Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between San Juan and Rio de Janeiro

For one person, living is cheaper in Rio de Janeiro: $1,285 a month against $2,197 in San Juan, rent and utilities included – about $10,900 less a year. Rent and utilities account for about half of the difference.

108

Cost of Living Index in San Juan
Learn more

San Juan Living Index
63

Cost of Living Index in Rio de Janeiro
Learn more

Rio de Janeiro Living Index

Jump to prices

San Juan

🇵🇷 Puerto Rico

$2,197

/mo nomad

Rio de Janeiro

🇧🇷 Brazil

$1,285

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,197 in San Juan versus $1,285 in Rio de Janeiro.

San Juan $2,197
Rio de Janeiro $1,285

Estimated couple costs with rent: $3,317 in San Juan versus $1,888 in Rio de Janeiro.

San Juan $3,317
Rio de Janeiro $1,888

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $4,436 in San Juan versus $2,491 in Rio de Janeiro.

San Juan $4,436
Rio de Janeiro $2,491

Living in San Juan is roughly 71% more expensive than in Rio de Janeiro, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

The two cities straddle the global median: San Juan is 64% above, Rio de Janeiro is 4% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$18.95 $18.95

$9.98 R$49.83

89.88%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$81.6 $81.6

$40.34 R$201

102.21%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$9.01 $9.01

$8.48 R$42.35

6.25%

Cappuccino

$3.63 $3.63

$2.36 R$11.80

53.81%

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

$1.92 $1.92

$1.63 R$8.13

17.79%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.44 $1.44

$1.01 R$5.06

42.57%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.96 $2.96

$2.44 R$12.19

21.31%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$5.12 $5.12

$3.69 R$18.43

38.75%

Milk (1 liter)

$2.16 $2.16

$1.15 R$5.72

87.83%

White Bread (500g)

$3.64 $3.64

$2.07 R$10.34

75.85%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.40 $2.40

$1.29 R$6.42

86.05%

Eggs

$7.30 $7.30

$2.27 R$11.32

221.59%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$12.48 $12.48

$11.00 R$54.9

13.45%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.91 $9.91

$4.31 R$21.51

129.93%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$13.15 $13.15

$9.74 R$48.63

35.01%

Apples (1kg)

$5.01 $5.01

$2.83 R$14.12

77.03%

Banana (1kg)

$2.57 $2.57

$1.84 R$9.17

39.67%

Oranges (1kg)

$4.83 $4.83

$1.60 R$7.96

201.87%

Tomato (1kg)

$4.68 $4.68

$1.80 R$9.00

160.00%

Potato (1kg)

$3.69 $3.69

$1.26 R$6.28

192.86%

Onion (1kg)

$3.89 $3.89

$1.07 R$5.34

263.55%

Lettuce (1 head)

$3.35 $3.35

$0.75 R$3.75

346.67%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.65 $1.65

$0.66 R$3.29

150.00%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$11.90 $11.90

$3.05 R$15.21

290.16%

Wine (Bottle)

$15.42 $15.42

$8.18 R$40.84

88.51%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.98 $2.98

$1.19 R$5.92

150.42%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.91 $3.91

$2.39 R$11.92

63.60%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.78 $0.78

$1.01 R$5.06

-22.77%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$29.65 $29.65

$50.2 R$250

-40.88%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$2.53 $2.53

$1.27 R$6.33

99.21%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.53 $1.53

$0.90 R$4.51

70.00%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$41.18 $41.18

$9.44 R$47.13

336.23%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.23 $1.23

$1.33 R$6.65

-7.52%

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

$39.7K $39.7K

$23.4K R$117.0K

69.58%

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

$28.0K $28.0K

$33.6K R$167.6K

-16.46%

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

$323 $323

$134 R$666

142.04%

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

$70.0 $70.0

$12.23 R$61.0

472.04%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$70.1 $70.1

$22.65 R$113

209.45%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$41.55 $41.55

$31.56 R$158

31.65%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$7.78 $7.78

$30.87 R$154

-74.80%

Cinema Ticket

$10.57 $10.57

$8.23 R$41.07

28.43%

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

$814 $814

$603 R$3,011

35.03%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$12.4K $12.4K

$13.2K R$66.1K

-6.50%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$55.5 $55.5

$41.62 R$208

33.40%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$61.6 $61.6

$49.94 R$249

23.43%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$107 $107

$75.0 R$375

42.38%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$113 $113

$68.3 R$341

65.47%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,791 $1,791

$905 R$4,519

97.78%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$847 $847

$527 R$2,633

60.64%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,872 $2,872

$1,346 R$6,720

113.33%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,496 $1,496

$774 R$3,865

93.21%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$7,513 $7,513

$3,981 R$19.9K

88.75%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$3,351 $3,351

$1,562 R$7,798

114.52%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$2,674 $2,674

$643 R$3,210

315.78%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

6.55

11.93

-45.10%

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

Last update for San Juan: October 3, 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

San Juan

$847 37.8%

Rio de Janeiro

$527 41% 37.8% $320

Monthly Utilities & Internet

San Juan

$463 20.7%

Rio de Janeiro

$168 13.1% 63.6% $295

Groceries & Markets

San Juan

$412 18.4%

Rio de Janeiro

$215 16.7% 47.9% $197

Eating Out

San Juan

$261 11.6%

Rio de Janeiro

$164 12.7% 37.2% $97

Clothing & Footwear

San Juan

$152 6.8%

Rio de Janeiro

$106 8.2% 30.3% $46

Sport & Entertainment

San Juan

$63 2.8%

Rio de Janeiro

$48 3.7% 23.4% $15

Getting Around

San Juan

$43 1.9%

Rio de Janeiro

$60 4.7% 39.6% $17

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,791 in San Juan and $905 in Rio de Janeiro. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

San Juan pays 316% 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: $82.0 in San Juan vs $40.00 in Rio de Janeiro for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $412 vs $215 per month, with Rio de Janeiro cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇵🇷 San Juan

🇧🇷 Rio de Janeiro

🕒 Local time

08:01 8:01 AM

09:01 9:01 AM

1 h ahead of San Juan

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

322,854 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 →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

San Juan Rio de Janeiro 5,230 km ≈ 7 h nonstop flight

From you

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

San Juan and Rio de Janeiro differ by about 71% in total monthly costs ($2,197 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 316% higher in San Juan, 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: $1,791 in San Juan 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 $82.0 in San Juan. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

All in, you'll spend $2,197 per month in San Juan versus $1,285 in Rio de Janeiro – a 71% gap that adds up to real savings over time for anyone picking the cheaper option.

At $1,285 in Rio de Janeiro versus $2,197 in San Juan, a $2,000 budget is realistic in Rio de Janeiro but tight or insufficient in San Juan. 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.

Expats usually find Rio de Janeiro gentler on the wallet – expenses run 71% less than in San Juan. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.