Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Maceio - Alagoas and Sao Paulo

For one person, living is cheaper in Maceio - Alagoas: $790 a month against $1,183 in Sao Paulo, rent and utilities included – about $4,700 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

38

Cost of Living Index in Maceio - Alagoas
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Maceio - Alagoas Living Index
57

Cost of Living Index in Sao Paulo
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Sao Paulo Living Index

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Maceio - Alagoas

🇧🇷 Brazil

$790

/mo nomad

Sao Paulo

🇧🇷 Brazil

$1,183

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $790 in Maceio - Alagoas versus $1,183 in Sao Paulo.

Maceio - Alagoas $790
Sao Paulo $1,183

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,239 in Maceio - Alagoas versus $1,948 in Sao Paulo.

Maceio - Alagoas $1,239
Sao Paulo $1,948

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $1,689 in Maceio - Alagoas versus $2,713 in Sao Paulo.

Maceio - Alagoas $1,689
Sao Paulo $2,713

Living in Maceio - Alagoas costs roughly 33% less than in Sao Paulo, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in transport.

Both cities sit below the global median: Maceio - Alagoas 42% lower, Sao Paulo 13% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$5.70 R$30.99

$8.15 R$44.36

-30.06%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$27.39 R$149

$46.78 R$254

-41.45%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$5.43 R$29.51

$8.24 R$44.84

-34.10%

Cappuccino

$1.67 R$9.06

$2.41 R$13.12

-30.71%

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

$1.03 R$5.62

$1.32 R$7.18

-21.97%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.48 R$2.64

$0.85 R$4.60

-43.53%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$1.50 R$8.18

$2.78 R$15.11

-46.04%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.89 R$21.17

$4.16 R$22.61

-6.49%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.01 R$5.51

$1.15 R$6.24

-12.17%

White Bread (500g)

$1.86 R$10.14

$1.69 R$9.18

10.06%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$0.99 R$5.40

$1.35 R$7.33

-26.67%

Eggs

$1.81 R$9.87

$2.69 R$14.64

-32.71%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$8.63 R$46.92

$11.78 R$64.1

-26.74%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$4.19 R$22.79

$4.97 R$27.02

-15.69%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$6.96 R$37.87

$10.10 R$54.9

-31.09%

Apples (1kg)

$2.66 R$14.45

$2.56 R$13.93

3.91%

Banana (1kg)

$1.06 R$5.75

$1.74 R$9.48

-39.08%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.27 R$6.91

$1.44 R$7.84

-11.81%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.29 R$6.99

$1.83 R$9.93

-29.51%

Potato (1kg)

$1.37 R$7.43

$1.29 R$7.02

6.20%

Onion (1kg)

$1.18 R$6.44

$1.17 R$6.35

0.85%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.51 R$2.78

$1.22 R$6.65

-58.20%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.71 R$3.87

$0.89 R$4.84

-20.22%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$1.93 R$10.52

$2.75 R$14.97

-29.82%

Wine (Bottle)

$6.66 R$36.23

$9.27 R$50.4

-28.16%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.43 R$7.76

$1.73 R$9.39

-17.34%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.34 R$7.30

$2.38 R$12.93

-43.70%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.73 R$3.96

$1.02 R$5.57

-28.43%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$45.02 R$245

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$0.38 R$2.08

$1.72 R$9.33

-77.91%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.39 R$2.10

$0.89 R$4.86

-56.18%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$9.52 R$51.8

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.13 R$6.12

$1.23 R$6.69

-8.13%

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

$20.5K R$111.5K

$22.3K R$121.4K

-8.19%

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

$29.5K R$160.3K

$32.5K R$176.7K

-9.28%

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

$75.0 R$408

$98.2 R$534

-23.63%

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

$15.20 R$82.7

$15.47 R$84.2

-1.75%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$16.66 R$90.6

$20.73 R$113

-19.63%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$22.39 R$122

$31.85 R$173

-29.70%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$44.21 R$241

Cinema Ticket

$5.74 R$31.21

$9.07 R$49.35

-36.71%

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

$204 R$1,111

$512 R$2,787

-60.12%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$6,698 R$36.4K

$15.8K R$86.1K

-57.68%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$50.7 R$276

$60.2 R$327

-15.78%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$72.2 R$393

$57.2 R$311

26.21%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$89.0 R$484

$92.8 R$505

-4.09%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$73.8 R$402

$86.0 R$468

-14.17%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$272 R$1,477

$632 R$3,435

-57.01%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$233 R$1,267

$433 R$2,358

-46.27%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$459 R$2,499

$1,354 R$7,365

-66.07%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$447 R$2,430

$957 R$5,208

-53.34%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$1,407 R$7,655

$2,480 R$13.5K

-43.26%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$659 R$3,584

$1,909 R$10.4K

-65.49%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$552 R$3,005

$818 R$4,449

-32.45%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

10.17

11.68

-12.93%

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

Last update for Maceio - Alagoas: October 25, 2026

Last update for Sao Paulo: October 26, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Maceio - Alagoas

$233 29.5%

Sao Paulo

$433 36.6% 86.1% $201

Groceries & Markets

Maceio - Alagoas

$179 22.7%

Sao Paulo

$227 19.2% 26.7% $48

Clothing & Footwear

Maceio - Alagoas

$129 16.3%

Sao Paulo

$133 11.3% 3.7% $4.7

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Maceio - Alagoas

$107 13.5%

Sao Paulo

$134 11.4% 25.8% $28

Eating Out

Maceio - Alagoas

$103 13.1%

Sao Paulo

$150 12.7% 45.1% $47

Sport & Entertainment

Maceio - Alagoas

$34 4.3%

Sao Paulo

$50 4.2% 47.6% $16

Getting Around

Maceio - Alagoas

$5.2 * 0.7%

Sao Paulo

$55 4.7% 959% $50

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

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $272 in Maceio - Alagoas and $632 in Sao Paulo. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Sao Paulo 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: $27 in Maceio - Alagoas vs $47 in Sao Paulo for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $179 vs $227 per month, with Maceio - Alagoas cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇧🇷 Maceio - Alagoas

🇧🇷 Sao Paulo

🕒 Local time

01:10 1:10 AM

Same time as Maceio - Alagoas

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

1,031,597

11,451,999

💱 Currency

Brazilian Real BRL R$

📈 Exchange rate

1 BRL = 0.184 USD

1 BRL = 0.165 EUR

1 BRL = 0.184 USD

1 BRL = 0.165 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

On the map

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Highest

Between locations

Maceio - Alagoas Sao Paulo 1,930 km ≈ 3 h nonstop flight

From you

Maceio - Alagoas
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

Maceio - Alagoas vs Sao Paulo: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Maceio - Alagoas is about 33% cheaper overall, especially in transport, groceries, and eating out. That difference adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

On paper, salaries run 32% lower in Maceio - Alagoas. 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: $272 in Maceio - Alagoas versus $632 in Sao Paulo. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Supermarket bills run roughly 27% higher in Sao Paulo. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

All in, you’ll spend $790 per month in Maceio - Alagoas versus $1,183 in Sao Paulo – Maceio - Alagoas is about 33% cheaper, which adds up to real savings over time.

At $790 in Maceio - Alagoas versus $1,183 in Sao Paulo, a $1,000 budget is realistic in Maceio - Alagoas but tight or insufficient in Sao Paulo. The gap between the two cities makes Maceio - Alagoas the clear choice for anyone on this budget.

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

It comes down to priorities – Maceio - Alagoas wins on affordability, Sao Paulo on earning potential. Factor in climate, language, visa rules, and proximity to places that matter to you before deciding.