Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Tapachula and Rio de Janeiro

For one person, living is cheaper in Tapachula: $1,164 a month against $1,273 in Rio de Janeiro, rent and utilities included – about $1,300 less a year. Higher rent and utilities in Rio de Janeiro outweigh lower spending on other living expenses.

54

Cost of Living Index in Tapachula
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Tapachula Living Index
62

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

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Tapachula

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,164

/mo nomad

Rio de Janeiro

🇧🇷 Brazil

$1,273

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,164 in Tapachula versus $1,273 in Rio de Janeiro.

Tapachula $1,164
Rio de Janeiro $1,273

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,828 in Tapachula versus $1,841 in Rio de Janeiro.

Tapachula $1,828
Rio de Janeiro $1,841

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $2,493 in Tapachula versus $2,409 in Rio de Janeiro.

Tapachula $2,493
Rio de Janeiro $2,409

Living in Tapachula costs roughly 9% less than in Rio de Janeiro, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in transport.

Both cities sit below the global median: Tapachula 14% lower, Rio de Janeiro 6% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$10.44 MX$193

$9.38 R$47.54

11.30%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$40.58 MX$750

$40.00 R$203

1.45%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$7.90 MX$146

$8.34 R$42.28

-5.28%

Cappuccino

$3.71 MX$68.6

$2.29 R$11.62

62.01%

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

$1.27 MX$23.45

$1.59 R$8.05

-20.13%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.16 MX$21.35

$1.01 R$5.10

14.85%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.41 MX$44.58

$2.14 R$10.85

12.62%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.75 MX$69.3

$3.66 R$18.55

2.46%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.56 MX$28.77

$1.13 R$5.72

38.05%

White Bread (500g)

$2.65 MX$49.05

$2.09 R$10.60

26.79%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.62 MX$29.96

$1.25 R$6.36

29.60%

Eggs

$2.43 MX$44.94

$2.25 R$11.39

8.00%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$8.09 MX$149

$10.92 R$55.3

-25.92%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$8.32 MX$154

$4.36 R$22.10

90.83%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$11.49 MX$212

$9.60 R$48.66

19.69%

Apples (1kg)

$2.31 MX$42.72

$2.85 R$14.46

-18.95%

Banana (1kg)

$1.58 MX$29.23

$1.81 R$9.16

-12.71%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.08 MX$38.50

$1.58 R$8.02

31.65%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.83 MX$33.81

$1.83 R$9.28

Potato (1kg)

$1.89 MX$34.94

$1.20 R$6.10

57.50%

Onion (1kg)

$1.81 MX$33.37

$1.06 R$5.35

70.75%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.62 MX$29.91

$0.75 R$3.81

116.00%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.09 MX$20.12

$0.68 R$3.45

60.29%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.27 MX$79.0

$2.94 R$14.90

45.24%

Wine (Bottle)

$9.18 MX$170

$7.98 R$40.43

15.04%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.71 MX$31.66

$1.18 R$5.98

44.92%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.05 MX$56.4

$2.42 R$12.26

26.03%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.61 MX$11.19

$0.94 R$4.78

-35.11%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$50.3 R$255

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$2.66 MX$49.11

$1.20 R$6.10

121.67%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.70 MX$31.45

$0.83 R$4.20

104.82%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$9.99 MX$185

$8.97 R$45.48

11.37%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.34 MX$24.73

$1.29 R$6.53

3.88%

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

$25.3K MX$467.0K

$22.8K R$115.5K

10.96%

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

$23.0K MX$424.7K

$34.0K R$172.1K

-32.32%

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

$54.4 MX$1,006

$134 R$681

-59.47%

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

$23.70 MX$438

$10.73 R$54.4

120.88%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$26.93 MX$498

$22.84 R$116

17.91%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$37.17 MX$687

$30.16 R$153

23.24%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$18.73 MX$346

$31.49 R$160

-40.52%

Cinema Ticket

$5.01 MX$92.6

$7.73 R$39.17

-35.19%

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

$245 MX$4,528

$584 R$2,960

-58.03%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$4,825 MX$89.2K

$12.8K R$64.9K

-62.32%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$57.4 MX$1,060

$41.12 R$208

39.57%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$41.06 MX$759

$49.26 R$250

-16.65%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$98.5 MX$1,820

$73.7 R$373

33.68%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$91.8 MX$1,696

$65.9 R$334

39.21%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$673 MX$12.4K

$900 R$4,561

-25.18%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$428 MX$7,904

$527 R$2,673

-18.87%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,080 MX$20.0K

$1,332 R$6,754

-18.95%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$770 MX$14.2K

$748 R$3,790

2.98%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$1,952 MX$36.1K

$3,990 R$20.2K

-51.09%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,087 MX$20.1K

$1,560 R$7,908

-30.32%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$640 R$3,246

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

11.3

11.93

-5.28%

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

Last update for Tapachula: October 18, 2026

Last update for Rio de Janeiro: October 18, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Tapachula

$428 36.8%

Rio de Janeiro

$527 41.4% 23.3% $100

Groceries & Markets

Tapachula

$259 22.3%

Rio de Janeiro

$214 16.8% 17.5% $45

Eating Out

Tapachula

$181 15.6%

Rio de Janeiro

$156 12.3% 13.9% $25

Clothing & Footwear

Tapachula

$130 11.2%

Rio de Janeiro

$103 8.1% 20.3% $26

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Tapachula

$105 9%

Rio de Janeiro

$168 13.2% 59.8% $63

Sport & Entertainment

Tapachula

$47 4.1%

Rio de Janeiro

$46 3.6% 3.4% $1.6

Getting Around

Tapachula

$14 * 1.2%

Rio de Janeiro

$59 4.7% 337% $46

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 $673 in Tapachula and $900 in Rio de Janeiro. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Dining out: $41.00 in Tapachula vs $40.00 in Rio de Janeiro for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $259 vs $214 per month, with Rio de Janeiro cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇲🇽 Tapachula

🇧🇷 Rio de Janeiro

🕒 Local time

08:45 8:45 AM

11:45 11:45 AM

3 h ahead of Tapachula

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

217,550

6,211,223

💱 Currency

Mexican Peso MXN $

Brazilian Real BRL R$

📈 Exchange rate

100 MXN = 5.41 USD

100 MXN = 4.81 EUR

1 BRL = 0.197 USD

1 BRL = 0.175 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

BRL, USD, EUR to MXN – Mexican Peso Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇲🇽 Mexican Peso ($)

Mexican Peso exchange rates as of October 22, 2026: 1 USD = 18.48 MXN (100 MXN = 5.41 USD). 1 EUR = 20.77 MXN (100 MXN = 4.81 EUR).

Brazilian Real exchange rates as of October 22, 2026: 1 USD = 5.07 BRL (1 BRL = 0.197 USD). 1 EUR = 5.7 BRL (1 BRL = 0.175 EUR).

USD to MXN in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Tapachula Rio de Janeiro 6,790 km ≈ 9 h nonstop flight

From you

Tapachula
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

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

Tapachula and Rio de Janeiro differ by about 9% in total monthly costs ($1,164 vs $1,273 including rent). Tapachula is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

You'd need roughly $1,745 in Tapachula and $1,910 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.

Rent for a central apartment: $673 in Tapachula versus $900 in Rio de Janeiro. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $245 in Tapachula versus $584 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 Tapachula – 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.

At $1,164 in Tapachula versus $1,273 in Rio de Janeiro, a $1,500 budget is realistic in Tapachula but tight or insufficient in Rio de Janeiro. The gap between the two cities makes Tapachula 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 Tapachula gentler on the wallet – expenses run 9% less than in Rio de Janeiro. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.