Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Rio de Janeiro and Teresina

For one person, living is cheaper in Teresina: $758 a month against $1,273 in Rio de Janeiro, rent and utilities included – about $6,200 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

62

Cost of Living Index in Rio de Janeiro
Learn more

Rio de Janeiro Living Index
37

Cost of Living Index in Teresina
Learn more

Teresina Living Index

Jump to prices

Rio de Janeiro

🇧🇷 Brazil

$1,273

/mo nomad

Teresina

🇧🇷 Brazil

$758

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Rio de Janeiro and in Teresina

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,273 in Rio de Janeiro versus $758 in Teresina.

Rio de Janeiro $1,273
Teresina $758

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,841 in Rio de Janeiro versus $1,251 in Teresina.

Rio de Janeiro $1,841
Teresina $1,251

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $2,409 in Rio de Janeiro versus $1,745 in Teresina.

Rio de Janeiro $2,409
Teresina $1,745

Living in Rio de Janeiro is roughly 68% more expensive than in Teresina, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Both cities sit below the global median: Rio de Janeiro 6% lower, Teresina 44% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$9.38 R$47.54

$6.08 R$30.83

54.28%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$40.00 R$203

$19.82 R$100

101.82%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$8.34 R$42.28

$6.42 R$32.53

29.91%

Cappuccino

$2.29 R$11.62

$2.04 R$10.34

12.25%

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

$1.59 R$8.05

$1.08 R$5.47

47.22%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.01 R$5.10

$0.77 R$3.93

31.17%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.14 R$10.85

$1.58 R$7.99

35.44%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.66 R$18.55

$3.00 R$15.19

22.00%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.13 R$5.72

$1.49 R$7.56

-24.16%

White Bread (500g)

$2.09 R$10.60

$2.28 R$11.54

-8.33%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.25 R$6.36

$1.44 R$7.32

-13.19%

Eggs

$2.25 R$11.39

$4.45 R$22.54

-49.44%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$10.92 R$55.3

$7.54 R$38.22

44.83%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$4.36 R$22.10

$4.12 R$20.87

5.83%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$9.60 R$48.66

$6.78 R$34.39

41.59%

Apples (1kg)

$2.85 R$14.46

$1.88 R$9.53

51.60%

Banana (1kg)

$1.81 R$9.16

$0.91 R$4.60

98.90%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.58 R$8.02

$0.89 R$4.52

77.53%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.83 R$9.28

$1.33 R$6.76

37.59%

Potato (1kg)

$1.20 R$6.10

$1.11 R$5.61

8.11%

Onion (1kg)

$1.06 R$5.35

$0.90 R$4.56

17.78%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.75 R$3.81

$0.50 R$2.56

50.00%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.68 R$3.45

$1.51 R$7.68

-54.97%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$2.94 R$14.90

$3.32 R$16.83

-11.45%

Wine (Bottle)

$7.98 R$40.43

$9.24 R$46.84

-13.64%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.18 R$5.98

$1.46 R$7.39

-19.18%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.42 R$12.26

$2.83 R$14.36

-14.49%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.94 R$4.78

$0.95 R$4.80

-1.05%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$50.3 R$255

$45.09 R$229

11.60%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.20 R$6.10

$1.54 R$7.81

-22.08%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.83 R$4.20

$0.78 R$3.95

6.41%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$8.97 R$45.48

$7.88 R$39.94

13.83%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.29 R$6.53

$1.21 R$6.15

6.61%

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

$22.8K R$115.5K

$23.8K R$120.6K

-4.26%

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

$34.0K R$172.1K

$32.4K R$164.1K

4.91%

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

$134 R$681

$77.0 R$390

74.46%

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

$10.73 R$54.4

$10.31 R$52.3

4.07%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$22.84 R$116

$17.75 R$90.0

28.68%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$30.16 R$153

$21.77 R$110

38.54%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$31.49 R$160

$13.07 R$66.3

140.93%

Cinema Ticket

$7.73 R$39.17

$8.07 R$40.89

-4.21%

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

$584 R$2,960

$561 R$2,845

4.04%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$12.8K R$64.9K

$7,196 R$36.5K

77.96%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$41.12 R$208

$43.55 R$221

-5.58%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$49.26 R$250

$30.01 R$152

64.15%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$73.7 R$373

$75.9 R$385

-2.98%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$65.9 R$334

$50.3 R$255

31.07%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$900 R$4,561

$161 R$816

459.14%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$527 R$2,673

$150 R$762

250.94%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,332 R$6,754

$418 R$2,121

218.43%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$748 R$3,790

$435 R$2,204

71.98%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,990 R$20.2K

$1,367 R$6,932

191.79%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,560 R$7,908

$761 R$3,856

105.07%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$640 R$3,246

$392 R$1,987

63.36%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

11.93

8.45%

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 Teresina: October 19, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Rio de Janeiro

$527 41.4%

Teresina

$150 19.8% 71.5% $377

Groceries & Markets

Rio de Janeiro

$214 16.8%

Teresina

$207 27.3% 3.3% $7.1

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Rio de Janeiro

$168 13.2%

Teresina

$105 13.9% 37.4% $63

Eating Out

Rio de Janeiro

$156 12.3%

Teresina

$114 15% 27.1% $42

Clothing & Footwear

Rio de Janeiro

$103 8.1%

Teresina

$90 11.9% 13.1% $14

Getting Around

Rio de Janeiro

$59 4.7%

Teresina

$54 7.2% 8.6% $5.1

Sport & Entertainment

Rio de Janeiro

$46 3.6%

Teresina

$38 5% 16.9% $7.7

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $900 in Rio de Janeiro and $161 in Teresina. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Rio de Janeiro pays 63% 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 $20.00 in Teresina for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $214 vs $207 per month, with Teresina cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇧🇷 Rio de Janeiro

🇧🇷 Teresina

🕒 Local time

15:01 3:01 PM

Same time as Rio de Janeiro

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

6,211,223

866,300

💱 Currency

Brazilian Real BRL R$

📈 Exchange rate

1 BRL = 0.197 USD

1 BRL = 0.175 EUR

1 BRL = 0.197 USD

1 BRL = 0.175 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Rio de Janeiro Teresina 1,980 km ≈ 3 h nonstop flight

From you

Rio de Janeiro
Teresina

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 Teresina: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Rio de Janeiro and Teresina differ by about 68% in total monthly costs ($1,273 vs $758 including rent). Teresina is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

Average pay runs 63% higher in Rio de Janeiro, which matters when comparing affordability. Whether that higher income actually nets you more depends on your spending habits and housing choices.

Rent for a central apartment: $900 in Rio de Janeiro versus $161 in Teresina. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Dining out is cheaper in Teresina – a meal for two runs $20.00 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 $1,273 per month in Rio de Janeiro versus $758 in Teresina – a 68% gap that adds up to real savings over time for anyone picking the cheaper option.

At $758 in Teresina versus $1,273 in Rio de Janeiro, a $2,000 budget is realistic in Teresina but tight or insufficient in Rio de Janeiro. The gap between the two cities makes Teresina 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 Teresina gentler on the wallet – expenses run 68% less than in Rio de Janeiro. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.