Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Windsor and Rio de Janeiro

For one person, living is cheaper in Rio de Janeiro: $1,285 a month against $2,225 in Windsor, rent and utilities included – about $11,300 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

109

Cost of Living Index in Windsor
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Windsor Living Index
63

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

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Windsor

🇨🇦 Canada

$2,225

/mo nomad

Rio de Janeiro

🇧🇷 Brazil

$1,285

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,225 in Windsor versus $1,285 in Rio de Janeiro.

Windsor $2,225
Rio de Janeiro $1,285

Estimated couple costs with rent: $3,068 in Windsor versus $1,888 in Rio de Janeiro.

Windsor $3,068
Rio de Janeiro $1,888

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,910 in Windsor versus $2,491 in Rio de Janeiro.

Windsor $3,910
Rio de Janeiro $2,491

Living in Windsor is roughly 73% more expensive than in Rio de Janeiro, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

The two cities straddle the global median: Windsor is 66% above, Rio de Janeiro is 4% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$14.04 CA$20.01

$9.98 R$49.83

40.68%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$62.3 CA$88.8

$40.34 R$201

54.44%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$10.37 CA$14.78

$8.48 R$42.35

22.29%

Cappuccino

$3.57 CA$5.09

$2.36 R$11.80

51.27%

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

$2.50 CA$3.56

$1.63 R$8.13

53.37%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.79 CA$2.56

$1.01 R$5.06

77.23%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$5.00 CA$7.13

$2.44 R$12.19

104.92%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$5.77 CA$8.22

$3.69 R$18.43

56.37%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.79 CA$2.56

$1.15 R$5.72

55.65%

White Bread (500g)

$2.03 CA$2.90

$2.07 R$10.34

-1.93%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$3.03 CA$4.31

$1.29 R$6.42

134.88%

Eggs

$2.81 CA$4.01

$2.27 R$11.32

23.79%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$9.83 CA$14.01

$11.00 R$54.9

-10.64%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$10.04 CA$14.30

$4.31 R$21.51

132.95%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$13.88 CA$19.79

$9.74 R$48.63

42.51%

Apples (1kg)

$3.85 CA$5.49

$2.83 R$14.12

36.04%

Banana (1kg)

$1.01 CA$1.45

$1.84 R$9.17

-45.11%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.95 CA$4.20

$1.60 R$7.96

84.38%

Tomato (1kg)

$3.57 CA$5.09

$1.80 R$9.00

98.33%

Potato (1kg)

$1.98 CA$2.82

$1.26 R$6.28

57.14%

Onion (1kg)

$2.13 CA$3.04

$1.07 R$5.34

99.07%

Lettuce (1 head)

$2.22 CA$3.16

$0.75 R$3.75

196.00%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.25 CA$1.78

$0.66 R$3.29

89.39%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$12.39 CA$17.66

$3.05 R$15.21

306.23%

Wine (Bottle)

$11.60 CA$16.53

$8.18 R$40.84

41.81%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.91 CA$2.73

$1.19 R$5.92

60.50%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.23 CA$4.60

$2.39 R$11.92

35.15%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$2.59 CA$3.69

$1.01 R$5.06

156.44%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$85.1 CA$121

$50.2 R$250

69.63%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$2.31 CA$3.29

$1.27 R$6.33

81.89%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.97 CA$1.38

$0.90 R$4.51

7.78%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$13.93 CA$19.85

$9.44 R$47.13

47.56%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.22 CA$1.74

$1.33 R$6.65

-8.27%

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

$27.3K CA$38.9K

$23.4K R$117.0K

16.45%

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

$19.2K CA$27.3K

$33.6K R$167.6K

-42.88%

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

$181 CA$258

$134 R$666

35.51%

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

$37.70 CA$53.7

$12.23 R$61.0

208.26%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$55.1 CA$78.5

$22.65 R$113

143.05%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$44.44 CA$63.4

$31.56 R$158

40.81%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$28.33 CA$40.39

$30.87 R$154

-8.23%

Cinema Ticket

$10.33 CA$14.73

$8.23 R$41.07

25.52%

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

$496 CA$707

$603 R$3,011

-17.72%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$4,221 CA$6,017

$13.2K R$66.1K

-68.12%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$43.41 CA$61.9

$41.62 R$208

4.30%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$33.01 CA$47.06

$49.94 R$249

-33.90%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$80.4 CA$115

$75.0 R$375

7.17%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$80.6 CA$115

$68.3 R$341

17.99%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,166 CA$1,662

$905 R$4,519

28.78%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,159 CA$1,652

$527 R$2,633

119.69%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,789 CA$2,551

$1,346 R$6,720

32.92%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,507 CA$2,148

$774 R$3,865

94.64%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,992 CA$4,265

$3,981 R$19.9K

-24.83%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$2,960 CA$4,219

$1,562 R$7,798

89.47%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$2,957 CA$4,215

$643 R$3,210

359.90%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

4.71

11.93

-60.52%

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

Last update for Windsor: October 4, 2026

Last update for Rio de Janeiro: October 6, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Windsor

$1.2K 51.3%

Rio de Janeiro

$527 41% 54.5% $631

Groceries & Markets

Windsor

$311 13.8%

Rio de Janeiro

$215 16.7% 31% $97

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Windsor

$274 12.1%

Rio de Janeiro

$168 13.1% 38.5% $105

Eating Out

Windsor

$240 10.6%

Rio de Janeiro

$164 12.7% 31.7% $76

Clothing & Footwear

Windsor

$107 4.7%

Rio de Janeiro

$106 8.2% 1.1% $1.1

Getting Around

Windsor

$103 4.5%

Rio de Janeiro

$60 4.7% 41.5% $43

Sport & Entertainment

Windsor

$65 2.9%

Rio de Janeiro

$48 3.7% 26.2% $17

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,166 in Windsor and $905 in Rio de Janeiro. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Windsor pays 360% 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: $62.0 in Windsor vs $40.00 in Rio de Janeiro for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $311 vs $215 per month, with Rio de Janeiro cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇨🇦 Windsor

🇧🇷 Rio de Janeiro

🕒 Local time

07:50 7:50 AM

08:50 8:50 AM

1 h ahead of Windsor

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

217,188

6,211,223

💱 Currency

Canadian Dollar CAD $

Brazilian Real BRL R$

📈 Exchange rate

1 CAD = 0.702 USD

1 CAD = 0.626 EUR

1 BRL = 0.2 USD

1 BRL = 0.179 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 10, 2026: 1 USD = 1.43 CAD (1 CAD = 0.702 USD). 1 EUR = 1.6 CAD (1 CAD = 0.626 EUR).

Brazilian Real exchange rates as of October 10, 2026: 1 USD = 4.99 BRL (1 BRL = 0.2 USD). 1 EUR = 5.59 BRL (1 BRL = 0.179 EUR).

USD to CAD in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Windsor Rio de Janeiro 8,320 km ≈ 11 h nonstop flight

From you

Windsor
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

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

Windsor and Rio de Janeiro differ by about 73% in total monthly costs ($2,225 vs $1,285 including rent). Rio de Janeiro is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

Average pay runs 360% higher in Windsor, 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: $1,166 in Windsor versus $905 in Rio de Janeiro. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Dining out is cheaper in Rio de Janeiro – a meal for two runs $40.00 versus $62.0 in Windsor. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

All in, you'll spend $2,225 per month in Windsor versus $1,285 in Rio de Janeiro – a 73% gap that adds up to real savings over time for anyone picking the cheaper option.

At $1,285 in Rio de Janeiro versus $2,225 in Windsor, a $2,000 budget is realistic in Rio de Janeiro but tight or insufficient in Windsor. 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.

Expats usually find Rio de Janeiro gentler on the wallet – expenses run 73% less than in Windsor. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.