Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Sterling and Rio de Janeiro

For one person, living is cheaper in Rio de Janeiro: $1,289 a month against $2,824 in Sterling, rent and utilities included – about $18,400 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

137

Cost of Living Index in Sterling
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Sterling Living Index
63

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

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Sterling

🇺🇸 United States

$2,824

/mo nomad

Rio de Janeiro

🇧🇷 Brazil

$1,289

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,824 in Sterling versus $1,289 in Rio de Janeiro.

Sterling $2,824
Rio de Janeiro $1,289

Estimated couple costs with rent: $4,327 in Sterling versus $1,868 in Rio de Janeiro.

Sterling $4,327
Rio de Janeiro $1,868

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $5,831 in Sterling versus $2,448 in Rio de Janeiro.

Sterling $5,831
Rio de Janeiro $2,448

Living in Sterling is roughly 119% more expensive than in Rio de Janeiro, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

The two cities straddle the global median: Sterling is 109% above, Rio de Janeiro is 5% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$19.32 $19.32

$10.06 R$51.0

92.05%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$75.4 $75.4

$40.44 R$205

86.45%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.84 $11.84

$8.55 R$43.35

38.48%

Cappuccino

$5.90 $5.90

$2.38 R$12.04

147.90%

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

$2.98 $2.98

$1.61 R$8.18

85.09%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.48 $2.48

$1.03 R$5.22

140.78%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$5.42 $5.42

$2.47 R$12.54

119.43%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$7.91 $7.91

$3.70 R$18.77

113.78%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.05 $1.05

$1.19 R$6.05

-11.76%

White Bread (500g)

$4.01 $4.01

$2.05 R$10.38

95.61%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$5.11 $5.11

$1.28 R$6.49

299.22%

Eggs

$5.61 $5.61

$2.29 R$11.60

144.98%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$17.11 $17.11

$10.76 R$54.5

59.01%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$14.54 $14.54

$4.41 R$22.36

229.71%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$18.87 $18.87

$9.84 R$49.86

91.77%

Apples (1kg)

$5.58 $5.58

$2.81 R$14.25

98.58%

Banana (1kg)

$2.34 $2.34

$1.78 R$9.03

31.46%

Oranges (1kg)

$5.05 $5.05

$1.60 R$8.13

215.62%

Tomato (1kg)

$5.88 $5.88

$1.80 R$9.11

226.67%

Potato (1kg)

$2.82 $2.82

$1.22 R$6.17

131.15%

Onion (1kg)

$3.83 $3.83

$1.04 R$5.26

268.27%

Lettuce (1 head)

$2.26 $2.26

$0.77 R$3.92

193.51%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$2.64 $2.64

$0.67 R$3.38

294.03%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$9.90 $9.90

$3.01 R$15.27

228.90%

Wine (Bottle)

$13.96 $13.96

$8.08 R$40.94

72.77%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.32 $2.32

$1.19 R$6.03

94.96%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$5.54 $5.54

$2.51 R$12.73

120.72%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$4.96 $4.96

$0.99 R$5.00

401.01%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$50.1 R$254

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$2.98 $2.98

$1.22 R$6.20

144.26%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.41 $1.41

$0.92 R$4.66

53.26%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$22.86 $22.86

$8.97 R$45.45

154.85%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.04 $1.04

$1.30 R$6.57

-20.00%

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

$36.0K $36.0K

$23.9K R$121.0K

50.61%

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

$25.1K $25.1K

$32.9K R$166.6K

-23.66%

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

$156 $156

$133 R$676

17.17%

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

$50.5 $50.5

$10.82 R$54.8

367.10%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$79.1 $79.1

$22.90 R$116

245.28%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$29.37 $29.37

$30.79 R$156

-4.61%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$31.85 R$161

Cinema Ticket

$18.12 $18.12

$8.05 R$40.83

125.09%

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

$1,918 $1,918

$598 R$3,029

221.02%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$32.2K $32.2K

$13.4K R$68.0K

140.04%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$52.8 $52.8

$42.04 R$213

25.69%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$45.11 $45.11

$49.68 R$252

-9.20%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$87.7 $87.7

$74.5 R$378

17.65%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$107 $107

$68.7 R$348

56.34%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,255 $1,255

$903 R$4,578

38.91%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,512 $1,512

$529 R$2,684

185.55%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,025 $2,025

$1,326 R$6,724

52.68%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$2,875 $2,875

$756 R$3,831

280.42%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,239 $3,239

$4,010 R$20.3K

-19.22%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$2,372 $2,372

$1,560 R$7,910

52.03%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$3,714 $3,714

$640 R$3,242

480.77%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

6.63

11.93

-44.43%

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

Last update for Sterling: 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.

Accommodation & Living

Sterling

$1.5K 53.6%

Rio de Janeiro

$529 41.1% 65% $982

Groceries & Markets

Sterling

$473 16.8%

Rio de Janeiro

$215 16.7% 54.6% $258

Eating Out

Sterling

$326 11.5%

Rio de Janeiro

$165 12.8% 49.3% $161

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Sterling

$286 10.1%

Rio de Janeiro

$167 13% 41.5% $119

Clothing & Footwear

Sterling

$132 4.7%

Rio de Janeiro

$106 8.2% 19.8% $26

Sport & Entertainment

Sterling

$66 2.3%

Rio de Janeiro

$47 3.6% 28.5% $19

Getting Around

Sterling

$30 * 1.1%

Rio de Janeiro

$60 4.7% 101% $30

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

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,255 in Sterling and $903 in Rio de Janeiro. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Sterling pays 481% 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: $75.0 in Sterling vs $40.00 in Rio de Janeiro for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $473 vs $215 per month, with Rio de Janeiro cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇺🇸 Sterling

🇧🇷 Rio de Janeiro

🕒 Local time

03:18 3:18 AM

05:18 5:18 AM

2 h ahead of Sterling

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

14,782

6,211,223

💱 Currency

United States Dollar USD $

Brazilian Real BRL R$

📈 Exchange rate

1 USD = 0.89 EUR

1 BRL = 0.197 USD

1 BRL = 0.175 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 18, 2026: 1 EUR = 1.12 USD (1 USD = 0.89 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).

BRL to USD in detail →

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Sterling Rio de Janeiro 8,640 km ≈ 11 h nonstop flight

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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

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

Sterling and Rio de Janeiro differ by about 119% in total monthly costs ($2,824 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 481% higher in Sterling, 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: $1,255 in Sterling versus $903 in Rio de Janeiro. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $1,918 in Sterling versus $598 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 $40.00 versus $75.0 in Sterling. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

At $1,289 in Rio de Janeiro versus $2,824 in Sterling, a $2,000 budget is realistic in Rio de Janeiro but tight or insufficient in Sterling. 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.

Safety-wise, Sterling and Rio de Janeiro are on par. Petty crime is typical for cities this size, and most residents feel comfortable going about their daily routines in either place.

Expats usually find Rio de Janeiro gentler on the wallet – expenses run 119% less than in Sterling. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.