Kinshasa vs Rio de Janeiro - Cost of Living Comparison

Updated: March 11, 2026

	Kinshasa	Rio de Janeiro
🚶 Cost of living one person	$1163	$1013
👨‍👩‍👧‍👦 Cost of living Family	$2623	$2476
🏠 One person rent	$585	$502
🏘️ Family rent	$1005	$806
🍽️ Food expenses	$306	$272
🚐 Transport expenses	$186	$151
💳 Monthly salary after tax	$142	$491
😷 Air quality	Unhealthy	Moderate
✈️ Airport proximity	2 km	3 km
🎓 Higher education	33	95
😀 Quality of life	24	67
🏙️ Population	14.6M	6.21M

The cost of living in Kinshasa is 15% more expensive than in Rio de Janeiro. Cities ranked 4860th and 5559th ($1163 vs $1013) in the list of the most expensive cities in the world and ranked 1st and 2nd in the DR Congo and Brazil, respectively. Check the DR Congo vs Brazil comparison.

The average after-tax salary is enough to cover living expenses for 0.1 months in Kinshasa compared to 0.5 months in Rio de Janeiro. Kinshasa ranked 1st best city to live in the DR Congo vs Rio de Janeiro ranked 4th in Brazil, while ranked 9013th and 4845th among 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/kinshasa/rio-de-janeiro.jpg" alt="Cost of living in Kinshasa vs Rio de Janeiro infographic" style="max-width: 100%; height: auto;"><p>Source: <a href="https://livingcost.org/cost/kinshasa/rio-de-janeiro" target="_blank">Kinshasa vs Rio de Janeiro - Cost of Living Comparison</a></p>

Prices in Kinshasa vs Rio de Janeiro

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

	Kinshasa	Rio de Janeiro
Eating Out
🍱 Lunch Menu	$5.59	$6.99
🥂 Dinner in a Restaurant, for 2	$60.1	$31.1
🥪 Fast food meal, equiv. McDonald's	$5.98	$6.8
🍻 Beer in a Pub, 0.5 L or 16 fl oz	$2.44	$2.13
☕ Cappuccino	$4.37	$2.56
🥤 Pepsi / Coke, 0.5 L or 16.9 fl oz	$0.97	$1.48
Rent & Utilities
🏙️ 1 bedroom apartment in Downtown, 40 m2 or 430 ft2	$1256	$574
🏡 Cheap 1 bedroom apartment, 40 m2 or 430 ft2	$254	$353
🏙️ 3 bedroom apartment in Downtown, 80 m2 or 860 ft2	$2210	$959
🏡 Cheap 3 bedroom apartment, 80 m2 or 860 ft2	$471	$578
🔌 Utility Bill one person, electricity, heating, water, etc.	$107	$85.8
🔌 Utility Bill for a Family, electricity, heating, water, etc.	$163	$133
🌐 Internet plan, 50 Mbps+ 1 month unlimited	$23.2	$19.1
🏦 Mortgage Interest Rate for 20 Years	12.31%	11.13%
🏙️ Apartment price to Buy in city Center, 1 m2 or 10 ft2	$1801	$2256
🏡 House price to Buy in Suburbs, 1 m2 or 10 ft2	$745	$1317
Transportation
🚌 Local transport ticket	$0.5	$1.07
🎟️ Monthly ticket local transport	$79.1	$48
🚕 Taxi Ride, 8 km or 5 mi	$8.13	$8.6
⛽ Gas / Petrol, 1 L or 0.26 gal	$1.13	$1.17
Groceries
🥛 Milk, 1 L or 1 qt	$1.08	$1.14
🍞 Bread, 0.5 kg or 1.1 lb	$1.63	$1.62
🍚 Rice, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$1.62	$1.29
🥚 Eggs, x12	$2.02	$2.16
🧀 Cheese, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$6.65	$9.04
🐔 Chicken Breast, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$4.32	$4.28
🥩 Round Steak, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$8.4	$8.72
🍏 Apples, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$3.51	$2.43
🍌 Banana, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$1.26	$1.65
🍊 Oranges, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$2.24	$1.65
🍅 Tomato, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$1.24	$1.53
🥔 Potato, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$1.09	$1.18
🧅 Onion, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$1.96	$1.16
🌊 Water, 1 L or 1 qt	$0.55	$0.4
🍹 Coca-Cola / Pepsi, 2 L or 67.6 fl oz	$1.66	$1.73
🍾 Wine (mid-priced), 750 mL bottle	$12.2	$7.51
🍺 Beer, 0.5 L or 16 fl oz	$1.97	$1.24
🚬 Cigarette pack	$3.85	$2.27
💊 Cold medicince, 1 week	$1.05	$3.86
🧴 Hair Shampoo	$3.25	$3.33
🧻 Toilet paper, 4 rolls	$1.28	$1.2
👄 Toothpaste, 1 tube	$0.9	$1.06
Other
🏋️ Gym Membership, 1 month	$44.4	$27.1
🎫 Cinema Ticket, 1 person	$12.9	$7.13
👩‍⚕️ Doctor's visit	$45.4	$48.8
💇 Haircut, simple	$7.05	$7.96
👖 Brand Jeans	$22.2	$44.6
👟 Brand Sneakers	$48.9	$76.6
👶 Daycare or Preschool, 1 month	$155	$550
🏫 International Primary School, 1 year	$5144	$13739

Cost of living in other countries

Cost of living

Cost of Living in the nearest cities

Cities near Kinshasa

Distance	City	Cost of living
8 km or 5 mi	Brazzaville	$602
61 km or 38 mi	Kinkala	$543
114 km or 71 mi	Mbanza-Ngungu	$859
197 km or 122 mi	Madingou	$544
225 km or 140 mi	Kayes	$544
260 km or 162 mi	Gamboma	$543
261 km or 162 mi	Matadi	$895
302 km or 188 mi	Boma	$870
371 km or 230 mi	Cabinda	$695
386 km or 240 mi	Pointe-Noire	$590
396 km or 246 mi	Kikwit	$932
421 km or 262 mi	N'zeto	$815
460 km or 286 mi	Ambriz	$897
551 km or 343 mi	Luanda	$1047
590 km or 366 mi	Mbandaka	$851
650 km or 404 mi	Tshikapa	$999
809 km or 503 mi	Kananga	$1037
829 km or 515 mi	Port-Gentil	$699
836 km or 520 mi	Libreville	$745
914 km or 568 mi	Lobito	$665
924 km or 574 mi	Bata	$1239
937 km or 582 mi	Benguela	$692
938 km or 583 mi	Mbuji-Mayi	$1067
939 km or 584 mi	Huambo	$595
948 km or 589 mi	Mwene-Ditu	$895
958 km or 595 mi	Berberati	$492
971 km or 603 mi	Luena	$662
977 km or 607 mi	Gemena	$816
995 km or 618 mi	Gandajika	$887
1004 km or 624 mi	Yaounde	$668
1033 km or 642 mi	Bangui	$522
1075 km or 668 mi	Bumba	$857
1085 km or 674 mi	Sao Tome	$1042
1090 km or 677 mi	Trindade	$1042
1121 km or 697 mi	Douala	$1254
1149 km or 714 mi	Limbe	$750
1156 km or 718 mi	Malabo	$1344
1162 km or 722 mi	Buea	$641
1187 km or 737 mi	Kindu	$785
1191 km or 740 mi	Kumba	$834

Cities near Rio de Janeiro

Distance	City	Cost of living
9.9 km or 6.2 mi	Niteroi	$792
18 km or 11 mi	Duque de Caxias	$648
21 km or 13 mi	Sao Joao de Meriti	$681
26 km or 16 mi	Belford Roxo	$851
31 km or 19 mi	Nova Iguacu	$632
45 km or 28 mi	Petropolis	$782
60 km or 37 mi	Teresopolis	$537
70 km or 44 mi	Saquarema	$614
98 km or 61 mi	Nova Friburgo	$482
102 km or 64 mi	Volta Redonda	$576
108 km or 67 mi	Barra Mansa	$600
112 km or 70 mi	Sao Pedro da Aldeia	$579
115 km or 72 mi	Angra dos Reis	$733
121 km or 75 mi	Cabo Frio	$533
130 km or 81 mi	Juiz de Fora	$600
135 km or 84 mi	Rio das Ostras	$548
137 km or 85 mi	Resende	$652
157 km or 97 mi	Macae	$679
184 km or 115 mi	Cruzeiro	$672
196 km or 122 mi	Barbacena	$565
199 km or 123 mi	Lorena	$709
200 km or 124 mi	Ubatuba	$678
201 km or 125 mi	Uba	$625
208 km or 129 mi	Guaratingueta	$684
215 km or 134 mi	Muriae	$585
226 km or 140 mi	Sao Joao del-Rei	$568
231 km or 144 mi	Campos dos Goytacazes	$564
232 km or 144 mi	Pindamonhangaba	$656
238 km or 148 mi	Itajuba	$565
240 km or 149 mi	Caraguatatuba	$667
241 km or 150 mi	Taubate	$645
242 km or 150 mi	Vicosa	$643
245 km or 152 mi	Sao Sebastiao	$679
251 km or 156 mi	Tres Coracoes	$594
257 km or 160 mi	Conselheiro Lafaiete	$679
258 km or 160 mi	Cacapava	$702
264 km or 164 mi	Lavras	$562
275 km or 171 mi	Varginha	$505
277 km or 172 mi	Sao Jose dos Campos	$877
279 km or 173 mi	Ponte Nova	$631