Cost of living comparison
compared to
Rio De Janeiro vs. Sao Paulo Cost of Living Summary
Rio De Janeiro is 5.7% cheaper than Sao Paulo.
- Restaurants
-
pay 0.3% less in Rio De Janeiro
- Groceries
-
pay 11.7% less in Rio De Janeiro
- Transportation
-
pay 6.5% less in Rio De Janeiro
- Housing
-
pay 7.4% more in Rio De Janeiro
- Childcare
-
pay 4.1% less in Rio De Janeiro
- Entertainment and Sports
-
pay 13.6% less in Rio De Janeiro
- Clothing
-
pay 11.3% less in Rio De Janeiro
Rio De Janeiro vs. Sao Paulo Cost Breakdown
If you lived in Rio De Janeiro instead of Sao Paulo, you would:
pay 0.3% less for restaurants
|
Sao Paulo
|
Rio De Janeiro
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant |
$7.83
R$41.12
|
$7.46
R$39.17
|
|
|
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
|
$7.45
R$39.16
|
$6.52
R$34.28
|
|
| Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) |
$1.22
R$6.41
|
$1.36
R$7.16
|
|
| Bottle of water (11 fl. oz) |
$0.87
R$4.57
|
$0.91
R$4.76
|
|
Sao Paulo vs. Rio De Janeiro - Cost of restaurants
pay 11.7% less for groceries
|
Sao Paulo
|
Rio De Janeiro
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Bread
1 loaf
|
$1.91
R$10.03
|
$1.81
R$9.50
|
|
| Local cheese (8 oz) |
$5.88
R$30.87
|
$4.37
R$22.94
|
|
| Milk (1 gallon) |
$3.98
R$20.89
|
$4.34
R$22.79
|
|
|
Eggs
1 dozen
|
$2.66
R$13.99
|
$2.06
R$10.84
|
|
| Boneless chicken breast (1 lb) |
$2.09
R$10.97
|
$1.80
R$9.48
|
|
| Apples (1 lb) |
$1.28
R$6.75
|
$1.11
R$5.84
|
|
| Bananas (1 lb) |
$0.85
R$4.49
|
$0.74
R$3.91
|
|
| Oranges (1 lb) |
$0.74
R$3.91
|
$0.72
R$3.78
|
|
| Tomatoes (1 lb) |
$0.88
R$4.64
|
$0.70
R$3.66
|
|
| Potatoes (1 lb) |
$0.66
R$3.48
|
$0.60
R$3.17
|
|
| Onions (1 lb) |
$0.59
R$3.09
|
$0.53
R$2.78
|
|
Sao Paulo vs. Rio De Janeiro - Cost of groceries
pay 6.5% less for transportation
|
Sao Paulo
|
Rio De Janeiro
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Gasoline (1 gallon) |
$4.28
R$22.51
|
$4.27
R$22.46
|
|
| Monthly public transit pass |
$46.58
R$244.76
|
$40.48
R$212.71
|
|
| New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) |
$22,360.53
R$117K
|
$20,595.53
R$108K
|
|
| Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles) |
$7.45
R$39.16
|
$7.10
R$37.31
|
|
Sao Paulo vs. Rio De Janeiro - Cost of transportation
pay 7.4% more for housing
|
Sao Paulo
|
Rio De Janeiro
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
|
$20.82
R$109.38
|
$19.70
R$103.48
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area |
$671.45
R$3,527.88
|
$496.63
R$2,609.32
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment outside city center |
$417.23
R$2,192.15
|
$344.11
R$1,807.99
|
|
|
Utilities for two
(700 sq ft apartment)
including electric, gas, water, heating
|
$46.29
R$243.22
|
$82.68
R$434.40
|
|
Sao Paulo vs. Rio De Janeiro - Cost of housing
pay 4.1% less for childcare
|
Sao Paulo
|
Rio De Janeiro
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Private preschool for 1 child, monthly |
$484.48
R$2,545.49
|
$544.48
R$2,860.76
|
|
| Middle school for 1 child, two semesters |
$15,731.99
R$82,657.31
|
$12,471.41
R$65,525.92
|
|
Sao Paulo vs. Rio De Janeiro - Cost of childcare
pay 13.6% less for entertainment and sports
|
Sao Paulo
|
Rio De Janeiro
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Domestic/local beer (1 pint) |
$2.24
R$11.75
|
$1.86
R$9.79
|
|
| Cappuccino in mid-range area |
$2.13
R$11.17
|
$2.07
R$10.87
|
|
|
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
|
$2.63
R$13.83
|
$2.05
R$10.77
|
|
| Monthly membership at local gym |
$31.73
R$166.69
|
$28.14
R$147.83
|
|
| Movie ticket to theater/cinema |
$8.39
R$44.06
|
$7.08
R$37.21
|
|
Sao Paulo vs. Rio De Janeiro - Cost of entertainment and sports
pay 11.3% less for clothing
|
Sao Paulo
|
Rio De Janeiro
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
|
$54.85
R$288.21
|
$46.68
R$245.28
|
|
|
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
|
$45.57
R$239.41
|
$43.02
R$226.04
|
|
|
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
|
$87.31
R$458.72
|
$78.54
R$412.65
|
|
| Men's business shoes (leather) |
$74.26
R$390.16
|
$63.36
R$332.92
|
|
Sao Paulo vs. Rio De Janeiro - Cost of clothing
The statistics used to build this comparison are calculated using data from users just like you.
We average the price of thousands of data points entered by users across the world.
Learn more about our data sources. Page last updated: April 2026
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