Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between London and Sao Paulo

For one person, living is cheaper in Sao Paulo: $1,244 a month against $2,312 in London, rent and utilities included – about $12,800 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

112

Cost of Living Index in London
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London Living Index
60

Cost of Living Index in Sao Paulo
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Sao Paulo Living Index

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London

🇨🇦 Canada

$2,312

/mo nomad

Sao Paulo

🇧🇷 Brazil

$1,244

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,312 in London versus $1,244 in Sao Paulo.

London $2,312
Sao Paulo $1,244

Estimated couple costs with rent: $3,278 in London versus $2,085 in Sao Paulo.

London $3,278
Sao Paulo $2,085

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $4,243 in London versus $2,926 in Sao Paulo.

London $4,243
Sao Paulo $2,926

Living in London is roughly 86% more expensive than in Sao Paulo, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: London is 73% above, Sao Paulo is 7% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$21.22 CA$30.24

$8.94 R$44.64

137.36%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$62.6 CA$89.3

$49.46 R$247

26.61%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$12.36 CA$17.61

$9.22 R$46.01

34.06%

Cappuccino

$3.65 CA$5.20

$2.54 R$12.70

43.70%

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

$2.18 CA$3.10

$1.45 R$7.25

50.34%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.06 CA$2.94

$0.91 R$4.55

126.37%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$6.47 CA$9.22

$3.07 R$15.31

110.75%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$6.47 CA$9.23

$4.36 R$21.75

48.39%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.95 CA$2.78

$1.27 R$6.32

53.54%

White Bread (500g)

$2.61 CA$3.72

$1.84 R$9.17

41.85%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$3.94 CA$5.62

$1.41 R$7.05

179.43%

Eggs

$3.74 CA$5.34

$2.84 R$14.20

31.69%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$9.83 CA$14.02

$12.56 R$62.7

-21.74%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$11.28 CA$16.08

$5.37 R$26.81

110.06%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$15.02 CA$21.40

$10.72 R$53.5

40.11%

Apples (1kg)

$4.24 CA$6.04

$2.74 R$13.67

54.74%

Banana (1kg)

$1.29 CA$1.84

$1.81 R$9.03

-28.73%

Oranges (1kg)

$3.85 CA$5.49

$1.55 R$7.74

148.39%

Tomato (1kg)

$4.06 CA$5.79

$1.98 R$9.90

105.05%

Potato (1kg)

$3.17 CA$4.53

$1.47 R$7.34

115.65%

Onion (1kg)

$3.02 CA$4.31

$1.24 R$6.20

143.55%

Lettuce (1 head)

$2.58 CA$3.68

$1.27 R$6.35

103.15%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.46 CA$2.09

$0.96 R$4.79

52.08%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$11.98 CA$17.08

$3.04 R$15.16

294.08%

Wine (Bottle)

$12.50 CA$17.82

$10.19 R$50.8

22.67%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.40 CA$3.43

$1.73 R$8.64

38.73%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.87 CA$4.09

$2.64 R$13.19

8.71%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$2.26 CA$3.22

$1.04 R$5.18

117.31%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$77.4 CA$110

$48.10 R$240

60.89%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$2.51 CA$3.58

$1.82 R$9.07

37.91%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.60 CA$2.29

$1.02 R$5.07

56.86%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$21.83 CA$31.11

$10.16 R$50.7

114.86%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.17 CA$1.67

$1.27 R$6.35

-7.87%

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

$27.8K CA$39.6K

$24.3K R$121.4K

14.19%

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

$22.7K CA$32.4K

$34.0K R$169.8K

-33.11%

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

$135 CA$193

$104 R$519

29.94%

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

$39.06 CA$55.7

$16.16 R$80.7

141.71%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$56.4 CA$80.3

$22.59 R$113

149.49%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$37.00 CA$52.7

$36.27 R$181

2.01%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$28.27 CA$40.29

$47.78 R$239

-40.83%

Cinema Ticket

$10.41 CA$14.84

$9.85 R$49.19

5.69%

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

$407 CA$579

$525 R$2,622

-22.60%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$20.2K CA$28.8K

$16.6K R$82.8K

21.94%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$52.0 CA$74.1

$66.9 R$334

-22.23%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$38.12 CA$54.3

$62.3 R$311

-38.76%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$82.8 CA$118

$101 R$505

-18.16%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$90.7 CA$129

$90.9 R$454

-0.22%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,270 CA$1,810

$663 R$3,309

91.57%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,148 CA$1,636

$423 R$2,110

171.49%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,013 CA$2,870

$1,527 R$7,622

31.86%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,703 CA$2,428

$1,009 R$5,035

68.88%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,440 CA$4,904

$2,744 R$13.7K

25.36%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$3,519 CA$5,015

$2,068 R$10.3K

70.12%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$2,882 CA$4,108

$881 R$4,396

227.26%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

4.72

11.68

-59.59%

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

Last update for London: October 4, 2026

Last update for Sao Paulo: October 6, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

London

$1.1K 49.4%

Sao Paulo

$423 34.3% 63.2% $725

Groceries & Markets

London

$358 15.4%

Sao Paulo

$243 19.8% 32.1% $115

Eating Out

London

$313 13.5%

Sao Paulo

$163 13.3% 47.8% $150

Monthly Utilities & Internet

London

$230 9.9%

Sao Paulo

$143 11.6% 38.1% $88

Clothing & Footwear

London

$119 5.1%

Sao Paulo

$145 11.7% 21.8% $26

Getting Around

London

$97 4.2%

Sao Paulo

$59 4.8% 39% $38

Sport & Entertainment

London

$58 2.5%

Sao Paulo

$56 4.6% 3.2% $1.8

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,270 in London and $663 in Sao Paulo. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

London pays 227% 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: $63.0 in London vs $49.00 in Sao Paulo for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $358 vs $243 per month, with Sao Paulo cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇨🇦 London

🇧🇷 Sao Paulo

🕒 Local time

07:51 7:51 AM

08:51 8:51 AM

1 h ahead of London

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

383,822

11,451,999

💱 Currency

Canadian Dollar CAD $

Brazilian Real BRL R$

📈 Exchange rate

1 CAD = 0.702 USD

1 CAD = 0.626 EUR

1 BRL = 0.2 USD

1 BRL = 0.179 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

BRL, USD, EUR to CAD – Canadian Dollar Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇨🇦 Canadian Dollar ($)

Canadian Dollar exchange rates as of October 10, 2026: 1 USD = 1.43 CAD (1 CAD = 0.702 USD). 1 EUR = 1.6 CAD (1 CAD = 0.626 EUR).

Brazilian Real exchange rates as of October 10, 2026: 1 USD = 4.99 BRL (1 BRL = 0.2 USD). 1 EUR = 5.59 BRL (1 BRL = 0.179 EUR).

USD to CAD in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

London Sao Paulo 8,200 km ≈ 11 h nonstop flight

From you

London
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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

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

Sao Paulo is cheaper overall, especially in groceries, eating out, and transport. The 86% gap adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

Average pay runs 227% higher in London, 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: $1,270 in London versus $663 in Sao Paulo. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

All in, you'll spend $2,312 per month in London versus $1,244 in Sao Paulo – a 86% gap that adds up to real savings over time for anyone picking the cheaper option.

A monthly transit pass in Sao Paulo runs roughly 61% less than in London. Both cities have functional networks, but the price difference matters if you're watching your budget.

At $1,244 in Sao Paulo versus $2,312 in London, a $1,500 budget is realistic in Sao Paulo but tight or insufficient in London. 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 London, and the savings on those two alone free up budget for education, activities, and family trips.

Safety-wise, London 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 86% less than in London. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.