Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Cartago and Sao Paulo

For one person, living is cheaper in Sao Paulo: $1,235 a month against $1,713 in Cartago, rent and utilities included – about $5,700 less a year. Rent and utilities account for about half of the difference.

80

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

🇨🇷 Costa Rica

$1,713

/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.

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,713 in Cartago versus $1,235 in Sao Paulo.

Cartago $1,713
Sao Paulo $1,235

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,362 in Cartago versus $2,073 in Sao Paulo.

Cartago $2,362
Sao Paulo $2,073

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,011 in Cartago versus $2,911 in Sao Paulo.

Cartago $3,011
Sao Paulo $2,911

Living in Cartago is roughly 39% more expensive than in Sao Paulo, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

The two cities straddle the global median: Cartago is 27% above, Sao Paulo is 9% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$8.64 ₡3,882

$8.81 R$44.49

-1.93%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$34.53 ₡15.5K

$49.37 R$249

-30.06%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$9.92 ₡4,458

$8.80 R$44.44

12.73%

Cappuccino

$4.54 ₡2,040

$2.49 R$12.57

82.33%

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

$2.13 ₡957

$1.42 R$7.16

50.00%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.36 ₡611

$0.85 R$4.29

60.00%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.15 ₡966

$2.98 R$15.04

-27.85%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.06 ₡1,823

$4.34 R$21.92

-6.45%

Milk (1 liter)

$2.39 ₡1,075

$1.24 R$6.25

92.74%

White Bread (500g)

$2.37 ₡1,067

$1.91 R$9.62

24.08%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.47 ₡1,112

$1.43 R$7.22

72.73%

Eggs

$3.57 ₡1,604

$2.81 R$14.17

27.05%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$8.61 ₡3,868

$12.74 R$64.3

-32.42%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$10.38 ₡4,664

$5.41 R$27.32

91.87%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$13.94 ₡6,265

$10.64 R$53.7

31.02%

Apples (1kg)

$5.24 ₡2,356

$2.75 R$13.89

90.55%

Banana (1kg)

$1.29 ₡580

$1.81 R$9.15

-28.73%

Oranges (1kg)

$4.49 ₡2,018

$1.63 R$8.23

175.46%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.91 ₡1,309

$2.00 R$10.11

45.50%

Potato (1kg)

$2.24 ₡1,006

$1.40 R$7.07

60.00%

Onion (1kg)

$2.17 ₡973

$1.27 R$6.41

70.87%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.09 ₡488

$1.28 R$6.44

-14.84%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$2.18 ₡979

$0.95 R$4.81

129.47%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$6.07 ₡2,728

$2.99 R$15.08

103.01%

Wine (Bottle)

$15.16 ₡6,810

$9.96 R$50.3

52.21%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.89 ₡1,298

$1.85 R$9.33

56.22%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.03 ₡914

$2.54 R$12.84

-20.08%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.37 ₡614

$1.09 R$5.48

25.69%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$73.2 ₡32.9K

$48.78 R$246

50.04%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.33 ₡600

$1.85 R$9.35

-28.11%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.56 ₡703

$0.99 R$4.97

57.58%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$8.95 ₡4,023

$10.29 R$51.9

-13.02%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.51 ₡679

$1.34 R$6.75

12.69%

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

$21.7K ₡9.7M

$24.4K R$123.2K

-11.14%

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

$35.1K ₡15.8M

$33.9K R$171.3K

3.45%

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

$52.4 ₡23.6K

$104 R$527

-49.80%

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

$35.12 ₡15.8K

$16.71 R$84.4

110.17%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$59.9 ₡26.9K

$22.18 R$112

169.84%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$73.8 ₡33.1K

$35.82 R$181

105.95%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$77.8 ₡34.9K

$47.28 R$239

64.47%

Cinema Ticket

$7.27 ₡3,268

$10.06 R$50.8

-27.73%

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

$549 ₡246.6K

$579 R$2,924

-5.24%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$7,878 ₡3.5M

$17.1K R$86.2K

-53.88%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$70.1 ₡31.5K

$65.7 R$331

6.82%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$56.5 ₡25.4K

$61.0 R$308

-7.47%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$121 ₡54.5K

$100 R$507

20.77%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$87.7 ₡39.4K

$92.1 R$465

-4.76%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$923 ₡415.0K

$659 R$3,327

40.11%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$704 ₡316.5K

$428 R$2,161

64.53%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,869 ₡839.7K

$1,515 R$7,645

23.38%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$724 ₡325.4K

$1,026 R$5,178

-29.42%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,773 R$14.0K

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$2,007 R$10.1K

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,344 ₡604.0K

$909 R$4,589

47.85%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

8.62

11.68

-26.20%

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

$704 41.1%

Sao Paulo

$428 34.7% 39.2% $276

Groceries & Markets

Cartago

$348 20.3%

Sao Paulo

$244 19.8% 29.8% $104

Eating Out

Cartago

$186 10.9%

Sao Paulo

$159 12.9% 14.3% $27

Clothing & Footwear

Cartago

$151 8.8%

Sao Paulo

$144 11.6% 4.9% $7.4

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Cartago

$147 8.6%

Sao Paulo

$143 11.6% 2.8% $4.1

Sport & Entertainment

Cartago

$88 5.2%

Sao Paulo

$56 4.5% 36.7% $32

Getting Around

Cartago

$88 5.1%

Sao Paulo

$60 4.9% 31.8% $28

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $923 in Cartago and $659 in Sao Paulo. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Cartago pays 48% more on average. The extra income cushions the higher costs, though housing choices and lifestyle decide how much of the gap is truly closed.

Dining out: $35.00 in Cartago vs $49.00 in Sao Paulo. Groceries flip the comparison at $348 vs $244, with Sao Paulo cheaper for home cooking.

Good to know

🇨🇷 Cartago

🇧🇷 Sao Paulo

🕒 Local time

02:55 2:55 AM

05:55 5:55 AM

3 h ahead of Cartago

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

110,000

11,451,999

💱 Currency

Costa Rican Colón CRC ₡

Brazilian Real BRL R$

📈 Exchange rate

1,000 CRC = 2.23 USD

1,000 CRC = 1.99 EUR

1 BRL = 0.198 USD

1 BRL = 0.177 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

BRL, USD, EUR to CRC – Costa Rican Colón Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇨🇷 Costa Rican Colón (₡)

Costa Rican Colón exchange rates as of October 15, 2026: 1 USD = 449 CRC (1,000 CRC = 2.23 USD). 1 EUR = 503 CRC (1,000 CRC = 1.99 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 CRC in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Cartago Sao Paulo 5,500 km ≈ 7 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

Sao Paulo is cheaper overall, especially in groceries, eating out, and clothing. The 39% gap adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

Average pay runs 48% higher in Cartago, which matters when comparing affordability. Whether that higher income actually nets you more depends on your spending habits and housing choices.

Rent for a central apartment: $923 in Cartago versus $659 in Sao Paulo. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

A monthly transit pass in Sao Paulo runs roughly 50% less than in Cartago. Both cities have functional networks, but the price difference matters if you're watching your budget.

Childcare runs $549 in Cartago versus $579 in Sao Paulo. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

At $1,235 in Sao Paulo versus $1,713 in Cartago, a $1,500 budget is realistic in Sao Paulo but tight or insufficient in Cartago. The gap between the two cities makes Sao Paulo the clear choice for anyone on this budget.

For families, Sao Paulo is more practical. Housing and childcare are both notably cheaper than in Cartago, and the savings on those two alone free up budget for education, activities, and family trips.

Safety-wise, Cartago and Sao Paulo are on par. Petty crime is typical for cities this size, and most residents feel comfortable going about their daily routines in either place.

Expats usually find Sao Paulo gentler on the wallet – expenses run 39% less than in Cartago. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.