Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Zacapoaxtla and Rio de Janeiro

For one person, living is cheaper in Zacapoaxtla: $1,055 a month against $1,182 in Rio de Janeiro, rent and utilities included – about $1,500 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

51

Cost of Living Index in Zacapoaxtla
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Zacapoaxtla Living Index
57

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

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Zacapoaxtla

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,055

/mo nomad

Rio de Janeiro

🇧🇷 Brazil

$1,182

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,055 in Zacapoaxtla versus $1,182 in Rio de Janeiro.

Zacapoaxtla $1,055
Rio de Janeiro $1,182

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,651 in Zacapoaxtla versus $1,750 in Rio de Janeiro.

Zacapoaxtla $1,651
Rio de Janeiro $1,750

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $2,246 in Zacapoaxtla versus $2,318 in Rio de Janeiro.

Zacapoaxtla $2,246
Rio de Janeiro $2,318

Living in Zacapoaxtla costs roughly 11% less than in Rio de Janeiro, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Both cities sit below the global median: Zacapoaxtla 22% lower, Rio de Janeiro 13% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$4.67 MX$87.0

$9.08 R$48.54

-48.57%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$48.73 MX$908

$37.25 R$199

30.82%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$5.50 MX$103

$8.02 R$42.87

-31.42%

Cappuccino

$1.92 MX$35.71

$2.19 R$11.71

-12.33%

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

$0.95 MX$17.79

$1.46 R$7.82

-34.93%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.22 MX$22.68

$0.99 R$5.27

23.23%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$1.20 MX$22.39

$2.03 R$10.84

-40.89%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.14 MX$39.86

$3.45 R$18.43

-37.97%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.25 MX$23.35

$1.06 R$5.66

17.92%

White Bread (500g)

$1.12 MX$20.83

$1.98 R$10.61

-43.43%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.06 MX$19.84

$1.17 R$6.27

-9.40%

Eggs

$1.65 MX$30.82

$2.21 R$11.80

-25.34%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$11.41 MX$213

$10.11 R$54.1

12.86%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$4.56 MX$85.0

$4.12 R$22.00

10.68%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$4.96 MX$92.5

$9.17 R$49.04

-45.91%

Apples (1kg)

$1.59 MX$29.62

$2.72 R$14.54

-41.54%

Banana (1kg)

$1.26 MX$23.58

$1.71 R$9.15

-26.32%

Oranges (1kg)

$0.52 MX$9.66

$1.53 R$8.18

-66.01%

Tomato (1kg)

$0.72 MX$13.41

$1.66 R$8.89

-56.63%

Potato (1kg)

$0.77 MX$14.36

$1.14 R$6.09

-32.46%

Onion (1kg)

$1.05 MX$19.58

$0.99 R$5.32

6.06%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.92 MX$17.22

$0.65 R$3.46

41.54%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.96 MX$17.89

$0.60 R$3.20

60.00%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.19 MX$78.1

$2.79 R$14.94

50.18%

Wine (Bottle)

$13.02 MX$243

$7.48 R$39.99

74.06%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.11 MX$20.73

$1.09 R$5.83

1.83%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.44 MX$82.7

$2.33 R$12.48

90.56%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.62 MX$11.62

$0.90 R$4.79

-31.11%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$30.07 MX$561

$53.0 R$283

-43.26%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.07 MX$19.85

$1.17 R$6.24

-8.55%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.53 MX$9.90

$0.78 R$4.17

-32.05%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$5.48 MX$102

$8.37 R$44.75

-34.53%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.41 MX$26.30

$1.21 R$6.48

16.53%

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

$13.8K MX$257.3K

$21.5K R$114.8K

-35.70%

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

$24.3K MX$452.2K

$31.1K R$166.5K

-22.08%

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

$43.05 MX$802

$124 R$665

-65.41%

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

$26.42 MX$493

$10.03 R$53.7

163.41%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$31.94 MX$595

$20.88 R$112

52.97%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$30.23 MX$564

$28.35 R$152

6.63%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$17.11 MX$319

$29.33 R$157

-41.66%

Cinema Ticket

$6.33 MX$118

$7.62 R$40.72

-16.93%

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

$439 MX$8,192

$563 R$3,010

-21.93%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$4,535 MX$84.5K

$12.0K R$64.4K

-62.35%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$68.5 MX$1,276

$39.25 R$210

74.39%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$52.9 MX$985

$46.36 R$248

14.00%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$106 MX$1,970

$68.4 R$366

54.43%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$114 MX$2,134

$63.4 R$339

80.51%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$607 MX$11.3K

$776 R$4,150

-21.76%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$437 MX$8,150

$473 R$2,530

-7.60%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,014 MX$18.9K

$1,391 R$7,437

-27.10%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$752 MX$14.0K

$739 R$3,951

1.78%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$1,853 MX$34.5K

$3,393 R$18.1K

-45.38%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,018 MX$19.0K

$1,570 R$8,396

-35.14%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$597 MX$11.1K

$597 R$3,192

0.03%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

11.35

11.93

-4.86%

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

Last update for Zacapoaxtla: October 25, 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

Zacapoaxtla

$437 41.4%

Rio de Janeiro

$473 40% 8.2% $36

Groceries & Markets

Zacapoaxtla

$188 17.8%

Rio de Janeiro

$201 17% 7% $13

Clothing & Footwear

Zacapoaxtla

$154 14.6%

Rio de Janeiro

$98 8.3% 36.3% $56

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Zacapoaxtla

$101 9.6%

Rio de Janeiro

$155 13.1% 53.2% $54

Eating Out

Zacapoaxtla

$96 9.1%

Rio de Janeiro

$150 12.7% 56.3% $54

Sport & Entertainment

Zacapoaxtla

$43 4.1%

Rio de Janeiro

$44 3.7% 1.6% $0.7

Getting Around

Zacapoaxtla

$36 3.4%

Rio de Janeiro

$62 5.2% 69.9% $25

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $607 in Zacapoaxtla and $776 in Rio de Janeiro. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Dining out: $49 in Zacapoaxtla vs $37 in Rio de Janeiro. Groceries flip the comparison at $188 vs $201, with Zacapoaxtla cheaper for home cooking.

Good to know

🇲🇽 Zacapoaxtla

🇧🇷 Rio de Janeiro

🕒 Local time

10:44 10:44 AM

13:44 1:44 PM

3 h ahead of Zacapoaxtla

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

8,000

6,211,223

💱 Currency

Mexican Peso MXN $

Brazilian Real BRL R$

📈 Exchange rate

100 MXN = 5.36 USD

100 MXN = 4.82 EUR

1 BRL = 0.187 USD

1 BRL = 0.168 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 28, 2026: 1 USD = 18.64 MXN (100 MXN = 5.36 USD). 1 EUR = 20.75 MXN (100 MXN = 4.82 EUR).

Brazilian Real exchange rates as of October 28, 2026: 1 USD = 5.35 BRL (1 BRL = 0.187 USD). 1 EUR = 5.95 BRL (1 BRL = 0.168 EUR).

USD to MXN in detail →

On the map

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Zacapoaxtla Rio de Janeiro 7,580 km ≈ 10 h nonstop flight

From you

Zacapoaxtla
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

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

Zacapoaxtla and Rio de Janeiro differ by about 12% in total monthly costs ($1,055 vs $1,182 including rent). Zacapoaxtla is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

You’d need roughly $1,583 in Zacapoaxtla and $1,774 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: $607 in Zacapoaxtla versus $776 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 $37 versus $49 in Zacapoaxtla. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

All in, you’ll spend $1,055 per month in Zacapoaxtla versus $1,182 in Rio de Janeiro – a 12% gap that adds up to real savings over time for anyone picking the cheaper option.

Both cities are expensive relative to $1,000. Zacapoaxtla is the more realistic option, but even there you’ll need to be disciplined with housing, food, and fun money.

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.