Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Rio do Sul and Rio de Janeiro

For one person, living is cheaper in Rio do Sul: $818 a month against $1,273 in Rio de Janeiro, rent and utilities included – about $5,500 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

40

Cost of Living Index in Rio do Sul
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Rio do Sul Living Index
62

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

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Rio do Sul

🇧🇷 Brazil

$818

/mo nomad

Rio de Janeiro

🇧🇷 Brazil

$1,273

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Rio do Sul and in Rio de Janeiro

Real prices from locals and on-the-ground checks – rent, groceries, transit and the daily extras. Here's what a month in Rio do Sul and in Rio de Janeiro actually costs, broken down by who's living it.

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $818 in Rio do Sul versus $1,273 in Rio de Janeiro.

Rio do Sul $818
Rio de Janeiro $1,273

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,282 in Rio do Sul versus $1,841 in Rio de Janeiro.

Rio do Sul $1,282
Rio de Janeiro $1,841

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $1,747 in Rio do Sul versus $2,409 in Rio de Janeiro.

Rio do Sul $1,747
Rio de Janeiro $2,409

Living in Rio do Sul costs roughly 36% less than in Rio de Janeiro, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Both cities sit below the global median: Rio do Sul 40% lower, Rio de Janeiro 6% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$5.05 R$25.60

$9.38 R$47.54

-46.16%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$22.25 R$113

$40.00 R$203

-44.38%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$8.04 R$40.74

$8.34 R$42.28

-3.60%

Cappuccino

$2.12 R$10.75

$2.29 R$11.62

-7.42%

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

$1.14 R$5.80

$1.59 R$8.05

-28.30%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.88 R$4.49

$1.01 R$5.10

-12.87%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.82 R$14.30

$2.14 R$10.85

31.78%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.04 R$20.46

$3.66 R$18.55

10.38%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.02 R$5.17

$1.13 R$5.72

-9.73%

White Bread (500g)

$1.94 R$9.84

$2.09 R$10.60

-7.18%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.36 R$6.87

$1.25 R$6.36

8.80%

Eggs

$1.64 R$8.33

$2.25 R$11.39

-27.11%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$7.88 R$39.94

$10.92 R$55.3

-27.84%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$4.06 R$20.57

$4.36 R$22.10

-6.88%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$7.07 R$35.84

$9.60 R$48.66

-26.35%

Apples (1kg)

$1.58 R$8.01

$2.85 R$14.46

-44.56%

Banana (1kg)

$1.07 R$5.44

$1.81 R$9.16

-40.88%

Oranges (1kg)

$0.79 R$4.00

$1.58 R$8.02

-50.00%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.41 R$7.12

$1.83 R$9.28

-22.95%

Potato (1kg)

$0.86 R$4.38

$1.20 R$6.10

-28.33%

Onion (1kg)

$0.79 R$3.98

$1.06 R$5.35

-25.47%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.74 R$3.74

$0.75 R$3.81

-1.33%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.77 R$3.90

$0.68 R$3.45

13.24%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$2.98 R$15.13

$2.94 R$14.90

1.36%

Wine (Bottle)

$4.07 R$20.64

$7.98 R$40.43

-49.00%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.31 R$6.64

$1.18 R$5.98

11.02%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.51 R$12.75

$2.42 R$12.26

3.72%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.05 R$5.32

$0.94 R$4.78

11.70%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$43.59 R$221

$50.3 R$255

-13.37%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.32 R$6.71

$1.20 R$6.10

10.00%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.78 R$3.97

$0.83 R$4.20

-6.02%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$6.08 R$30.82

$8.97 R$45.48

-32.22%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.21 R$6.16

$1.29 R$6.53

-6.20%

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

$23.4K R$118.8K

$22.8K R$115.5K

2.85%

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

$33.8K R$171.4K

$34.0K R$172.1K

-0.42%

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

$64.7 R$328

$134 R$681

-51.83%

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

$9.83 R$49.86

$10.73 R$54.4

-8.39%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$20.96 R$106

$22.84 R$116

-8.23%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$26.42 R$134

$30.16 R$153

-12.40%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$27.93 R$142

$31.49 R$160

-11.31%

Cinema Ticket

$4.98 R$25.26

$7.73 R$39.17

-35.58%

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

$312 R$1,583

$584 R$2,960

-46.50%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$11.0K R$55.9K

$12.8K R$64.9K

-13.86%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$49.65 R$252

$41.12 R$208

20.74%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$55.4 R$281

$49.26 R$250

12.36%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$79.8 R$404

$73.7 R$373

8.25%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$49.49 R$251

$65.9 R$334

-24.94%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$363 R$1,838

$900 R$4,561

-59.69%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$240 R$1,218

$527 R$2,673

-54.42%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$686 R$3,477

$1,332 R$6,754

-48.51%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$470 R$2,383

$748 R$3,790

-37.12%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$1,680 R$8,518

$3,990 R$20.2K

-57.88%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,205 R$6,109

$1,560 R$7,908

-22.75%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$640 R$3,246

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

11.54

11.93

-3.27%

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

Last update for Rio do Sul: October 18, 2026

Last update for Rio de Janeiro: October 18, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Rio do Sul

$240 29.4%

Rio de Janeiro

$527 41.4% 119% $287

Groceries & Markets

Rio do Sul

$167 20.5%

Rio de Janeiro

$214 16.8% 27.7% $46

Eating Out

Rio do Sul

$120 14.7%

Rio de Janeiro

$156 12.3% 29.7% $36

Clothing & Footwear

Rio do Sul

$105 12.9%

Rio de Janeiro

$103 8.1% 1.8% $1.9

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Rio do Sul

$96 11.7%

Rio de Janeiro

$168 13.2% 75.8% $72

Getting Around

Rio do Sul

$53 6.5%

Rio de Janeiro

$59 4.7% 12.1% $6.4

Sport & Entertainment

Rio do Sul

$36 4.5%

Rio de Janeiro

$46 3.6% 25.3% $9.2

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $363 in Rio do Sul and $900 in Rio de Janeiro. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Dining out: $22.00 in Rio do Sul vs $40.00 in Rio de Janeiro for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $167 vs $214 per month, with Rio do Sul cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇧🇷 Rio do Sul

🇧🇷 Rio de Janeiro

🕒 Local time

18:03 6:03 PM

Same time as Rio do Sul

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

72,587

6,211,223

💱 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

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Between locations

Rio do Sul Rio de Janeiro 810 km ≈ 1 h 30 min nonstop flight

From you

Rio do Sul
Rio de Janeiro

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 do Sul vs Rio de Janeiro: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Rio do Sul and Rio de Janeiro differ by about 56% in total monthly costs ($818 vs $1,273 including rent). Rio do Sul is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

You'd need roughly $1,227 in Rio do Sul and $1,910 in Rio de Janeiro 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.

Rent for a central apartment: $363 in Rio do Sul versus $900 in Rio de Janeiro. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Dining out is cheaper in Rio do Sul – a meal for two runs $22.00 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 $818 per month in Rio do Sul versus $1,273 in Rio de Janeiro – a 56% gap that adds up to real savings over time for anyone picking the cheaper option.

At $818 in Rio do Sul versus $1,273 in Rio de Janeiro, a $1,500 budget is realistic in Rio do Sul but tight or insufficient in Rio de Janeiro. The gap between the two cities makes Rio do Sul 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 Rio do Sul gentler on the wallet – expenses run 56% less than in Rio de Janeiro. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.