Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Rio de Janeiro and Villa Nueva

For one person, living is cheaper in Villa Nueva: $764 a month against $1,289 in Rio de Janeiro, rent and utilities included – about $6,300 less a year. Higher rent and utilities in Rio de Janeiro outweigh lower spending on other living expenses.

63

Cost of Living Index in Rio de Janeiro
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Rio de Janeiro Living Index
41

Cost of Living Index in Villa Nueva
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Villa Nueva Living Index

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Rio de Janeiro

🇧🇷 Brazil

$1,289

/mo nomad

Villa Nueva

🇬🇹 Guatemala

$764

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Rio de Janeiro and in Villa Nueva

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,289 in Rio de Janeiro versus $764 in Villa Nueva.

Rio de Janeiro $1,289
Villa Nueva $764

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,868 in Rio de Janeiro versus $1,266 in Villa Nueva.

Rio de Janeiro $1,868
Villa Nueva $1,266

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $2,448 in Rio de Janeiro versus $1,767 in Villa Nueva.

Rio de Janeiro $2,448
Villa Nueva $1,767

Living in Rio de Janeiro is roughly 69% more expensive than in Villa Nueva, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in utilities.

Both cities sit below the global median: Rio de Janeiro 5% lower, Villa Nueva 43% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$10.06 R$51.0

$8.87 Q 67.8

13.42%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$40.44 R$205

$51.5 Q 394

-21.51%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$8.55 R$43.35

$8.30 Q 63.4

3.01%

Cappuccino

$2.38 R$12.04

$4.11 Q 31.43

-42.09%

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

$1.61 R$8.18

$2.13 Q 16.25

-24.41%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.03 R$5.22

$1.47 Q 11.20

-29.93%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.47 R$12.54

$3.96 Q 30.26

-37.63%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.70 R$18.77

$6.01 Q 45.97

-38.44%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.19 R$6.05

$2.09 Q 15.97

-43.06%

White Bread (500g)

$2.05 R$10.38

$3.72 Q 28.40

-44.89%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.28 R$6.49

$1.99 Q 15.23

-35.68%

Eggs

$2.29 R$11.60

$2.36 Q 18.07

-2.97%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$10.76 R$54.5

$5.53 Q 42.25

94.58%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$4.41 R$22.36

$3.19 Q 24.41

38.24%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$9.84 R$49.86

$10.26 Q 78.5

-4.09%

Apples (1kg)

$2.81 R$14.25

$4.92 Q 37.61

-42.89%

Banana (1kg)

$1.78 R$9.03

$2.36 Q 18.03

-24.58%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.60 R$8.13

$5.07 Q 38.75

-68.44%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.80 R$9.11

$1.59 Q 12.17

13.21%

Potato (1kg)

$1.22 R$6.17

$1.95 Q 14.91

-37.44%

Onion (1kg)

$1.04 R$5.26

$1.80 Q 13.74

-42.22%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.77 R$3.92

$1.34 Q 10.21

-42.54%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.67 R$3.38

$1.33 Q 10.14

-49.62%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$3.01 R$15.27

$3.84 Q 29.36

-21.61%

Wine (Bottle)

$8.08 R$40.94

$7.87 Q 60.2

2.67%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.19 R$6.03

$2.95 Q 22.54

-59.66%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.51 R$12.73

$3.74 Q 28.57

-32.89%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.99 R$5.00

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$50.1 R$254

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.22 R$6.20

$4.57 Q 34.95

-73.30%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.92 R$4.66

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$8.97 R$45.45

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.30 R$6.57

$1.33 Q 10.20

-2.26%

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

$23.9K R$121.0K

$23.1K Q 176.7K

3.28%

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

$32.9K R$166.6K

$21.7K Q 166.0K

51.38%

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

$133 R$676

$56.7 Q 433

135.36%

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

$10.82 R$54.8

$37.76 Q 289

-71.35%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$22.90 R$116

$62.4 Q 477

-63.32%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$30.79 R$156

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$31.85 R$161

Cinema Ticket

$8.05 R$40.83

$8.08 Q 61.8

-0.37%

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

$598 R$3,029

$555 Q 4,242

7.69%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$13.4K R$68.0K

$13.9K Q 106.1K

-3.28%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$42.04 R$213

$44.33 Q 339

-5.17%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$49.68 R$252

$53.7 Q 410

-7.45%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$74.5 R$378

$90.5 Q 692

-17.69%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$68.7 R$348

$80.0 Q 611

-14.08%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$903 R$4,578

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$529 R$2,684

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,326 R$6,724

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$756 R$3,831

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$4,010 R$20.3K

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,560 R$7,910

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$640 R$3,242

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

11.93

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

Last update for Rio de Janeiro: October 10, 2026

Last update for Villa Nueva: October 12, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Rio de Janeiro

$529 41.1%

Villa Nueva

- * 0% 100%

Groceries & Markets

Rio de Janeiro

$215 16.7%

Villa Nueva

$274 35.9% 27.9% $60

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Rio de Janeiro

$167 13%

Villa Nueva

$157 20.5% 6.1% $10

Eating Out

Rio de Janeiro

$165 12.8%

Villa Nueva

$191 25% 16% $26

Clothing & Footwear

Rio de Janeiro

$106 8.2%

Villa Nueva

$121 15.8% 14.3% $15

Getting Around

Rio de Janeiro

$60 4.7%

Villa Nueva

$4.6 * 0.6% 92.4% $55

Sport & Entertainment

Rio de Janeiro

$47 3.6%

Villa Nueva

$16 * 2.1% 65.5% $31

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

Cost Breakdown

Dining out: $40.00 in Rio de Janeiro vs $52.0 in Villa Nueva for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $215 vs $274 per month, with Rio de Janeiro cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇧🇷 Rio de Janeiro

🇬🇹 Villa Nueva

🕒 Local time

08:30 8:30 AM

05:30 5:30 AM

3 h behind Rio de Janeiro

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

6,211,223

618,397

💱 Currency

Brazilian Real BRL R$

Guatemalan Quetzal GTQ Q

📈 Exchange rate

1 BRL = 0.197 USD

1 BRL = 0.175 EUR

1 GTQ = 0.131 USD

1 GTQ = 0.116 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

GTQ, USD, EUR to BRL – Brazilian Real Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇧🇷 Brazilian Real (R$)

Brazilian Real exchange rates as of October 18, 2026: 1 USD = 5.07 BRL (1 BRL = 0.197 USD). 1 EUR = 5.7 BRL (1 BRL = 0.175 EUR).

Guatemalan Quetzal exchange rates as of October 18, 2026: 1 USD = 7.65 GTQ (1 GTQ = 0.131 USD). 1 EUR = 8.6 GTQ (1 GTQ = 0.116 EUR).

USD to BRL in detail →

On the map

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Highest

Between locations

Rio de Janeiro Villa Nueva 6,630 km ≈ 9 h nonstop flight

From you

Rio de Janeiro
Villa Nueva

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 Villa Nueva: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Rio de Janeiro and Villa Nueva differ by about 69% in total monthly costs ($1,289 vs $764 including rent). Villa Nueva is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

You'd need roughly $1,933 in Rio de Janeiro and $1,146 in Villa Nueva to live well. The gap comes down to housing and overall price levels. Both cities are liveable on less, but these numbers represent actual comfort.

Childcare runs $598 in Rio de Janeiro versus $555 in Villa Nueva. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Dining out is cheaper in Villa Nueva – a meal for two runs $52.0 versus $40.00 in Rio de Janeiro. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

At $764 in Villa Nueva versus $1,289 in Rio de Janeiro, a $1,500 budget is realistic in Villa Nueva but tight or insufficient in Rio de Janeiro. The gap between the two cities makes Villa Nueva 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 Villa Nueva gentler on the wallet – expenses run 69% less than in Rio de Janeiro. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.