Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between St. Albert, AB and Rio de Janeiro

For one person, living is cheaper in St. Albert, AB: $1,167 a month against $1,289 in Rio de Janeiro, rent and utilities included – about $1,500 less a year. Higher rent and utilities in Rio de Janeiro outweigh lower spending on other living expenses.

57

Cost of Living Index in St. Albert, AB
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St. Albert, AB Living Index
63

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

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St. Albert, AB

🇨🇦 Canada

$1,167

/mo nomad

Rio de Janeiro

🇧🇷 Brazil

$1,289

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,167 in St. Albert, AB versus $1,289 in Rio de Janeiro.

St. Albert, AB $1,167
Rio de Janeiro $1,289

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,457 in St. Albert, AB versus $1,868 in Rio de Janeiro.

St. Albert, AB $2,457
Rio de Janeiro $1,868

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,747 in St. Albert, AB versus $2,448 in Rio de Janeiro.

St. Albert, AB $3,747
Rio de Janeiro $2,448

Living in St. Albert, AB costs roughly 9% less than in Rio de Janeiro, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Both cities sit below the global median: St. Albert, AB 14% lower, Rio de Janeiro 5% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$19.29 CA$27.42

$10.06 R$50.8

91.75%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$69.2 CA$98.4

$40.44 R$204

71.17%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$9.90 CA$14.08

$8.55 R$43.16

15.79%

Cappuccino

$3.81 CA$5.41

$2.38 R$11.99

60.08%

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

$2.05 CA$2.92

$1.61 R$8.14

27.33%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.00 CA$2.84

$1.03 R$5.20

94.17%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$5.03 CA$7.14

$2.47 R$12.49

103.64%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$5.64 CA$8.01

$3.70 R$18.69

52.43%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.68 CA$2.39

$1.19 R$6.03

41.18%

White Bread (500g)

$2.18 CA$3.09

$2.05 R$10.34

6.34%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$3.04 CA$4.32

$1.28 R$6.46

137.50%

Eggs

$3.46 CA$4.91

$2.29 R$11.55

51.09%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$11.42 CA$16.23

$10.76 R$54.3

6.13%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$11.34 CA$16.12

$4.41 R$22.26

157.14%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$18.19 CA$25.85

$9.84 R$49.65

84.86%

Apples (1kg)

$4.22 CA$5.99

$2.81 R$14.19

50.18%

Banana (1kg)

$1.39 CA$1.97

$1.78 R$8.99

-21.91%

Oranges (1kg)

$4.29 CA$6.09

$1.60 R$8.10

168.13%

Tomato (1kg)

$3.96 CA$5.62

$1.80 R$9.07

120.00%

Potato (1kg)

$2.63 CA$3.74

$1.22 R$6.14

115.57%

Onion (1kg)

$2.64 CA$3.75

$1.04 R$5.24

153.85%

Lettuce (1 head)

$2.57 CA$3.66

$0.77 R$3.90

233.77%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.56 CA$2.21

$0.67 R$3.36

132.84%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$13.93 CA$19.80

$3.01 R$15.21

362.79%

Wine (Bottle)

$11.72 CA$16.66

$8.08 R$40.77

45.05%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.43 CA$3.45

$1.19 R$6.00

104.20%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.82 CA$4.01

$2.51 R$12.67

12.35%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$2.03 CA$2.89

$0.99 R$4.98

105.05%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$60.6 CA$86.1

$50.1 R$253

20.83%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$2.93 CA$4.16

$1.22 R$6.17

140.16%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.36 CA$1.94

$0.92 R$4.64

47.83%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$20.90 CA$29.70

$8.97 R$45.25

133.00%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.10 CA$1.57

$1.30 R$6.55

-15.38%

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

$27.3K CA$38.8K

$23.9K R$120.5K

14.23%

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

$19.5K CA$27.7K

$32.9K R$165.9K

-40.77%

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

$160 CA$228

$133 R$673

20.14%

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

$38.86 CA$55.2

$10.82 R$54.6

259.15%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$52.6 CA$74.8

$22.90 R$116

129.78%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$40.02 CA$56.9

$30.79 R$155

29.98%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$31.85 R$161

Cinema Ticket

$12.66 CA$17.99

$8.05 R$40.65

57.27%

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

$748 CA$1,062

$598 R$3,016

25.09%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$9,306 CA$13.2K

$13.4K R$67.7K

-30.65%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$55.7 CA$79.2

$42.04 R$212

32.56%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$39.02 CA$55.5

$49.68 R$251

-21.46%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$83.3 CA$118

$74.5 R$376

11.82%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$110 CA$157

$68.7 R$347

60.61%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$903 R$4,558

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$529 R$2,672

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,334 CA$1,896

$1,326 R$6,695

0.57%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,124 CA$1,597

$756 R$3,814

48.71%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,488 CA$3,536

$4,010 R$20.2K

-37.97%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$2,492 CA$3,542

$1,560 R$7,875

59.73%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$3,157 CA$4,486

$640 R$3,228

393.55%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

4.51

11.93

-62.20%

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

Last update for St. Albert, AB: October 12, 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

St. Albert, AB

$360 30.8%

Rio de Janeiro

$215 16.7% 40.3% $145

Eating Out

St. Albert, AB

$282 24.2%

Rio de Janeiro

$165 12.8% 41.6% $117

Monthly Utilities & Internet

St. Albert, AB

$252 21.6%

Rio de Janeiro

$167 13% 33.6% $85

Clothing & Footwear

St. Albert, AB

$130 11.1%

Rio de Janeiro

$106 8.2% 18.5% $24

Getting Around

St. Albert, AB

$78 6.7%

Rio de Janeiro

$60 4.7% 23.7% $19

Sport & Entertainment

St. Albert, AB

$65 5.6%

Rio de Janeiro

$47 3.6% 28.2% $18

Accommodation & Living

St. Albert, AB

- * 0%

Rio de Janeiro

$529 41.1%

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

Cost Breakdown

St. Albert, AB pays 394% more on average while also being the cheaper of the two. The combined effect is a noticeably stronger local purchasing power.

Dining out: $69.0 in St. Albert, AB vs $40.00 in Rio de Janeiro for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $360 vs $215 per month, with Rio de Janeiro cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇨🇦 St. Albert, AB

🇧🇷 Rio de Janeiro

🕒 Local time

18:38 6:38 PM

21:38 9:38 PM

3 h ahead of St. Albert, AB

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

68,232

6,211,223

💱 Currency

Canadian Dollar CAD $

Brazilian Real BRL R$

📈 Exchange rate

1 CAD = 0.704 USD

1 CAD = 0.628 EUR

1 BRL = 0.198 USD

1 BRL = 0.177 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 15, 2026: 1 USD = 1.42 CAD (1 CAD = 0.704 USD). 1 EUR = 1.59 CAD (1 CAD = 0.628 EUR).

Brazilian Real exchange rates as of October 15, 2026: 1 USD = 5.05 BRL (1 BRL = 0.198 USD). 1 EUR = 5.65 BRL (1 BRL = 0.177 EUR).

USD to CAD in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

St. Albert, AB Rio de Janeiro 10,840 km ≈ 14 h nonstop flight

From you

St. Albert, AB
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

St. Albert, AB vs Rio de Janeiro: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

St. Albert, AB and Rio de Janeiro differ by about 10% in total monthly costs ($1,167 vs $1,289 including rent). St. Albert, AB is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

Average pay runs 394% higher in St. Albert, AB, which matters when comparing affordability. Whether that higher income actually nets you more depends on your spending habits and housing choices.

Dining out is cheaper in St. Albert, AB – a meal for two runs $69.0 versus $40.00 in Rio de Janeiro. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

All in, you'll spend $1,167 per month in St. Albert, AB versus $1,289 in Rio de Janeiro – a 10% gap that adds up to real savings over time for anyone picking the cheaper option.

At $1,167 in St. Albert, AB versus $1,289 in Rio de Janeiro, a $1,000 budget is realistic in St. Albert, AB but tight or insufficient in Rio de Janeiro. The gap between the two cities makes St. Albert, AB 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 St. Albert, AB gentler on the wallet – expenses run 10% less than in Rio de Janeiro. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.