Brasilia vs Rio de Janeiro - Cost of Living Comparison

Updated: June 21, 2026

	Brasilia	Rio de Janeiro
🚶 Cost of living one person	$958	$1095
👨‍👩‍👧‍👦 Cost of living Family	$2550	$2561
🏠 One person rent	$443	$567
🏘️ Family rent	$765	$856
🍽️ Food expenses	$295	$285
🚐 Transport expenses	$115	$156
💳 Monthly salary after tax	$891	$550
😷 Air quality	Excellent	Moderate
✈️ Airport proximity	9 km	3 km
🎓 Higher education	28	95
😀 Quality of life	66	72
🏙️ Population	3M	6.21M

The cost of living in Brasilia is 13% less expensive than in Rio de Janeiro. Cities ranked 5856th and 5029th ($958 vs $1095) in the list of the most expensive cities in the world and ranked 5th and 2nd in Brazil.

The average after-tax salary is enough to cover living expenses for 0.9 months in Brasilia compared to 0.5 months in Rio de Janeiro. Ranked 13th vs 2nd best cities to live in Brazil, and 5032nd vs 2767th among the best cities to live in the world.

Salary adjustment calculator
the estimated difference in money purchasing power

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<img src="https://livingcost.org/assets/photo/cost/brasilia/rio-de-janeiro.jpg" alt="Cost of living in Brasilia vs Rio de Janeiro infographic" style="max-width: 100%; height: auto;"><p>Source: <a href="https://livingcost.org/cost/brasilia/rio-de-janeiro" target="_blank">Brasilia vs Rio de Janeiro - Cost of Living Comparison</a></p>

Prices in Brasilia vs Rio de Janeiro

Prices for goods and services in Brasilia and Rio de Janeiro are partly crowdsourced by our visitors, just like yourself. Please consider telling us about your city.

	Brasilia	Rio de Janeiro
Eating Out
🍱 Lunch Menu	$8.07	$6.94
🥂 Dinner in a Restaurant, for 2	$33.1	$34.7
🥪 Fast food meal, equiv. McDonald's	$7.23	$7.83
🍻 Beer in a Pub, 0.5 L or 16 fl oz	$2.16	$2.4
☕ Cappuccino	$2.6	$2.75
🥤 Pepsi / Coke, 0.5 L or 16.9 fl oz	$1.3	$1.53
Rent & Utilities
🏙️ 1 bedroom apartment in Downtown, 40 m2 or 430 ft2	$547	$657
🏡 Cheap 1 bedroom apartment, 40 m2 or 430 ft2	$314	$408
🏙️ 3 bedroom apartment in Downtown, 80 m2 or 860 ft2	$992	$1011
🏡 Cheap 3 bedroom apartment, 80 m2 or 860 ft2	$561	$621
🔌 Utility Bill one person, electricity, heating, water, etc.	$61.4	$89.7
🔌 Utility Bill for a Family, electricity, heating, water, etc.	$96	$137
🌐 Internet plan, 50 Mbps+ 1 month unlimited	$21.6	$19.9
🏦 Mortgage Interest Rate for 20 Years	11.61%	11.87%
🏙️ Apartment price to Buy in city Center, 1 m2 or 10 ft2	$2461	$2589
🏡 House price to Buy in Suburbs, 1 m2 or 10 ft2	$1684	$1468
Transportation
🚌 Local transport ticket	$0.96	$0.97
🎟️ Monthly ticket local transport	$36.5	$50.2
🚕 Taxi Ride, 8 km or 5 mi	$8.7	$8.88
⛽ Gas / Petrol, 1 L or 0.26 gal	$1.25	$1.24
Groceries
🥛 Milk, 1 L or 1 qt	$1.03	$1.08
🍞 Bread, 0.5 kg or 1.1 lb	$1.7	$1.6
🍚 Rice, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$1.15	$1.24
🥚 Eggs, x12	$2.4	$2.24
🧀 Cheese, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$11	$9.47
🐔 Chicken Breast, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$4.39	$4.36
🥩 Round Steak, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$8.39	$9.43
🍏 Apples, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$2.42	$2.48
🍌 Banana, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$1.43	$1.7
🍊 Oranges, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$1.25	$1.64
🍅 Tomato, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$1.57	$1.58
🥔 Potato, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$1.33	$1.14
🧅 Onion, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$1.13	$1.04
🌊 Water, 1 L or 1 qt	$0.52	$0.46
🍹 Coca-Cola / Pepsi, 2 L or 67.6 fl oz	$1.76	$1.8
🍾 Wine (mid-priced), 750 mL bottle	$9.5	$8.15
🍺 Beer, 0.5 L or 16 fl oz	$1.37	$1.19
🚬 Cigarette pack	$2.51	$2.59
💊 Cold medicince, 1 week	$6.07	$3.95
🧴 Hair Shampoo	$4.38	$3.36
🧻 Toilet paper, 4 rolls	$1.48	$1.21
👄 Toothpaste, 1 tube	$1.09	$1.06
Other
🏋️ Gym Membership, 1 month	$28.7	$26.6
🎫 Cinema Ticket, 1 person	$7.19	$7.19
👩‍⚕️ Doctor's visit	$64.4	$50.2
💇 Haircut, simple	$9.62	$7.98
👖 Brand Jeans	$54.9	$42.5
👟 Brand Sneakers	$88.1	$70.9
👶 Daycare or Preschool, 1 month	$710	$554
🏫 International Primary School, 1 year	$17564	$12842

Cost of living in other countries

Cost of living

Cost of Living in the nearest cities

Cities near Brasilia

Distance	City	Cost of living
65 km or 41 mi	Formosa	$763
129 km or 80 mi	Anapolis	$575
142 km or 89 mi	Goianesia	$725
176 km or 110 mi	Goiania	$800
192 km or 119 mi	Paracatu	$704
196 km or 122 mi	Trindade	$693
231 km or 143 mi	Caldas Novas	$712
264 km or 164 mi	Catalao	$703
319 km or 198 mi	Araguari	$680
325 km or 202 mi	Itumbiara	$625
343 km or 213 mi	Patos de Minas	$669
350 km or 217 mi	Uberlandia	$728
379 km or 235 mi	Januaria	$639
391 km or 243 mi	Ituiutaba	$651
393 km or 244 mi	Rio Verde	$639
434 km or 270 mi	Araxa	$590
440 km or 273 mi	Uberaba	$626
442 km or 274 mi	Montes Claros	$622
468 km or 291 mi	Barra do Garcas	$690
469 km or 291 mi	Jatai	$653
470 km or 292 mi	Gurupi	$676
489 km or 304 mi	Janauba	$623
493 km or 306 mi	Curvelo	$659
511 km or 318 mi	Barreiras	$640
530 km or 329 mi	Franca	$597
535 km or 332 mi	Barretos	$645
557 km or 346 mi	Bom Jesus da Lapa	$603
558 km or 347 mi	Fernandopolis	$693
560 km or 348 mi	Votuporanga	$691
561 km or 349 mi	Sete Lagoas	$475
564 km or 350 mi	Passos	$618
568 km or 353 mi	Batatais	$665
575 km or 357 mi	Guanambi	$616
577 km or 358 mi	Bebedouro	$672
578 km or 359 mi	Divinopolis	$638
581 km or 361 mi	Formiga	$669
581 km or 361 mi	Sao Jose do Rio Preto	$764
585 km or 363 mi	Mirassol	$715
591 km or 367 mi	Itauna	$636
594 km or 369 mi	Sertaozinho	$686

Cities near Rio de Janeiro

Distance	City	Cost of living
9.9 km or 6.2 mi	Niteroi	$824
18 km or 11 mi	Duque de Caxias	$651
21 km or 13 mi	Sao Joao de Meriti	$688
26 km or 16 mi	Belford Roxo	$858
31 km or 19 mi	Nova Iguacu	$617
45 km or 28 mi	Petropolis	$805
60 km or 37 mi	Teresopolis	$546
70 km or 44 mi	Saquarema	$623
98 km or 61 mi	Nova Friburgo	$488
102 km or 64 mi	Volta Redonda	$581
108 km or 67 mi	Barra Mansa	$607
112 km or 70 mi	Sao Pedro da Aldeia	$586
115 km or 72 mi	Angra dos Reis	$737
121 km or 75 mi	Cabo Frio	$531
130 km or 81 mi	Juiz de Fora	$623
135 km or 84 mi	Rio das Ostras	$562
137 km or 85 mi	Resende	$655
157 km or 97 mi	Macae	$668
184 km or 115 mi	Cruzeiro	$686
196 km or 122 mi	Barbacena	$568
199 km or 123 mi	Lorena	$729
200 km or 124 mi	Ubatuba	$682
201 km or 125 mi	Uba	$634
208 km or 129 mi	Guaratingueta	$696
215 km or 134 mi	Muriae	$566
226 km or 140 mi	Sao Joao del-Rei	$584
231 km or 144 mi	Campos dos Goytacazes	$567
232 km or 144 mi	Pindamonhangaba	$663
238 km or 148 mi	Itajuba	$576
240 km or 149 mi	Caraguatatuba	$671
241 km or 150 mi	Taubate	$667
242 km or 150 mi	Vicosa	$670
245 km or 152 mi	Sao Sebastiao	$684
251 km or 156 mi	Tres Coracoes	$610
257 km or 160 mi	Conselheiro Lafaiete	$695
258 km or 160 mi	Cacapava	$711
264 km or 164 mi	Lavras	$577
275 km or 171 mi	Varginha	$519
277 km or 172 mi	Sao Jose dos Campos	$884
279 km or 173 mi	Ponte Nova	$634