Cost of living comparison

South Africa

compared to

Brazil

Rio De Janeiro vs. Sandton Cost of Living Summary

Rio De Janeiro is 8.8% more expensive than Sandton.

Restaurants: pay 17.5% more in Rio De Janeiro
Groceries: pay 0.5% more in Rio De Janeiro
Transportation: pay 19.5% less in Rio De Janeiro
Housing: pay 25.7% more in Rio De Janeiro
Childcare: pay 2.0 times more in Rio De Janeiro
Entertainment and Sports: pay 2.1% less in Rio De Janeiro
Clothing: pay 18.0% less in Rio De Janeiro

The cost of childcare, housing, restaurants, and groceries in Rio De Janeiro are more expensive than in Sandton. Expenses including transportation, clothing, and entertainment and sports are lower in Rio De Janeiro. Notably, childcare is significantly more expensive in Rio De Janeiro.

Planning a move to Brazil? Get up to 5 free, no-obligation quotes from vetted international movers. Get free quotes →

Rio De Janeiro vs. Sandton Cost Breakdown

If you lived in Rio De Janeiro instead of Sandton, you would:

Display currency: USD

pay 17.5% more for restaurants

	Sandton	Rio De Janeiro
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$10.82 ZAR178.40	$9.95 R$50.39	-8.0%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$5.71 ZAR94.15	$8.46 R$42.84	+48.2%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$1.06 ZAR17.48	$1.59 R$8.06	+50.3%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$0.85 ZAR14.04	$1.04 R$5.26	+22.0%
Average			+17.5%

Sandton vs. Rio De Janeiro - Cost of restaurants

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 0.5% more for groceries

	Sandton	Rio De Janeiro
Bread 1 loaf	$1.10 ZAR18.21	$2.08 R$10.53	+88.4%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$4.31 ZAR71.09	$5.43 R$27.47	+25.9%
Milk (1 gallon)	$4.45 ZAR73.36	$4.35 R$22.04	-2.1%
Eggs 1 dozen	$2.67 ZAR44.10	$2.32 R$11.72	-13.4%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$2.23 ZAR36.86	$2.00 R$10.15	-10.3%
Apples (1 lb)	$0.93 ZAR15.38	$1.29 R$6.53	+38.2%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.82 ZAR13.49	$0.81 R$4.09	-1.1%
Oranges (1 lb)	$0.83 ZAR13.63	$0.73 R$3.70	-11.5%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$0.83 ZAR13.71	$0.83 R$4.20	-0.3%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$0.70 ZAR11.46	$0.56 R$2.83	-19.5%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.79 ZAR13.04	$0.48 R$2.40	-39.9%
Average			+0.5%

Sandton vs. Rio De Janeiro - Cost of groceries

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 19.5% less for transportation

	Sandton	Rio De Janeiro
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$5.75 ZAR94.81	$4.98 R$25.19	-13.4%
Monthly public transit pass	??	$50.77 R$257.01
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$35,391.94 ZAR584K	$23,669.59 R$120K	-33.1%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$7.51 ZAR123.89	$8.21 R$41.57	+9.3%
Average			-19.5%

Sandton vs. Rio De Janeiro - Cost of transportation

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 25.7% more for housing

	Sandton	Rio De Janeiro
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$36.83 ZAR607.50	$22.76 R$115.23	-38.2%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$540.64 ZAR8,917.37	$909.17 R$4,602.67	+68.2%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$440.65 ZAR7,268.03	$533.31 R$2,699.87	+21.0%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$126.36 ZAR2,084.21	$102.28 R$517.78	-19.1%
Average			+25.7%

Sandton vs. Rio De Janeiro - Cost of housing

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 2.0 times more for childcare

	Sandton	Rio De Janeiro
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$260.78 ZAR4,301.35	$594.40 R$3,009.15	+127.9%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$7,210.58 ZAR119K	$13,090.04 R$66,268.35	+81.5%
Average			+103.4%

Sandton vs. Rio De Janeiro - Cost of childcare

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 2.1% less for entertainment and sports

	Sandton	Rio De Janeiro
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$2.25 ZAR37.17	$2.39 R$12.09	+6.0%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$2.44 ZAR40.27	$2.33 R$11.78	-4.7%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$3.25 ZAR53.60	$2.96 R$14.99	-8.9%
Monthly membership at local gym	$36.05 ZAR594.66	$30.84 R$156.14	-14.4%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$7.21 ZAR118.93	$7.96 R$40.32	+10.4%
Average			-2.1%

Sandton vs. Rio De Janeiro - Cost of entertainment and sports

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 18.0% less for clothing

	Sandton	Rio De Janeiro
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$57.63 ZAR950.55	$41.81 R$211.66	-27.5%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$45.77 ZAR754.99	$49.05 R$248.31	+7.2%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$96.14 ZAR1,585.75	$74.57 R$377.50	-22.4%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$90.13 ZAR1,486.64	$67.45 R$341.49	-25.2%
Average			-18.0%

Sandton vs. Rio De Janeiro - Cost of clothing

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

We average the price of thousands of data points entered by users across the world. Sources: MyLifeElsewhere's cost-of-living dataset (prices updated October 2026). How we calculate this

Compare further: Sandton vs. Rio De Janeiro

Salary Calculator · Free tool

What salary would you need in Rio De Janeiro?

More cost comparisons

Sandton vs.

Athens

Sandton vs.

Quito

Sandton vs.

Hanoi

Sandton vs.

Moscow

Sandton vs.

Cairo

Sandton vs.

Warsaw

Sandton vs.

Paris

Sandton vs.

Beijing

Share this

Compare countries by overall cost of living

See the cost of living in South Africa vs. Brazil. This provides a comparison of the average cost of living from cities within South Africa and Brazil.

Help us improve these prices

MyLifeElsewhere is a collaborative project. Please enter price information for your location to help assist us in making these comparisons more accurate. Learn more

Add prices for Sandton

Add prices for Rio De Janeiro

Ask the Elsewhere Community

Join the Elsewhere community and ask a question about Rio De Janeiro or Sandton. It's a free, question-and-answer based forum to discuss what life is like in countries and cities around the world.