Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between San Francisco de Macoris and Rio de Janeiro

For one person, living is cheaper in San Francisco de Macoris: $694 a month against $1,289 in Rio de Janeiro, rent and utilities included – about $7,100 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

34

Cost of Living Index in San Francisco de Macoris
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San Francisco de Macoris Living Index
63

Cost of Living Index in Rio de Janeiro
Learn more

Rio de Janeiro Living Index

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San Francisco de Macoris

🇩🇴 Dominican Republic

$694

/mo nomad

Rio de Janeiro

🇧🇷 Brazil

$1,289

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $694 in San Francisco de Macoris versus $1,289 in Rio de Janeiro.

San Francisco de Macoris $694
Rio de Janeiro $1,289

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,144 in San Francisco de Macoris versus $1,868 in Rio de Janeiro.

San Francisco de Macoris $1,144
Rio de Janeiro $1,868

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $1,595 in San Francisco de Macoris versus $2,448 in Rio de Janeiro.

San Francisco de Macoris $1,595
Rio de Janeiro $2,448

Living in San Francisco de Macoris costs roughly 46% less than in Rio de Janeiro, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in transport.

Both cities sit below the global median: San Francisco de Macoris 49% lower, Rio de Janeiro 5% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$9.74 DOP 595

$10.06 R$50.6

-3.18%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$49.20 DOP 3,005

$40.44 R$203

21.66%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$7.53 DOP 460

$8.55 R$42.99

-11.93%

Cappuccino

$2.19 DOP 134

$2.38 R$11.95

-7.98%

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

$1.00 DOP 61.3

$1.61 R$8.11

-37.89%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.54 DOP 33.23

$1.03 R$5.18

-47.57%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.44 DOP 149

$2.47 R$12.44

-1.21%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.15 DOP 192

$3.70 R$18.62

-14.86%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.39 DOP 84.9

$1.19 R$6.00

16.81%

White Bread (500g)

$1.47 DOP 90.0

$2.05 R$10.30

-28.29%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.59 DOP 97.3

$1.28 R$6.44

24.22%

Eggs

$2.38 DOP 146

$2.29 R$11.50

3.93%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$7.16 DOP 437

$10.76 R$54.1

-33.46%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$5.40 DOP 330

$4.41 R$22.18

22.45%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$6.43 DOP 392

$9.84 R$49.46

-34.65%

Apples (1kg)

$3.10 DOP 189

$2.81 R$14.14

10.32%

Banana (1kg)

$0.81 DOP 49.55

$1.78 R$8.96

-54.49%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.65 DOP 162

$1.60 R$8.07

65.62%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.84 DOP 113

$1.80 R$9.03

2.22%

Potato (1kg)

$1.96 DOP 120

$1.22 R$6.12

60.66%

Onion (1kg)

$2.17 DOP 133

$1.04 R$5.22

108.65%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.99 DOP 60.4

$0.77 R$3.88

28.57%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.02 DOP 62.2

$0.67 R$3.35

52.24%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$5.24 DOP 320

$3.01 R$15.15

74.09%

Wine (Bottle)

$10.46 DOP 639

$8.08 R$40.61

29.46%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.57 DOP 157

$1.19 R$5.98

115.97%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.99 DOP 183

$2.51 R$12.62

19.12%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.99 R$4.96

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$50.1 R$252

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.24 DOP 198

$1.22 R$6.15

165.57%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$2.27 DOP 139

$0.92 R$4.62

146.74%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$5.60 DOP 342

$8.97 R$45.08

-37.57%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.45 DOP 88.3

$1.30 R$6.52

11.54%

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

$23.4K DOP 1.4M

$23.9K R$120.0K

-1.86%

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

$33.2K DOP 2.0M

$32.9K R$165.2K

0.94%

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

$91.2 DOP 5,569

$133 R$671

-31.63%

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

$31.66 DOP 1,934

$10.82 R$54.4

192.61%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$36.44 DOP 2,226

$22.90 R$115

59.13%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$30.79 R$155

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$31.85 R$160

Cinema Ticket

$7.28 DOP 445

$8.05 R$40.50

-9.57%

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

$250 DOP 15.3K

$598 R$3,005

-58.13%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$7,404 DOP 452.2K

$13.4K R$67.5K

-44.82%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$45.90 DOP 2,803

$42.04 R$211

9.18%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$46.47 DOP 2,838

$49.68 R$250

-6.46%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$84.8 DOP 5,181

$74.5 R$375

13.85%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$123 DOP 7,537

$68.7 R$345

79.68%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$903 R$4,541

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$529 R$2,662

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,326 R$6,669

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$756 R$3,800

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$4,010 R$20.2K

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,560 R$7,845

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$640 R$3,216

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

13.56

11.93

13.66%

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

Last update for San Francisco de Macoris: October 11, 2026

Last update for Rio de Janeiro: October 10, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Groceries & Markets

San Francisco de Macoris

$219 31.5%

Rio de Janeiro

$215 16.7% 1.8% $4

Monthly Utilities & Internet

San Francisco de Macoris

$159 23%

Rio de Janeiro

$167 13% 4.9% $7.8

Eating Out

San Francisco de Macoris

$152 21.8%

Rio de Janeiro

$165 12.8% 8.9% $13

Clothing & Footwear

San Francisco de Macoris

$135 19.5%

Rio de Janeiro

$106 8.2% 21.9% $30

Getting Around

San Francisco de Macoris

$15 * 2.1%

Rio de Janeiro

$60 4.7% 310% $45

Sport & Entertainment

San Francisco de Macoris

$15 * 2.1%

Rio de Janeiro

$47 3.6% 222% $32

Accommodation & Living

San Francisco de Macoris

- * 0%

Rio de Janeiro

$529 41.1%

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

Cost Breakdown

Dining out: $49.00 in San Francisco de Macoris vs $40.00 in Rio de Janeiro for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $219 vs $215 per month, with Rio de Janeiro cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇩🇴 San Francisco de Macoris

🇧🇷 Rio de Janeiro

🕒 Local time

16:00 4:00 PM

17:00 5:00 PM

1 h ahead of San Francisco de Macoris

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

245,397

6,211,223

💱 Currency

Dominican Peso DOP $

Brazilian Real BRL R$

📈 Exchange rate

100 DOP = 1.64 USD

100 DOP = 1.46 EUR

1 BRL = 0.199 USD

1 BRL = 0.178 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

BRL, USD, EUR to DOP – Dominican Peso Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇩🇴 Dominican Peso ($)

Dominican Peso exchange rates as of October 15, 2026: 1 USD = 61.07 DOP (100 DOP = 1.64 USD). 1 EUR = 68.39 DOP (100 DOP = 1.46 EUR).

Brazilian Real exchange rates as of October 15, 2026: 1 USD = 5.03 BRL (1 BRL = 0.199 USD). 1 EUR = 5.63 BRL (1 BRL = 0.178 EUR).

USD to DOP in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

San Francisco de Macoris Rio de Janeiro 5,540 km ≈ 7 h nonstop flight

From you

San Francisco de Macoris
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

San Francisco de Macoris vs Rio de Janeiro: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

San Francisco de Macoris and Rio de Janeiro differ by about 86% in total monthly costs ($694 vs $1,289 including rent). San Francisco de Macoris is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

You'd need roughly $1,041 in San Francisco de Macoris and $1,933 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.

Childcare runs $250 in San Francisco de Macoris versus $598 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 San Francisco de Macoris – a meal for two runs $49.00 versus $40.00 in Rio de Janeiro. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

At $694 in San Francisco de Macoris versus $1,289 in Rio de Janeiro, a $1,000 budget is realistic in San Francisco de Macoris but tight or insufficient in Rio de Janeiro. The gap between the two cities makes San Francisco de Macoris 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 San Francisco de Macoris gentler on the wallet – expenses run 86% less than in Rio de Janeiro. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.