Last update: Nov 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Porto and Caruaru

For one person, living is cheaper in Caruaru: $611 a month against $1,936 in Porto, rent and utilities included – about $15,900 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

93

Cost of Living Index in Porto
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Porto Living Index
29

Cost of Living Index in Caruaru
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Caruaru Living Index

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Porto

🇵🇹 Portugal

$1,936

/mo nomad

Caruaru

🇧🇷 Brazil

$611

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Porto and in Caruaru

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,936 in Porto versus $611 in Caruaru.

Porto $1,936
Caruaru $611

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,902 in Porto versus $1,000 in Caruaru.

Porto $2,902
Caruaru $1,000

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,869 in Porto versus $1,388 in Caruaru.

Porto $3,869
Caruaru $1,388

Living in Porto is roughly 217% more expensive than in Caruaru, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Porto is 43% above, Caruaru is 55% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$14.53 €13.00

$5.36 R$29.52

171.08%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$55.2 €49.37

$27.77 R$153

98.67%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.22 €10.04

$7.57 R$41.69

48.22%

Cappuccino

$2.76 €2.47

$1.48 R$8.16

86.49%

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

$2.22 €1.99

$0.97 R$5.37

128.87%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.31 €1.17

$0.60 R$3.28

118.33%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.26 €2.92

$1.55 R$8.51

110.32%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.59 €4.11

$2.25 R$12.39

104.00%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.14 €1.02

$1.08 R$5.92

5.56%

White Bread (500g)

$1.74 €1.56

$1.03 R$5.65

68.93%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.47 €1.32

$1.26 R$6.94

16.67%

Eggs

$4.09 €3.66

$1.88 R$10.36

117.55%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$11.63 €10.41

$4.19 R$23.04

177.57%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$6.94 €6.21

$4.51 R$24.84

53.88%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$16.65 €14.90

$6.99 R$38.49

138.20%

Apples (1kg)

$2.21 €1.98

$1.26 R$6.95

75.40%

Banana (1kg)

$1.68 €1.50

$0.91 R$5.02

84.62%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.89 €1.69

$0.76 R$4.20

148.68%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.50 €2.24

$1.08 R$5.94

131.48%

Potato (1kg)

$1.77 €1.58

$1.49 R$8.23

18.79%

Onion (1kg)

$1.86 €1.67

$1.18 R$6.51

57.63%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.60 €1.43

$0.69 R$3.79

131.88%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.75 €0.67

$0.77 R$4.22

-2.60%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$6.75 €6.04

$2.71 R$14.92

149.08%

Wine (Bottle)

$5.57 €4.99

$7.41 R$40.79

-24.83%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.34 €1.19

$1.57 R$8.63

-14.65%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.67 €2.39

$2.17 R$11.93

23.04%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.59 €1.42

$0.80 R$4.38

98.75%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$45.07 €40.33

$24.98 R$137

80.42%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.96 €3.54

$1.07 R$5.89

270.09%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.82 €0.73

$1.82 R$10.00

-54.95%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$16.66 €14.91

$2.88 R$15.88

478.47%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$2.17 €1.94

$1.22 R$6.74

77.87%

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

$33.3K €29.8K

$21.8K R$120.2K

52.67%

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

$36.2K €32.4K

$30.4K R$167.5K

19.09%

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

$163 €146

$51.8 R$285

215.09%

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

$14.92 €13.35

$7.32 R$40.30

103.83%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$34.60 €30.96

$9.16 R$50.4

277.73%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$43.69 €39.09

$13.86 R$76.3

215.22%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$15.37 €13.75

$27.91 R$154

-44.93%

Cinema Ticket

$9.01 €8.06

$6.75 R$37.17

33.48%

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

$557 €498

$102 R$562

444.96%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$11.6K €10.4K

$6,162 R$33.9K

88.35%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$104 €93.4

$36.72 R$202

184.26%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$32.84 €29.38

$45.83 R$252

-28.34%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$93.7 €83.9

$81.4 R$448

15.13%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$102 €91.7

$60.0 R$330

70.79%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,325 €1,186

$152 R$835

773.08%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$970 €868

$119 R$653

717.43%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,276 €2,037

$329 R$1,809

592.42%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,704 €1,525

$235 R$1,295

624.11%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$5,306 €4,748

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$3,956 €3,540

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,621 €1,450

$238 R$1,312

579.91%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

3.64

-66.91%

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

Last update for Porto: November 3, 2026

Last update for Caruaru: October 31, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Porto

$970 50.1%

Caruaru

$119 19.4% 87.8% $851

Groceries & Markets

Porto

$259 13.4%

Caruaru

$156 25.5% 39.9% $104

Eating Out

Porto

$223 11.5%

Caruaru

$102 16.7% 54.2% $121

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Porto

$213 11%

Caruaru

$68 11.2% 67.9% $145

Clothing & Footwear

Porto

$150 7.8%

Caruaru

$101 16.5% 32.8% $49

Sport & Entertainment

Porto

$62 3.2%

Caruaru

$27 4.5% 55.6% $34

Getting Around

Porto

$59 3.1%

Caruaru

$38 6.3% 35.6% $21

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,325 in Porto and $152 in Caruaru. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Porto pays about 6.8 times more on average. How far that income stretches comes down to housing choices and lifestyle.

Dining out: $55 in Porto vs $28 in Caruaru for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $259 vs $156 per month, with Caruaru cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇵🇹 Porto

🇧🇷 Caruaru

🕒 Local time

16:08 4:08 PM

13:08 1:08 PM

3 h behind Porto

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

231,828

377,911

💱 Currency

Euro EUR €

Brazilian Real BRL R$

📈 Exchange rate

1 EUR = 1.12 USD

1 BRL = 0.182 USD

1 BRL = 0.162 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

On the map

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Between locations

Porto Caruaru 6,170 km ≈ 8 h nonstop flight

From you

Porto
Caruaru

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 vs Caruaru: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Total monthly costs including rent come to $1,936 in Porto and $611 in Caruaru, so Caruaru is about 68% cheaper – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

Average pay in Porto is about 6.8 times higher, 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: $1,325 in Porto versus $152 in Caruaru. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $557 in Porto versus $102 in Caruaru. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Supermarket bills run roughly 67% higher in Porto. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

At $611 in Caruaru versus $1,936 in Porto, a $1,200 budget is realistic in Caruaru but tight or insufficient in Porto. The gap between the two cities makes Caruaru the clear choice for anyone on this budget.

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.

Expats usually find Caruaru gentler on the wallet – expenses run 68% less than in Porto. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.