Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Porto Alegre and Cuiaba

For one person, living is cheaper in Porto Alegre: $965 a month against $1,018 in Cuiaba, rent and utilities included – about $640 less a year. Other living expenses account for most of the difference.

46

Cost of Living Index in Porto Alegre
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Porto Alegre Living Index
49

Cost of Living Index in Cuiaba
Learn more

Cuiaba Living Index

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Porto Alegre

🇧🇷 Brazil

$965

/mo nomad

Cuiaba

🇧🇷 Brazil

$1,018

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Porto Alegre and in Cuiaba

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $965 in Porto Alegre versus $1,018 in Cuiaba.

Porto Alegre $965
Cuiaba $1,018

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,487 in Porto Alegre versus $1,540 in Cuiaba.

Porto Alegre $1,487
Cuiaba $1,540

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $2,009 in Porto Alegre versus $2,062 in Cuiaba.

Porto Alegre $2,009
Cuiaba $2,062

Living in Porto Alegre costs roughly 5% less than in Cuiaba, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Both cities sit below the global median: Porto Alegre 29% lower, Cuiaba 25% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$7.55 R$40.65

$5.16 R$27.77

46.32%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$37.17 R$200

$27.37 R$147

35.81%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$6.43 R$34.63

$7.52 R$40.48

-14.49%

Cappuccino

$2.42 R$13.02

$1.71 R$9.21

41.52%

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

$1.26 R$6.76

$1.36 R$7.32

-7.35%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.03 R$5.54

$0.72 R$3.85

43.06%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.28 R$12.29

$1.91 R$10.25

19.37%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.73 R$14.67

$2.54 R$13.65

7.48%

Milk (1 liter)

$0.96 R$5.19

$1.14 R$6.12

-15.79%

White Bread (500g)

$1.57 R$8.42

$1.49 R$8.03

5.37%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.04 R$5.61

$1.69 R$9.08

-38.46%

Eggs

$2.35 R$12.67

$2.95 R$15.87

-20.34%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$9.78 R$52.6

$16.16 R$87.0

-39.48%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$4.57 R$24.61

$4.24 R$22.83

7.78%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$9.43 R$50.8

$10.25 R$55.1

-8.00%

Apples (1kg)

$2.29 R$12.34

$2.21 R$11.88

3.62%

Banana (1kg)

$1.35 R$7.27

$2.33 R$12.55

-42.06%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.32 R$7.12

$2.40 R$12.89

-45.00%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.54 R$8.26

$2.86 R$15.38

-46.15%

Potato (1kg)

$1.13 R$6.11

$2.38 R$12.79

-52.52%

Onion (1kg)

$1.05 R$5.67

$1.97 R$10.61

-46.70%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.86 R$4.65

$1.53 R$8.25

-43.79%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.77 R$4.13

$1.39 R$7.48

-44.60%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$2.36 R$12.72

$2.17 R$11.67

8.76%

Wine (Bottle)

$7.26 R$39.05

$10.90 R$58.7

-33.39%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.04 R$5.60

$1.83 R$9.83

-43.17%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.03 R$10.95

$2.88 R$15.52

-29.51%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.95 R$5.11

$0.95 R$5.12

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$56.3 R$303

$35.73 R$192

57.54%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.19 R$6.40

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.79 R$4.27

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$7.50 R$40.36

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.25 R$6.72

$1.20 R$6.47

4.17%

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

$22.1K R$119.0K

$28.1K R$151.0K

-21.16%

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

$31.7K R$170.4K

$31.3K R$168.3K

1.24%

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

$72.6 R$390

$165 R$886

-55.91%

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

$11.86 R$63.8

$17.94 R$96.5

-33.89%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$20.42 R$110

$24.18 R$130

-15.55%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$27.19 R$146

$24.40 R$131

11.43%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$29.04 R$156

$18.93 R$102

53.41%

Cinema Ticket

$6.89 R$37.05

$5.66 R$30.43

21.73%

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

$516 R$2,776

$408 R$2,194

26.53%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$23.5K R$126.4K

$8,796 R$47.3K

167.11%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$47.70 R$257

$72.2 R$389

-33.92%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$54.6 R$294

$46.11 R$248

18.37%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$94.6 R$509

$141 R$759

-32.89%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$73.5 R$395

$64.1 R$345

14.55%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$425 R$2,286

$310 R$1,668

37.06%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$304 R$1,637

$218 R$1,176

39.23%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$707 R$3,806

$734 R$3,951

-3.65%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$474 R$2,549

$391 R$2,102

21.26%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$1,456 R$7,836

$1,266 R$6,811

15.06%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,127 R$6,064

$742 R$3,991

51.94%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$521 R$2,803

$365 R$1,965

42.67%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

11.5

16.1

-28.57%

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

Last update for Porto Alegre: October 24, 2026

Last update for Cuiaba: October 26, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Porto Alegre

$304 31.5%

Cuiaba

$218 21.5% 28.2% $86

Groceries & Markets

Porto Alegre

$194 20.1%

Cuiaba

$265 26% 36.6% $71

Eating Out

Porto Alegre

$135 14%

Cuiaba

$107 10.5% 20.4% $27

Clothing & Footwear

Porto Alegre

$122 12.6%

Cuiaba

$146 14.3% 19.6% $24

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Porto Alegre

$105 10.9%

Cuiaba

$207 20.3% 97.1% $102

Getting Around

Porto Alegre

$65 6.8%

Cuiaba

$40 * 3.9% 39.4% $26

Sport & Entertainment

Porto Alegre

$41 4.2%

Cuiaba

$36 3.5% 12.8% $5.3

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 $425 in Porto Alegre and $310 in Cuiaba. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Porto Alegre pays 43% more on average while also being the cheaper of the two. The combined effect is a noticeably stronger local purchasing power.

Dining out: $37 in Porto Alegre vs $27 in Cuiaba. Groceries flip the comparison at $194 vs $265, with Porto Alegre cheaper for home cooking.

Good to know

🇧🇷 Porto Alegre

🇧🇷 Cuiaba

🕒 Local time

06:32 6:32 AM

05:32 5:32 AM

1 h behind Porto Alegre

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

1,332,833

650,877

💱 Currency

Brazilian Real BRL R$

📈 Exchange rate

1 BRL = 0.186 USD

1 BRL = 0.167 EUR

1 BRL = 0.186 USD

1 BRL = 0.167 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

On the map

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Between locations

Porto Alegre Cuiaba 1,680 km ≈ 2 h 30 min nonstop flight

From you

Porto Alegre
Cuiaba

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

Porto Alegre vs Cuiaba: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Porto Alegre wins on cost – living expenses run 5% lower than in Cuiaba. Housing and daily spending are where you’ll feel the difference most, making Porto Alegre the obvious pick if budget is a priority.

Average pay runs 43% higher in Porto Alegre, 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: $425 in Porto Alegre versus $310 in Cuiaba. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Dining out is cheaper in Cuiaba – a meal for two runs $27 versus $37 in Porto Alegre. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

All in, you’ll spend $965 per month in Porto Alegre versus $1,018 in Cuiaba – Porto Alegre is about 5% cheaper, which adds up to real savings over time.

Both cities are expensive relative to $800. Porto Alegre is the more realistic option, but even there you’ll need to be disciplined with housing, food, and fun money.

Both cities offer a good standard of living with different trade-offs. Neither is objectively better – the right pick depends on what matters most: affordability, career, cultural scene, or climate.