Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Saint John's and Rio de Janeiro

For one person, living is cheaper in Rio de Janeiro: $1,285 a month against $1,816 in Saint John's, rent and utilities included – about $6,400 less a year. Rent and utilities account for about half of the difference.

85

Cost of Living Index in Saint John's
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Saint John's Living Index
63

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

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Saint John's

🇦🇬 Antigua and Barbuda

$1,816

/mo nomad

Rio de Janeiro

🇧🇷 Brazil

$1,285

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,816 in Saint John's versus $1,285 in Rio de Janeiro.

Saint John's $1,816
Rio de Janeiro $1,285

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,873 in Saint John's versus $1,888 in Rio de Janeiro.

Saint John's $2,873
Rio de Janeiro $1,888

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,929 in Saint John's versus $2,491 in Rio de Janeiro.

Saint John's $3,929
Rio de Janeiro $2,491

Living in Saint John's is roughly 41% more expensive than in Rio de Janeiro, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

The two cities straddle the global median: Saint John's is 36% above, Rio de Janeiro is 4% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$22.50 EC$60.8

$9.98 R$49.83

125.45%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$75.0 EC$203

$40.34 R$201

86.02%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$10.97 EC$29.62

$8.48 R$42.35

29.36%

Cappuccino

$3.80 EC$10.27

$2.36 R$11.80

61.02%

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

$2.03 EC$5.47

$1.63 R$8.13

24.54%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.87 EC$2.34

$1.01 R$5.06

-13.86%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$1.87 EC$5.05

$2.44 R$12.19

-23.36%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.48 EC$12.09

$3.69 R$18.43

21.41%

Milk (1 liter)

$2.18 EC$5.88

$1.15 R$5.72

89.57%

White Bread (500g)

$2.81 EC$7.59

$2.07 R$10.34

35.75%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.90 EC$5.14

$1.29 R$6.42

47.29%

Eggs

$6.63 EC$17.91

$2.27 R$11.32

192.07%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$8.32 EC$22.46

$11.00 R$54.9

-24.36%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$8.31 EC$22.44

$4.31 R$21.51

92.81%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$9.74 R$48.63

Apples (1kg)

$6.48 EC$17.49

$2.83 R$14.12

128.98%

Banana (1kg)

$2.42 EC$6.54

$1.84 R$9.17

31.52%

Oranges (1kg)

$8.12 EC$21.93

$1.60 R$7.96

407.50%

Tomato (1kg)

$8.10 EC$21.87

$1.80 R$9.00

350.00%

Potato (1kg)

$2.92 EC$7.88

$1.26 R$6.28

131.75%

Onion (1kg)

$2.90 EC$7.84

$1.07 R$5.34

171.03%

Lettuce (1 head)

$2.64 EC$7.12

$0.75 R$3.75

252.00%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.61 EC$4.34

$0.66 R$3.29

143.94%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$3.05 R$15.21

Wine (Bottle)

$5.53 EC$14.93

$8.18 R$40.84

-32.40%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.73 EC$7.36

$1.19 R$5.92

129.41%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.55 EC$12.29

$2.39 R$11.92

90.38%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.01 R$5.06

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)

$1.63 EC$4.40

$1.33 R$6.65

22.56%

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)

$256 EC$692

$134 R$666

92.07%

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

$40.32 EC$109

$12.23 R$61.0

229.68%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$81.4 EC$220

$22.65 R$113

259.51%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$65.3 EC$176

$31.56 R$158

106.97%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$30.87 R$154

Cinema Ticket

$6.43 EC$17.36

$8.23 R$41.07

-21.87%

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

$603 R$3,011

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$1,855 EC$5,009

$13.2K R$66.1K

-85.99%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$49.21 EC$133

$41.62 R$208

18.24%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$49.94 R$249

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$75.4 EC$204

$75.0 R$375

0.52%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$68.3 R$341

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,036 EC$2,796

$905 R$4,519

14.38%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$680 EC$1,835

$527 R$2,633

28.87%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,694 EC$4,573

$1,346 R$6,720

25.82%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,497 EC$4,043

$774 R$3,865

93.39%

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)

$1,344 EC$3,630

$643 R$3,210

109.08%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

5.5

11.93

-53.90%

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

Last update for Saint John's: October 5, 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

Saint John's

$680 37.2%

Rio de Janeiro

$527 41% 22.4% $152

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Saint John's

$378 20.7%

Rio de Janeiro

$168 13.1% 55.5% $210

Groceries & Markets

Saint John's

$349 * 19.1%

Rio de Janeiro

$215 16.7% 38.4% $134

Eating Out

Saint John's

$288 15.8%

Rio de Janeiro

$164 12.7% 43.2% $125

Sport & Entertainment

Saint John's

$78 4.3%

Rio de Janeiro

$48 3.7% 38.6% $30

Clothing & Footwear

Saint John's

$56 * 3.1%

Rio de Janeiro

$106 8.2% 88.5% $50

Getting Around

Saint John's

- * 0%

Rio de Janeiro

$60 4.7%

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 $1,036 in Saint John's and $905 in Rio de Janeiro. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Saint John's pays 109% 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: $75.0 in Saint John's vs $40.00 in Rio de Janeiro for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $349 vs $215 per month, with Rio de Janeiro cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇦🇬 Saint John's

🇧🇷 Rio de Janeiro

🕒 Local time

07:47 7:47 AM

08:47 8:47 AM

1 h ahead of Saint John's

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

21,926 Capital

6,211,223

💱 Currency

East Caribbean Dollar XCD $

Brazilian Real BRL R$

📈 Exchange rate

1 XCD = 0.37 USD

1 XCD = 0.331 EUR

1 BRL = 0.2 USD

1 BRL = 0.179 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

BRL, USD, EUR to XCD – East Caribbean Dollar Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🌐 East Caribbean Dollar ($)

East Caribbean Dollar exchange rates as of October 10, 2026: 1 USD = 2.7 XCD (1 XCD = 0.37 USD). 1 EUR = 3.03 XCD (1 XCD = 0.331 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).

USD to XCD in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Saint John's Rio de Janeiro 4,890 km ≈ 7 h nonstop flight

From you

Saint John's
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

Saint John's vs Rio de Janeiro: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Saint John's and Rio de Janeiro differ by about 41% in total monthly costs ($1,816 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 109% higher in Saint John's, 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: $1,036 in Saint John's versus $905 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 de Janeiro – a meal for two runs $40.00 versus $75.0 in Saint John's. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

All in, you'll spend $1,816 per month in Saint John's versus $1,285 in Rio de Janeiro – a 41% gap that adds up to real savings over time for anyone picking the cheaper option.

At $1,285 in Rio de Janeiro versus $1,816 in Saint John's, a $2,000 budget is realistic in Rio de Janeiro but tight or insufficient in Saint John's. 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, Saint John's 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 41% less than in Saint John's. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.