Rio de Janeiro vs Seoul - Cost of Living Comparison

Updated: March 11, 2026

	Rio de Janeiro	Seoul
🚶 Cost of living one person	$1013	$1363
👨‍👩‍👧‍👦 Cost of living Family	$2476	$3382
🏠 One person rent	$502	$622
🏘️ Family rent	$806	$1071
🍽️ Food expenses	$272	$483
🚐 Transport expenses	$151	$143
💳 Monthly salary after tax	$491	$2256
😷 Air quality	Moderate	Moderate
✈️ Airport proximity	3 km	18 km
🎓 Higher education	95	99
😀 Quality of life	67	93
🏙️ Population	6.21M	9.67M

The cost of living in Rio de Janeiro is 26% less expensive than in Seoul. Cities ranked 5559th and 4438th ($1013 vs $1363) 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 1.7 months in Seoul. Rio de Janeiro ranked 4th best city to live in Brazil vs Seoul ranked 2nd in South Korea, while ranked 4845th and 70th 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/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	$6.99	$7.62
🥂 Dinner in a Restaurant, for 2	$31.1	$47.8
🥪 Fast food meal, equiv. McDonald's	$6.8	$6.35
🍻 Beer in a Pub, 0.5 L or 16 fl oz	$2.13	$3.42
☕ Cappuccino	$2.56	$3.68
🥤 Pepsi / Coke, 0.5 L or 16.9 fl oz	$1.48	$1.55
Rent & Utilities
🏙️ 1 bedroom apartment in Downtown, 40 m2 or 430 ft2	$574	$736
🏡 Cheap 1 bedroom apartment, 40 m2 or 430 ft2	$353	$450
🏙️ 3 bedroom apartment in Downtown, 80 m2 or 860 ft2	$959	$1316
🏡 Cheap 3 bedroom apartment, 80 m2 or 860 ft2	$578	$799
🔌 Utility Bill one person, electricity, heating, water, etc.	$85.8	$97
🔌 Utility Bill for a Family, electricity, heating, water, etc.	$133	$152
🌐 Internet plan, 50 Mbps+ 1 month unlimited	$19.1	$17
🏦 Mortgage Interest Rate for 20 Years	11.13%	4.01%
🏙️ Apartment price to Buy in city Center, 1 m2 or 10 ft2	$2256	$23840
🏡 House price to Buy in Suburbs, 1 m2 or 10 ft2	$1317	$11978
Transportation
🚌 Local transport ticket	$1.07	$1.08
🎟️ Monthly ticket local transport	$48	$43.9
🚕 Taxi Ride, 8 km or 5 mi	$8.6	$8.43
⛽ Gas / Petrol, 1 L or 0.26 gal	$1.17	$1.14
Groceries
🥛 Milk, 1 L or 1 qt	$1.14	$1.99
🍞 Bread, 0.5 kg or 1.1 lb	$1.62	$2.74
🍚 Rice, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$1.29	$2.66
🥚 Eggs, x12	$2.16	$3.28
🧀 Cheese, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$9.04	$15.2
🐔 Chicken Breast, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$4.28	$9.26
🥩 Round Steak, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$8.72	$29.4
🍏 Apples, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$2.43	$6.92
🍌 Banana, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$1.65	$3.29
🍊 Oranges, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$1.65	$5.56
🍅 Tomato, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$1.53	$5.27
🥔 Potato, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$1.18	$3.59
🧅 Onion, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$1.16	$2.82
🌊 Water, 1 L or 1 qt	$0.4	$0.79
🍹 Coca-Cola / Pepsi, 2 L or 67.6 fl oz	$1.73	$1.74
🍾 Wine (mid-priced), 750 mL bottle	$7.51	$17.3
🍺 Beer, 0.5 L or 16 fl oz	$1.24	$1.93
🚬 Cigarette pack	$2.27	$3.13
💊 Cold medicince, 1 week	$3.86	$3.5
🧴 Hair Shampoo	$3.33	$3.89
🧻 Toilet paper, 4 rolls	$1.2	$3.38
👄 Toothpaste, 1 tube	$1.06	$1.26
Other
🏋️ Gym Membership, 1 month	$27.1	$48
🎫 Cinema Ticket, 1 person	$7.13	$9.99
👩‍⚕️ Doctor's visit	$48.8	$61.2
💇 Haircut, simple	$7.96	$16.9
👖 Brand Jeans	$44.6	$53.3
👟 Brand Sneakers	$76.6	$73.2
👶 Daycare or Preschool, 1 month	$550	$414
🏫 International Primary School, 1 year	$13739	$21825

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 Seoul

Distance	City	Cost of living
13 km or 7.9 mi	Guri	$1117
17 km or 10 mi	Goyang	$1092
17 km or 10 mi	Gwangmyeong	$1071
17 km or 11 mi	Gwacheon	$1061
19 km or 12 mi	Uijeongbu	$913
20 km or 12 mi	Hanam	$1162
20 km or 12 mi	Namyangju	$1120
20 km or 13 mi	Seongnam	$1425
21 km or 13 mi	Siheung	$1292
21 km or 13 mi	Bucheon	$1167
22 km or 14 mi	Anyang	$988
23 km or 14 mi	Yangju	$937
24 km or 15 mi	Gunpo	$1112
26 km or 16 mi	Gimpo	$1068
27 km or 17 mi	Uiwang	$1063
30 km or 19 mi	Gwangju	$1179
32 km or 20 mi	Paju	$1049
33 km or 20 mi	Ansan	$1044
33 km or 21 mi	Suwon	$1030
34 km or 21 mi	Incheon	$1057
37 km or 23 mi	Dongducheon	$1007
39 km or 24 mi	Pocheon	$1008
42 km or 26 mi	Yongin	$1102
47 km or 29 mi	Hwaseong	$1076
49 km or 31 mi	Osan	$1050
52 km or 32 mi	Icheon	$1134
58 km or 36 mi	Kaesong	$1563
65 km or 40 mi	Yeoju	$1053
66 km or 41 mi	Pyeongtaek	$1095
69 km or 43 mi	Anseong	$1046
72 km or 45 mi	Chuncheon	$867
83 km or 52 mi	Dangjin	$984
86 km or 53 mi	Wonju	$1073
87 km or 54 mi	Cheonan	$1121
101 km or 63 mi	Seosan	$986
107 km or 66 mi	Chungju	$892
114 km or 71 mi	Cheongju	$903
118 km or 73 mi	Jecheon	$1003
123 km or 77 mi	Haeju	$1568
124 km or 77 mi	Sejong	$986