Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Curitiba and Santos

For one person, living is cheaper in Curitiba: $1,055 a month against $1,150 in Santos, rent and utilities included – about $1,100 less a year. Higher rent and utilities in Santos outweigh lower spending on other living expenses.

51

Cost of Living Index in Curitiba
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Curitiba Living Index
55

Cost of Living Index in Santos
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Santos Living Index

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Curitiba

🇧🇷 Brazil

$1,055

/mo nomad

Santos

🇧🇷 Brazil

$1,150

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Curitiba and in Santos

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,055 in Curitiba versus $1,150 in Santos.

Curitiba $1,055
Santos $1,150

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,641 in Curitiba versus $1,736 in Santos.

Curitiba $1,641
Santos $1,736

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $2,228 in Curitiba versus $2,322 in Santos.

Curitiba $2,228
Santos $2,322

Living in Curitiba costs roughly 8% less than in Santos, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Both cities sit below the global median: Curitiba 22% lower, Santos 15% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$8.08 R$40.95

$8.12 R$41.18

-0.49%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$39.04 R$198

$31.84 R$161

22.61%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$8.72 R$44.21

$7.14 R$36.19

22.13%

Cappuccino

$2.64 R$13.40

$2.75 R$13.96

-4.00%

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

$1.13 R$5.74

$1.43 R$7.24

-20.98%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.92 R$4.68

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.73 R$13.84

$2.52 R$12.76

8.33%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.86 R$19.56

$2.92 R$14.79

32.19%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.06 R$5.36

$1.09 R$5.50

-2.75%

White Bread (500g)

$1.82 R$9.24

$1.85 R$9.39

-1.62%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.37 R$6.92

$1.36 R$6.91

0.74%

Eggs

$2.54 R$12.87

$2.49 R$12.61

2.01%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$10.07 R$51.1

$12.14 R$61.6

-17.05%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$5.08 R$25.75

$4.86 R$24.63

4.53%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$10.49 R$53.2

$9.91 R$50.2

5.85%

Apples (1kg)

$1.72 R$8.70

$2.11 R$10.69

-18.48%

Banana (1kg)

$1.05 R$5.32

$1.23 R$6.23

-14.63%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.03 R$5.20

$1.99 R$10.07

-48.24%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.39 R$7.03

$1.85 R$9.37

-24.86%

Potato (1kg)

$0.80 R$4.04

$1.35 R$6.86

-40.74%

Onion (1kg)

$0.80 R$4.03

$1.29 R$6.56

-37.98%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.81 R$4.09

$1.16 R$5.87

-30.17%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.82 R$4.17

$0.95 R$4.80

-13.68%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$2.94 R$14.88

$2.35 R$11.89

25.11%

Wine (Bottle)

$7.12 R$36.10

$7.98 R$40.46

-10.78%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.31 R$6.63

$1.33 R$6.76

-1.50%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.54 R$12.89

$1.94 R$9.83

30.93%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.17 R$5.91

$1.12 R$5.66

4.46%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$71.0 R$360

$49.37 R$250

43.79%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.26 R$6.40

$1.56 R$7.89

-19.23%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.76 R$3.87

$1.61 R$8.16

-52.80%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$5.96 R$30.23

$17.80 R$90.2

-66.52%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.30 R$6.60

$1.24 R$6.31

4.84%

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

$23.3K R$118.0K

$23.7K R$120.3K

-1.91%

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

$33.3K R$169.0K

$33.5K R$169.6K

-0.35%

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

$105 R$534

$104 R$529

1.10%

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

$14.51 R$73.6

$11.95 R$60.6

21.42%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$23.46 R$119

$21.90 R$111

7.12%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$28.95 R$147

$28.96 R$147

-0.03%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$20.08 R$102

$57.0 R$289

-64.78%

Cinema Ticket

$7.78 R$39.45

$8.59 R$43.55

-9.43%

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

$383 R$1,943

$280 R$1,418

37.04%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$10.9K R$55.4K

$10.2K R$52.0K

6.65%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$57.6 R$292

$55.5 R$281

3.84%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$55.2 R$280

$36.69 R$186

50.53%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$94.7 R$480

$95.7 R$485

-1.03%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$80.8 R$410

$60.7 R$307

33.29%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$515 R$2,612

$543 R$2,754

-5.16%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$304 R$1,540

$424 R$2,148

-28.33%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$851 R$4,316

$992 R$5,031

-14.22%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$549 R$2,785

$686 R$3,478

-19.93%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,472 R$12.5K

$2,413 R$12.2K

2.43%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,745 R$8,847

$1,776 R$9,004

-1.74%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$687 R$3,481

$584 R$2,958

17.69%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

11.54

12.79

-9.77%

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

Last update for Curitiba: October 18, 2026

Last update for Santos: October 20, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Curitiba

$304 28.8%

Santos

$424 36.9% 39.5% $120

Groceries & Markets

Curitiba

$200 19%

Santos

$219 19.1% 9.6% $19

Eating Out

Curitiba

$152 14.4%

Santos

$147 12.8% 3.2% $4.8

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Curitiba

$143 13.6%

Santos

$138 12% 3.7% $5.3

Clothing & Footwear

Curitiba

$130 12.3%

Santos

$112 9.7% 13.8% $18

Getting Around

Curitiba

$81 7.7%

Santos

$63 5.5% 21.4% $17

Sport & Entertainment

Curitiba

$45 4.2%

Santos

$46 4% 3.7% $1.6

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $515 in Curitiba and $543 in Santos. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Curitiba pays 18% more on average while also being the cheaper of the two. The combined effect is a noticeably stronger local purchasing power.

Dining out: $39.00 in Curitiba vs $32.00 in Santos. Groceries flip the comparison at $200 vs $219, with Curitiba cheaper for home cooking.

Good to know

🇧🇷 Curitiba

🇧🇷 Santos

🕒 Local time

11:18 11:18 AM

Same time as Curitiba

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

1,773,718

418,608

💱 Currency

Brazilian Real BRL R$

📈 Exchange rate

1 BRL = 0.197 USD

1 BRL = 0.175 EUR

1 BRL = 0.197 USD

1 BRL = 0.175 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

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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

Curitiba vs Santos: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Curitiba wins on cost – living expenses run 9% lower than in Santos. Housing and daily spending are where you'll feel the difference most, making Curitiba the obvious pick if budget is a priority.

Average pay runs 18% higher in Curitiba, 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: $515 in Curitiba versus $543 in Santos. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

A monthly transit pass in Curitiba runs roughly 44% less than in Santos. Both cities have functional networks, but the price difference matters if you're watching your budget.

Childcare runs $383 in Curitiba versus $280 in Santos. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

At $1,055 in Curitiba versus $1,150 in Santos, a $1,000 budget is realistic in Curitiba but tight or insufficient in Santos. The gap between the two cities makes Curitiba the clear choice for anyone on this budget.

Both work as nomad bases, but Curitiba delivers better value – similar infrastructure at $1,055 monthly. If stretching your runway or maximizing savings is the goal, the price difference makes Curitiba hard to pass up.

Expats usually find Curitiba gentler on the wallet – expenses run 9% less than in Santos. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.