Rio de Janeiro vs Santiago - Cost of Living Comparison

Updated: March 11, 2026

	Rio de Janeiro	Santiago
🚶 Cost of living one person	$1013	$1191
👨‍👩‍👧‍👦 Cost of living Family	$2476	$2945
🏠 One person rent	$502	$532
🏘️ Family rent	$806	$934
🍽️ Food expenses	$272	$397
🚐 Transport expenses	$151	$155
💳 Monthly salary after tax	$491	$881
😷 Air quality	Moderate	Moderate
✈️ Airport proximity	3 km	13 km
🎓 Higher education	95	92
😀 Quality of life	67	80
🏙️ Population	6.21M	6.26M

The cost of living in Rio de Janeiro is 15% less expensive than in Santiago. Cities ranked 5559th and 4795th ($1013 vs $1191) in the list of the most expensive cities in the world and ranked 2nd and 1st in Brazil and Chile, respectively. Check Brazil vs Chile comparison.

The average after-tax salary is enough to cover living expenses for 0.5 months in Rio de Janeiro compared to 0.7 months in Santiago. Rio de Janeiro ranked 4th best city to live in Brazil vs Santiago ranked 1st in Chile, while ranked 4845th and 688th 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/rio-de-janeiro/santiago.jpg" alt="Cost of living in Rio de Janeiro vs Santiago infographic" style="max-width: 100%; height: auto;"><p>Source: <a href="https://livingcost.org/cost/rio-de-janeiro/santiago" target="_blank">Rio de Janeiro vs Santiago - Cost of Living Comparison</a></p>

Prices in Rio de Janeiro vs Santiago

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

	Rio de Janeiro	Santiago
Eating Out
🍱 Lunch Menu	$6.99	$11.8
🥂 Dinner in a Restaurant, for 2	$31.1	$50.1
🥪 Fast food meal, equiv. McDonald's	$6.8	$8.82
🍻 Beer in a Pub, 0.5 L or 16 fl oz	$2.13	$4
☕ Cappuccino	$2.56	$3.78
🥤 Pepsi / Coke, 0.5 L or 16.9 fl oz	$1.48	$1.77
Rent & Utilities
🏙️ 1 bedroom apartment in Downtown, 40 m2 or 430 ft2	$574	$573
🏡 Cheap 1 bedroom apartment, 40 m2 or 430 ft2	$353	$393
🏙️ 3 bedroom apartment in Downtown, 80 m2 or 860 ft2	$959	$1028
🏡 Cheap 3 bedroom apartment, 80 m2 or 860 ft2	$578	$724
🔌 Utility Bill one person, electricity, heating, water, etc.	$85.8	$81.4
🔌 Utility Bill for a Family, electricity, heating, water, etc.	$133	$127
🌐 Internet plan, 50 Mbps+ 1 month unlimited	$19.1	$22.1
🏦 Mortgage Interest Rate for 20 Years	11.13%	5.38%
🏙️ Apartment price to Buy in city Center, 1 m2 or 10 ft2	$2256	$2897
🏡 House price to Buy in Suburbs, 1 m2 or 10 ft2	$1317	$3070
Transportation
🚌 Local transport ticket	$1.07	$0.95
🎟️ Monthly ticket local transport	$48	$47.1
🚕 Taxi Ride, 8 km or 5 mi	$8.6	$8.67
⛽ Gas / Petrol, 1 L or 0.26 gal	$1.17	$1.47
Groceries
🥛 Milk, 1 L or 1 qt	$1.14	$1.33
🍞 Bread, 0.5 kg or 1.1 lb	$1.62	$1.44
🍚 Rice, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$1.29	$1.82
🥚 Eggs, x12	$2.16	$4.55
🧀 Cheese, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$9.04	$12.2
🐔 Chicken Breast, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$4.28	$7.47
🥩 Round Steak, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$8.72	$11.6
🍏 Apples, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$2.43	$2.18
🍌 Banana, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$1.65	$1.71
🍊 Oranges, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$1.65	$2.17
🍅 Tomato, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$1.53	$2.03
🥔 Potato, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$1.18	$1.54
🧅 Onion, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$1.16	$1.81
🌊 Water, 1 L or 1 qt	$0.4	$0.86
🍹 Coca-Cola / Pepsi, 2 L or 67.6 fl oz	$1.73	$2.39
🍾 Wine (mid-priced), 750 mL bottle	$7.51	$7.03
🍺 Beer, 0.5 L or 16 fl oz	$1.24	$1.75
🚬 Cigarette pack	$2.27	$6.15
💊 Cold medicince, 1 week	$3.86	$4.17
🧴 Hair Shampoo	$3.33	$4.62
🧻 Toilet paper, 4 rolls	$1.2	$2.73
👄 Toothpaste, 1 tube	$1.06	$2.49
Other
🏋️ Gym Membership, 1 month	$27.1	$40.2
🎫 Cinema Ticket, 1 person	$7.13	$7.33
👩‍⚕️ Doctor's visit	$48.8	$46.5
💇 Haircut, simple	$7.96	$17.6
👖 Brand Jeans	$44.6	$56.9
👟 Brand Sneakers	$76.6	$86.8
👶 Daycare or Preschool, 1 month	$550	$493
🏫 International Primary School, 1 year	$13739	$10578

Cost of living in other countries

Cost of living

Cost of Living in the nearest cities

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

Cities near Santiago

Distance	City	Cost of living
17 km or 11 mi	San Bernardo	$848
20 km or 12 mi	Puente Alto	$966
69 km or 43 mi	Los Andes	$840
78 km or 48 mi	San Felipe	$790
80 km or 50 mi	Rancagua	$879
80 km or 50 mi	Villa Alemana	$930
83 km or 52 mi	Quillota	$941
85 km or 53 mi	Quilpue	$943
89 km or 55 mi	San Antonio	$1180
95 km or 59 mi	Vina del Mar	$974
99 km or 62 mi	Valparaiso	$987
130 km or 80 mi	San Fernando	$1008
179 km or 111 mi	Curico	$826
181 km or 112 mi	Godoy Cruz	$895
182 km or 113 mi	Mendoza	$907
185 km or 115 mi	Las Heras	$893
208 km or 129 mi	San Martin	$860
238 km or 148 mi	Talca	$921
251 km or 156 mi	San Rafael	$642
264 km or 164 mi	Constitucion	$900
280 km or 174 mi	Linares	$935
292 km or 181 mi	San Juan	$589
321 km or 199 mi	Ovalle	$804
375 km or 233 mi	Chillan	$740
394 km or 245 mi	Coquimbo	$915
398 km or 247 mi	La Serena	$929
401 km or 249 mi	San Luis	$764
409 km or 254 mi	Tome	$830
426 km or 265 mi	Talcahuano	$747
434 km or 269 mi	Concepcion	$973
455 km or 283 mi	Coronel	$897
456 km or 284 mi	Lujan	$759
464 km or 288 mi	Lota	$887
472 km or 294 mi	Los Angeles	$938
482 km or 300 mi	Villa Mercedes	$768
508 km or 316 mi	Curanilahue	$893
518 km or 322 mi	Angol	$916
542 km or 337 mi	Vallenar	$891
576 km or 358 mi	La Rioja	$577
588 km or 366 mi	Rio Cuarto	$849