Asunción vs Rio de Janeiro
In short
Calculated from the figures below, with no overall “who wins” score.
Rent
✓in Rio de Janeiro cheaper — −24%
Family groceries
✓in Asunción cheaper — −43%
Internet
✓in Rio de Janeiro cheaper — −6%
In numbers
Exchange rate as of the date each figure was checked.
House or apartment rent
per monthAsunción≈ $763–1,020₲4.5–6M✓Rio de Janeiro≈ $404–944R$2,109–4,924cheaper by 24%Family groceries
per month✓Asunción≈ $280₲1,650,472cheaper by 43%Rio de Janeiro≈ $489R$2,554Internet
per monthAsunción≈ $25₲150k✓Rio de Janeiro≈ $17–31R$89.9–159.9cheaper by 6%Private school
per monthAsunción≈ $371–723₲2,185k – 4.26M✓Rio de Janeiro≈ $423R$2,206cheaper by 23%Winter
averageAsunción18 °C18 °CRio de Janeiro18–25 °C18–25 °CSummer
averageAsunción28 °C28 °CRio de Janeiro23–30 °C23–30 °CPrecipitation
per yearAsunción1,433 mm1,433 mmRio de Janeiro1,173 mm1,173 mmReady-made house
purchaseAsunción$195–420k$195–420k✓Rio de Janeiro≈ $76–169kR$396,300–881,340cheaper by 60%
By topic
A quick look at each city. Details and sources are on the city page.
Daily life
Asunción
Nothing yet
Rio de Janeiro
Tijuca is almost half the price of Barra. On top of rent comes the building fee (condomínio) of 12–19 reais per m² a month, that is 700–1,100 reais for 60 m².
SpecialistSECOVI-Rio: rent, sale and building fee (condomínio) across 20 districts, June 2026 · checked 30 Sep 2026
Housing
Asunción
A 2–3 bedroom apartment in Villa Morra, Carmelitas or Recoleta is PYG 4.5–6 million a month, that is $770–1,020. Utilities on top.
SpecialistClasipar: apartments, houses and plots in Asunción, Lambaré and Fernando de la Mora · checked 28 Sep 2026
Lambaré and Fernando de la Mora are half the price of the city: a two-room apartment is PYG 2.5–4.5 million, that is $425–770. The price for this is the rush-hour drive.
SpecialistClasipar: apartments, houses and plots in Asunción, Lambaré and Fernando de la Mora · checked 28 Sep 2026
A house in Asunción is most often $195–420k, with the middle around $300k. In guaraní, in cheaper areas the same houses go for PYG 400–900 million, that is $68–153k.
SpecialistClasipar: apartments, houses and plots in Asunción, Lambaré and Fernando de la Mora · checked 28 Sep 2026
Rio de Janeiro
A two-room apartment of about 60 m² by listings: Tijuca 2,100, Laranjeiras 3,400, Flamengo 3,800, Botafogo 4,600, Copacabana 4,600, Barra 4,900 reais a month.
SpecialistSECOVI-Rio: rent, sale and building fee (condomínio) across 20 districts, June 2026 · checked 30 Sep 2026
An apartment of about 60 m² by listings: from 400k reais in Tijuca to 880k in Barra. Botafogo 800k, Copacabana 740k, Flamengo 700k.
SpecialistSECOVI-Rio: rent, sale and building fee (condomínio) across 20 districts, June 2026 · checked 30 Sep 2026
Money and prices
Asunción
The minimum food basket in the city is PYG 412,618 per person a month, for a family of four about 1.65 million, that is about $280.
SpecialistABC Color: INE data on monetary poverty for 2025, cost of baskets · checked 28 Sep 2026
The poverty line is PYG 933,108 per person, for a family of four 3.73 million without housing. With rent in a decent area, from 8–10 million.
SpecialistABC Color: INE data on monetary poverty for 2025, cost of baskets · checked 28 Sep 2026
Rio de Janeiro
DIEESE's basic basket in Rio in August 2026 is 851.19 reais per adult. For a family of two adults and two children, about 2,550 a month.
SpecialistDIEESE: national basic food basket survey, August 2026 · checked 30 Sep 2026
DIEESE calculates that a family of four needed 7,566 reais a month in August 2026. The figure is one for the whole country and already includes housing; it does not reflect Rio rents.
SpecialistDIEESE: nominal and necessary minimum wage by month · checked 30 Sep 2026
Family and kids
Asunción
Monthly fees at the well-known schools average PYG 3 million, above the minimum wage. For specific schools, from 2.19 to 4.26 million.
SpecialistEl Nacional: monthly fees at private schools in Asunción for the 2026 school year · checked 28 Sep 2026
Rio de Janeiro
Private school: on average about 2,200 reais a month by listings including scholarships, range 190–4,200. International schools in Barra 5,100–8,300.
SpecialistMelhor Escola: scholarships and monthly fees of private schools in Tijuca (Rio) · checked 30 Sep 2026
Healthcare
Asunción
Asunción has private sanatoriums with paediatric cardiology, paediatric haematology, intensive care and their own diagnostics. Nationally beds are few: 1.04 per thousand people.
SpecialistSanatorio Migone Battilana: list of specialties · checked 28 Sep 2026
Rio de Janeiro
The city has 139 municipal Clínicas da Família and 244 SUS primary care points (as of 27 September 2026). We did not look at private clinics or insurance prices.
OfficialRio City Hall: opening of the 139th Clínica da Família, 244 primary care units · checked 30 Sep 2026
Transport
Asunción
A bus fare is PYG 2,300, with air conditioning 3,400 - about 40 and 58 cents. It is cheap because of the subsidy, but the quality is such that almost everyone in Asunción gets a car.
SpecialistABC Color: public transport fares in Greater Asunción and the size of the subsidy · checked 28 Sep 2026
Rio de Janeiro
Bus, BRT and VLT: 5 reais, metro 7.90, SuperVia train 7.60. The Bilhete Único Carioca combines up to three trips within 3 hours.
SpecialistG1: bus, BRT and VLT fare in Rio rises to 5 reais from 4 January 2026 · checked 30 Sep 2026
International flights only from Galeão (20 km from the center): direct to Lisbon, Paris, Madrid, London, Rome, New York, Miami. Santos Dumont handles domestic flights.
SpecialistCartões, Milhas e Viagens: Galeão international destinations in 2026 · checked 30 Sep 2026
Climate
Asunción
The average July temperature is 18.3 degrees, with an average daytime high of 24.2. There is no winter in the usual sense, but the station’s absolute minimum went down to minus 1.2.
OfficialDINAC: climatological table of Silvio Pettirossi airport, 2011-2023 data · checked 28 Sep 2026
The average January maximum is 33.8 degrees, December and February about 33. The station’s absolute maximum is 43 degrees, and it fell in October, not at the height of summer.
OfficialDINAC: climatological table of Silvio Pettirossi airport, 2011-2023 data · checked 28 Sep 2026
About 1,433 mm a year: a wet summer and a dry winter. The wettest month is November (203 mm), the driest August (25 mm), and 222 mm has fallen in a day.
OfficialDINAC: climatological table of Silvio Pettirossi airport, 2011-2023 data · checked 28 Sep 2026
Rio de Janeiro
The coolest month is July: average minimum 18.4°C, maximum 25.3°C. No frost, and winter is noticeably drier than summer: 56 mm in July.
OfficialWMO, World Weather Information Service: climate normals for Rio de Janeiro · checked 30 Sep 2026
January and February: average minimum 23.3–23.5°C, average maximum 29.4–30.2°C. These are 1961–1990 norms, we did not open recent heat measurements.
OfficialWMO, World Weather Information Service: climate normals for Rio de Janeiro · checked 30 Sep 2026
About 1,170 mm a year. Rainiest December–April (169 mm in December), driest July–August (50–56 mm).
OfficialWMO, World Weather Information Service: climate normals for Rio de Janeiro · checked 30 Sep 2026
Safety
Asunción
Nationally in 2025 there were 6.1 homicides per 100k people - the third-best figure in Latin America. No separate statistics by district of Asunción could be found.
SpecialistLa Nación: Paraguay among the three countries in the region with the lowest homicide rate in 2025 · checked 28 Sep 2026
Rio de Janeiro
965 intentional homicides in 2025 against 946 in 2024. Deaths from police action 449 against 339 a year earlier.
SpecialistCrime Brasil: crime in the city of Rio, 20 years of ISP data, 2025 results · checked 30 Sep 2026
We did not find a full ISP breakdown by district. According to the press, phone thefts in the first 9 months of 2025: Catete 2,121, Leblon 1,880, Barra 1,806, Copacabana 1,702, Botafogo 1,310.
SpecialistExtra: phone thefts and robberies in Rio state, police districts with the most cases · checked 30 Sep 2026
Internet and phone
Asunción
Fibre to the home: Personal Hogar plans start from 400 Mbit/s for PYG 150k a month, about $26. For remote work the conditions are good.
SpecialistPersonal Hogar: home fiber rates · checked 28 Sep 2026
Rio de Janeiro
Fiber in Rio goes up to 1 Gbps at Oi and up to 10 Gbps at Claro, according to the operators' sites. Actual speed depends on the building and the plan.
SpecialistOi Fibra: 500 Mbit/s and 1 Gbit/s plans · checked 30 Sep 2026
Oi Fibra: 500 Mbps – 89.90 reais, gigabit – 159.90 when paying by card. The page was updated in April 2025, prices may be higher now.
SpecialistOi Fibra: 500 Mbit/s and 1 Gbit/s plans · checked 30 Sep 2026
Services
Asunción
Since December 2024 the ANDE tariff depends on the hour: at peak, 12 to 16 and 18 to 22, a kilowatt-hour costs PYG 669 instead of the previous 404; off-peak, 264.
SpecialistABC Color: new ANDE tariff scheme, peak-hour rates 65% higher · checked 28 Sep 2026
ESSAP water: a fixed charge of PYG 8,236 and 1,767 per m³ up to 15 m³. A bill for 15 m³ is about 35k ($6), and sewerage adds the same again. The tariff dates from 2018.
SpecialistDiario HOY: ESSAP tariff rises from September, table of old and new prices by category · checked 29 Sep 2026
Cooking is done on cylinder gas: a 10 kg cylinder costs PYG 110–125k ($19–21). About half of homes cook on gas, a third on electricity.
SpecialistLa Nación: gas price to rise by an average of 500 guaraníes per kg, the 10 kg cylinder to go up to 110,000 · checked 29 Sep 2026
Rio de Janeiro
The Light tariff for homes is 0.881 reais per kWh before taxes, but a court later raised the increase for homes from 6.4% to 14.6%, so the figure is probably out of date.
SpecialistEnergy calculator: Light home tariff from 15 March 2026 (based on ANEEL data) · checked 30 Sep 2026
Water in 115 districts of Rio is supplied by Águas do Rio, residential tariff 2: 6.52–7.52 reais per m³ in the first 15 m³, 98–113 reais for 15 m³. Tariff 1, which is cheaper, also exists. Without sewage.
OfficialÁguas do Rio: water tariffs from December 2025 (regions 1 and 4, zones A and B) · checked 30 Sep 2026
A 13 kg cylinder in Rio averages 99.63 reais (89.99–113.00) according to ANP for 20–26 September 2026. The Naturgy piped gas tariff was not confirmed.
OfficialANP: weekly price survey, 13 kg gas cylinder (GLP) by municipality, 20-26 September 2026 · checked 30 Sep 2026
Light benchmark for 300 kWh: about 264 reais before taxes, about 351 with taxes, at the 0.881 tariff. After the court decision of 29 May 2026 the bill is probably higher.
SpecialistEnergy calculator: Light tariff, a 300 kWh bill with ICMS (based on ANEEL data) · checked 30 Sep 2026

