Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Perez Zeledon and Sao Paulo

For one person, living is cheaper in Sao Paulo: $1,222 a month against $1,328 in Perez Zeledon, rent and utilities included – about $1,300 less a year. The total is higher in Perez Zeledon despite lower rent and utilities.

64

Cost of Living Index in Perez Zeledon
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Perez Zeledon Living Index
59

Cost of Living Index in Sao Paulo
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Sao Paulo Living Index

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Perez Zeledon

🇨🇷 Costa Rica

$1,328

/mo nomad

Sao Paulo

🇧🇷 Brazil

$1,222

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

A single person spends $1,328 per month in Perez Zeledon vs $1,222 in Sao Paulo, rent included.

Perez Zeledon $1,328
Sao Paulo $1,222

A couple spends around $2,371 per month in Perez Zeledon vs $2,044 in Sao Paulo, rent included.

Perez Zeledon $2,371
Sao Paulo $2,044

A family of three spends $3,414 per month in Perez Zeledon vs $2,867 in Sao Paulo, rent included.

Perez Zeledon $3,414
Sao Paulo $2,867

Perez Zeledon costs about 9% more than Sao Paulo, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Both Perez Zeledon and Sao Paulo are more affordable than the global median – Perez Zeledon 2% lower, Sao Paulo 10% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$9.34 ₡4,188

$8.71 R$44.15

7.23%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$36.62 ₡16.4K

$48.61 R$246

-24.67%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$8.23 ₡3,689

$9.03 R$45.77

-8.86%

Cappuccino

$2.70 ₡1,210

$2.55 R$12.94

5.88%

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

$1.96 ₡880

$1.35 R$6.83

45.19%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.71 ₡766

$0.91 R$4.63

87.91%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$1.79 ₡804

$3.07 R$15.55

-41.69%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.08 ₡1,380

$4.38 R$22.21

-29.68%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.64 ₡735

$1.19 R$6.05

37.82%

White Bread (500g)

$3.03 ₡1,357

$1.80 R$9.14

68.33%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.47 ₡1,109

$1.48 R$7.51

66.89%

Eggs

$2.48 ₡1,113

$2.82 R$14.31

-12.06%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$10.62 ₡4,763

$12.61 R$63.9

-15.78%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$10.36 ₡4,646

$5.40 R$27.36

91.85%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$13.82 ₡6,196

$10.76 R$54.6

28.44%

Apples (1kg)

$4.99 ₡2,238

$2.82 R$14.28

76.95%

Banana (1kg)

$1.08 ₡483

$1.82 R$9.25

-40.66%

Oranges (1kg)

$4.85 ₡2,174

$1.60 R$8.14

203.12%

Tomato (1kg)

$3.96 ₡1,777

$2.03 R$10.28

95.07%

Potato (1kg)

$3.86 ₡1,730

$1.46 R$7.40

164.38%

Onion (1kg)

$3.78 ₡1,693

$1.25 R$6.35

202.40%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.46 ₡205

$1.25 R$6.32

-63.20%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$3.21 ₡1,441

$0.98 R$4.98

227.55%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$5.76 ₡2,582

$3.00 R$15.18

92.00%

Wine (Bottle)

$19.78 ₡8,870

$9.71 R$49.22

103.71%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.77 ₡1,240

$1.84 R$9.32

50.54%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.50 ₡1,572

$2.52 R$12.80

38.89%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.77 ₡344

$1.07 R$5.41

-28.04%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$47.26 R$240

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$2.51 ₡1,125

$1.81 R$9.16

38.67%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.61 ₡720

$1.01 R$5.14

59.41%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$8.81 ₡3,952

$10.24 R$51.9

-13.96%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.54 ₡689

$1.29 R$6.52

19.38%

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

$22.3K ₡10.0M

$23.5K R$119.3K

-5.20%

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

$34.8K ₡15.6M

$34.5K R$174.9K

0.73%

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

$92.9 ₡41.7K

$104 R$527

-10.72%

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

$23.91 ₡10.7K

$16.60 R$84.1

44.04%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$58.7 ₡26.3K

$22.04 R$112

166.29%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$72.4 ₡32.5K

$36.43 R$185

98.74%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$47.29 R$240

Cinema Ticket

$7.46 ₡3,346

$9.69 R$49.12

-23.01%

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

$508 ₡227.7K

$573 R$2,906

-11.43%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$16.9K ₡7.6M

$16.9K R$85.8K

-0.17%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$72.9 ₡32.7K

$66.3 R$336

9.99%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$56.8 ₡25.5K

$61.1 R$310

-7.13%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$129 ₡58.0K

$98.8 R$501

31.02%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$130 ₡58.1K

$91.4 R$463

41.87%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$401 ₡180.0K

$654 R$3,316

-38.65%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$333 ₡149.4K

$418 R$2,120

-20.34%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,898 ₡851.1K

$1,524 R$7,724

24.56%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,258 ₡564.0K

$992 R$5,028

26.80%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,670 R$13.5K

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$2,019 R$10.2K

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$900 R$4,563

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 Perez Zeledon: October 20, 2026

Last update for Sao Paulo: October 18, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Groceries & Markets

Perez Zeledon

$382 28.8%

Sao Paulo

$243 19.9% 36.4% $139

Accommodation & Living

Perez Zeledon

$333 25.1%

Sao Paulo

$418 34.2% 25.5% $85

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Perez Zeledon

$176 13.2%

Sao Paulo

$143 11.7% 18.7% $33

Clothing & Footwear

Perez Zeledon

$175 13.2%

Sao Paulo

$143 11.7% 18.3% $32

Eating Out

Perez Zeledon

$162 12.2%

Sao Paulo

$161 13.1% 0.6% $1

Sport & Entertainment

Perez Zeledon

$87 6.6%

Sao Paulo

$56 4.6% 36.1% $32

Getting Around

Perez Zeledon

$14 * 1%

Sao Paulo

$58 4.8% 329% $45

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

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $401 in Perez Zeledon versus $654 in Sao Paulo. Rent is usually the largest line item in a monthly budget, so the gap here sets the tone for the overall comparison.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $37.00 in Perez Zeledon versus $49.00 in Sao Paulo. Groceries tell a different story – $382 in Perez Zeledon vs $243 in Sao Paulo – so Sao Paulo wins on supermarket bills even if dining out costs more.

Good to know

🇨🇷 Perez Zeledon

🇧🇷 Sao Paulo

🕒 Local time

17:32 5:32 PM

20:32 8:32 PM

3 h ahead of Perez Zeledon

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

135,000

11,451,999

💱 Currency

Costa Rican Colón CRC ₡

Brazilian Real BRL R$

📈 Exchange rate

1,000 CRC = 2.23 USD

1,000 CRC = 1.98 EUR

1 BRL = 0.197 USD

1 BRL = 0.175 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 20, 2026: 1 USD = 448 CRC (1,000 CRC = 2.23 USD). 1 EUR = 504 CRC (1,000 CRC = 1.98 EUR).

Brazilian Real exchange rates as of October 20, 2026: 1 USD = 5.07 BRL (1 BRL = 0.197 USD). 1 EUR = 5.7 BRL (1 BRL = 0.175 EUR).

USD to CRC in detail →

On the map

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Highest

Between locations

Perez Zeledon Sao Paulo 5,420 km ≈ 7 h nonstop flight

From you

Perez Zeledon
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

Perez Zeledon vs Sao Paulo: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Yes – Perez Zeledon is pricier by about 9%, and outside of rent the gap shows up most in groceries.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $1,992 per month in Perez Zeledon and $1,833 in Sao Paulo. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

Rent is clearly cheaper in Sao Paulo, especially for central apartments. Housing is actually the single biggest factor behind the overall cost gap between these two cities.

Monthly expenses with rent come to $1,328 in Perez Zeledon and $1,222 in Sao Paulo. That's a gap of about 9%.

Kindergarten costs $508 per month in Perez Zeledon and $573 in Sao Paulo. For families with young kids, this one expense can tip the scales when choosing between the two cities.

A $1,500 monthly budget goes further in Sao Paulo, where all-in costs run around $1,222, than in Perez Zeledon at $1,328. In Sao Paulo it covers expenses comfortably, while in Perez Zeledon it requires careful planning or may not stretch far enough.

Families tend to lean toward Sao Paulo – lower housing and cheaper childcare make a real difference, especially on a single income or when paying for private education.

If budget matters most, go with Sao Paulo. If higher salaries, better infrastructure, or specific career opportunities are the priority, Perez Zeledon makes more sense. Both are solid long-term options with distinct trade-offs.