Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Markham and Sao Paulo

For one person, living is cheaper in Sao Paulo: $1,235 a month against $2,416 in Markham, rent and utilities included – about $14,200 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

118

Cost of Living Index in Markham
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Markham Living Index
60

Cost of Living Index in Sao Paulo
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Sao Paulo Living Index

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Markham

🇨🇦 Canada

$2,416

/mo nomad

Sao Paulo

🇧🇷 Brazil

$1,235

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,416 in Markham versus $1,235 in Sao Paulo.

Markham $2,416
Sao Paulo $1,235

Estimated couple costs with rent: $3,465 in Markham versus $2,073 in Sao Paulo.

Markham $3,465
Sao Paulo $2,073

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $4,514 in Markham versus $2,911 in Sao Paulo.

Markham $4,514
Sao Paulo $2,911

Living in Markham is roughly 96% more expensive than in Sao Paulo, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Markham is 79% above, Sao Paulo is 9% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$17.37 CA$24.70

$8.81 R$44.22

97.16%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$53.4 CA$76.0

$49.37 R$248

8.24%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$10.47 CA$14.89

$8.80 R$44.17

18.98%

Cappuccino

$3.81 CA$5.42

$2.49 R$12.50

53.01%

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

$1.70 CA$2.42

$1.42 R$7.11

19.72%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.17 CA$1.67

$0.85 R$4.26

37.65%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.59 CA$5.10

$2.98 R$14.95

20.47%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$5.62 CA$7.99

$4.34 R$21.79

29.49%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.94 CA$2.76

$1.24 R$6.21

56.45%

White Bread (500g)

$2.22 CA$3.16

$1.91 R$9.56

16.23%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.90 CA$2.70

$1.43 R$7.17

32.87%

Eggs

$2.99 CA$4.25

$2.81 R$14.08

6.41%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$12.74 R$63.9

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$11.70 CA$16.64

$5.41 R$27.16

116.27%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$6.81 CA$9.68

$10.64 R$53.4

-36.00%

Apples (1kg)

$3.69 CA$5.25

$2.75 R$13.81

34.18%

Banana (1kg)

$1.26 CA$1.80

$1.81 R$9.10

-30.39%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.33 CA$3.31

$1.63 R$8.18

42.94%

Tomato (1kg)

$3.26 CA$4.63

$2.00 R$10.05

63.00%

Potato (1kg)

$2.05 CA$2.92

$1.40 R$7.03

46.43%

Onion (1kg)

$1.96 CA$2.79

$1.27 R$6.37

54.33%

Lettuce (1 head)

$2.87 CA$4.08

$1.28 R$6.41

124.22%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.48 CA$2.11

$0.95 R$4.78

55.79%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$13.44 CA$19.11

$2.99 R$14.99

349.50%

Wine (Bottle)

$14.53 CA$20.66

$9.96 R$49.97

45.88%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.40 CA$3.41

$1.85 R$9.28

29.73%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.19 CA$4.54

$2.54 R$12.77

25.59%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$3.04 CA$4.32

$1.09 R$5.45

178.90%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$89.3 CA$127

$48.78 R$245

83.13%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.31 CA$4.71

$1.85 R$9.29

78.92%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.99 R$4.94

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$18.60 CA$26.44

$10.29 R$51.6

80.76%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.13 CA$1.61

$1.34 R$6.71

-15.67%

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

$28.1K CA$40.0K

$24.4K R$122.5K

15.16%

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

$18.1K CA$25.8K

$33.9K R$170.3K

-46.61%

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

$125 CA$178

$104 R$524

20.06%

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

$26.20 CA$37.26

$16.71 R$83.9

56.79%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$45.69 CA$65.0

$22.18 R$111

106.00%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$42.62 CA$60.6

$35.82 R$180

18.98%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$21.28 CA$30.26

$47.28 R$237

-54.99%

Cinema Ticket

$10.19 CA$14.49

$10.06 R$50.5

1.29%

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

$870 CA$1,237

$579 R$2,906

50.18%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$27.5K CA$39.0K

$17.1K R$85.7K

60.76%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$43.21 CA$61.4

$65.7 R$329

-34.19%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$37.22 CA$52.9

$61.0 R$306

-39.01%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$91.1 CA$130

$100 R$504

-9.21%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$105 CA$149

$92.1 R$462

13.91%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,554 CA$2,210

$659 R$3,307

135.81%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,391 CA$1,978

$428 R$2,148

224.97%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,699 CA$3,838

$1,515 R$7,599

78.22%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$2,236 CA$3,179

$1,026 R$5,148

117.90%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$5,896 CA$8,382

$2,773 R$13.9K

112.58%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$5,309 CA$7,549

$2,007 R$10.1K

164.53%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$3,132 CA$4,453

$909 R$4,562

244.48%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

4.56

11.68

-60.96%

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

Last update for Markham: 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

Markham

$1.4K 57.6%

Sao Paulo

$428 34.7% 69.2% $963

Groceries & Markets

Markham

$279 * 11.5%

Sao Paulo

$244 19.8% 12.3% $34

Eating Out

Markham

$257 10.6%

Sao Paulo

$159 12.9% 37.9% $97

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Markham

$197 8.2%

Sao Paulo

$143 11.6% 27.3% $54

Clothing & Footwear

Markham

$124 5.2%

Sao Paulo

$144 11.6% 15.4% $19

Getting Around

Markham

$105 * 4.3%

Sao Paulo

$60 4.9% 42.8% $45

Sport & Entertainment

Markham

$63 2.6%

Sao Paulo

$56 4.5% 11.2% $7.1

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 $1,554 in Markham and $659 in Sao Paulo. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Markham pays 244% 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: $53.0 in Markham vs $49.00 in Sao Paulo for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $279 vs $244 per month, with Sao Paulo cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇨🇦 Markham

🇧🇷 Sao Paulo

🕒 Local time

17:34 5:34 PM

18:34 6:34 PM

1 h ahead of Markham

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

338,503

11,451,999

💱 Currency

Canadian Dollar CAD $

Brazilian Real BRL R$

📈 Exchange rate

1 CAD = 0.703 USD

1 CAD = 0.628 EUR

1 BRL = 0.199 USD

1 BRL = 0.178 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 14, 2026: 1 USD = 1.42 CAD (1 CAD = 0.703 USD). 1 EUR = 1.59 CAD (1 CAD = 0.628 EUR).

Brazilian Real exchange rates as of October 14, 2026: 1 USD = 5.02 BRL (1 BRL = 0.199 USD). 1 EUR = 5.62 BRL (1 BRL = 0.178 EUR).

USD to CAD in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

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

From you

Markham
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

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

Sao Paulo wins on cost – living expenses run 96% lower than in Markham. Housing and daily spending are where you'll feel the difference most, making Sao Paulo the obvious pick if budget is a priority.

Average pay runs 244% higher in Markham, 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: $1,554 in Markham versus $659 in Sao Paulo. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $870 in Markham versus $579 in Sao Paulo. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Supermarket bills run roughly 14% higher in Markham. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

At $1,235 in Sao Paulo versus $2,416 in Markham, a $1,500 budget is realistic in Sao Paulo but tight or insufficient in Markham. The gap between the two cities makes Sao Paulo the clear choice for anyone on this budget.

Both work as nomad bases, but Sao Paulo delivers better value – similar infrastructure at $1,235 monthly. If stretching your runway or maximizing savings is the goal, the price difference makes Sao Paulo hard to pass up.

Safety-wise, Markham 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 96% less than in Markham. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.