Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Scarborough and Rio de Janeiro

For one person, living is cheaper in Rio de Janeiro: $1,289 a month against $2,466 in Scarborough, rent and utilities included – about $14,100 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

121

Cost of Living Index in Scarborough
Learn more

Scarborough Living Index
63

Cost of Living Index in Rio de Janeiro
Learn more

Rio de Janeiro Living Index

Jump to prices

Scarborough

🇨🇦 Canada

$2,466

/mo nomad

Rio de Janeiro

🇧🇷 Brazil

$1,289

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,466 in Scarborough versus $1,289 in Rio de Janeiro.

Scarborough $2,466
Rio de Janeiro $1,289

Estimated couple costs with rent: $3,385 in Scarborough versus $1,868 in Rio de Janeiro.

Scarborough $3,385
Rio de Janeiro $1,868

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $4,304 in Scarborough versus $2,448 in Rio de Janeiro.

Scarborough $4,304
Rio de Janeiro $2,448

Living in Scarborough is roughly 91% more expensive than in Rio de Janeiro, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

The two cities straddle the global median: Scarborough is 83% above, Rio de Janeiro is 5% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$16.49 CA$23.31

$10.06 R$51.0

63.92%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$68.8 CA$97.2

$40.44 R$205

70.00%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$10.56 CA$14.93

$8.55 R$43.35

23.51%

Cappuccino

$3.87 CA$5.47

$2.38 R$12.04

62.61%

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

$2.07 CA$2.92

$1.61 R$8.18

28.57%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.37 CA$1.94

$1.03 R$5.22

33.01%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$6.24 CA$8.82

$2.47 R$12.54

152.63%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$7.08 CA$10.01

$3.70 R$18.77

91.35%

Milk (1 liter)

$2.51 CA$3.56

$1.19 R$6.05

110.92%

White Bread (500g)

$2.68 CA$3.78

$2.05 R$10.38

30.73%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.13 CA$3.01

$1.28 R$6.49

66.41%

Eggs

$3.45 CA$4.88

$2.29 R$11.60

50.66%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$8.94 CA$12.63

$10.76 R$54.5

-16.91%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$11.01 CA$15.56

$4.41 R$22.36

149.66%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$12.57 CA$17.77

$9.84 R$49.86

27.74%

Apples (1kg)

$3.22 CA$4.56

$2.81 R$14.25

14.59%

Banana (1kg)

$1.21 CA$1.71

$1.78 R$9.03

-32.02%

Oranges (1kg)

$3.39 CA$4.79

$1.60 R$8.13

111.87%

Tomato (1kg)

$4.00 CA$5.65

$1.80 R$9.11

122.22%

Potato (1kg)

$1.65 CA$2.33

$1.22 R$6.17

35.25%

Onion (1kg)

$1.58 CA$2.24

$1.04 R$5.26

51.92%

Lettuce (1 head)

$2.28 CA$3.22

$0.77 R$3.92

196.10%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.19 CA$1.68

$0.67 R$3.38

77.61%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$13.74 CA$19.43

$3.01 R$15.27

356.48%

Wine (Bottle)

$12.75 CA$18.03

$8.08 R$40.94

57.80%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.11 CA$2.99

$1.19 R$6.03

77.31%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.51 CA$3.55

$2.51 R$12.73

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$2.35 CA$3.32

$0.99 R$5.00

137.37%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$103 CA$146

$50.1 R$254

106.29%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$2.95 CA$4.17

$1.22 R$6.20

141.80%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.26 CA$1.79

$0.92 R$4.66

36.96%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$21.32 CA$30.14

$8.97 R$45.45

137.68%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.21 CA$1.72

$1.30 R$6.57

-6.92%

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

$27.5K CA$38.8K

$23.9K R$121.0K

14.99%

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

$19.9K CA$28.1K

$32.9K R$166.6K

-39.54%

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

$141 CA$199

$133 R$676

5.37%

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

$34.98 CA$49.45

$10.82 R$54.8

223.29%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$47.92 CA$67.7

$22.90 R$116

109.26%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$35.43 CA$50.1

$30.79 R$156

15.07%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$35.38 CA$50.0

$31.85 R$161

11.08%

Cinema Ticket

$12.45 CA$17.60

$8.05 R$40.83

54.66%

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

$808 CA$1,142

$598 R$3,029

35.20%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$10.4K CA$14.7K

$13.4K R$68.0K

-22.56%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$51.5 CA$72.9

$42.04 R$213

22.60%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$39.00 CA$55.1

$49.68 R$252

-21.50%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$84.4 CA$119

$74.5 R$378

13.23%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$103 CA$146

$68.7 R$348

50.23%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,695 CA$2,396

$903 R$4,578

87.63%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,342 CA$1,898

$529 R$2,684

153.54%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,130 CA$3,011

$1,326 R$6,724

60.57%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,736 CA$2,454

$756 R$3,831

129.67%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$7,564 CA$10.7K

$4,010 R$20.3K

88.63%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$6,121 CA$8,653

$1,560 R$7,910

292.30%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$2,908 CA$4,111

$640 R$3,242

354.71%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

4.55

11.93

-61.86%

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

Last update for Scarborough: October 13, 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

Scarborough

$1.3K 54.4%

Rio de Janeiro

$529 41.1% 60.6% $813

Groceries & Markets

Scarborough

$323 13.1%

Rio de Janeiro

$215 16.7% 33.6% $109

Eating Out

Scarborough

$269 10.9%

Rio de Janeiro

$165 12.8% 38.7% $104

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Scarborough

$223 9.1%

Rio de Janeiro

$167 13% 25.2% $56

Clothing & Footwear

Scarborough

$125 5.1%

Rio de Janeiro

$106 8.2% 15.5% $19

Getting Around

Scarborough

$122 5%

Rio de Janeiro

$60 4.7% 50.9% $62

Sport & Entertainment

Scarborough

$60 2.5%

Rio de Janeiro

$47 3.6% 22.3% $13

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,695 in Scarborough and $903 in Rio de Janeiro. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Scarborough pays 355% 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: $69.0 in Scarborough vs $40.00 in Rio de Janeiro for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $323 vs $215 per month, with Rio de Janeiro cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇨🇦 Scarborough

🇧🇷 Rio de Janeiro

🕒 Local time

17:54 5:54 PM

18:54 6:54 PM

1 h ahead of Scarborough

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

29,960

6,211,223

💱 Currency

Canadian Dollar CAD $

Brazilian Real BRL R$

📈 Exchange rate

1 CAD = 0.707 USD

1 CAD = 0.629 EUR

1 BRL = 0.197 USD

1 BRL = 0.175 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

BRL, USD, EUR to CAD – Canadian Dollar Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇨🇦 Canadian Dollar ($)

Canadian Dollar exchange rates as of October 19, 2026: 1 USD = 1.41 CAD (1 CAD = 0.707 USD). 1 EUR = 1.59 CAD (1 CAD = 0.629 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 CAD in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Scarborough Rio de Janeiro 8,280 km ≈ 11 h nonstop flight

From you

Scarborough
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

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

Scarborough and Rio de Janeiro differ by about 91% in total monthly costs ($2,466 vs $1,289 including rent). Rio de Janeiro is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

Average pay runs 355% higher in Scarborough, 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: $1,695 in Scarborough versus $903 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 $69.0 in Scarborough. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

All in, you'll spend $2,466 per month in Scarborough versus $1,289 in Rio de Janeiro – a 91% gap that adds up to real savings over time for anyone picking the cheaper option.

At $1,289 in Rio de Janeiro versus $2,466 in Scarborough, a $2,000 budget is realistic in Rio de Janeiro but tight or insufficient in Scarborough. 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 91% less than in Scarborough. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.