Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between San Juan and Sao Paulo

For one person, living is cheaper in Sao Paulo: $1,235 a month against $1,684 in San Juan, rent and utilities included – about $5,400 less a year. Other living expenses account for most of the difference.

84

Cost of Living Index in San Juan
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San Juan Living Index
60

Cost of Living Index in Sao Paulo
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Sao Paulo Living Index

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San Juan

🇨🇷 Costa Rica

$1,684

/mo nomad

Sao Paulo

🇧🇷 Brazil

$1,235

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,684 in San Juan versus $1,235 in Sao Paulo.

San Juan $1,684
Sao Paulo $1,235

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,772 in San Juan versus $2,073 in Sao Paulo.

San Juan $2,772
Sao Paulo $2,073

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,861 in San Juan versus $2,911 in Sao Paulo.

San Juan $3,861
Sao Paulo $2,911

Living in San Juan is roughly 36% more expensive than in Sao Paulo, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

The two cities straddle the global median: San Juan is 25% above, Sao Paulo is 9% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$12.36 ₡5,541

$8.81 R$44.68

40.30%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$61.3 ₡27.5K

$49.37 R$250

24.12%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.46 ₡5,139

$8.80 R$44.63

30.23%

Cappuccino

$4.42 ₡1,982

$2.49 R$12.63

77.51%

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

$2.77 ₡1,240

$1.42 R$7.19

95.07%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.94 ₡870

$0.85 R$4.31

128.24%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.31 ₡1,483

$2.98 R$15.11

11.07%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.45 ₡1,996

$4.34 R$22.02

2.53%

Milk (1 liter)

$2.34 ₡1,052

$1.24 R$6.28

88.71%

White Bread (500g)

$3.18 ₡1,425

$1.91 R$9.66

66.49%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.51 ₡1,125

$1.43 R$7.25

75.52%

Eggs

$3.46 ₡1,551

$2.81 R$14.23

23.13%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$10.66 ₡4,782

$12.74 R$64.6

-16.33%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$10.33 ₡4,633

$5.41 R$27.44

90.94%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$13.90 ₡6,233

$10.64 R$54.0

30.64%

Apples (1kg)

$4.97 ₡2,230

$2.75 R$13.95

80.73%

Banana (1kg)

$1.59 ₡714

$1.81 R$9.19

-12.15%

Oranges (1kg)

$4.64 ₡2,079

$1.63 R$8.27

184.66%

Tomato (1kg)

$3.95 ₡1,771

$2.00 R$10.16

97.50%

Potato (1kg)

$3.86 ₡1,731

$1.40 R$7.10

175.71%

Onion (1kg)

$3.75 ₡1,684

$1.27 R$6.43

195.28%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.07 ₡479

$1.28 R$6.47

-16.41%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$3.08 ₡1,379

$0.95 R$4.83

224.21%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$6.00 ₡2,691

$2.99 R$15.15

100.67%

Wine (Bottle)

$19.72 ₡8,844

$9.96 R$50.5

97.99%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.76 ₡1,236

$1.85 R$9.37

49.19%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.69 ₡1,654

$2.54 R$12.90

45.28%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.37 ₡614

$1.09 R$5.50

25.69%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$48.78 R$247

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$2.41 ₡1,079

$1.85 R$9.39

30.27%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.54 ₡693

$0.99 R$4.99

55.56%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$8.58 ₡3,849

$10.29 R$52.2

-16.62%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.55 ₡695

$1.34 R$6.78

15.67%

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

$21.6K ₡9.7M

$24.4K R$123.8K

-11.38%

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

$34.9K ₡15.6M

$33.9K R$172.1K

2.71%

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

$96.4 ₡43.2K

$104 R$529

-7.74%

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

$35.06 ₡15.7K

$16.71 R$84.7

109.81%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$59.3 ₡26.6K

$22.18 R$112

167.54%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$66.9 ₡30.0K

$35.82 R$182

86.77%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$47.28 R$240

Cinema Ticket

$7.50 ₡3,362

$10.06 R$51.0

-25.45%

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

$1,001 ₡449.1K

$579 R$2,936

72.86%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$16.9K ₡7.6M

$17.1K R$86.6K

-1.33%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$70.9 ₡31.8K

$65.7 R$333

7.97%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$55.3 ₡24.8K

$61.0 R$309

-9.36%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$126 ₡56.6K

$100 R$509

25.75%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$134 ₡60.2K

$92.1 R$467

45.69%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$717 ₡321.3K

$659 R$3,341

8.71%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$593 ₡266.1K

$428 R$2,170

38.59%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,850 ₡829.6K

$1,515 R$7,678

22.13%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,386 ₡621.4K

$1,026 R$5,201

35.05%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,773 R$14.1K

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$2,007 R$10.2K

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$909 R$4,609

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 San Juan: October 13, 2026

Last update for Sao Paulo: October 13, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

San Juan

$593 35.2%

Sao Paulo

$428 34.7% 27.8% $165

Groceries & Markets

San Juan

$398 23.6%

Sao Paulo

$244 19.8% 38.6% $154

Eating Out

San Juan

$231 13.7%

Sao Paulo

$159 12.9% 30.8% $71

Monthly Utilities & Internet

San Juan

$191 11.3%

Sao Paulo

$143 11.6% 24.9% $47

Clothing & Footwear

San Juan

$174 10.3%

Sao Paulo

$144 11.6% 17.4% $30

Sport & Entertainment

San Juan

$82 4.9%

Sao Paulo

$56 4.5% 31.7% $26

Getting Around

San Juan

$16 * 0.9%

Sao Paulo

$60 4.9% 284% $44

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 $717 in San Juan and $659 in Sao Paulo. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Dining out: $61.0 in San Juan vs $49.00 in Sao Paulo for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $398 vs $244 per month, with Sao Paulo cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇨🇷 San Juan

🇧🇷 Sao Paulo

🕒 Local time

06:37 6:37 AM

09:37 9:37 AM

3 h ahead of San Juan

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

27,000

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 19, 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 19, 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

San Juan Sao Paulo 5,520 km ≈ 7 h nonstop flight

From you

San Juan
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

San Juan vs Sao Paulo: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

San Juan and Sao Paulo differ by about 36% in total monthly costs ($1,684 vs $1,235 including rent). Sao Paulo is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

You'd need roughly $2,526 in San Juan and $1,852 in Sao Paulo to live well. The gap comes down to housing and overall price levels. Both cities are liveable on less, but these numbers represent actual comfort.

Rent for a central apartment: $717 in San Juan versus $659 in Sao Paulo. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $1,001 in San Juan versus $579 in Sao Paulo. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Dining out is cheaper in Sao Paulo – a meal for two runs $49.00 versus $61.0 in San Juan. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

At $1,235 in Sao Paulo versus $1,684 in San Juan, a $1,500 budget is realistic in Sao Paulo but tight or insufficient in San Juan. The gap between the two cities makes Sao Paulo 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.

Safety-wise, San Juan 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 36% less than in San Juan. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.