Cost of living in Brazil in 2025

I live in Governador Valadares, Minas Gerais, in the interior, about a 5- or 6-hour drive from Belo Horizonte, the state capital.  It's famous for its heat (today's high was 94 F, low was 71. Last summer we had 10 consecutive days over 100, one of the reasons I moved this year to a new apartment with A/C.)  Also known for paragliding and its 17 (at last count) pickleball courts at 4 different venues.  (It's where the pickleball "seed" was planted in Brazil, in 2018.)

What is the cost of renting or buying an apartment or house in Brazil?

    My experience:  rent at former apartment 7th floor, secure building 24-hour doorman, suite + 2 bedrooms; no a/c but a  fairly nice breeze: rent was R$1450 + roughly R$1400 including gas and water included with the condominium charge.

    My new place: R$3000 + R$1450 condominium, 12th floor with veranda and fantastic view of the local Ibituruna mountain.  And air conditioning.

What are the typical fares for public transportation such as buses, subways, trains, trams, or taxis?

    Local transport buses are free for over 60; taxis and uber are comparable and, of course, vary depending on time of day, distance.  My usual 3.5 km trip runs about R$13 in the evenings, or about R$8 on Sunday mornings (same route).  No subways, trains, or trams.  Only one airline serves the city, Azul, and it only goes to Belo Horizonte, twice a day.  Tickets can be quite expensive, but there are occasional promotions that bring the price for a mid-week round trip ticket to about R$600.  It's not unusual to find tickets priced at R$800 or R$1000

Could you share the average monthly cost of your grocery shopping?

I'm exceptional, but, for example (because it seems to be on everyone's minds), eggs are currently  R$11 for a tray of 20; a loaf of sandwich bread runs R$4,50 (plain white) to R$13 (hearty whole-grain)

How much does health insurance cost? What is the price of a medical consultation in Brazil?

    My health insurance (over 70 y.o.) with Unimed is R$1275 / month.

What are the tuition fees for children?

    No idea.

What are the average monthly costs for utilities, such as electricity, gas, water, internet, and phone plans?

    My electric bill last month with A/C was R$430; gas and water are included in the condo fees; internet is R$85 for basic, all-inclusive "turbo" is R$130 /month. 

How much do you spend monthly on leisure activities?

    Maybe R$750 (club memberships, socializing after pickleball)

20 liters of drinkable water is R$17

10.1 kg sack of my dog's hypoallergenic dogfood is R$350

Today's exchange rate, by the way, is R$1 = US$ 0.17

There's ongoing inflation.  Everywhere it seems. I'm grateful I have dollars to work with.  🙏

Janet

OK I'll bite......

Two adults, no kids or pets. We own two apartment condos.

Rio de Janeiro, 40 M2 middle class flat in Copacabana, one BR and one parking stall, 24 hr doorman, prime location beside metro station and PF batalao, walking distance to 5 supermarkets and 4 blocks from middle of the beach. R$500.000 market value, units in our building will rent for R$3.000 + expenses (condo R$1.250....IPTU R$ 100......gas R$100.....elec using AC at night R$250).

Petropolis (45 min outside of Rio in the Serrana region) 93 M2 high end flat in luxury building, 2 BR, 3 BATH, parking stall, 24 hr doorman, prime location downtown, R$1 MM value......units can rent for R$3,500 plus expenses (condo R$1100.......IPTU R$310......gas $190......elec R$150......no need for AC there).

Metro in Rio is R$7,50 one way. I don't ride the buses. Honestly, in both cities, we walk everywhere, because we bought in areas where we could accomplish that. We own a car but rarely use it. Just spent R$11.000 on long overdue deferred maintenance last week at the 60,000 KM mark.

Food for two is R$1.000 a month at supermarkets and street fairs in either place.

Shopping is cheaper In Rio, so we buy everything there except for groceries.

Wife's Unimed is R$1.500 but I refuse to buy into the health insurance ponzi scheme, as SUS works fine in Petropolis. And if necessary, I can and have self funded private emergency or long term hospital care. My private doctor is R$400 for a consult, and we also belong to a medical co-operative for R$49 a month for the two of us combined that has reduced prices for exams/tests, etc.

700 Mbps fibre internet is R$129 thru Oi......TIM cell plan with 85 gigs and free everything is R$119........I'm going to cut that in half in September when my plan expires.

We don't spend money on entertainment. Copacabana is a free show 24/7 and you can kill 2-3 hours walking 10KM on the beach. In Petropolis there are lots of free things to do as well.

I'm a wino, so, good Argentinian or Chilean reds are R$30 a bottle.......or JW Red Label whiskey is R$59.......nice restaurants are too pricey, it's not that I can't afford them. They are just insanely priced for the value, even though they are half the price of US/CAD equivalents. I just refuse to pay their prices on principal. Botequims, or the 1-2 reasonably priced places are were we go on occasion.

You can live for way less, or wasaaaaay more in both cities, or anywhere else in Brasil. YMMV........

@Cheryl

At the end of the day, these answers are best separated into location categories. Just casually browsing through the internet most videos etc. are heavily geared to Sao Paulo and Rio. Many of these may not apply to those of us who live in much smaller locations.

I live in a village of only 2,500 people in the Northeast. Our houses (3x) are built on very large property owned and completely paid for by my wife.  My house which I share with my constant companion, SIMBA was $20k US. Dollars including the appliances. We as well as all the bugs that come with living in a tropical location (84 degrees year-round) do not pay rent.  I am very sure that most homes in our village were built and paid for too.

Roddie in Retirement🕵

I live in Ilhéus, which is undergoing a building boom. Beachburbs, I call them. New 31m2 studios are R$250k. A million will buy you a nice 100m2 apartment. And you can spend much more, of course. You'll need a car in the ‘burbs.

I live in an older neighborhood in Ilhéus. I walk to everything I need. Ilhéus is a sleepy beach town. Entertainment consists of watching the crabs scuttling on the beach.

Sea bass and grouper cost R$120 per kilo. Fresh salmon from Chile costs the same, surprisingly. Filet mignon and picanha are R$75.

Flights in and out of IOS tend to be expensive.

Not a bad place to retire, if you have to retire. 

@roddiesho

I'm just reporting the real estate prices I've seen in Ilhéus. And the fish prices. 😀

I live 50 meters from the ocean. I have no bugs, nor air conditioning.

It’s the same old story. If you are trying to live on reais and a typical Brazilian salary it’s quite expensive. If you are living on gringo dollars and a 5-6 to 1 exchange rate, chances are money is not your biggest problem.

@roddiesho

Property is cheap 25 minutes west of Ilhéus. Building costs are roughly comparable. But you got no ocean view out there.

It’s the same old story. If you are trying to live on reais and a typical Brazilian salary it’s quite expensive. If you are living on gringo dollars and a 5-6 to 1 exchange rate, chances are money is not your biggest problem. - @KenAquarius

Ken has assimilated quite well it seems KKKKKKKK as he is repeating the whine that you often hear from Brasilians who have no international travel experience. They jealously seem to think where we once lived was plated with gold, and that money grew on trees, in a land where everything was free.

A common cultural trait here is that you live at home until you marry......male or female.......it doesn't matter. When you meet the one, you save money together to buy an apartment in cash or with like 50% down. Then you move out. Your parents die and leave you one or several houses.

Two locals making R$4-5.000 each can live quite well today on their own, even if they have to rent. Don't believe me, well, I can show you bars, restaurants, clubs, malls, etc, at nights and on weekends in Rio. They're packed.

I forgot to add that public transit and lunches are subsidized by employers. It's federal law.

02/01/25 Ken has assimilated quite well it seems KKKKKKKK as he is repeating the whine that you often hear from Brasilians who have no international travel experience. - @kolyaS122HSU

The Salário Mínimo this year is R$1,518, and over 40% of the population make that or less.  Over 80% make R$4,000 or less.  Ken may not have assimilated the financial condition of the average expat or of the Bright Young Things crowding the bars and nightclubs of Copacabana every weekend, but he seems to have a pretty good handle on the majority of the population:

https://www.statista.com/statistics/125 … le-brazil/

And now that Trump has declared economic war on the rest of the world, American expats should prepare for an increasingly weak Dollar, I think.  Canadians may do better, and I hope they do.  🤞🏻

The majority of Brasilians also DO NOT live in SP or RJ either, nor are living alone while renting an apartment in either of these places, which are the two most expensive cities. I'd suggest their cost of living is half or less of a resident in either of these two locations.

I'm gonna wager that a single person, or couple in the 80% living in another area is surviving alright for the aforementioned reason. I'm ambivalent on Lula and the PT, but they did make a massive difference in improving both the lower to middle class.

If I took R$200K I could buy a new 2 BR house in the NE (Rio das Ostras area north of Cabo Frio, to name but one) and live on probably R$4.000 a month very comfortably by myself, for example. Walk everywhere and spend R$5-600 on groceries.

You'll wager what?

This seems to be a straw man proposition to me.

On facts and mathematics validating my point as I have given in my example. You always have to have a plan B and plan C to survive worst case scenarios just in case.

How much is your rent, utility, internet, and grocery cost in Iheus for a month ? That's what this thread is about.

@kolyaS122HSU

Says the rich gringo.

On facts and mathematics validating my point as I have given in my example. You always have to have a plan B and plan C to survive worst case scenarios just in case.
How much is your rent, utility, internet, and grocery cost in Iheus for a month ? That's what this thread is about. - @kolyaS122HSU

My rent is low compared to Rio. Utilities and groceries  are comparable.

What is your linkedin?

On facts and mathematics validating my point as I have given in my example. You always have to have a plan B and plan C to survive. - @kolyaS122HSU

I have two engineering degrees. I have managed multi-million dollar software projects.

My name is Alan Murphy Halley.

Who you?

Alan

@kolyaS122HSU

I have been traveling to Brazil 24 years now. Married to a Brazilian for 17. I can clearly see both sides and l know how difficult it is for (average) people here to live on what they make. Yes it’s true they have communal living, and I’m glad they like it because it’s really their only option. At least for the slice of the population l am immersed in.