Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Ubatuba and Rio de Janeiro

For one person, living is cheaper in Ubatuba: $790 a month against $1,182 in Rio de Janeiro, rent and utilities included – about $4,700 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

38

Cost of Living Index in Ubatuba
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Ubatuba Living Index
57

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

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Ubatuba

🇧🇷 Brazil

$790

/mo nomad

Rio de Janeiro

🇧🇷 Brazil

$1,182

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $790 in Ubatuba versus $1,182 in Rio de Janeiro.

Ubatuba $790
Rio de Janeiro $1,182

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,256 in Ubatuba versus $1,750 in Rio de Janeiro.

Ubatuba $1,256
Rio de Janeiro $1,750

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $1,722 in Ubatuba versus $2,318 in Rio de Janeiro.

Ubatuba $1,722
Rio de Janeiro $2,318

Living in Ubatuba costs roughly 33% less than in Rio de Janeiro, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in transport.

Both cities sit below the global median: Ubatuba 42% lower, Rio de Janeiro 13% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$6.82 R$37.09

$9.08 R$49.36

-24.89%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$27.03 R$147

$37.25 R$203

-27.44%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$4.78 R$25.97

$8.02 R$43.60

-40.40%

Cappuccino

$1.37 R$7.44

$2.19 R$11.90

-37.44%

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

$1.24 R$6.77

$1.46 R$7.95

-15.07%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.81 R$4.42

$0.99 R$5.36

-18.18%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.24 R$12.18

$2.03 R$11.02

10.34%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.64 R$19.77

$3.45 R$18.75

5.51%

Milk (1 liter)

$0.92 R$5.01

$1.06 R$5.76

-13.21%

White Bread (500g)

$1.71 R$9.27

$1.98 R$10.79

-13.64%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.27 R$6.93

$1.17 R$6.38

8.55%

Eggs

$2.31 R$12.57

$2.21 R$12.00

4.52%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$2.76 R$15.02

$10.11 R$55.0

-72.70%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$3.78 R$20.53

$4.12 R$22.38

-8.25%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$7.32 R$39.79

$9.17 R$49.87

-20.17%

Apples (1kg)

$1.52 R$8.24

$2.72 R$14.78

-44.12%

Banana (1kg)

$1.10 R$5.97

$1.71 R$9.30

-35.67%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.11 R$6.02

$1.53 R$8.32

-27.45%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.31 R$7.10

$1.66 R$9.04

-21.08%

Potato (1kg)

$1.14 R$6.18

$1.14 R$6.19

Onion (1kg)

$1.14 R$6.21

$0.99 R$5.41

15.15%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.85 R$4.64

$0.65 R$3.52

30.77%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.58 R$3.14

$0.60 R$3.25

-3.33%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$2.29 R$12.44

$2.79 R$15.20

-17.92%

Wine (Bottle)

$7.42 R$40.32

$7.48 R$40.67

-0.80%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.47 R$7.99

$1.09 R$5.93

34.86%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.31 R$12.58

$2.33 R$12.69

-0.86%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.97 R$5.29

$0.90 R$4.87

7.78%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$53.0 R$288

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.09 R$5.95

$1.17 R$6.34

-6.84%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.71 R$3.86

$0.78 R$4.24

-8.97%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$8.10 R$44.06

$8.37 R$45.51

-3.23%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.23 R$6.71

$1.21 R$6.59

1.65%

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

$22.2K R$120.5K

$21.5K R$116.7K

3.22%

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

$31.8K R$173.1K

$31.1K R$169.3K

2.27%

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

$61.4 R$334

$124 R$677

-50.68%

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

$8.67 R$47.13

$10.03 R$54.6

-13.56%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$18.41 R$100

$20.88 R$114

-11.83%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$11.06 R$60.2

$28.35 R$154

-60.99%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$29.33 R$159

Cinema Ticket

$7.39 R$40.20

$7.62 R$41.41

-3.02%

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

$414 R$2,253

$563 R$3,061

-26.37%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$10.2K R$55.3K

$12.0K R$65.5K

-15.56%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$61.4 R$334

$39.25 R$213

56.51%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$53.1 R$288

$46.36 R$252

14.43%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$84.8 R$461

$68.4 R$372

23.94%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$74.2 R$403

$63.4 R$345

16.93%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$366 R$1,991

$776 R$4,220

-52.83%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$275 R$1,493

$473 R$2,573

-41.98%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$735 R$3,997

$1,391 R$7,562

-47.15%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$562 R$3,054

$739 R$4,018

-23.98%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$1,656 R$9,005

$3,393 R$18.4K

-51.19%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,570 R$8,537

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$352 R$1,916

$597 R$3,245

-40.95%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

10.81

11.93

-9.39%

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

Last update for Ubatuba: October 24, 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

Ubatuba

$275 34.7%

Rio de Janeiro

$473 40% 72.4% $199

Groceries & Markets

Ubatuba

$158 20%

Rio de Janeiro

$201 17% 27.4% $43

Clothing & Footwear

Ubatuba

$123 15.6%

Rio de Janeiro

$98 8.3% 20.5% $25

Eating Out

Ubatuba

$112 14.2%

Rio de Janeiro

$150 12.7% 33.7% $38

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Ubatuba

$88 11.2%

Rio de Janeiro

$155 13.1% 75.6% $67

Sport & Entertainment

Ubatuba

$26 3.3%

Rio de Janeiro

$44 3.7% 68.6% $18

Getting Around

Ubatuba

$8.5 * 1.1%

Rio de Janeiro

$62 5.2% 623% $53

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 $366 in Ubatuba and $776 in Rio de Janeiro. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Rio de Janeiro pays 69% more on average. How far that income stretches comes down to housing choices and lifestyle.

Dining out: $27 in Ubatuba vs $37 in Rio de Janeiro for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $158 vs $201 per month, with Ubatuba cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇧🇷 Ubatuba

🇧🇷 Rio de Janeiro

🕒 Local time

12:12 12:12 PM

Same time as Ubatuba

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

92,981

6,211,223

💱 Currency

Brazilian Real BRL R$

📈 Exchange rate

1 BRL = 0.184 USD

1 BRL = 0.165 EUR

1 BRL = 0.184 USD

1 BRL = 0.165 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

On the map

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Ubatuba Rio de Janeiro 200 km

From you

Ubatuba
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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

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

Total monthly costs including rent come to $790 in Ubatuba and $1,182 in Rio de Janeiro, so Ubatuba is about 33% cheaper – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

On paper, salaries run 41% lower in Ubatuba. That’s worth factoring in alongside costs, though remote workers earning in a stronger currency may not notice the difference at all.

Rent for a central apartment: $366 in Ubatuba versus $776 in Rio de Janeiro. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $414 in Ubatuba 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 Ubatuba – a meal for two runs $27 versus $37 in Rio de Janeiro. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

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.

It comes down to priorities – Ubatuba wins on affordability, Rio de Janeiro on earning potential. Factor in climate, language, visa rules, and proximity to places that matter to you before deciding.