Cost of living comparison

compared to

Sao Carlos vs. Beijing Cost of Living Summary

Sao Carlos is 4.9% cheaper than Beijing.

Restaurants: pay 75.3% more in Sao Carlos
Groceries: pay 5.4% more in Sao Carlos
Transportation: pay 18.3% more in Sao Carlos
Housing: pay 3.8% less in Sao Carlos
Childcare: pay 75.0% less in Sao Carlos
Entertainment and Sports: pay 27.6% less in Sao Carlos
Clothing: pay 26.9% less in Sao Carlos

The cost of restaurants, transportation, and groceries in Sao Carlos are more expensive than in Beijing. Expenses including childcare, entertainment and sports, clothing, and housing are lower in Sao Carlos. Notably, restaurants is significantly more expensive in Sao Carlos.

Sao Carlos vs. Beijing Cost Breakdown

If you lived in Sao Carlos instead of Beijing, you would:

Display currency: USD

pay 75.3% more for restaurants

	Beijing	Sao Carlos
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$4.21 CN¥29.74	$4.66 R$25.34	+10.8%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$4.91 CN¥34.69	$5.96 R$32.43	+21.5%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$0.48 CN¥3.39	$1.16 R$6.30	+141.4%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$0.31 CN¥2.17	$0.70 R$3.80	+127.6%
Average			+75.3%

Beijing vs. Sao Carlos - Cost of restaurants

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pay 5.4% more for groceries

	Beijing	Sao Carlos
Bread 1 loaf	$1.71 CN¥12.07	$1.54 R$8.36	-9.9%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$7.47 CN¥52.80	$5.12 R$27.87	-31.4%
Milk (1 gallon)	$6.64 CN¥46.96	$3.98 R$21.62	-40.1%
Eggs 1 dozen	$1.78 CN¥12.56	$2.30 R$12.53	+29.6%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$1.53 CN¥10.83	$1.87 R$10.17	+22.1%
Apples (1 lb)	$0.98 CN¥6.95	$0.82 R$4.49	-16.1%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.77 CN¥5.44	$0.51 R$2.76	-34.1%
Oranges (1 lb)	$0.80 CN¥5.66	$0.71 R$3.85	-11.6%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$0.60 CN¥4.26	$0.73 R$3.98	+21.6%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$0.35 CN¥2.46	$0.65 R$3.52	+85.9%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.41 CN¥2.92	$0.59 R$3.22	+43.4%
Average			+5.4%

Beijing vs. Sao Carlos - Cost of groceries

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pay 18.3% more for transportation

	Beijing	Sao Carlos
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$4.21 CN¥29.77	$3.98 R$21.65	-5.5%
Monthly public transit pass	$31.54 CN¥223.02	$22.36 R$121.63	-29.1%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$18,225.66 CN¥128,857.25	$21,615.18 R$117,573.58	+18.6%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$4.63 CN¥32.71	$8.76 R$47.64	+89.3%
Average			+18.3%

Beijing vs. Sao Carlos - Cost of transportation

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pay 3.8% less for housing

	Beijing	Sao Carlos
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$12.93 CN¥91.43	$20.65 R$112.30	+59.7%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$935.23 CN¥6,612.19	$232.92 R$1,266.96	-75.1%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$504.41 CN¥3,566.20	$198.76 R$1,081.14	-60.6%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$39.27 CN¥277.61	$63.17 R$343.62	+60.9%
Average			-3.8%

Beijing vs. Sao Carlos - Cost of housing

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pay 75.0% less for childcare

	Beijing	Sao Carlos
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$710.76 CN¥5,025.17	$270.19 R$1,469.67	-62.0%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$23,242.73 CN¥164,328.40	$2,795.07 R$15,203.48	-88.0%
Average			-75.0%

Beijing vs. Sao Carlos - Cost of childcare

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pay 27.6% less for entertainment and sports

	Beijing	Sao Carlos
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$1.12 CN¥7.93	$1.49 R$8.11	+32.9%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$2.90 CN¥20.52	$2.07 R$11.23	-28.8%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$4.21 CN¥29.74	$2.24 R$12.16	-46.8%
Monthly membership at local gym	$57.84 CN¥408.91	$28.42 R$154.57	-50.9%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$8.41 CN¥59.47	$4.66 R$25.34	-44.6%
Average			-27.6%

Beijing vs. Sao Carlos - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 26.9% less for clothing

	Beijing	Sao Carlos
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$62.30 CN¥440.46	$35.40 R$192.58	-43.2%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$36.37 CN¥257.16	$33.54 R$182.44	-7.8%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$81.74 CN¥577.91	$81.19 R$441.62	-0.7%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$105.53 CN¥746.11	$46.58 R$253.39	-55.9%
Average			-26.9%

Beijing vs. Sao Carlos - Cost of clothing

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The statistics used to build this comparison are calculated using data from users just like you. We average the price of thousands of data points entered by users across the world. Learn more about our data sources. Page last updated: December 2025

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