Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Rio de Janeiro and St.Catharines

For one person, living is cheaper in Rio de Janeiro: $1,273 a month against $2,309 in St.Catharines, rent and utilities included – about $12,400 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

62

Cost of Living Index in Rio de Janeiro
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Rio de Janeiro Living Index
112

Cost of Living Index in St.Catharines
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St.Catharines Living Index

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Rio de Janeiro

🇧🇷 Brazil

$1,273

/mo nomad

St.Catharines

🇨🇦 Canada

$2,309

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Rio de Janeiro and in St.Catharines

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,273 in Rio de Janeiro versus $2,309 in St.Catharines.

Rio de Janeiro $1,273
St.Catharines $2,309

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,841 in Rio de Janeiro versus $3,210 in St.Catharines.

Rio de Janeiro $1,841
St.Catharines $3,210

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $2,409 in Rio de Janeiro versus $4,111 in St.Catharines.

Rio de Janeiro $2,409
St.Catharines $4,111

Living in Rio de Janeiro costs roughly 45% less than in St.Catharines, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

The two cities straddle the global median: Rio de Janeiro is 6% below, St.Catharines is 70% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$9.38 R$47.54

$14.32 CA$20.24

-34.50%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$40.00 R$203

$57.6 CA$81.5

-30.60%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$8.34 R$42.28

$12.63 CA$17.86

-33.97%

Cappuccino

$2.29 R$11.62

$3.03 CA$4.29

-24.42%

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

$1.59 R$8.05

$1.65 CA$2.34

-3.64%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.01 R$5.10

$1.60 CA$2.27

-36.88%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.14 R$10.85

$4.65 CA$6.58

-53.98%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.66 R$18.55

$4.61 CA$6.52

-20.61%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.13 R$5.72

$2.09 CA$2.96

-45.93%

White Bread (500g)

$2.09 R$10.60

$2.18 CA$3.08

-4.13%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.25 R$6.36

$4.60 CA$6.50

-72.83%

Eggs

$2.25 R$11.39

$4.28 CA$6.06

-47.43%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$10.92 R$55.3

$14.90 CA$21.06

-26.71%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$4.36 R$22.10

$11.22 CA$15.86

-61.14%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$9.60 R$48.66

$14.04 CA$19.85

-31.62%

Apples (1kg)

$2.85 R$14.46

$5.19 CA$7.34

-45.09%

Banana (1kg)

$1.81 R$9.16

$1.11 CA$1.57

63.06%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.58 R$8.02

$4.36 CA$6.17

-63.76%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.83 R$9.28

$4.14 CA$5.85

-55.80%

Potato (1kg)

$1.20 R$6.10

$2.82 CA$3.99

-57.45%

Onion (1kg)

$1.06 R$5.35

$4.39 CA$6.20

-75.85%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.75 R$3.81

$2.60 CA$3.67

-71.15%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.68 R$3.45

$1.29 CA$1.83

-47.29%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$2.94 R$14.90

$13.73 CA$19.41

-78.59%

Wine (Bottle)

$7.98 R$40.43

$12.65 CA$17.88

-36.92%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.18 R$5.98

$3.00 CA$4.24

-60.67%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.42 R$12.26

$3.02 CA$4.28

-19.87%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.94 R$4.78

$2.46 CA$3.48

-61.79%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$50.3 R$255

$70.9 CA$100

-29.03%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.20 R$6.10

$2.88 CA$4.07

-58.33%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.83 R$4.20

$2.22 CA$3.14

-62.61%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$8.97 R$45.48

$22.28 CA$31.50

-59.74%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.29 R$6.53

$1.15 CA$1.63

12.17%

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

$22.8K R$115.5K

$26.4K CA$37.4K

-13.80%

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

$34.0K R$172.1K

$22.0K CA$31.1K

54.47%

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

$134 R$681

$178 CA$251

-24.49%

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

$10.73 R$54.4

$33.39 CA$47.21

-67.86%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$22.84 R$116

$47.75 CA$67.5

-52.17%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$30.16 R$153

$31.41 CA$44.41

-3.98%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$31.49 R$160

$41.10 CA$58.1

-23.38%

Cinema Ticket

$7.73 R$39.17

$11.04 CA$15.60

-29.98%

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

$584 R$2,960

$504 CA$713

15.77%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$12.8K R$64.9K

$27.6K CA$39.0K

-53.64%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$41.12 R$208

$73.6 CA$104

-44.16%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$49.26 R$250

$52.2 CA$73.8

-5.67%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$73.7 R$373

$80.1 CA$113

-8.03%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$65.9 R$334

$76.7 CA$108

-14.00%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$900 R$4,561

$1,210 CA$1,710

-25.62%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$527 R$2,673

$1,159 CA$1,638

-54.51%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,332 R$6,754

$1,707 CA$2,413

-21.94%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$748 R$3,790

$1,557 CA$2,201

-51.99%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,990 R$20.2K

$3,026 CA$4,277

31.87%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,560 R$7,908

$2,705 CA$3,824

-42.33%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$640 R$3,246

$2,969 CA$4,198

-78.43%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

11.93

5.71

108.93%

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

Last update for Rio de Janeiro: October 18, 2026

Last update for St.Catharines: October 17, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Rio de Janeiro

$527 41.4%

St.Catharines

$1.2K 50.2% 120% $632

Groceries & Markets

Rio de Janeiro

$214 16.8%

St.Catharines

$381 16.5% 78.5% $168

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Rio de Janeiro

$168 13.2%

St.Catharines

$259 11.2% 54.3% $91

Eating Out

Rio de Janeiro

$156 12.3%

St.Catharines

$234 10.2% 50.3% $78

Clothing & Footwear

Rio de Janeiro

$103 8.1%

St.Catharines

$127 5.5% 22.9% $24

Getting Around

Rio de Janeiro

$59 4.7%

St.Catharines

$95 4.1% 59.3% $35

Sport & Entertainment

Rio de Janeiro

$46 3.6%

St.Catharines

$53 2.3% 17.3% $7.9

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $900 in Rio de Janeiro and $1,210 in St.Catharines. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

St.Catharines pays 364% 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 $58.0 in St.Catharines for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $214 vs $381 per month, with Rio de Janeiro cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇧🇷 Rio de Janeiro

🇨🇦 St.Catharines

🕒 Local time

05:07 5:07 AM

04:07 4:07 AM

1 h behind Rio de Janeiro

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

6,211,223

133,113

💱 Currency

Brazilian Real BRL R$

Canadian Dollar CAD $

📈 Exchange rate

1 BRL = 0.197 USD

1 BRL = 0.175 EUR

1 CAD = 0.707 USD

1 CAD = 0.629 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 21, 2026: 1 USD = 5.07 BRL (1 BRL = 0.197 USD). 1 EUR = 5.7 BRL (1 BRL = 0.175 EUR).

Canadian Dollar exchange rates as of October 21, 2026: 1 USD = 1.41 CAD (1 CAD = 0.707 USD). 1 EUR = 1.59 CAD (1 CAD = 0.629 EUR).

USD to BRL in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Rio de Janeiro St.Catharines 8,220 km ≈ 11 h nonstop flight

From you

Rio de Janeiro
St.Catharines

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.Catharines: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Rio de Janeiro and St.Catharines differ by about 81% in total monthly costs ($1,273 vs $2,309 including rent). Rio de Janeiro is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

On paper, salaries run 364% lower in St.Catharines. That's worth factoring in alongside costs, though remote workers earning in a stronger currency may not notice the difference at all.

Rent for a central apartment: $900 in Rio de Janeiro versus $1,210 in St.Catharines. 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 $58.0 in St.Catharines. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

All in, you'll spend $1,273 per month in Rio de Janeiro versus $2,309 in St.Catharines – a 81% gap that adds up to real savings over time for anyone picking the cheaper option.

At $1,273 in Rio de Janeiro versus $2,309 in St.Catharines, a $2,000 budget is realistic in Rio de Janeiro but tight or insufficient in St.Catharines. 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.

Expats usually find Rio de Janeiro gentler on the wallet – expenses run 81% less than in St.Catharines. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.