Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Cartago and Sao Paulo

For one person, living costs are similar in Cartago and in Sao Paulo: $1,281 and $1,235 a month, rent and utilities included.

60

Cost of Living Index in Cartago
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Cartago Living Index
60

Cost of Living Index in Sao Paulo
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Sao Paulo Living Index

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Cartago

🇨🇴 Colombia

$1,281

/mo nomad

Sao Paulo

🇧🇷 Brazil

$1,235

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Cartago 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 Cartago and in Sao Paulo actually costs, broken down by who's living it.

A single person spends $1,281 per month in Cartago vs $1,235 in Sao Paulo, rent included.

Cartago $1,281
Sao Paulo $1,235

A couple spends around $1,972 per month in Cartago vs $2,073 in Sao Paulo, rent included.

Cartago $1,972
Sao Paulo $2,073

A family of three spends $2,663 per month in Cartago vs $2,911 in Sao Paulo, rent included.

Cartago $2,663
Sao Paulo $2,911

Cartago costs about 4% more than Sao Paulo, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in transport.

Both Cartago and Sao Paulo are more affordable than the global median – Cartago 5% lower, Sao Paulo 9% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$7.58 COP 24.1K

$8.81 R$44.49

-13.96%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$37.20 COP 118.3K

$49.37 R$249

-24.65%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$8.47 COP 26.9K

$8.80 R$44.44

-3.75%

Cappuccino

$1.54 COP 4,884

$2.49 R$12.57

-38.15%

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

$1.28 COP 4,063

$1.42 R$7.16

-9.86%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.83 COP 2,634

$0.85 R$4.29

-2.35%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.10 COP 9,869

$2.98 R$15.04

4.03%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.66 COP 11.7K

$4.34 R$21.92

-15.67%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.60 COP 5,088

$1.24 R$6.25

29.03%

White Bread (500g)

$1.88 COP 5,973

$1.91 R$9.62

-1.57%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.49 COP 4,751

$1.43 R$7.22

4.20%

Eggs

$2.93 COP 9,334

$2.81 R$14.17

4.27%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$6.58 COP 20.9K

$12.74 R$64.3

-48.35%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$7.11 COP 22.6K

$5.41 R$27.32

31.42%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$9.93 COP 31.6K

$10.64 R$53.7

-6.67%

Apples (1kg)

$3.57 COP 11.4K

$2.75 R$13.89

29.82%

Banana (1kg)

$1.32 COP 4,200

$1.81 R$9.15

-27.07%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.74 COP 5,530

$1.63 R$8.23

6.75%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.63 COP 5,184

$2.00 R$10.11

-18.50%

Potato (1kg)

$1.42 COP 4,522

$1.40 R$7.07

1.43%

Onion (1kg)

$1.50 COP 4,758

$1.27 R$6.41

18.11%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.08 COP 3,443

$1.28 R$6.44

-15.62%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.03 COP 3,261

$0.95 R$4.81

8.42%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$3.69 COP 11.7K

$2.99 R$15.08

23.41%

Wine (Bottle)

$13.12 COP 41.7K

$9.96 R$50.3

31.73%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.50 COP 4,756

$1.85 R$9.33

-18.92%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.45 COP 7,794

$2.54 R$12.84

-3.54%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.02 COP 3,244

$1.09 R$5.48

-6.42%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$48.78 R$246

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$0.79 COP 2,524

$1.85 R$9.35

-57.30%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$2.27 COP 7,230

$0.99 R$4.97

129.29%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$8.40 COP 26.7K

$10.29 R$51.9

-18.37%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.32 COP 4,211

$1.34 R$6.75

-1.49%

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

$28.0K COP 89.1M

$24.4K R$123.2K

14.81%

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

$34.6K COP 110.2M

$33.9K R$171.3K

2.06%

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

$110 COP 349.3K

$104 R$527

5.16%

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

$13.23 COP 42.1K

$16.71 R$84.4

-20.83%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$30.26 COP 96.2K

$22.18 R$112

36.43%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$42.32 COP 134.6K

$35.82 R$181

18.15%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$47.28 R$239

Cinema Ticket

$8.24 COP 26.2K

$10.06 R$50.8

-18.09%

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

$701 COP 2.2M

$579 R$2,924

20.93%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$6,430 COP 20.5M

$17.1K R$86.2K

-62.36%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$77.8 COP 247.3K

$65.7 R$331

18.43%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$55.1 COP 175.4K

$61.0 R$308

-9.65%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$127 COP 403.0K

$100 R$507

26.22%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$111 COP 351.7K

$92.1 R$465

20.08%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$645 COP 2.1M

$659 R$3,327

-2.20%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$509 COP 1.6M

$428 R$2,161

18.88%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,041 COP 3.3M

$1,515 R$7,645

-31.25%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$970 COP 3.1M

$1,026 R$5,178

-5.47%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$1,999 COP 6.4M

$2,773 R$14.0K

-27.93%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,803 COP 5.7M

$2,007 R$10.1K

-10.16%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$909 R$4,589

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

11.58

11.68

-0.86%

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

Last update for Cartago: October 11, 2026

Last update for Sao Paulo: October 13, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Cartago

$509 39.7%

Sao Paulo

$428 34.7% 15.9% $81

Groceries & Markets

Cartago

$241 18.8%

Sao Paulo

$244 19.8% 1.4% $3.3

Clothing & Footwear

Cartago

$167 13%

Sao Paulo

$144 11.6% 13.8% $23

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Cartago

$153 12%

Sao Paulo

$143 11.6% 6.5% $10

Eating Out

Cartago

$136 10.6%

Sao Paulo

$159 12.9% 17.5% $24

Sport & Entertainment

Cartago

$59 4.6%

Sao Paulo

$56 4.5% 4.9% $2.9

Getting Around

Cartago

$16 * 1.3%

Sao Paulo

$60 4.9% 269% $44

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

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $645 in Cartago 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 $37.00 in Cartago versus $49.00 in Sao Paulo. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $241 vs $244 – making Cartago the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇨🇴 Cartago

🇧🇷 Sao Paulo

🕒 Local time

03:59 3:59 AM

05:59 5:59 AM

2 h ahead of Cartago

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

135,365

11,451,999

💱 Currency

Colombian Peso COP $

Brazilian Real BRL R$

📈 Exchange rate

10,000 COP = 3.14 USD

10,000 COP = 2.81 EUR

1 BRL = 0.198 USD

1 BRL = 0.177 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

BRL, USD, EUR to COP – Colombian Peso Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇨🇴 Colombian Peso ($)

Colombian Peso exchange rates as of October 15, 2026: 1 USD = 3,181 COP (10,000 COP = 3.14 USD). 1 EUR = 3,562 COP (10,000 COP = 2.81 EUR).

Brazilian Real exchange rates as of October 15, 2026: 1 USD = 5.05 BRL (1 BRL = 0.198 USD). 1 EUR = 5.65 BRL (1 BRL = 0.177 EUR).

USD to COP in detail →

On the map

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Highest

Between locations

Cartago Sao Paulo 4,470 km ≈ 6 h nonstop flight

From you

Cartago
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

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

Yes – Cartago is pricier by about 4%, and outside of rent the gap shows up most in transport.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $1,921 per month in Cartago 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 Sao Paulo, especially for central apartments. Housing is actually the single biggest factor behind the overall cost gap between these two cities.

Monthly expenses with rent come to $1,281 in Cartago and $1,235 in Sao Paulo. That's a gap of about 4%.

Kindergarten costs $701 per month in Cartago and $579 in Sao Paulo. For families with young kids, this one expense can tip the scales when choosing between the two cities.

A $1,500 monthly budget goes further in Sao Paulo, where all-in costs run around $1,235, than in Cartago at $1,281. In Sao Paulo it covers expenses comfortably, while in Cartago it requires careful planning or may not stretch far enough.

Families tend to lean toward Sao Paulo – 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 Sao Paulo. If higher salaries, better infrastructure, or specific career opportunities are the priority, Cartago makes more sense. Both are solid long-term options with distinct trade-offs.