Rio de Janeiro vs Seoul - Cost of Living Comparison

Updated: October 14, 2025

	Rio de Janeiro	Seoul
🚶 Cost of living one person	$940	$1383
👨‍👩‍👧‍👦 Cost of living Family	$2347	$3421
🏠 One person rent	$458	$635
🏘️ Family rent	$770	$1111
🍽️ Food expenses	$258	$484
🚐 Transport expenses	$137	$152
💳 Monthly salary after tax	$442	$1954
😷 Air quality	Moderate	Moderate
✈️ Airport proximity	3 km	18 km
🎓 Higher education	95	100
😀 Quality of life	67	93
🏙️ Population	6.21M	9.67M

The cost of living in Rio de Janeiro is 32% less expensive than in Seoul. Cities ranked 6006th and 4296th ($940 vs $1383) in the list of the most expensive cities in the world and ranked 2nd and 2nd in Brazil and South Korea, respectively. Check Brazil vs South Korea comparison.

The average after-tax salary is enough to cover living expenses for 0.5 months in Rio de Janeiro compared to 1.4 months in Seoul. Rio de Janeiro ranked 2nd best city to live in Brazil vs Seoul ranked 2nd in South Korea, while ranked 4818th and 90th among best cities to live in the world.

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the estimated difference in money purchasing power

Cost of living in Rio de Janeiro vs Seoul infographic

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

Prices in Rio de Janeiro vs Seoul

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

	Rio de Janeiro	Seoul
Eating Out
🍱 Lunch Menu	$6.45	$7.28
🥂 Dinner in a Restaurant, for 2	$31.1	$43.1
🥪 Fast food meal, equiv. McDonald's	$6.48	$5.99
🍻 Beer in a Pub, 0.5 L or 16 fl oz	$1.85	$3.46
☕ Cappuccino	$2.36	$3.69
🥤 Pepsi / Coke, 0.5 L or 16.9 fl oz	$1.31	$1.66
Rent & Utilities
🏙️ 1 bedroom apartment in Downtown, 40 m2 or 430 ft2	$501	$764
🏡 Cheap 1 bedroom apartment, 40 m2 or 430 ft2	$324	$460
🏙️ 3 bedroom apartment in Downtown, 80 m2 or 860 ft2	$881	$1372
🏡 Cheap 3 bedroom apartment, 80 m2 or 860 ft2	$563	$841
🔌 Utility Bill one person, electricity, heating, water, etc.	$79.9	$97.1
🔌 Utility Bill for a Family, electricity, heating, water, etc.	$125	$147
🌐 Internet plan, 50 Mbps+ 1 month unlimited	$18.1	$16.8
🏦 Mortgage Interest Rate for 20 Years	11.58%	3.97%
🏙️ Apartment price to Buy in city Center, 1 m2 or 10 ft2	$1966	$20727
🏡 House price to Buy in Suburbs, 1 m2 or 10 ft2	$1150	$10845
Transportation
🚌 Local transport ticket	$1.25	$1.04
🎟️ Monthly ticket local transport	$41.5	$44.6
🚕 Taxi Ride, 8 km or 5 mi	$7.88	$9.78
⛽ Gas / Petrol, 1 L or 0.26 gal	$1.09	$1.15
Groceries
🥛 Milk, 1 L or 1 qt	$1.06	$2.01
🍞 Bread, 0.5 kg or 1.1 lb	$1.48	$2.68
🍚 Rice, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$1.24	$2.55
🥚 Eggs, x12	$2.09	$3.27
🧀 Cheese, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$8.65	$14.9
🐔 Chicken Breast, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$3.96	$9.59
🥩 Round Steak, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$8.22	$33
🍏 Apples, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$2.38	$7.35
🍌 Banana, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$1.56	$3.34
🍊 Oranges, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$1.56	$5.41
🍅 Tomato, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$1.47	$5.24
🥔 Potato, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$1.22	$3.68
🧅 Onion, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$1.13	$2.95
🌊 Water, 1 L or 1 qt	$0.39	$0.8
🍹 Coca-Cola / Pepsi, 2 L or 67.6 fl oz	$1.69	$1.8
🍾 Wine (mid-priced), 750 mL bottle	$7.11	$17.6
🍺 Beer, 0.5 L or 16 fl oz	$1.17	$1.97
🚬 Cigarette pack	$1.99	$3.12
💊 Cold medicince, 1 week	$3.4	$3.56
🧴 Hair Shampoo	$3.18	$3.98
🧻 Toilet paper, 4 rolls	$1.06	$3.5
👄 Toothpaste, 1 tube	$0.98	$1.3
Other
🏋️ Gym Membership, 1 month	$25.7	$47.8
🎫 Cinema Ticket, 1 person	$6.37	$10
👩‍⚕️ Doctor's visit	$51.8	$62.2
💇 Haircut, simple	$8.04	$16.7
👖 Brand Jeans	$45.1	$49.6
👟 Brand Sneakers	$74.6	$67.5
👶 Daycare or Preschool, 1 month	$531	$357
🏫 International Primary School, 1 year	$12076	$21347

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	$739
18 km or 11 mi	Duque de Caxias	$653
21 km or 13 mi	Sao Joao de Meriti	$648
26 km or 16 mi	Belford Roxo	$810
31 km or 19 mi	Nova Iguacu	$590
45 km or 28 mi	Petropolis	$706
60 km or 37 mi	Teresopolis	$498
70 km or 44 mi	Saquarema	$564
98 km or 61 mi	Nova Friburgo	$445
102 km or 64 mi	Volta Redonda	$539
108 km or 67 mi	Barra Mansa	$557
112 km or 70 mi	Sao Pedro da Aldeia	$530
115 km or 72 mi	Angra dos Reis	$683
121 km or 75 mi	Cabo Frio	$525
130 km or 81 mi	Juiz de Fora	$550
135 km or 84 mi	Rio das Ostras	$506
137 km or 85 mi	Resende	$603
157 km or 97 mi	Macae	$625
184 km or 115 mi	Cruzeiro	$631
196 km or 122 mi	Barbacena	$540
199 km or 123 mi	Lorena	$673
200 km or 124 mi	Ubatuba	$632
201 km or 125 mi	Uba	$597
208 km or 129 mi	Guaratingueta	$643
215 km or 134 mi	Muriae	$613
226 km or 140 mi	Sao Joao del-Rei	$541
231 km or 144 mi	Campos dos Goytacazes	$518
232 km or 144 mi	Pindamonhangaba	$620
238 km or 148 mi	Itajuba	$536
240 km or 149 mi	Caraguatatuba	$625
241 km or 150 mi	Taubate	$611
242 km or 150 mi	Vicosa	$618
245 km or 152 mi	Sao Sebastiao	$633
251 km or 156 mi	Tres Coracoes	$559
257 km or 160 mi	Conselheiro Lafaiete	$644
258 km or 160 mi	Cacapava	$657
264 km or 164 mi	Lavras	$530
275 km or 171 mi	Varginha	$492
277 km or 172 mi	Sao Jose dos Campos	$819
279 km or 173 mi	Ponte Nova	$586

Cities near Seoul

Distance	City	Cost of living
13 km or 7.9 mi	Guri	$1134
17 km or 10 mi	Goyang	$1097
17 km or 10 mi	Gwangmyeong	$1090
17 km or 11 mi	Gwacheon	$1078
19 km or 12 mi	Uijeongbu	$918
20 km or 12 mi	Hanam	$1178
20 km or 12 mi	Namyangju	$1138
20 km or 13 mi	Seongnam	$1435
21 km or 13 mi	Siheung	$1307
21 km or 13 mi	Bucheon	$1175
22 km or 14 mi	Anyang	$1004
23 km or 14 mi	Yangju	$948
24 km or 15 mi	Gunpo	$1112
26 km or 16 mi	Gimpo	$1098
27 km or 17 mi	Uiwang	$1080
30 km or 19 mi	Gwangju	$1196
32 km or 20 mi	Paju	$1065
33 km or 20 mi	Ansan	$1049
33 km or 21 mi	Suwon	$1066
34 km or 21 mi	Incheon	$1088
37 km or 23 mi	Dongducheon	$1023
39 km or 24 mi	Pocheon	$1028
42 km or 26 mi	Yongin	$1120
47 km or 29 mi	Hwaseong	$1098
49 km or 31 mi	Osan	$1076
52 km or 32 mi	Icheon	$1171
58 km or 36 mi	Kaesong	$1568
65 km or 40 mi	Yeoju	$1079
66 km or 41 mi	Pyeongtaek	$1141
69 km or 43 mi	Anseong	$1078
72 km or 45 mi	Chuncheon	$874
83 km or 52 mi	Dangjin	$1059
86 km or 53 mi	Wonju	$1110
87 km or 54 mi	Cheonan	$1153
101 km or 63 mi	Seosan	$1068
107 km or 66 mi	Chungju	$920
114 km or 71 mi	Cheongju	$924
118 km or 73 mi	Jecheon	$1037
123 km or 77 mi	Haeju	$1565
124 km or 77 mi	Sejong	$1020