Cost of living comparison

compared to

Sao Tome and Principe vs. Ottawa Cost of Living Summary

Sao Tome and Principe is 10.8% cheaper than Ottawa.

Restaurants: pay 9.8% more in Sao Tome and Principe
Groceries: pay 6.3% more in Sao Tome and Principe
Transportation: pay 58.0% more in Sao Tome and Principe
Housing: pay 37.3% less in Sao Tome and Principe
Entertainment and Sports: pay 22.4% less in Sao Tome and Principe
Clothing: pay 79.4% less in Sao Tome and Principe

The cost of transportation, restaurants, and groceries in Sao Tome and Principe are more expensive than in Ottawa. Expenses including clothing, housing, and entertainment and sports are lower in Sao Tome and Principe.

Sao Tome and Principe vs. Ottawa Cost Breakdown

If you lived in Sao Tome and Principe instead of Ottawa, you would:

Display currency: USD

pay 9.8% more for restaurants

	Ottawa	Sao Tome and Principe
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$17.99 CA$24.97	$29.20 STD651K	+62.3%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$11.01 CA$15.28	$11.68 STD260K	+6.1%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$2.00 CA$2.78	$1.92 STD42,768	-4.1%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$1.56 CA$2.16	$1.17 STD26,025	-25.0%
Average			+9.8%

Ottawa vs. Sao Tome and Principe - Cost of restaurants

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pay 6.3% more for groceries

	Ottawa	Sao Tome and Principe
Bread 1 loaf	$2.73 CA$3.79	$1.08 STD24,088	-60.4%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$5.85 CA$8.12	$10.22 STD228K	+74.7%
Milk (1 gallon)	$8.65 CA$12.02	$5.97 STD133K	-31.0%
Eggs 1 dozen	$3.52 CA$4.88	$5.09 STD114K	+44.8%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$5.74 CA$7.97	$9.27 STD207K	+61.5%
Apples (1 lb)	$1.91 CA$2.65	$2.12 STD47,219	+11.0%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.60 CA$0.83	$0.53 STD11,805	-11.7%
Oranges (1 lb)	$1.63 CA$2.26	$1.85 STD41,316	+13.8%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$1.67 CA$2.31	$1.59 STD35,414	-4.6%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$1.11 CA$1.54	$1.19 STD26,561	+7.7%
Onions (1 lb)	$1.46 CA$2.03	$0.93 STD20,658	-36.5%
Average			+6.3%

Ottawa vs. Sao Tome and Principe - Cost of groceries

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pay 58.0% more for transportation

	Ottawa	Sao Tome and Principe
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$4.05 CA$5.62	$6.40 STD143K	+58.0%
Monthly public transit pass	$97.12 CA$134.86	??
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$24,444.83 CA$33,943.58	??
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$14.82 CA$20.58	??
Average			+58.0%

Ottawa vs. Sao Tome and Principe - Cost of transportation

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pay 37.3% less for housing

	Ottawa	Sao Tome and Principe
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$49.93 CA$69.33	$72.42 STD2M	+45.0%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$1,452.55 CA$2,016.99	$350.40 STD8M	-75.9%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$1,228.71 CA$1,706.16	$233.60 STD5M	-81.0%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$118.93 CA$165.14	??
Average			-37.3%

Ottawa vs. Sao Tome and Principe - Cost of housing

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pay (unknown) more for childcare

	Ottawa	Sao Tome and Principe
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$788.18 CA$1,094.45	??
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$15,753.32 CA$21,874.73	??

Ottawa vs. Sao Tome and Principe - Cost of childcare

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pay 22.4% less for entertainment and sports

	Ottawa	Sao Tome and Principe
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$5.76 CA$7.99	$1.67 STD37,216	-71.0%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$3.74 CA$5.20	$2.34 STD52,050	-37.6%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$12.95 CA$17.98	$2.34 STD52,050	-82.0%
Monthly membership at local gym	$44.60 CA$61.94	$37.38 STD833K	-16.2%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$10.79 CA$14.98	$21.02 STD468K	+94.8%
Average			-22.4%

Ottawa vs. Sao Tome and Principe - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 79.4% less for clothing

	Ottawa	Sao Tome and Principe
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$52.82 CA$73.35	??
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$38.91 CA$54.04	??
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$87.10 CA$120.94	??
Men's business shoes (leather)	$92.91 CA$129.01	$19.16 STD427K	-79.4%
Average			-79.4%

Ottawa vs. Sao Tome and Principe - 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: April 2026

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