Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Acuna and Sao Paulo

For one person, living is cheaper in Acuna: $1,128 a month against $1,235 in Sao Paulo, rent and utilities included – about $1,300 less a year. Higher rent and utilities in Sao Paulo outweigh lower spending on other living expenses.

55

Cost of Living Index in Acuna
Learn more

Acuna Living Index
60

Cost of Living Index in Sao Paulo
Learn more

Sao Paulo Living Index

Jump to prices

Acuna

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,128

/mo nomad

Sao Paulo

🇧🇷 Brazil

$1,235

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Acuna and in Sao Paulo

Real prices from locals and on-the-ground checks – rent, groceries, transit and the daily extras. Here's what a month in Acuna and in Sao Paulo actually costs, broken down by who's living it.

A single person spends $1,128 per month in Acuna vs $1,235 in Sao Paulo, rent included.

Acuna $1,128
Sao Paulo $1,235

A couple spends around $1,861 per month in Acuna vs $2,073 in Sao Paulo, rent included.

Acuna $1,861
Sao Paulo $2,073

A family of three spends $2,594 per month in Acuna vs $2,911 in Sao Paulo, rent included.

Acuna $2,594
Sao Paulo $2,911

Acuna is about 9% cheaper than Sao Paulo, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in transport.

Both Acuna and Sao Paulo are more affordable than the global median – Acuna 16% lower, Sao Paulo 9% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$12.22 MX$226

$8.81 R$44.68

38.71%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$40.26 MX$744

$49.37 R$250

-18.45%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$8.18 MX$151

$8.80 R$44.63

-7.05%

Cappuccino

$3.04 MX$56.1

$2.49 R$12.63

22.09%

Coke/Pepsi/Fanta/Sprite (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.26 MX$23.26

$1.42 R$7.19

-11.27%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.16 MX$21.43

$0.85 R$4.31

36.47%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.25 MX$41.51

$2.98 R$15.11

-24.50%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.51 MX$64.9

$4.34 R$22.02

-19.12%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.82 MX$33.55

$1.24 R$6.28

46.77%

White Bread (500g)

$2.58 MX$47.59

$1.91 R$9.66

35.08%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.73 MX$31.92

$1.43 R$7.25

20.98%

Eggs

$2.50 MX$46.18

$2.81 R$14.23

-11.03%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$7.88 MX$146

$12.74 R$64.6

-38.15%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$7.96 MX$147

$5.41 R$27.44

47.13%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$12.30 MX$227

$10.64 R$54.0

15.60%

Apples (1kg)

$3.08 MX$57.0

$2.75 R$13.95

12.00%

Banana (1kg)

$1.52 MX$28.10

$1.81 R$9.19

-16.02%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.95 MX$35.95

$1.63 R$8.27

19.63%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.74 MX$32.16

$2.00 R$10.16

-13.00%

Potato (1kg)

$1.95 MX$36.12

$1.40 R$7.10

39.29%

Onion (1kg)

$1.86 MX$34.34

$1.27 R$6.43

46.46%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.36 MX$25.17

$1.28 R$6.47

6.25%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.22 MX$22.50

$0.95 R$4.83

28.42%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.08 MX$75.3

$2.99 R$15.15

36.45%

Wine (Bottle)

$10.98 MX$203

$9.96 R$50.5

10.24%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.58 MX$29.24

$1.85 R$9.37

-14.59%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.32 MX$61.3

$2.54 R$12.90

30.71%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.59 MX$10.92

$1.09 R$5.50

-45.87%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$48.78 R$247

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$2.47 MX$45.72

$1.85 R$9.39

33.51%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$2.14 MX$39.55

$0.99 R$4.99

116.16%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$12.51 MX$231

$10.29 R$52.2

21.57%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.31 MX$24.23

$1.34 R$6.78

-2.24%

Midsize Hatchback 1.4l (Volkswagen Golf, Toyota Prius, Honda Civic, etc)

$22.6K MX$417.6K

$24.4K R$123.8K

-7.44%

Compact Sedan 1.6l (Toyota Corolla, Mazda3, Kia K4, Hyundai Elantra, etc)

$26.6K MX$491.6K

$33.9K R$172.1K

-21.62%

Utilities for 2 People in 2-bedroom Apartment (Heating, Electricity, Gas, Water, Garbage) (85m2)

$55.5 MX$1,025

$104 R$529

-46.90%

SIM Card Monthly Plan (Calls and 10GB+ Data)

$21.62 MX$399

$16.71 R$84.7

29.38%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$29.24 MX$540

$22.18 R$112

31.83%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$37.72 MX$697

$35.82 R$182

5.30%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$19.85 MX$367

$47.28 R$240

-58.02%

Cinema Ticket

$5.30 MX$97.9

$10.06 R$51.0

-47.32%

Preschool or Kindergarten, Full Day, Private, 1 Child (Monthly)

$242 MX$4,477

$579 R$2,936

-58.17%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$4,625 MX$85.5K

$17.1K R$86.6K

-72.93%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$55.0 MX$1,017

$65.7 R$333

-16.17%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$43.44 MX$803

$61.0 R$309

-28.82%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$111 MX$2,043

$100 R$509

10.14%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$93.6 MX$1,729

$92.1 R$467

1.59%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$543 MX$10.0K

$659 R$3,341

-17.60%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$367 MX$6,785

$428 R$2,170

-14.23%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$963 MX$17.8K

$1,515 R$7,678

-36.42%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$817 MX$15.1K

$1,026 R$5,201

-20.37%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,129 MX$39.4K

$2,773 R$14.1K

-23.22%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,319 MX$24.4K

$2,007 R$10.2K

-34.30%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$909 R$4,609

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

11.3

11.68

-3.25%

CityCost data is based on AI and user input – minor inaccuracies may occur.

Last update for Acuna: October 13, 2026

Last update for Sao Paulo: October 13, 2026

Monthly budget structure

Share of the monthly basket for one person, rent included.

Accommodation & Living

Acuna

$367 32.5%

Sao Paulo

$428 34.7% 16.6% $61

Groceries & Markets

Acuna

$268 23.8%

Sao Paulo

$244 19.8% 8.9% $24

Eating Out

Acuna

$187 16.5%

Sao Paulo

$159 12.9% 14.6% $27

Clothing & Footwear

Acuna

$136 12.1%

Sao Paulo

$144 11.6% 5.5% $7.5

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Acuna

$106 9.4%

Sao Paulo

$143 11.6% 34.8% $37

Sport & Entertainment

Acuna

$48 4.3%

Sao Paulo

$56 4.5% 15.7% $7.6

Getting Around

Acuna

$16 * 1.4%

Sao Paulo

$60 4.9% 286% $44

Categories marked with * are only partly priced – their share counts the items that do have prices.

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $543 in Acuna versus $659 in Sao Paulo. Rent is usually the largest line item in a monthly budget, so the gap here sets the tone for the overall comparison.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $40.00 in Acuna versus $49.00 in Sao Paulo. Groceries tell a different story – $268 in Acuna vs $244 in Sao Paulo – so Sao Paulo wins on supermarket bills even if dining out costs more.

Good to know

🇲🇽 Acuna

🇧🇷 Sao Paulo

🕒 Local time

23:58 11:58 PM

01:58 1:58 AM

2 h ahead of Acuna

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

160,225

11,451,999

💱 Currency

Mexican Peso MXN $

Brazilian Real BRL R$

📈 Exchange rate

100 MXN = 5.41 USD

100 MXN = 4.81 EUR

1 BRL = 0.197 USD

1 BRL = 0.175 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

BRL, USD, EUR to MXN – Mexican Peso Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇲🇽 Mexican Peso ($)

Mexican Peso exchange rates as of October 19, 2026: 1 USD = 18.48 MXN (100 MXN = 5.41 USD). 1 EUR = 20.77 MXN (100 MXN = 4.81 EUR).

Brazilian Real exchange rates as of October 19, 2026: 1 USD = 5.07 BRL (1 BRL = 0.197 USD). 1 EUR = 5.7 BRL (1 BRL = 0.175 EUR).

USD to MXN in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Acuna Sao Paulo 8,260 km ≈ 11 h nonstop flight

From you

Acuna
Sao Paulo

Distances are measured in a straight line. Your location is detected approximately.

City Median Internet Speeds Comparison (Updated April 2026)

The chart highlights the Precision Threshold for mobile and fixed broadband internet speeds, updated quarterly.

Digital Nomad Cost of Living Index

Acuna vs Sao Paulo: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Yes – Sao Paulo is pricier by about 9%, and outside of rent the gap shows up most in transport.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $1,693 per month in Acuna and $1,852 in Sao Paulo. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

Rent is clearly cheaper in Acuna, especially for central apartments. Housing is actually the single biggest factor behind the overall cost gap between these two cities.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $40.00 in Acuna and $49.00 in Sao Paulo. That's a good indicator of the overall restaurant and café pricing gap between the two cities.

Interestingly, groceries are about 10% cheaper in Sao Paulo – one category where the pricier city actually offers better value, probably thanks to stronger retail competition or local farming.

A $1,500 monthly budget goes further in Acuna, where all-in costs run around $1,128, than in Sao Paulo at $1,235. In Acuna it covers expenses comfortably, while in Sao Paulo it requires careful planning or may not stretch far enough.

Families tend to lean toward Acuna – lower housing and cheaper childcare make a real difference, especially on a single income or when paying for private education.

Both have safer and rougher neighborhoods, but overall safety is comparable to other large cities. Neighborhood choice matters more than the city-level comparison – central, well-trafficked areas feel secure in both.

If budget matters most, go with Acuna. If higher salaries, better infrastructure, or specific career opportunities are the priority, Sao Paulo makes more sense. Both are solid long-term options with distinct trade-offs.