Last update: Oct 2026

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

For one person, living is cheaper in San Pedro de Macoris: $619 a month against $1,289 in Rio de Janeiro, rent and utilities included – about $8,000 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

San Pedro de Macoris
🇩🇴 Dominican Republic
$619
/mo nomad
Rio de Janeiro
🇧🇷 Brazil
$1,289
/mo nomad
Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $619 in San Pedro de Macoris versus $1,289 in Rio de Janeiro.

  • San Pedro de Macoris $619
  • Rio de Janeiro $1,289

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,000 in San Pedro de Macoris versus $1,868 in Rio de Janeiro.

  • San Pedro de Macoris $1,000
  • Rio de Janeiro $1,868

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $1,381 in San Pedro de Macoris versus $2,448 in Rio de Janeiro.

  • San Pedro de Macoris $1,381
  • Rio de Janeiro $2,448

Living in San Pedro de Macoris costs roughly 52% less than in Rio de Janeiro, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Both cities sit below the global median: San Pedro de Macoris 54% lower, Rio de Janeiro 5% lower.

Currency
🍽 Eating Out
San Pedro de Macoris
Rio de Janeiro
Difference
Meal at Budget Restaurant
$5.72 DOP 350
$10.06 R$51.0
-43.14%
Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range
$41.44 DOP 2,539
$40.44 R$205
2.47%
Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)
$6.80 DOP 416
$8.55 R$43.35
-20.47%
Cappuccino
$1.75 DOP 107
$2.38 R$12.04
-26.47%
Coke/Pepsi/Fanta/Sprite (0.33 liter bottle)
$0.72 DOP 44.35
$1.61 R$8.18
-55.28%
Water (0.33 liter bottle)
$0.37 DOP 22.82
$1.03 R$5.22
-64.08%
Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)
$2.48 DOP 152
$2.47 R$12.54
0.40%
Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)
$3.93 DOP 241
$3.70 R$18.77
6.22%
🛒 Groceries & Markets
San Pedro de Macoris
Rio de Janeiro
Difference
Milk (1 liter)
$1.15 DOP 70.4
$1.19 R$6.05
-3.36%
White Bread (500g)
$1.79 DOP 110
$2.05 R$10.38
-12.68%
Rice (white) (1kg)
$1.49 DOP 91.2
$1.28 R$6.49
16.41%
Eggs
$1.49 DOP 91.3
$2.29 R$11.60
-34.93%
Local Cheese (1kg)
$6.15 DOP 377
$10.76 R$54.5
-42.84%
Chicken Fillets (1kg)
$3.47 DOP 212
$4.41 R$22.36
-21.32%
Beef Round Steak (1kg)
$4.83 DOP 296
$9.84 R$49.86
-50.91%
Apples (1kg)
$3.62 DOP 222
$2.81 R$14.25
28.83%
Banana (1kg)
$1.39 DOP 85.1
$1.78 R$9.03
-21.91%
Oranges (1kg)
$3.25 DOP 199
$1.60 R$8.13
103.12%
Tomato (1kg)
$2.15 DOP 132
$1.80 R$9.11
19.44%
Potato (1kg)
$3.44 DOP 211
$1.22 R$6.17
181.97%
Onion (1kg)
$2.82 DOP 173
$1.04 R$5.26
171.15%
Lettuce (1 head)
$0.94 DOP 57.7
$0.77 R$3.92
22.08%
Water (1.5 liter bottle)
$1.66 DOP 102
$0.67 R$3.38
147.76%
Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)
$4.67 DOP 286
$3.01 R$15.27
55.15%
Wine (Bottle)
$16.37 DOP 1,003
$8.08 R$40.94
102.60%
Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)
$2.85 DOP 174
$1.19 R$6.03
139.50%
Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)
$3.27 DOP 200
$2.51 R$12.73
30.28%
🚌 Getting Around
San Pedro de Macoris
Rio de Janeiro
Difference
One-way Ticket (Public Transport)
-
$0.99 R$5.00
-
Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)
-
$50.1 R$254
-
Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)
$2.52 DOP 155
$1.22 R$6.20
106.56%
Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)
$3.31 DOP 203
$0.92 R$4.66
259.78%
Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)
-
$8.97 R$45.45
-
Gasoline (1 liter)
$1.23 DOP 75.6
$1.30 R$6.57
-5.38%
Midsize Hatchback 1.4l (Volkswagen Golf, Toyota Prius, Honda Civic, etc)
$14.6K DOP 896.7K
$23.9K R$121.0K
-38.69%
Compact Sedan 1.6l (Toyota Corolla, Mazda3, Kia K4, Hyundai Elantra, etc)
$25.7K DOP 1.6M
$32.9K R$166.6K
-21.74%
🧾 Monthly Utilities & Internet
San Pedro de Macoris
Rio de Janeiro
Difference
Utilities for 2 People in 2-bedroom Apartment (Heating, Electricity, Gas, Water, Garbage) (85m2)
$95.2 DOP 5,833
$133 R$676
-28.62%
SIM Card Monthly Plan (Calls and 10GB+ Data)
$26.76 DOP 1,640
$10.82 R$54.8
147.32%
Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)
$30.33 DOP 1,858
$22.90 R$116
32.45%
🎉 Sport & Entertainment
San Pedro de Macoris
Rio de Janeiro
Difference
Gym Membership (Monthly)
-
$30.79 R$156
-
Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)
-
$31.85 R$161
-
Cinema Ticket
$5.05 DOP 309
$8.05 R$40.83
-37.27%
🧸 Childcare & Education
San Pedro de Macoris
Rio de Janeiro
Difference
Preschool or Kindergarten, Full Day, Private, 1 Child (Monthly)
$150 DOP 9,199
$598 R$3,029
-74.87%
International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)
$5,470 DOP 335.1K
$13.4K R$68.0K
-59.24%
👕👟 Clothing & Footwear
San Pedro de Macoris
Rio de Janeiro
Difference
Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)
$26.74 DOP 1,638
$42.04 R$213
-36.39%
Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)
$45.76 DOP 2,803
$49.68 R$252
-7.89%
Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)
$62.5 DOP 3,831
$74.5 R$378
-16.08%
Men's Leather Business Shoes
$66.7 DOP 4,084
$68.7 R$348
-2.94%
🏠 Accommodation & Living
San Pedro de Macoris
Rio de Janeiro
Difference
1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)
-
$903 R$4,578
-
1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)
-
$529 R$2,684
-
3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)
$408 DOP 25.0K
$1,326 R$6,724
-69.24%
3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)
-
$756 R$3,831
-
Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)
-
$4,010 R$20.3K
-
Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)
-
$1,560 R$7,910
-
💵 Salaries & Financials
San Pedro de Macoris
Rio de Janeiro
Difference
Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)
-
$640 R$3,242
-
20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)
11
11.93
-7.80%

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

Last update for San Pedro 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 Pedro de Macoris
$235
Rio de Janeiro
$215 8.6% $20
Monthly Utilities & Internet
San Pedro de Macoris
$152
Rio de Janeiro
$167 9.7% $15
Eating Out
San Pedro de Macoris
$112
Rio de Janeiro
$165 47.6% $53
Clothing & Footwear
San Pedro de Macoris
$91
Rio de Janeiro
$106 16.5% $15
Getting Around
San Pedro de Macoris
$19 *
Rio de Janeiro
$60 214% $41
Sport & Entertainment
San Pedro de Macoris
$10 *
Rio de Janeiro
$47 364% $37
Accommodation & Living
San Pedro de Macoris
- *
Rio de Janeiro
$529

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

Cost Breakdown

Dining out: $41.00 in San Pedro de Macoris vs $40.00 in Rio de Janeiro for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $235 vs $215 per month, with Rio de Janeiro cheaper across the board.

Good to know
🇩🇴 San Pedro de Macoris
🇧🇷 Rio de Janeiro
🕒 Local time
09:12 9:12 AM
10:12 10:12 AM
1 h ahead of San Pedro de Macoris
🌤 Weather
👥 Population
217,141
6,211,223
💱 Currency
Exchange rates and currency converter

BRL, USD, EUR to DOP – Dominican Peso Converter

Dominican Peso exchange rates as of October 18, 2026: 1 USD = 61.26 DOP (100 DOP = 1.63 USD). 1 EUR = 68.87 DOP (100 DOP = 1.45 EUR).

Brazilian Real exchange rates as of October 18, 2026: 1 USD = 5.07 BRL (1 BRL = 0.197 USD). 1 EUR = 5.7 BRL (1 BRL = 0.175 EUR).

On the map
Between locations
  • San Pedro de Macoris Rio de Janeiro 5,400 km ≈ 7 h nonstop flight
From you
  • San Pedro 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 Pedro de Macoris vs Rio de Janeiro: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions
What is the total cost difference between living in San Pedro de Macoris and in Rio de Janeiro?
San Pedro de Macoris and Rio de Janeiro differ by about 108% in total monthly costs ($619 vs $1,289 including rent). San Pedro de Macoris is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.
What salary covers living expenses in San Pedro de Macoris compared to Rio de Janeiro?
You'd need roughly $928 in San Pedro 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.
What is the difference in childcare costs between San Pedro de Macoris and Rio de Janeiro?
Childcare runs $150 in San Pedro 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.
Which city has cheaper restaurants?
Dining out is cheaper in San Pedro de Macoris – a meal for two runs $41.00 versus $40.00 in Rio de Janeiro. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.
Which city is more doable on $2,000 per month?
At $619 in San Pedro de Macoris versus $1,289 in Rio de Janeiro, a $2,000 budget is realistic in San Pedro de Macoris but tight or insufficient in Rio de Janeiro. The gap between the two cities makes San Pedro de Macoris the clear choice for anyone on this budget.
How does quality of life compare between San Pedro de Macoris and Rio de Janeiro?
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.
Where should expats move: San Pedro de Macoris or Rio de Janeiro?
Expats usually find San Pedro de Macoris gentler on the wallet – expenses run 108% less than in Rio de Janeiro. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.

San Pedro de Macoris vs other spots: cost of living compared

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