Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Rio de Janeiro and St. Albert, AB

For one person, living is cheaper in St. Albert, AB: $1,167 a month against $1,289 in Rio de Janeiro, rent and utilities included – about $1,500 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
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Rio de Janeiro Living Index
57

Cost of Living Index in St. Albert, AB
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St. Albert, AB Living Index

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Rio de Janeiro

🇧🇷 Brazil

$1,289

/mo nomad

St. Albert, AB

🇨🇦 Canada

$1,167

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Rio de Janeiro and in St. Albert, AB

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 St. Albert, AB actually costs, broken down by who's living it.

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,289 in Rio de Janeiro versus $1,167 in St. Albert, AB.

Rio de Janeiro $1,289
St. Albert, AB $1,167

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,868 in Rio de Janeiro versus $2,457 in St. Albert, AB.

Rio de Janeiro $1,868
St. Albert, AB $2,457

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $2,448 in Rio de Janeiro versus $3,747 in St. Albert, AB.

Rio de Janeiro $2,448
St. Albert, AB $3,747

Living in Rio de Janeiro is roughly 10% more expensive than in St. Albert, AB, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Both cities sit below the global median: Rio de Janeiro 5% lower, St. Albert, AB 14% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$10.06 R$50.8

$19.29 CA$27.42

-47.85%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$40.44 R$204

$69.2 CA$98.4

-41.58%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$8.55 R$43.16

$9.90 CA$14.08

-13.64%

Cappuccino

$2.38 R$11.99

$3.81 CA$5.41

-37.53%

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

$1.61 R$8.14

$2.05 CA$2.92

-21.46%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.03 R$5.20

$2.00 CA$2.84

-48.50%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.47 R$12.49

$5.03 CA$7.14

-50.89%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.70 R$18.69

$5.64 CA$8.01

-34.40%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.19 R$6.03

$1.68 CA$2.39

-29.17%

White Bread (500g)

$2.05 R$10.34

$2.18 CA$3.09

-5.96%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.28 R$6.46

$3.04 CA$4.32

-57.89%

Eggs

$2.29 R$11.55

$3.46 CA$4.91

-33.82%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$10.76 R$54.3

$11.42 CA$16.23

-5.78%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$4.41 R$22.26

$11.34 CA$16.12

-61.11%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$9.84 R$49.65

$18.19 CA$25.85

-45.90%

Apples (1kg)

$2.81 R$14.19

$4.22 CA$5.99

-33.41%

Banana (1kg)

$1.78 R$8.99

$1.39 CA$1.97

28.06%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.60 R$8.10

$4.29 CA$6.09

-62.70%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.80 R$9.07

$3.96 CA$5.62

-54.55%

Potato (1kg)

$1.22 R$6.14

$2.63 CA$3.74

-53.61%

Onion (1kg)

$1.04 R$5.24

$2.64 CA$3.75

-60.61%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.77 R$3.90

$2.57 CA$3.66

-70.04%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.67 R$3.36

$1.56 CA$2.21

-57.05%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$3.01 R$15.21

$13.93 CA$19.80

-78.39%

Wine (Bottle)

$8.08 R$40.77

$11.72 CA$16.66

-31.06%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.19 R$6.00

$2.43 CA$3.45

-51.03%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.51 R$12.67

$2.82 CA$4.01

-10.99%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.99 R$4.98

$2.03 CA$2.89

-51.23%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$50.1 R$253

$60.6 CA$86.1

-17.24%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.22 R$6.17

$2.93 CA$4.16

-58.36%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.92 R$4.64

$1.36 CA$1.94

-32.35%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$8.97 R$45.25

$20.90 CA$29.70

-57.08%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.30 R$6.55

$1.10 CA$1.57

18.18%

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

$23.9K R$120.5K

$27.3K CA$38.8K

-12.46%

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

$32.9K R$165.9K

$19.5K CA$27.7K

68.84%

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

$133 R$673

$160 CA$228

-16.77%

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

$10.82 R$54.6

$38.86 CA$55.2

-72.16%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$22.90 R$116

$52.6 CA$74.8

-56.48%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$30.79 R$155

$40.02 CA$56.9

-23.06%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$31.85 R$161

Cinema Ticket

$8.05 R$40.65

$12.66 CA$17.99

-36.41%

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

$598 R$3,016

$748 CA$1,062

-20.06%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$13.4K R$67.7K

$9,306 CA$13.2K

44.20%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$42.04 R$212

$55.7 CA$79.2

-24.56%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$49.68 R$251

$39.02 CA$55.5

27.32%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$74.5 R$376

$83.3 CA$118

-10.57%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$68.7 R$347

$110 CA$157

-37.74%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$903 R$4,558

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$529 R$2,672

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,326 R$6,695

$1,334 CA$1,896

-0.57%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$756 R$3,814

$1,124 CA$1,597

-32.76%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$4,010 R$20.2K

$2,488 CA$3,536

61.20%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,560 R$7,875

$2,492 CA$3,542

-37.39%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$640 R$3,228

$3,157 CA$4,486

-79.74%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

11.93

4.51

164.52%

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 St. Albert, AB: October 12, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Rio de Janeiro

$529 41.1%

St. Albert, AB

- * 0% 100%

Groceries & Markets

Rio de Janeiro

$215 16.7%

St. Albert, AB

$360 30.8% 67.6% $145

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Rio de Janeiro

$167 13%

St. Albert, AB

$252 21.6% 50.6% $85

Eating Out

Rio de Janeiro

$165 12.8%

St. Albert, AB

$282 24.2% 71.1% $117

Clothing & Footwear

Rio de Janeiro

$106 8.2%

St. Albert, AB

$130 11.1% 22.8% $24

Getting Around

Rio de Janeiro

$60 4.7%

St. Albert, AB

$78 6.7% 31% $19

Sport & Entertainment

Rio de Janeiro

$47 3.6%

St. Albert, AB

$65 5.6% 39.4% $18

Categories marked with * are only partly priced – their share counts the items that do have prices.

Cost Breakdown

St. Albert, AB pays 394% more on average while also being the cheaper of the two. The combined effect is a noticeably stronger local purchasing power.

Dining out: $40.00 in Rio de Janeiro vs $69.0 in St. Albert, AB for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $215 vs $360 per month, with Rio de Janeiro cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇧🇷 Rio de Janeiro

🇨🇦 St. Albert, AB

🕒 Local time

22:31 10:31 PM

19:31 7:31 PM

3 h behind Rio de Janeiro

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

6,211,223

68,232

💱 Currency

Brazilian Real BRL R$

Canadian Dollar CAD $

📈 Exchange rate

1 BRL = 0.198 USD

1 BRL = 0.177 EUR

1 CAD = 0.704 USD

1 CAD = 0.628 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

CAD, USD, EUR to BRL – Brazilian Real Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇧🇷 Brazilian Real (R$)

Brazilian Real exchange rates as of October 15, 2026: 1 USD = 5.05 BRL (1 BRL = 0.198 USD). 1 EUR = 5.65 BRL (1 BRL = 0.177 EUR).

Canadian Dollar exchange rates as of October 15, 2026: 1 USD = 1.42 CAD (1 CAD = 0.704 USD). 1 EUR = 1.59 CAD (1 CAD = 0.628 EUR).

USD to BRL in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Rio de Janeiro St. Albert, AB 10,840 km ≈ 14 h nonstop flight

From you

Rio de Janeiro
St. Albert, AB

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 St. Albert, AB: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Rio de Janeiro and St. Albert, AB differ by about 10% in total monthly costs ($1,289 vs $1,167 including rent). St. Albert, AB is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

On paper, salaries run 394% lower in St. Albert, AB. That's worth factoring in alongside costs, though remote workers earning in a stronger currency may not notice the difference at all.

Dining out is cheaper in St. Albert, AB – a meal for two runs $69.0 versus $40.00 in Rio de Janeiro. 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 $1,167 in St. Albert, AB – a 10% gap that adds up to real savings over time for anyone picking the cheaper option.

At $1,167 in St. Albert, AB versus $1,289 in Rio de Janeiro, a $1,000 budget is realistic in St. Albert, AB but tight or insufficient in Rio de Janeiro. The gap between the two cities makes St. Albert, AB 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 St. Albert, AB gentler on the wallet – expenses run 10% less than in Rio de Janeiro. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.