

-1.99%

Citycost data is based on AI and user input – minor inaccuracies may occur.

Last update for Rio de Janeiro: November 30, 2025

Last update for Sao Paulo: November 29, 2025

Digital Nomad Cost of Living Index

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