Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between San Juan de Pasto and Rio de Janeiro

For one person, living is cheaper in Rio de Janeiro: $1,289 a month against $1,371 in San Juan de Pasto, rent and utilities included – about $980 less a year. The total is higher in San Juan de Pasto despite lower rent and utilities.

63

Cost of Living Index in San Juan de Pasto
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San Juan de Pasto Living Index
63

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

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San Juan de Pasto

🇨🇴 Colombia

$1,371

/mo nomad

Rio de Janeiro

🇧🇷 Brazil

$1,289

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,371 in San Juan de Pasto versus $1,289 in Rio de Janeiro.

San Juan de Pasto $1,371
Rio de Janeiro $1,289

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,031 in San Juan de Pasto versus $1,868 in Rio de Janeiro.

San Juan de Pasto $2,031
Rio de Janeiro $1,868

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $2,691 in San Juan de Pasto versus $2,448 in Rio de Janeiro.

San Juan de Pasto $2,691
Rio de Janeiro $2,448

Living in San Juan de Pasto is roughly 6% more expensive than in Rio de Janeiro, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in clothing.

The two cities straddle the global median: San Juan de Pasto is 2% above, Rio de Janeiro is 5% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$6.63 COP 21.0K

$10.06 R$51.0

-34.10%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$45.64 COP 144.7K

$40.44 R$205

12.86%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$9.96 COP 31.6K

$8.55 R$43.35

16.49%

Cappuccino

$2.57 COP 8,146

$2.38 R$12.04

7.98%

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

$1.56 COP 4,948

$1.61 R$8.18

-3.11%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.86 COP 2,715

$1.03 R$5.22

-16.50%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.07 COP 9,733

$2.47 R$12.54

24.29%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.05 COP 12.9K

$3.70 R$18.77

9.46%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.43 COP 4,538

$1.19 R$6.05

20.17%

White Bread (500g)

$2.41 COP 7,629

$2.05 R$10.38

17.56%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.83 COP 5,795

$1.28 R$6.49

42.97%

Eggs

$3.33 COP 10.6K

$2.29 R$11.60

45.41%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$7.27 COP 23.1K

$10.76 R$54.5

-32.43%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$11.06 COP 35.1K

$4.41 R$22.36

150.79%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$13.41 COP 42.5K

$9.84 R$49.86

36.28%

Apples (1kg)

$3.58 COP 11.3K

$2.81 R$14.25

27.40%

Banana (1kg)

$1.40 COP 4,426

$1.78 R$9.03

-21.35%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.01 COP 6,359

$1.60 R$8.13

25.62%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.78 COP 5,640

$1.80 R$9.11

-1.11%

Potato (1kg)

$1.41 COP 4,481

$1.22 R$6.17

15.57%

Onion (1kg)

$1.27 COP 4,041

$1.04 R$5.26

22.12%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.12 COP 3,566

$0.77 R$3.92

45.45%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.12 COP 3,555

$0.67 R$3.38

67.16%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$3.65 COP 11.6K

$3.01 R$15.27

21.26%

Wine (Bottle)

$13.43 COP 42.6K

$8.08 R$40.94

66.21%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.46 COP 4,635

$1.19 R$6.03

22.69%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.73 COP 8,670

$2.51 R$12.73

8.76%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.07 COP 3,390

$0.99 R$5.00

8.08%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$50.1 R$254

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.61 COP 5,102

$1.22 R$6.20

31.97%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$2.39 COP 7,590

$0.92 R$4.66

159.78%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$9.04 COP 28.7K

$8.97 R$45.45

0.78%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.19 COP 3,770

$1.30 R$6.57

-8.46%

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

$22.6K COP 71.7M

$23.9K R$121.0K

-5.31%

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

$32.0K COP 101.4M

$32.9K R$166.6K

-2.70%

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

$124 COP 392.5K

$133 R$676

-7.20%

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

$13.01 COP 41.2K

$10.82 R$54.8

20.24%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$29.19 COP 92.5K

$22.90 R$116

27.47%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$42.67 COP 135.3K

$30.79 R$156

38.58%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$31.85 R$161

Cinema Ticket

$6.19 COP 19.6K

$8.05 R$40.83

-23.11%

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

$682 COP 2.2M

$598 R$3,029

14.11%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$6,774 COP 21.5M

$13.4K R$68.0K

-49.52%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$91.0 COP 288.5K

$42.04 R$213

116.44%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$61.1 COP 193.8K

$49.68 R$252

23.05%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$153 COP 486.6K

$74.5 R$378

105.94%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$102 COP 323.0K

$68.7 R$348

48.32%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$706 COP 2.2M

$903 R$4,578

-21.83%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$518 COP 1.6M

$529 R$2,684

-2.09%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,082 COP 3.4M

$1,326 R$6,724

-18.45%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$789 COP 2.5M

$756 R$3,831

4.35%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,028 COP 6.4M

$4,010 R$20.3K

-49.42%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,580 COP 5.0M

$1,560 R$7,910

1.24%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$640 R$3,242

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

11.58

11.93

-2.93%

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

Last update for San Juan de Pasto: 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.

Accommodation & Living

San Juan de Pasto

$518 37.8%

Rio de Janeiro

$529 41.1% 2.1% $11

Groceries & Markets

San Juan de Pasto

$284 20.7%

Rio de Janeiro

$215 16.7% 24.4% $69

Clothing & Footwear

San Juan de Pasto

$183 13.4%

Rio de Janeiro

$106 8.2% 42.3% $78

Monthly Utilities & Internet

San Juan de Pasto

$166 12.1%

Rio de Janeiro

$167 13% 0.7% $1.1

Eating Out

San Juan de Pasto

$147 10.7%

Rio de Janeiro

$165 12.8% 12.3% $18

Sport & Entertainment

San Juan de Pasto

$55 4%

Rio de Janeiro

$47 3.6% 14.8% $8.1

Getting Around

San Juan de Pasto

$18 * 1.3%

Rio de Janeiro

$60 4.7% 236% $42

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 $706 in San Juan de Pasto and $903 in Rio de Janeiro. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Dining out: $46.00 in San Juan de Pasto vs $40.00 in Rio de Janeiro for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $284 vs $215 per month, with Rio de Janeiro cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇨🇴 San Juan de Pasto

🇧🇷 Rio de Janeiro

🕒 Local time

20:45 8:45 PM

22:45 10:45 PM

2 h ahead of San Juan de Pasto

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

392,930

6,211,223

💱 Currency

Colombian Peso COP $

Brazilian Real BRL R$

📈 Exchange rate

10,000 COP = 3.15 USD

10,000 COP = 2.81 EUR

1 BRL = 0.197 USD

1 BRL = 0.175 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

BRL, USD, EUR to COP – Colombian Peso Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇨🇴 Colombian Peso ($)

Colombian Peso exchange rates as of October 19, 2026: 1 USD = 3,171 COP (10,000 COP = 3.15 USD). 1 EUR = 3,565 COP (10,000 COP = 2.81 EUR).

Brazilian Real exchange rates as of October 19, 2026: 1 USD = 5.07 BRL (1 BRL = 0.197 USD). 1 EUR = 5.7 BRL (1 BRL = 0.175 EUR).

USD to COP in detail →

On the map

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Highest

Between locations

San Juan de Pasto Rio de Janeiro 4,560 km ≈ 6 h nonstop flight

From you

San Juan de Pasto
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 Juan de Pasto vs Rio de Janeiro: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

San Juan de Pasto and Rio de Janeiro differ by about 6% in total monthly costs ($1,371 vs $1,289 including rent). Rio de Janeiro is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

You'd need roughly $2,057 in San Juan de Pasto 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.

Rent for a central apartment: $706 in San Juan de Pasto versus $903 in Rio de Janeiro. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $682 in San Juan de Pasto 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 Rio de Janeiro – a meal for two runs $40.00 versus $46.00 in San Juan de Pasto. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

At $1,289 in Rio de Janeiro versus $1,371 in San Juan de Pasto, a $2,000 budget is realistic in Rio de Janeiro but tight or insufficient in San Juan de Pasto. 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, San Juan de Pasto 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 6% less than in San Juan de Pasto. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.