Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Rio de Janeiro and Stara Zagora

For one person, living is cheaper in Stara Zagora: $908 a month against $1,182 in Rio de Janeiro, rent and utilities included – about $3,300 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

57

Cost of Living Index in Rio de Janeiro
Learn more

Rio de Janeiro Living Index
44

Cost of Living Index in Stara Zagora
Learn more

Stara Zagora Living Index

Jump to prices

Rio de Janeiro

🇧🇷 Brazil

$1,182

/mo nomad

Stara Zagora

🇧🇬 Bulgaria

$908

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Rio de Janeiro and in Stara Zagora

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,182 in Rio de Janeiro versus $908 in Stara Zagora.

Rio de Janeiro $1,182
Stara Zagora $908

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,750 in Rio de Janeiro versus $1,415 in Stara Zagora.

Rio de Janeiro $1,750
Stara Zagora $1,415

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $2,318 in Rio de Janeiro versus $1,921 in Stara Zagora.

Rio de Janeiro $2,318
Stara Zagora $1,921

Living in Rio de Janeiro is roughly 30% more expensive than in Stara Zagora, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in transport.

Both cities sit below the global median: Rio de Janeiro 13% lower, Stara Zagora 33% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$9.08 R$48.86

$10.38 BGN 18.16

-12.52%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$37.25 R$200

$51.7 BGN 90.5

-27.99%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$8.02 R$43.15

$9.15 BGN 16.02

-12.35%

Cappuccino

$2.19 R$11.78

$2.34 BGN 4.09

-6.41%

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

$1.46 R$7.87

$1.50 BGN 2.62

-2.67%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.99 R$5.31

$0.87 BGN 1.52

13.79%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.03 R$10.91

$2.21 BGN 3.87

-8.14%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.45 R$18.55

$2.03 BGN 3.56

69.95%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.06 R$5.70

$1.73 BGN 3.02

-38.73%

White Bread (500g)

$1.98 R$10.68

$0.86 BGN 1.51

130.23%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.17 R$6.32

$1.45 BGN 2.54

-19.31%

Eggs

$2.21 R$11.88

$2.36 BGN 4.12

-6.36%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$10.11 R$54.4

$9.38 BGN 16.42

7.78%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$4.12 R$22.15

$6.39 BGN 11.18

-35.52%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$9.17 R$49.36

$8.59 BGN 15.03

6.75%

Apples (1kg)

$2.72 R$14.63

$1.25 BGN 2.19

117.60%

Banana (1kg)

$1.71 R$9.21

$1.70 BGN 2.98

0.59%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.53 R$8.23

$1.76 BGN 3.08

-13.07%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.66 R$8.94

$1.93 BGN 3.38

-13.99%

Potato (1kg)

$1.14 R$6.13

$1.00 BGN 1.74

14.00%

Onion (1kg)

$0.99 R$5.35

$0.72 BGN 1.26

37.50%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.65 R$3.48

$0.55 BGN 0.97

18.18%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.60 R$3.22

$0.63 BGN 1.10

-4.76%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$2.79 R$15.04

$3.64 BGN 6.38

-23.35%

Wine (Bottle)

$7.48 R$40.25

$5.25 BGN 9.18

42.48%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.09 R$5.87

$1.09 BGN 1.91

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.33 R$12.56

$1.73 BGN 3.03

34.68%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.90 R$4.82

$0.85 BGN 1.49

5.88%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$53.0 R$285

$20.45 BGN 35.79

159.17%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.17 R$6.28

$1.29 BGN 2.26

-9.30%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.78 R$4.20

$0.64 BGN 1.13

21.88%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$8.37 R$45.05

$11.40 BGN 19.95

-26.58%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.21 R$6.53

$1.57 BGN 2.75

-22.93%

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

$21.5K R$115.5K

$29.7K BGN 52.0K

-27.80%

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

$31.1K R$167.6K

$23.5K BGN 41.1K

32.62%

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

$124 R$670

$91.4 BGN 160

36.23%

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

$10.03 R$54.0

$14.59 BGN 25.53

-31.25%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$20.88 R$112

$12.26 BGN 21.46

70.31%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$28.35 R$153

$33.21 BGN 58.1

-14.63%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$29.33 R$158

$21.06 BGN 36.86

39.27%

Cinema Ticket

$7.62 R$40.99

$8.89 BGN 15.55

-14.29%

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

$563 R$3,029

$227 BGN 398

147.45%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$12.0K R$64.8K

$2,270 BGN 3,972

430.65%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$39.25 R$211

$30.35 BGN 53.1

29.32%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$46.36 R$250

$19.39 BGN 33.93

139.09%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$68.4 R$368

$64.0 BGN 112

6.89%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$63.4 R$341

$51.9 BGN 90.8

22.29%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$776 R$4,177

$330 BGN 577

135.54%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$473 R$2,547

$279 BGN 489

69.47%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,391 R$7,485

$498 BGN 871

179.40%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$739 R$3,977

$399 BGN 699

85.14%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,393 R$18.3K

$1,506 BGN 2,635

125.40%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,570 R$8,450

$1,109 BGN 1,941

41.58%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$597 R$3,212

$1,067 BGN 1,867

-44.03%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

11.93

2.99

299.00%

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

Last update for Rio de Janeiro: October 25, 2026

Last update for Stara Zagora: October 27, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Rio de Janeiro

$473 40%

Stara Zagora

$279 30.8% 41% $194

Groceries & Markets

Rio de Janeiro

$201 17%

Stara Zagora

$194 21.3% 3.6% $7.2

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Rio de Janeiro

$155 13.1%

Stara Zagora

$118 13% 23.9% $37

Eating Out

Rio de Janeiro

$150 12.7%

Stara Zagora

$163 18% 8.9% $13

Clothing & Footwear

Rio de Janeiro

$98 8.3%

Stara Zagora

$75 8.2% 23.8% $23

Getting Around

Rio de Janeiro

$62 5.2%

Stara Zagora

$28 3.1% 54% $33

Sport & Entertainment

Rio de Janeiro

$44 3.7%

Stara Zagora

$51 5.6% 17% $7.4

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $776 in Rio de Janeiro and $330 in Stara Zagora. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Stara Zagora pays 79% more on average while also being the cheaper of the two. The combined effect is a noticeably stronger local purchasing power.

Dining out: $37 in Rio de Janeiro vs $52 in Stara Zagora. Groceries flip the comparison at $201 vs $194, with Stara Zagora cheaper for home cooking.

Good to know

🇧🇷 Rio de Janeiro

🇧🇬 Stara Zagora

🕒 Local time

01:29 1:29 AM

06:29 6:29 AM

5 h ahead of Rio de Janeiro

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

6,211,223

149,266

💱 Currency

Brazilian Real BRL R$

Bulgarian Lev BGN лв.

📈 Exchange rate

1 BRL = 0.186 USD

1 BRL = 0.166 EUR

1 BGN = 0.571 USD

1 BGN = 0.512 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

BGN, USD, EUR to BRL – Brazilian Real Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇧🇷 Brazilian Real (R$)

Brazilian Real exchange rates as of November 2, 2026: 1 USD = 5.38 BRL (1 BRL = 0.186 USD). 1 EUR = 6.01 BRL (1 BRL = 0.166 EUR).

Bulgarian Lev exchange rates as of November 2, 2026: 1 USD = 1.75 BGN (1 BGN = 0.571 USD). 1 EUR = 1.95 BGN (1 BGN = 0.512 EUR).

USD to BRL in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Rio de Janeiro Stara Zagora 10,120 km ≈ 13 h nonstop flight

From you

Rio de Janeiro
Stara Zagora

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 Stara Zagora: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Total monthly costs including rent come to $1,182 in Rio de Janeiro and $908 in Stara Zagora, so Stara Zagora is about 23% cheaper – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

On paper, salaries run 44% lower in Rio de Janeiro. 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: $776 in Rio de Janeiro versus $330 in Stara Zagora. 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 $37 versus $52 in Stara Zagora. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

All in, you’ll spend $1,182 per month in Rio de Janeiro versus $908 in Stara Zagora – Stara Zagora is about 23% cheaper, which adds up to real savings over time.

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.