Rio de Janeiro vs Seoul - Cost of Living Comparison

Updated: March 02, 2025

	Rio de Janeiro	Seoul
🚶 Cost of living one person	$916	$1334
👨‍👩‍👧‍👦 Cost of living Family	$2281	$3862
🏠 One person rent	$445	$608
🏘️ Family rent	$751	$1634
🍽️ Food expenses	$239	$488
🚐 Transport expenses	$141	$144
💳 Monthly salary after tax	$372	$2911
😷 Air quality	Good	Moderate
✈️ Airport proximity	3 km	18 km
🎓 Higher education	95	100
😀 Quality of life	62	95
🏙️ Population	6.21M	9.67M

The cost of living in Rio de Janeiro is 31% less expensive than in Seoul. Cities ranked 5954th and 4104th ($916 vs $1334) in the list of the most expensive cities in the world and ranked 2nd and 3rd in Brazil and South Korea, respectively. Check Brazil vs South Korea comparison.

The average after-tax salary is enough to cover living expenses for 0.4 months in Rio de Janeiro compared to 2.2 months in Seoul. Rio de Janeiro ranked 3rd best city to live in Brazil vs Seoul ranked 1st in South Korea, while ranked 4857th and 30th 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	$5.99	$7.53
🥂 Dinner in a Restaurant, for 2	$29.8	$40.1
🥪 Fast food meal, equiv. McDonald's	$5.98	$5.87
🍻 Beer in a Pub, 0.5 L or 16 fl oz	$1.85	$3.5
☕ Cappuccino	$2.17	$3.57
🥤 Pepsi / Coke, 0.5 L or 16.9 fl oz	$1.22	$1.58
Rent & Utilities
🏙️ 1 bedroom apartment in Downtown, 40 m2 or 430 ft2	$454	$754
🏡 Cheap 1 bedroom apartment, 40 m2 or 430 ft2	$306	$422
🏙️ 3 bedroom apartment in Downtown, 80 m2 or 860 ft2	$821	$2293
🏡 Cheap 3 bedroom apartment, 80 m2 or 860 ft2	$535	$1250
🔌 Utility Bill one person, electricity, heating, water, etc.	$92.5	$99.6
🔌 Utility Bill for a Family, electricity, heating, water, etc.	$141	$155
🌐 Internet plan, 50 Mbps+ 1 month unlimited	$17.4	$20.3
🏦 Mortgage Interest Rate for 20 Years	11.1%	4.85%
🏙️ Apartment price to Buy in city Center, 1 m2 or 10 ft2	$1746	$19682
🏡 House price to Buy in Suburbs, 1 m2 or 10 ft2	$1118	$11168
Transportation
🚌 Local transport ticket	$1.2	$1.05
🎟️ Monthly ticket local transport	$46.2	$44.5
🚕 Taxi Ride, 8 km or 5 mi	$7.66	$8.29
⛽ Gas / Petrol, 1 L or 0.26 gal	$1.04	$1.17
Groceries
🥛 Milk, 1 L or 1 qt	$1.03	$2.06
🍞 Bread, 0.5 kg or 1.1 lb	$1.37	$3.08
🍚 Rice, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$1.13	$3.06
🥚 Eggs, x12	$1.98	$3.38
🧀 Cheese, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$7.07	$12.7
🐔 Chicken Breast, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$3.32	$8.56
🥩 Round Steak, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$7.46	$32
🍏 Apples, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$2.17	$7.25
🍌 Banana, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$1.47	$3.37
🍊 Oranges, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$1.33	$5.31
🍅 Tomato, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$1.5	$5.9
🥔 Potato, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$1.23	$3.54
🧅 Onion, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$1.06	$2.82
🌊 Water, 1 L or 1 qt	$0.37	$0.81
🍹 Coca-Cola / Pepsi, 2 L or 67.6 fl oz	$1.75	$2.18
🍾 Wine (mid-priced), 750 mL bottle	$7.32	$20.3
🍺 Beer, 0.5 L or 16 fl oz	$1.12	$2.46
🚬 Cigarette pack	$1.9	$3.17
💊 Cold medicince, 1 week	$3.14	$4.67
🧴 Hair Shampoo	$3.01	$5.75
🧻 Toilet paper, 4 rolls	$1.03	$2.16
👄 Toothpaste, 1 tube	$0.8	$2.86
Other
🏋️ Gym Membership, 1 month	$24.3	$48.3
🎫 Cinema Ticket, 1 person	$6.26	$10.5
👩‍⚕️ Doctor's visit	$61.1	$22.9
💇 Haircut, simple	$7.25	$9.53
👖 Brand Jeans	$46.8	$58.3
👟 Brand Sneakers	$71.7	$82.4
👶 Daycare or Preschool, 1 month	$506	$420
🏫 International Primary School, 1 year	$10819	$20197

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	$718
18 km or 11 mi	Duque de Caxias	$614
21 km or 13 mi	Sao Joao de Meriti	$622
26 km or 16 mi	Belford Roxo	$769
31 km or 19 mi	Nova Iguacu	$562
45 km or 28 mi	Petropolis	$587
60 km or 37 mi	Teresopolis	$546
70 km or 44 mi	Saquarema	$632
98 km or 61 mi	Nova Friburgo	$474
102 km or 64 mi	Volta Redonda	$522
108 km or 67 mi	Barra Mansa	$537
112 km or 70 mi	Sao Pedro da Aldeia	$589
115 km or 72 mi	Angra dos Reis	$636
121 km or 75 mi	Cabo Frio	$584
130 km or 81 mi	Juiz de Fora	$462
135 km or 84 mi	Rio das Ostras	$482
137 km or 85 mi	Resende	$572
157 km or 97 mi	Macae	$642
184 km or 115 mi	Cruzeiro	$595
196 km or 122 mi	Barbacena	$487
199 km or 123 mi	Lorena	$631
200 km or 124 mi	Ubatuba	$599
201 km or 125 mi	Uba	$563
208 km or 129 mi	Guaratingueta	$603
215 km or 134 mi	Muriae	$584
226 km or 140 mi	Sao Joao del-Rei	$505
231 km or 144 mi	Campos dos Goytacazes	$536
232 km or 144 mi	Pindamonhangaba	$588
238 km or 148 mi	Itajuba	$518
240 km or 149 mi	Caraguatatuba	$593
241 km or 150 mi	Taubate	$581
242 km or 150 mi	Vicosa	$584
245 km or 152 mi	Sao Sebastiao	$599
251 km or 156 mi	Tres Coracoes	$523
257 km or 160 mi	Conselheiro Lafaiete	$602
258 km or 160 mi	Cacapava	$605
264 km or 164 mi	Lavras	$503
275 km or 171 mi	Varginha	$449
277 km or 172 mi	Sao Jose dos Campos	$705
279 km or 173 mi	Ponte Nova	$562

Cities near Seoul

Distance	City	Cost of living
13 km or 7.9 mi	Guri	$1122
17 km or 10 mi	Goyang	$1171
17 km or 10 mi	Gwangmyeong	$1089
17 km or 11 mi	Gwacheon	$1070
19 km or 12 mi	Uijeongbu	$955
20 km or 12 mi	Hanam	$1161
20 km or 12 mi	Namyangju	$1129
20 km or 13 mi	Seongnam	$1400
21 km or 13 mi	Siheung	$1283
21 km or 13 mi	Bucheon	$1163
22 km or 14 mi	Anyang	$1022
23 km or 14 mi	Yangju	$974
24 km or 15 mi	Gunpo	$1098
26 km or 16 mi	Gimpo	$1099
27 km or 17 mi	Uiwang	$1063
30 km or 19 mi	Gwangju	$1165
32 km or 20 mi	Paju	$1075
33 km or 20 mi	Ansan	$1070
33 km or 21 mi	Suwon	$1022
34 km or 21 mi	Incheon	$1092
37 km or 23 mi	Dongducheon	$1055
39 km or 24 mi	Pocheon	$1040
42 km or 26 mi	Yongin	$1127
47 km or 29 mi	Hwaseong	$1089
49 km or 31 mi	Osan	$1042
52 km or 32 mi	Icheon	$1020
58 km or 36 mi	Kaesong	$1565
65 km or 40 mi	Yeoju	$1026
66 km or 41 mi	Pyeongtaek	$984
69 km or 43 mi	Anseong	$1026
72 km or 45 mi	Chuncheon	$865
83 km or 52 mi	Dangjin	$1033
86 km or 53 mi	Wonju	$1074
87 km or 54 mi	Cheonan	$1151
101 km or 63 mi	Seosan	$1036
107 km or 66 mi	Chungju	$900
114 km or 71 mi	Cheongju	$936
118 km or 73 mi	Jecheon	$1016
123 km or 77 mi	Haeju	$1550
124 km or 77 mi	Sejong	$1019