Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Somerset West and Rio de Janeiro

For one person, living costs are similar in Somerset West and in Rio de Janeiro: $1,160 and $1,182 a month, rent and utilities included.

56

Cost of Living Index in Somerset West
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Somerset West Living Index
57

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

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Somerset West

🇿🇦 South Africa

$1,160

/mo nomad

Rio de Janeiro

🇧🇷 Brazil

$1,182

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,160 in Somerset West versus $1,182 in Rio de Janeiro.

Somerset West $1,160
Rio de Janeiro $1,182

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,888 in Somerset West versus $1,750 in Rio de Janeiro.

Somerset West $1,888
Rio de Janeiro $1,750

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $2,615 in Somerset West versus $2,318 in Rio de Janeiro.

Somerset West $2,615
Rio de Janeiro $2,318

Living in Somerset West costs roughly 2% less than in Rio de Janeiro, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in clothing.

Both cities sit below the global median: Somerset West 15% lower, Rio de Janeiro 13% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$12.23 R 204

$9.08 R$48.58

34.69%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$45.52 R 757

$37.25 R$199

22.20%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$5.44 R 90.5

$8.02 R$42.91

-32.17%

Cappuccino

$2.06 R 34.28

$2.19 R$11.72

-5.94%

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

$1.06 R 17.71

$1.46 R$7.83

-27.40%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.84 R 13.99

$0.99 R$5.28

-15.15%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.58 R 42.85

$2.03 R$10.85

27.09%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.27 R 54.4

$3.45 R$18.45

-5.22%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.03 R 17.10

$1.06 R$5.67

-2.83%

White Bread (500g)

$0.98 R 16.37

$1.98 R$10.62

-50.51%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.08 R 34.65

$1.17 R$6.28

77.78%

Eggs

$2.28 R 37.94

$2.21 R$11.81

3.17%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$8.34 R 139

$10.11 R$54.1

-17.51%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$5.18 R 86.1

$4.12 R$22.02

25.73%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$9.22 R 153

$9.17 R$49.08

0.55%

Apples (1kg)

$1.81 R 30.18

$2.72 R$14.55

-33.46%

Banana (1kg)

$1.89 R 31.43

$1.71 R$9.15

10.53%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.74 R 28.95

$1.53 R$8.19

13.73%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.69 R 28.16

$1.66 R$8.89

1.81%

Potato (1kg)

$1.51 R 25.19

$1.14 R$6.09

32.46%

Onion (1kg)

$1.53 R 25.44

$0.99 R$5.32

54.55%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.29 R 21.38

$0.65 R$3.46

98.46%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.07 R 17.77

$0.60 R$3.20

78.33%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$3.39 R 56.4

$2.79 R$14.96

21.51%

Wine (Bottle)

$5.89 R 98.0

$7.48 R$40.03

-21.26%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.36 R 22.70

$1.09 R$5.84

24.77%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.75 R 29.12

$2.33 R$12.49

-24.89%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.11 R 18.44

$0.90 R$4.79

23.33%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$60.4 R 1,005

$53.0 R$284

13.98%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$0.59 R 9.79

$1.17 R$6.24

-49.57%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.54 R 25.68

$0.78 R$4.18

97.44%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$4.94 R 82.2

$8.37 R$44.79

-40.98%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.42 R 23.64

$1.21 R$6.49

17.36%

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

$29.3K R 486.8K

$21.5K R$114.9K

36.30%

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

$29.4K R 488.4K

$31.1K R$166.6K

-5.72%

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

$82.1 R 1,366

$124 R$666

-34.06%

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

$29.05 R 483

$10.03 R$53.7

189.63%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$40.47 R 673

$20.88 R$112

93.82%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$44.16 R 735

$28.35 R$152

55.77%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$10.43 R 174

$29.33 R$157

-64.44%

Cinema Ticket

$7.28 R 121

$7.62 R$40.75

-4.46%

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

$251 R 4,168

$563 R$3,012

-55.49%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$3,596 R 59.8K

$12.0K R$64.5K

-70.14%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$30.99 R 516

$39.25 R$210

-21.04%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$31.32 R 521

$46.36 R$248

-32.44%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$71.3 R 1,187

$68.4 R$366

4.27%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$56.3 R 937

$63.4 R$339

-11.16%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$643 R 10.7K

$776 R$4,153

-17.20%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$426 R 7,084

$473 R$2,532

-10.02%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,341 R 22.3K

$1,391 R$7,443

-3.57%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$937 R 15.6K

$739 R$3,954

26.74%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$1,221 R 20.3K

$3,393 R$18.2K

-64.02%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$892 R 14.8K

$1,570 R$8,403

-43.18%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,418 R 23.6K

$597 R$3,194

137.54%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

10.12

11.93

-15.17%

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

Last update for Somerset West: October 25, 2026

Last update for Rio de Janeiro: October 25, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Somerset West

$426 36.7%

Rio de Janeiro

$473 40% 11.1% $47

Groceries & Markets

Somerset West

$200 17.2%

Rio de Janeiro

$201 17% 0.7% $1.3

Eating Out

Somerset West

$166 14.3%

Rio de Janeiro

$150 12.7% 9.7% $16

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Somerset West

$152 13.1%

Rio de Janeiro

$155 13.1% 2.5% $3.8

Clothing & Footwear

Somerset West

$86 7.4%

Rio de Janeiro

$98 8.3% 14.4% $12

Getting Around

Somerset West

$73 6.3%

Rio de Janeiro

$62 5.2% 15.7% $12

Sport & Entertainment

Somerset West

$59 5.1%

Rio de Janeiro

$44 3.7% 25.8% $15

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $643 in Somerset West and $776 in Rio de Janeiro. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Somerset West pays about 2.4 times more on average while also being the cheaper of the two. The combined effect is a noticeably stronger local purchasing power.

Dining out: $46 in Somerset West vs $37 in Rio de Janeiro. Groceries flip the comparison at $200 vs $201, with Somerset West cheaper for home cooking.

Good to know

🇿🇦 Somerset West

🇧🇷 Rio de Janeiro

🕒 Local time

16:59 4:59 PM

11:59 11:59 AM

5 h behind Somerset West

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

55,166

6,211,223

💱 Currency

South African Rand ZAR R

Brazilian Real BRL R$

📈 Exchange rate

100 ZAR = 6.01 USD

100 ZAR = 5.4 EUR

1 BRL = 0.187 USD

1 BRL = 0.168 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

BRL, USD, EUR to ZAR – South African Rand Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇿🇦 South African Rand (R)

South African Rand exchange rates as of October 28, 2026: 1 USD = 16.64 ZAR (100 ZAR = 6.01 USD). 1 EUR = 18.52 ZAR (100 ZAR = 5.4 EUR).

Brazilian Real exchange rates as of October 28, 2026: 1 USD = 5.35 BRL (1 BRL = 0.187 USD). 1 EUR = 5.96 BRL (1 BRL = 0.168 EUR).

USD to ZAR in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Somerset West Rio de Janeiro 6,100 km ≈ 8 h nonstop flight

From you

Somerset West
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

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

Somerset West and Rio de Janeiro differ by about 2% in total monthly costs ($1,160 vs $1,182 including rent). Somerset West is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

Average pay in Somerset West is about 2.4 times higher, 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: $643 in Somerset West versus $776 in Rio de Janeiro. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $251 in Somerset West versus $563 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 $37 versus $46 in Somerset West. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

Either city works on $2,000 a month, though Somerset West gives you more room to save. At this income level, the choice is more about lifestyle than financial pressure.

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.