Last update: Nov 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Rio de Janeiro and Sydney, NS

For one person, living is cheaper in Rio de Janeiro: $1,185 a month against $1,620 in Sydney, NS, rent and utilities included – about $5,200 less a year. Other living expenses account for most of the difference.

57

Cost of Living Index in Rio de Janeiro
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Rio de Janeiro Living Index
78

Cost of Living Index in Sydney, NS
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Sydney, NS Living Index

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Rio de Janeiro

🇧🇷 Brazil

$1,185

/mo nomad

Sydney, NS

🇨🇦 Canada

$1,620

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Rio de Janeiro and in Sydney, NS

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,185 in Rio de Janeiro versus $1,620 in Sydney, NS.

Rio de Janeiro $1,185
Sydney, NS $1,620

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,737 in Rio de Janeiro versus $2,580 in Sydney, NS.

Rio de Janeiro $1,737
Sydney, NS $2,580

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $2,289 in Rio de Janeiro versus $3,539 in Sydney, NS.

Rio de Janeiro $2,289
Sydney, NS $3,539

Living in Rio de Janeiro costs roughly 27% less than in Sydney, NS, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in utilities.

The two cities straddle the global median: Rio de Janeiro is 12% below, Sydney, NS is 20% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$8.16 R$44.89

$11.58 CA$16.29

-29.53%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$37.20 R$205

$63.3 CA$89.0

-41.19%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$7.52 R$41.40

$7.29 CA$10.25

3.16%

Cappuccino

$2.10 R$11.58

$2.80 CA$3.93

-25.00%

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

$1.36 R$7.49

$2.23 CA$3.14

-39.01%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.96 R$5.29

$2.09 CA$2.93

-54.07%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$1.98 R$10.88

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.26 R$17.94

Milk (1 liter)

$1.09 R$5.97

$2.51 CA$3.53

-56.57%

White Bread (500g)

$1.87 R$10.27

$2.57 CA$3.62

-27.24%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.12 R$6.19

$2.48 CA$3.48

-54.84%

Eggs

$2.20 R$12.12

$3.29 CA$4.63

-33.13%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$9.91 R$54.6

$6.61 CA$9.29

49.92%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$4.11 R$22.62

$8.45 CA$11.88

-51.36%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$9.25 R$50.9

$13.02 CA$18.31

-28.96%

Apples (1kg)

$2.59 R$14.26

$7.36 CA$10.35

-64.81%

Banana (1kg)

$1.69 R$9.28

$1.12 CA$1.57

50.89%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.47 R$8.08

Tomato (1kg)

$1.72 R$9.45

$1.41 CA$1.99

21.99%

Potato (1kg)

$1.16 R$6.36

$0.99 CA$1.39

17.17%

Onion (1kg)

$1.00 R$5.50

$2.13 CA$3.00

-53.05%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.66 R$3.61

$6.28 CA$8.83

-89.49%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.61 R$3.35

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$2.69 R$14.81

$17.99 CA$25.31

-85.05%

Wine (Bottle)

$7.20 R$39.64

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.07 R$5.90

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.24 R$12.32

$4.17 CA$5.87

-46.28%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.88 R$4.82

$1.09 CA$1.53

-19.27%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$52.3 R$288

$48.78 CA$68.6

7.26%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.18 R$6.49

$4.27 CA$6.00

-72.37%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.68 R$3.72

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$8.71 R$47.94

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.20 R$6.59

$1.16 CA$1.63

3.45%

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

$21.9K R$120.4K

$26.4K CA$37.1K

-17.18%

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

$31.0K R$170.7K

$19.0K CA$26.7K

63.26%

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

$126 R$691

$88.8 CA$125

41.43%

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

$10.14 R$55.8

$36.35 CA$51.1

-72.10%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$20.95 R$115

$73.3 CA$103

-71.41%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$28.51 R$157

$49.08 CA$69.0

-41.91%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$28.87 R$159

$3.51 CA$4.93

722.51%

Cinema Ticket

$7.40 R$40.75

$7.02 CA$9.87

5.41%

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

$537 R$2,955

$721 CA$1,014

-25.54%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$15.9K R$87.4K

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$38.68 R$213

$70.1 CA$98.6

-44.85%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$45.06 R$248

$66.1 CA$92.9

-31.78%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$68.6 R$378

$99.3 CA$140

-30.95%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$64.1 R$353

$109 CA$153

-41.23%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$768 R$4,225

$913 CA$1,284

-15.91%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$491 R$2,701

$715 CA$1,005

-31.33%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,458 R$8,026

$1,789 CA$2,515

-18.47%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$743 R$4,088

$1,418 CA$1,994

-47.61%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,325 R$18.3K

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,552 R$8,542

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$674 R$3,708

$2,553 CA$3,590

-73.61%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

11.93

5.8

105.69%

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

Last update for Rio de Janeiro: November 3, 2026

Last update for Sydney, NS: November 1, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Rio de Janeiro

$491 41.4%

Sydney, NS

$715 44.1% 45.6% $224

Groceries & Markets

Rio de Janeiro

$198 16.7%

Sydney, NS

$266 * 16.4% 34.4% $68

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Rio de Janeiro

$157 13.2%

Sydney, NS

$198 12.3% 26.6% $42

Eating Out

Rio de Janeiro

$139 11.7%

Sydney, NS

$165 * 10.2% 19.2% $27

Clothing & Footwear

Rio de Janeiro

$97 8.2%

Sydney, NS

$155 9.6% 59.2% $58

Getting Around

Rio de Janeiro

$60 5.1%

Sydney, NS

$57 * 3.5% 4.9% $3

Sport & Entertainment

Rio de Janeiro

$43 3.7%

Sydney, NS

$63 3.9% 45.7% $20

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

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $768 in Rio de Janeiro and $913 in Sydney, NS. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Sydney, NS pays about 3.8 times more on average. How far that income stretches comes down to housing choices and lifestyle.

Dining out: $37 in Rio de Janeiro vs $63 in Sydney, NS for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $198 vs $266 per month, with Rio de Janeiro cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇧🇷 Rio de Janeiro

🇨🇦 Sydney, NS

🕒 Local time

16:32 4:32 PM

15:32 3:32 PM

1 h behind Rio de Janeiro

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

6,211,223

30,960

💱 Currency

Brazilian Real BRL R$

Canadian Dollar CAD $

📈 Exchange rate

1 BRL = 0.182 USD

1 BRL = 0.163 EUR

1 CAD = 0.711 USD

1 CAD = 0.636 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 November 6, 2026: 1 USD = 5.5 BRL (1 BRL = 0.182 USD). 1 EUR = 6.15 BRL (1 BRL = 0.163 EUR).

Canadian Dollar exchange rates as of November 6, 2026: 1 USD = 1.41 CAD (1 CAD = 0.711 USD). 1 EUR = 1.57 CAD (1 CAD = 0.636 EUR).

USD to BRL in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Rio de Janeiro Sydney, NS 7,870 km ≈ 10 h nonstop flight

From you

Rio de Janeiro
Sydney, NS

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 Sydney, NS: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Total monthly costs including rent come to $1,185 in Rio de Janeiro and $1,620 in Sydney, NS, so Rio de Janeiro is about 27% cheaper – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

On paper, salaries run 74% 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: $768 in Rio de Janeiro versus $913 in Sydney, NS. 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 $63 in Sydney, NS. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

All in, you’ll spend $1,185 per month in Rio de Janeiro versus $1,620 in Sydney, NS – Rio de Janeiro is about 27% cheaper, which adds up to real savings over time.

Either city works on $2,000 a month, though Rio de Janeiro gives you more room to save. At this income level, the choice is more about lifestyle than financial pressure.

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.

It comes down to priorities – Rio de Janeiro wins on affordability, Sydney, NS on earning potential. Factor in climate, language, visa rules, and proximity to places that matter to you before deciding.