Cost of living comparison

South Africa

compared to

Brazil

Sao Paulo vs. Johannesburg Cost of Living Summary

Sao Paulo is 0.1% cheaper than Johannesburg.

Restaurants: pay 4.2% less in Sao Paulo
Groceries: pay 2.0% more in Sao Paulo
Transportation: pay 26.7% less in Sao Paulo
Housing: pay 3.6% less in Sao Paulo
Childcare: pay 2.6 times more in Sao Paulo
Entertainment and Sports: pay 11.7% more in Sao Paulo
Clothing: pay 4.8% more in Sao Paulo

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

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Sao Paulo vs. Johannesburg Cost Breakdown

If you lived in Sao Paulo instead of Johannesburg, you would:

Display currency: USD

pay 4.2% less for restaurants

	Johannesburg	Sao Paulo
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$12.02 ZAR198.53	$8.96 R$44.68	-25.5%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$7.21 ZAR119.12	$8.96 R$44.68	+24.2%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$1.20 ZAR19.78	$1.40 R$6.99	+17.0%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$0.89 ZAR14.72	$0.87 R$4.32	-2.7%
Average			-4.2%

Johannesburg vs. Sao Paulo - Cost of restaurants

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pay 2.0% more for groceries

	Johannesburg	Sao Paulo
Bread 1 loaf	$1.25 ZAR20.60	$1.85 R$9.25	+48.8%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$4.31 ZAR71.21	$6.20 R$30.95	+44.0%
Milk (1 gallon)	$5.00 ZAR82.66	$4.62 R$23.06	-7.6%
Eggs 1 dozen	$2.67 ZAR44.17	$2.80 R$13.97	+4.8%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$2.50 ZAR41.31	$2.39 R$11.92	-4.4%
Apples (1 lb)	$0.93 ZAR15.41	$1.26 R$6.27	+34.7%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.83 ZAR13.73	$0.82 R$4.10	-1.0%
Oranges (1 lb)	$0.83 ZAR13.65	$0.72 R$3.57	-13.3%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$0.94 ZAR15.52	$0.87 R$4.36	-6.9%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$0.76 ZAR12.59	$0.65 R$3.22	-15.3%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.84 ZAR13.83	$0.57 R$2.86	-31.4%
Average			+2.0%

Johannesburg vs. Sao Paulo - Cost of groceries

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pay 26.7% less for transportation

	Johannesburg	Sao Paulo
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$5.77 ZAR95.33	$4.91 R$24.47	-15.0%
Monthly public transit pass	$90.13 ZAR1,488.99	$48.37 R$241.23	-46.3%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$35,391.94 ZAR585K	$23,890.58 R$119K	-32.5%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$8.05 ZAR133.02	$9.76 R$48.65	+21.2%
Average			-26.7%

Johannesburg vs. Sao Paulo - Cost of transportation

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pay 3.6% less for housing

	Johannesburg	Sao Paulo
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$35.90 ZAR593.03	$22.16 R$110.51	-38.3%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$498.84 ZAR8,240.91	$656.54 R$3,274.32	+31.6%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$425.42 ZAR7,028.03	$419.66 R$2,092.93	-1.4%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$174.98 ZAR2,890.63	$80.32 R$400.55	-54.1%
Average			-3.6%

Johannesburg vs. Sao Paulo - Cost of housing

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pay 2.6 times more for childcare

	Johannesburg	Sao Paulo
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$242.74 ZAR4,010.09	$530.90 R$2,647.74	+118.7%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$5,468.16 ZAR90,334.24	$16,300.72 R$81,295.79	+198.1%
Average			+155.3%

Johannesburg vs. Sao Paulo - Cost of childcare

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pay 11.7% more for entertainment and sports

	Johannesburg	Sao Paulo
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$2.25 ZAR37.22	$2.99 R$14.89	+32.5%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$2.44 ZAR40.34	$2.56 R$12.75	+4.7%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$3.30 ZAR54.60	$2.99 R$14.89	-9.6%
Monthly membership at local gym	$36.60 ZAR604.68	$35.87 R$178.88	-2.0%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$7.81 ZAR129.05	$9.95 R$49.65	+27.4%
Average			+11.7%

Johannesburg vs. Sao Paulo - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 4.8% more for clothing

	Johannesburg	Sao Paulo
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$57.63 ZAR952.05	$65.57 R$327.02	+13.8%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$45.77 ZAR756.18	$61.53 R$306.86	+34.4%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$108.45 ZAR1,791.55	$99.31 R$495.29	-8.4%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$105.86 ZAR1,748.89	$91.35 R$455.57	-13.7%
Average			+4.8%

Johannesburg vs. Sao Paulo - Cost of clothing

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We average the price of thousands of data points entered by users across the world. Sources: MyLifeElsewhere's cost-of-living dataset (prices updated October 2026). How we calculate this

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