Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Road Town and Rio de Janeiro

For one person, living is cheaper in Rio de Janeiro: $1,285 a month against $2,590 in Road Town, rent and utilities included – about $15,700 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

141

Cost of Living Index in Road Town
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Road Town Living Index
63

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

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Road Town

🇻🇬 British Virgin Islands

$2,590

/mo nomad

Rio de Janeiro

🇧🇷 Brazil

$1,285

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Road Town 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 Road Town and in Rio de Janeiro actually costs, broken down by who's living it.

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,590 in Road Town versus $1,285 in Rio de Janeiro.

Road Town $2,590
Rio de Janeiro $1,285

Estimated couple costs with rent: $4,520 in Road Town versus $1,888 in Rio de Janeiro.

Road Town $4,520
Rio de Janeiro $1,888

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $6,450 in Road Town versus $2,491 in Rio de Janeiro.

Road Town $6,450
Rio de Janeiro $2,491

Living in Road Town is roughly 102% more expensive than in Rio de Janeiro, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in utilities.

The two cities straddle the global median: Road Town is 93% above, Rio de Janeiro is 4% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$17.40 $17.40

$9.98 R$49.83

74.35%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$79.0 $79.0

$40.34 R$201

95.76%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$8.07 $8.07

$8.48 R$42.35

-4.83%

Cappuccino

$4.55 $4.55

$2.36 R$11.80

92.80%

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

$1.61 $1.61

$1.63 R$8.13

-1.23%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.96 $0.96

$1.01 R$5.06

-4.95%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$4.08 $4.08

$2.44 R$12.19

67.21%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.85 $1.85

$3.69 R$18.43

-49.86%

Milk (1 liter)

$2.31 $2.31

$1.15 R$5.72

100.87%

White Bread (500g)

$4.52 $4.52

$2.07 R$10.34

118.36%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$3.06 $3.06

$1.29 R$6.42

137.21%

Eggs

$5.02 $5.02

$2.27 R$11.32

121.15%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$11.00 R$54.9

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$4.31 R$21.51

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$9.74 R$48.63

Apples (1kg)

$3.63 $3.63

$2.83 R$14.12

28.27%

Banana (1kg)

$3.27 $3.27

$1.84 R$9.17

77.72%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.04 $2.04

$1.60 R$7.96

27.50%

Tomato (1kg)

$6.62 $6.62

$1.80 R$9.00

267.78%

Potato (1kg)

$4.78 $4.78

$1.26 R$6.28

279.37%

Onion (1kg)

$3.87 $3.87

$1.07 R$5.34

261.68%

Lettuce (1 head)

$6.32 $6.32

$0.75 R$3.75

742.67%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.84 $1.84

$0.66 R$3.29

178.79%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$5.10 $5.10

$3.05 R$15.21

67.21%

Wine (Bottle)

$10.89 $10.89

$8.18 R$40.84

33.13%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.19 R$5.92

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.39 R$11.92

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$4.10 $4.10

$1.01 R$5.06

305.94%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$50.2 R$250

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.27 R$6.33

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.90 R$4.51

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$9.44 R$47.13

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.21 $1.21

$1.33 R$6.65

-9.02%

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

$23.4K R$117.0K

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

$33.6K R$167.6K

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

$164 $164

$134 R$666

22.99%

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

$82.4 $82.4

$12.23 R$61.0

573.34%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$124 $124

$22.65 R$113

449.36%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$121 $121

$31.56 R$158

283.24%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$19.82 $19.82

$30.87 R$154

-35.80%

Cinema Ticket

$10.20 $10.20

$8.23 R$41.07

23.94%

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

$369 $369

$603 R$3,011

-38.78%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$10.4K $10.4K

$13.2K R$66.1K

-21.82%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$47.86 $47.86

$41.62 R$208

14.99%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$54.2 $54.2

$49.94 R$249

8.57%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$129 $129

$75.0 R$375

71.64%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$137 $137

$68.3 R$341

101.17%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,654 $1,654

$905 R$4,519

82.66%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,371 $1,371

$527 R$2,633

159.92%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$4,373 $4,373

$1,346 R$6,720

224.88%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$3,596 $3,596

$774 R$3,865

364.38%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,981 R$19.9K

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,562 R$7,798

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,706 $1,706

$643 R$3,210

165.34%

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 Road Town: October 4, 2026

Last update for Rio de Janeiro: October 6, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Road Town

$1.4K 53%

Rio de Janeiro

$527 41% 61.5% $844

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Road Town

$371 14.3%

Rio de Janeiro

$168 13.1% 54.6% $203

Groceries & Markets

Road Town

$271 * 10.5%

Rio de Janeiro

$215 16.7% 20.8% $56

Eating Out

Road Town

$252 9.8%

Rio de Janeiro

$164 12.7% 35.1% $89

Clothing & Footwear

Road Town

$166 6.4%

Rio de Janeiro

$106 8.2% 36.2% $60

Sport & Entertainment

Road Town

$141 5.5%

Rio de Janeiro

$48 3.7% 66% $93

Getting Around

Road Town

$16 * 0.6%

Rio de Janeiro

$60 4.7% 266% $44

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 $1,654 in Road Town and $905 in Rio de Janeiro. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Road Town pays 165% 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: $79.0 in Road Town vs $40.00 in Rio de Janeiro for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $271 vs $215 per month, with Rio de Janeiro cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇻🇬 Road Town

🇧🇷 Rio de Janeiro

🕒 Local time

08:36 8:36 AM

09:36 9:36 AM

1 h ahead of Road Town

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

12,603 Capital

6,211,223

💱 Currency

United States Dollar USD $

Brazilian Real BRL R$

📈 Exchange rate

1 USD = 0.892 EUR

1 BRL = 0.2 USD

1 BRL = 0.179 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

BRL, EUR to USD – United States Dollar Converter

🇧🇷 Brazilian Real (R$)

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

United States Dollar exchange rates as of October 10, 2026: 1 EUR = 1.12 USD (1 USD = 0.892 EUR).

Brazilian Real exchange rates as of October 10, 2026: 1 USD = 4.99 BRL (1 BRL = 0.2 USD). 1 EUR = 5.59 BRL (1 BRL = 0.179 EUR).

BRL to USD in detail →

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Between locations

Road Town Rio de Janeiro 5,150 km ≈ 7 h nonstop flight

From you

Road Town
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

Road Town vs Rio de Janeiro: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Road Town and Rio de Janeiro differ by about 102% in total monthly costs ($2,590 vs $1,285 including rent). Rio de Janeiro is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

Average pay runs 165% higher in Road Town, 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: $1,654 in Road Town versus $905 in Rio de Janeiro. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $369 in Road Town versus $603 in Rio de Janeiro. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Dining out is cheaper in Rio de Janeiro – a meal for two runs $40.00 versus $79.0 in Road Town. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

At $1,285 in Rio de Janeiro versus $2,590 in Road Town, a $2,000 budget is realistic in Rio de Janeiro but tight or insufficient in Road Town. The gap between the two cities makes Rio de Janeiro 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.

Safety-wise, Road Town and Rio de Janeiro are on par. Petty crime is typical for cities this size, and most residents feel comfortable going about their daily routines in either place.

Expats usually find Rio de Janeiro gentler on the wallet – expenses run 102% less than in Road Town. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.