Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Rio de Janeiro and Ubatuba

For one person, living is cheaper in Ubatuba: $790 a month against $1,182 in Rio de Janeiro, rent and utilities included – about $4,700 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

57

Cost of Living Index in Rio de Janeiro
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Rio de Janeiro Living Index
38

Cost of Living Index in Ubatuba
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Ubatuba Living Index

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Rio de Janeiro

🇧🇷 Brazil

$1,182

/mo nomad

Ubatuba

🇧🇷 Brazil

$790

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,182 in Rio de Janeiro versus $790 in Ubatuba.

Rio de Janeiro $1,182
Ubatuba $790

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,750 in Rio de Janeiro versus $1,256 in Ubatuba.

Rio de Janeiro $1,750
Ubatuba $1,256

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $2,318 in Rio de Janeiro versus $1,722 in Ubatuba.

Rio de Janeiro $2,318
Ubatuba $1,722

Living in Rio de Janeiro is roughly 50% more expensive than in Ubatuba, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in transport.

Both cities sit below the global median: Rio de Janeiro 13% lower, Ubatuba 42% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$9.08 R$48.86

$6.82 R$36.72

33.14%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$37.25 R$200

$27.03 R$145

37.81%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$8.02 R$43.15

$4.78 R$25.71

67.78%

Cappuccino

$2.19 R$11.78

$1.37 R$7.37

59.85%

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

$1.46 R$7.87

$1.24 R$6.70

17.74%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.99 R$5.31

$0.81 R$4.37

22.22%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.03 R$10.91

$2.24 R$12.06

-9.38%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.45 R$18.55

$3.64 R$19.57

-5.22%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.06 R$5.70

$0.92 R$4.96

15.22%

White Bread (500g)

$1.98 R$10.68

$1.71 R$9.18

15.79%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.17 R$6.32

$1.27 R$6.86

-7.87%

Eggs

$2.21 R$11.88

$2.31 R$12.44

-4.33%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$10.11 R$54.4

$2.76 R$14.86

266.30%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$4.12 R$22.15

$3.78 R$20.33

8.99%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$9.17 R$49.36

$7.32 R$39.39

25.27%

Apples (1kg)

$2.72 R$14.63

$1.52 R$8.16

78.95%

Banana (1kg)

$1.71 R$9.21

$1.10 R$5.91

55.45%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.53 R$8.23

$1.11 R$5.96

37.84%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.66 R$8.94

$1.31 R$7.02

26.72%

Potato (1kg)

$1.14 R$6.13

$1.14 R$6.11

Onion (1kg)

$0.99 R$5.35

$1.14 R$6.14

-13.16%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.65 R$3.48

$0.85 R$4.59

-23.53%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.60 R$3.22

$0.58 R$3.11

3.45%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$2.79 R$15.04

$2.29 R$12.32

21.83%

Wine (Bottle)

$7.48 R$40.25

$7.42 R$39.91

0.81%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.09 R$5.87

$1.47 R$7.91

-25.85%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.33 R$12.56

$2.31 R$12.46

0.87%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.90 R$4.82

$0.97 R$5.23

-7.22%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$53.0 R$285

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.17 R$6.28

$1.09 R$5.88

7.34%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.78 R$4.20

$0.71 R$3.82

9.86%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$8.37 R$45.05

$8.10 R$43.61

3.33%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.21 R$6.53

$1.23 R$6.64

-1.63%

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

$21.5K R$115.5K

$22.2K R$119.2K

-3.12%

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

$31.1K R$167.6K

$31.8K R$171.4K

-2.22%

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

$124 R$670

$61.4 R$330

102.77%

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

$10.03 R$54.0

$8.67 R$46.65

15.69%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$20.88 R$112

$18.41 R$99.1

13.42%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$28.35 R$153

$11.06 R$59.6

156.33%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$29.33 R$158

Cinema Ticket

$7.62 R$40.99

$7.39 R$39.79

3.11%

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

$563 R$3,029

$414 R$2,230

35.82%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$12.0K R$64.8K

$10.2K R$54.7K

18.43%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$39.25 R$211

$61.4 R$331

-36.11%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$46.36 R$250

$53.1 R$285

-12.61%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$68.4 R$368

$84.8 R$456

-19.32%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$63.4 R$341

$74.2 R$399

-14.48%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$776 R$4,177

$366 R$1,970

112.00%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$473 R$2,547

$275 R$1,477

72.36%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,391 R$7,485

$735 R$3,956

89.21%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$739 R$3,977

$562 R$3,023

31.55%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,393 R$18.3K

$1,656 R$8,914

104.87%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,570 R$8,450

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$597 R$3,212

$352 R$1,897

69.36%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

11.93

10.81

10.36%

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 Ubatuba: October 24, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Rio de Janeiro

$473 40%

Ubatuba

$275 34.7% 42% $199

Groceries & Markets

Rio de Janeiro

$201 17%

Ubatuba

$158 20% 21.5% $43

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Rio de Janeiro

$155 13.1%

Ubatuba

$88 11.2% 43.1% $67

Eating Out

Rio de Janeiro

$150 12.7%

Ubatuba

$112 14.2% 25.2% $38

Clothing & Footwear

Rio de Janeiro

$98 8.3%

Ubatuba

$123 15.6% 25.7% $25

Getting Around

Rio de Janeiro

$62 5.2%

Ubatuba

$8.5 * 1.1% 86.2% $53

Sport & Entertainment

Rio de Janeiro

$44 3.7%

Ubatuba

$26 3.3% 40.7% $18

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 $776 in Rio de Janeiro and $366 in Ubatuba. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Rio de Janeiro pays 69% more on average. How far that income stretches comes down to housing choices and lifestyle.

Dining out: $37 in Rio de Janeiro vs $27 in Ubatuba for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $201 vs $158 per month, with Ubatuba cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇧🇷 Rio de Janeiro

🇧🇷 Ubatuba

🕒 Local time

12:59 12:59 PM

Same time as Rio de Janeiro

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

6,211,223

92,981

💱 Currency

Brazilian Real BRL R$

📈 Exchange rate

1 BRL = 0.186 USD

1 BRL = 0.167 EUR

1 BRL = 0.186 USD

1 BRL = 0.167 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

On the map

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Rio de Janeiro Ubatuba 200 km

From you

Rio de Janeiro
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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 Ubatuba: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Total monthly costs including rent come to $1,182 in Rio de Janeiro and $790 in Ubatuba, so Ubatuba is about 33% cheaper – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

Average pay runs 69% 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: $776 in Rio de Janeiro versus $366 in Ubatuba. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $563 in Rio de Janeiro versus $414 in Ubatuba. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Dining out is cheaper in Ubatuba – a meal for two runs $27 versus $37 in Rio de Janeiro. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

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 – Ubatuba wins on affordability, Rio de Janeiro on earning potential. Factor in climate, language, visa rules, and proximity to places that matter to you before deciding.