Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Aracaju and Chengdu

For one person, living costs are similar in Aracaju and in Chengdu: $746 and $741 a month, rent and utilities included.

36

Cost of Living Index in Aracaju
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Aracaju Living Index
36

Cost of Living Index in Chengdu
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Chengdu Living Index

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Aracaju

🇧🇷 Brazil

$746

/mo nomad

Chengdu

🇨🇳 China

$741

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Aracaju and in Chengdu

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $746 in Aracaju versus $741 in Chengdu.

Aracaju $746
Chengdu $741

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,168 in Aracaju versus $1,204 in Chengdu.

Aracaju $1,168
Chengdu $1,204

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $1,590 in Aracaju versus $1,667 in Chengdu.

Aracaju $1,590
Chengdu $1,667

Living in Aracaju is roughly 1% more expensive than in Chengdu, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in clothing.

Both cities sit below the global median: Aracaju 45% lower, Chengdu 45% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$4.94 R$25.07

$2.80 ¥18.72

76.43%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$24.53 R$124

$22.37 ¥150

9.66%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$6.17 R$31.28

$4.91 ¥32.85

25.66%

Cappuccino

$1.74 R$8.81

$2.88 ¥19.28

-39.58%

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

$1.18 R$5.96

$0.50 ¥3.37

136.00%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.67 R$3.39

$0.28 ¥1.88

139.29%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$1.95 R$9.88

$1.53 ¥10.21

27.45%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.82 R$14.32

$2.19 ¥14.61

28.77%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.05 R$5.32

$1.90 ¥12.73

-44.74%

White Bread (500g)

$1.53 R$7.77

$1.50 ¥10.02

2.00%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.21 R$6.15

$0.99 ¥6.62

22.22%

Eggs

$1.68 R$8.53

$1.56 ¥10.42

7.69%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$7.70 R$39.05

$14.54 ¥97.2

-47.04%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$3.79 R$19.20

$3.66 ¥24.48

3.55%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$7.42 R$37.62

$11.19 ¥74.8

-33.69%

Apples (1kg)

$2.15 R$10.89

$1.85 ¥12.40

16.22%

Banana (1kg)

$1.31 R$6.66

$1.37 ¥9.19

-4.38%

Oranges (1kg)

$0.73 R$3.69

$1.09 ¥7.28

-33.03%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.02 R$5.18

$1.16 ¥7.74

-12.07%

Potato (1kg)

$0.97 R$4.94

$0.70 ¥4.70

38.57%

Onion (1kg)

$0.91 R$4.63

$0.72 ¥4.84

26.39%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.51 R$2.59

$0.62 ¥4.16

-17.74%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.76 R$3.84

$0.54 ¥3.64

40.74%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$2.34 R$11.87

$3.72 ¥24.89

-37.10%

Wine (Bottle)

$6.12 R$31.02

$4.58 ¥30.61

33.62%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.28 R$6.51

$0.82 ¥5.49

56.10%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.03 R$10.31

$1.48 ¥9.86

37.16%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.94 R$4.75

$0.43 ¥2.88

118.60%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$42.85 R$217

$24.50 ¥164

74.90%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.68 R$8.53

$1.30 ¥8.71

29.23%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.22 R$6.16

$0.29 ¥1.94

320.69%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$6.92 R$35.06

$4.46 ¥29.85

55.16%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.27 R$6.43

$1.32 ¥8.81

-3.79%

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

$23.4K R$118.7K

$19.6K ¥130.9K

19.61%

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

$34.2K R$173.1K

$17.4K ¥116.1K

96.78%

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

$96.5 R$489

$47.19 ¥316

104.56%

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

$9.68 R$49.05

$9.21 ¥61.6

5.10%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$17.43 R$88.4

$12.45 ¥83.2

40.00%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$22.93 R$116

$26.80 ¥179

-14.44%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$27.44 R$139

$11.39 ¥76.2

140.91%

Cinema Ticket

$6.45 R$32.69

$6.08 ¥40.62

6.09%

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

$188 R$952

$379 ¥2,534

-50.44%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$5,306 R$26.9K

$14.8K ¥99.0K

-64.17%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$58.9 R$298

$25.28 ¥169

132.91%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$35.28 R$179

$27.77 ¥186

27.04%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$87.6 R$444

$56.9 ¥381

53.87%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$82.6 R$419

$52.6 ¥352

57.00%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$313 R$1,586

$464 ¥3,103

-32.58%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$145 R$734

$248 ¥1,659

-41.67%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$639 R$3,238

$813 ¥5,436

-21.45%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$277 R$1,404

$533 ¥3,565

-48.07%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$1,301 R$6,593

$3,762 ¥25.2K

-65.43%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$903 R$4,578

$1,902 ¥12.7K

-52.53%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$453 R$2,298

$1,252 ¥8,368

-63.78%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

3.38

195.86%

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

Last update for Aracaju: October 10, 2026

Last update for Chengdu: October 12, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Groceries & Markets

Aracaju

$167 22.4%

Chengdu

$196 26.5% 17.5% $29

Accommodation & Living

Aracaju

$145 19.4%

Chengdu

$248 33.5% 71.5% $103

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Aracaju

$124 16.6%

Chengdu

$69 9.3% 44.3% $55

Clothing & Footwear

Aracaju

$119 15.9%

Chengdu

$73 9.9% 38.5% $46

Eating Out

Aracaju

$102 13.6%

Chengdu

$87 11.7% 14.5% $15

Getting Around

Aracaju

$54 7.3%

Chengdu

$29 3.9% 46.7% $25

Sport & Entertainment

Aracaju

$36 4.8%

Chengdu

$39 5.3% 8.7% $3.1

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $313 in Aracaju and $464 in Chengdu. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Chengdu pays 176% more on average while also being the cheaper of the two. The combined effect is a noticeably stronger local purchasing power.

Dining out: $25.00 in Aracaju vs $22.00 in Chengdu. Groceries flip the comparison at $167 vs $196, with Aracaju cheaper for home cooking.

Good to know

🇧🇷 Aracaju

🇨🇳 Chengdu

🕒 Local time

09:35 9:35 AM

20:35 8:35 PM

11 h ahead of Aracaju

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

602,757

20,937,757

💱 Currency

Brazilian Real BRL R$

Chinese Yuan CNY ¥

📈 Exchange rate

1 BRL = 0.197 USD

1 BRL = 0.175 EUR

1 CNY = 0.15 USD

1 CNY = 0.133 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

CNY, USD, EUR to BRL – Brazilian Real Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇧🇷 Brazilian Real (R$)

Brazilian Real exchange rates as of October 18, 2026: 1 USD = 5.07 BRL (1 BRL = 0.197 USD). 1 EUR = 5.7 BRL (1 BRL = 0.175 EUR).

Chinese Yuan exchange rates as of October 18, 2026: 1 USD = 6.69 CNY (1 CNY = 0.15 USD). 1 EUR = 7.52 CNY (1 CNY = 0.133 EUR).

USD to BRL in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Aracaju Chengdu 15,450 km ≈ 20 h nonstop flight

From you

Aracaju
Chengdu

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

Aracaju vs Chengdu: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Aracaju and Chengdu differ by about 1% in total monthly costs ($746 vs $741 including rent). Chengdu is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

On paper, salaries run 176% lower in Chengdu. That's worth factoring in alongside costs, though remote workers earning in a stronger currency may not notice the difference at all.

Rent for a central apartment: $313 in Aracaju versus $464 in Chengdu. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $188 in Aracaju versus $379 in Chengdu. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Shoppers in Aracaju pay roughly 17% less for everyday groceries. It's an unusual reversal that partly offsets higher costs elsewhere.

Either city works on $1,200 a month, though Chengdu gives you more room to save. At this income level, the choice is more about lifestyle than financial pressure.

Both cities offer a good standard of living with different trade-offs. Neither is objectively better – the right pick depends on what matters most: affordability, career, cultural scene, or climate.

Expats usually find Chengdu gentler on the wallet – expenses run 1% less than in Aracaju. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.