Cost of living comparison
compared to
Sao Paulo vs. Rio De Janeiro Cost of Living Summary
Sao Paulo is 9.2% more expensive than Rio De Janeiro.
Sao Paulo vs. Rio De Janeiro Cost Breakdown
If you lived in Sao Paulo instead of Rio De Janeiro, you would:
pay 1.2% more for restaurants
|
Rio De Janeiro
|
Sao Paulo
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant |
$7.46
R$39.17
|
$7.83
R$41.12
|
|
|
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
|
$6.52
R$34.28
|
$7.45
R$39.16
|
|
| Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) |
$1.36
R$7.16
|
$1.22
R$6.41
|
|
| Bottle of water (11 fl. oz) |
$0.91
R$4.76
|
$0.87
R$4.57
|
|
Rio De Janeiro vs. Sao Paulo - Cost of restaurants
pay 14.4% more for groceries
|
Rio De Janeiro
|
Sao Paulo
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Bread
1 loaf
|
$1.81
R$9.50
|
$1.91
R$10.03
|
|
| Local cheese (8 oz) |
$4.37
R$22.94
|
$5.88
R$30.87
|
|
| Milk (1 gallon) |
$4.34
R$22.79
|
$3.98
R$20.89
|
|
|
Eggs
1 dozen
|
$2.06
R$10.84
|
$2.66
R$13.99
|
|
| Boneless chicken breast (1 lb) |
$1.80
R$9.48
|
$2.09
R$10.97
|
|
| Apples (1 lb) |
$1.11
R$5.84
|
$1.28
R$6.75
|
|
| Bananas (1 lb) |
$0.74
R$3.91
|
$0.85
R$4.49
|
|
| Oranges (1 lb) |
$0.72
R$3.78
|
$0.74
R$3.91
|
|
| Tomatoes (1 lb) |
$0.70
R$3.66
|
$0.88
R$4.64
|
|
| Potatoes (1 lb) |
$0.60
R$3.17
|
$0.66
R$3.48
|
|
| Onions (1 lb) |
$0.53
R$2.78
|
$0.59
R$3.09
|
|
Rio De Janeiro vs. Sao Paulo - Cost of groceries
pay 7.2% more for transportation
|
Rio De Janeiro
|
Sao Paulo
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Gasoline (1 gallon) |
$4.27
R$22.46
|
$4.28
R$22.51
|
|
| Monthly public transit pass |
$40.48
R$212.71
|
$46.58
R$244.76
|
|
| New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) |
$20,595.53
R$108K
|
$22,360.53
R$117K
|
|
| Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles) |
$7.10
R$37.31
|
$7.45
R$39.16
|
|
Rio De Janeiro vs. Sao Paulo - Cost of transportation
pay 4.5% more for housing
|
Rio De Janeiro
|
Sao Paulo
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
|
$19.70
R$103.48
|
$20.82
R$109.38
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area |
$496.63
R$2,609.32
|
$671.45
R$3,527.88
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment outside city center |
$344.11
R$1,807.99
|
$417.23
R$2,192.15
|
|
|
Utilities for two
(700 sq ft apartment)
including electric, gas, water, heating
|
$82.68
R$434.40
|
$46.29
R$243.22
|
|
Rio De Janeiro vs. Sao Paulo - Cost of housing
pay 7.6% more for childcare
|
Rio De Janeiro
|
Sao Paulo
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Private preschool for 1 child, monthly |
$544.48
R$2,860.76
|
$484.48
R$2,545.49
|
|
| Middle school for 1 child, two semesters |
$12,471.41
R$65,525.92
|
$15,731.99
R$82,657.31
|
|
Rio De Janeiro vs. Sao Paulo - Cost of childcare
pay 16.5% more for entertainment and sports
|
Rio De Janeiro
|
Sao Paulo
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Domestic/local beer (1 pint) |
$1.86
R$9.79
|
$2.24
R$11.75
|
|
| Cappuccino in mid-range area |
$2.07
R$10.87
|
$2.13
R$11.17
|
|
|
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
|
$2.05
R$10.77
|
$2.63
R$13.83
|
|
| Monthly membership at local gym |
$28.14
R$147.83
|
$31.73
R$166.69
|
|
| Movie ticket to theater/cinema |
$7.08
R$37.21
|
$8.39
R$44.06
|
|
Rio De Janeiro vs. Sao Paulo - Cost of entertainment and sports
pay 12.9% more for clothing
|
Rio De Janeiro
|
Sao Paulo
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
|
$46.68
R$245.28
|
$54.85
R$288.21
|
|
|
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
|
$43.02
R$226.04
|
$45.57
R$239.41
|
|
|
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
|
$78.54
R$412.65
|
$87.31
R$458.72
|
|
| Men's business shoes (leather) |
$63.36
R$332.92
|
$74.26
R$390.16
|
|
Rio De Janeiro vs. Sao Paulo - Cost of clothing
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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