Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Santa Maria and Praia Grande

For one person, living is cheaper in Santa Maria: $743 a month against $842 in Praia Grande, rent and utilities included – about $1,200 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

36

Cost of Living Index in Santa Maria
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Santa Maria Living Index
41

Cost of Living Index in Praia Grande
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Praia Grande Living Index

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Santa Maria

🇧🇷 Brazil

$743

/mo nomad

Praia Grande

🇧🇷 Brazil

$842

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Santa Maria and in Praia Grande

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $743 in Santa Maria versus $842 in Praia Grande.

Santa Maria $743
Praia Grande $842

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,242 in Santa Maria versus $1,411 in Praia Grande.

Santa Maria $1,242
Praia Grande $1,411

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $1,742 in Santa Maria versus $1,980 in Praia Grande.

Santa Maria $1,742
Praia Grande $1,980

Living in Santa Maria costs roughly 12% less than in Praia Grande, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Both cities sit below the global median: Santa Maria 45% lower, Praia Grande 38% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$5.45 R$27.65

$5.34 R$27.07

2.06%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$36.62 R$186

$36.70 R$186

-0.22%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$6.82 R$34.57

$7.60 R$38.51

-10.26%

Cappuccino

$1.85 R$9.36

$1.95 R$9.89

-5.13%

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

$1.07 R$5.40

$1.29 R$6.52

-17.05%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.68 R$3.46

$0.56 R$2.86

21.43%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$1.63 R$8.29

$1.93 R$9.79

-15.54%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.07 R$15.55

$3.89 R$19.74

-21.08%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.04 R$5.27

$1.01 R$5.14

2.97%

White Bread (500g)

$1.64 R$8.31

$1.61 R$8.14

1.86%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.08 R$5.48

$0.99 R$5.04

9.09%

Eggs

$2.10 R$10.64

$1.85 R$9.38

13.51%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$9.43 R$47.80

$10.76 R$54.6

-12.36%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$3.96 R$20.07

$2.96 R$14.99

33.78%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$8.20 R$41.58

$6.16 R$31.20

33.12%

Apples (1kg)

$2.48 R$12.57

$1.69 R$8.59

46.75%

Banana (1kg)

$1.50 R$7.61

$1.22 R$6.18

22.95%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.36 R$6.91

$1.26 R$6.39

7.94%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.53 R$7.75

$1.33 R$6.76

15.04%

Potato (1kg)

$1.16 R$5.88

$1.26 R$6.40

-7.94%

Onion (1kg)

$1.13 R$5.71

$1.20 R$6.09

-5.83%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.86 R$4.37

$0.57 R$2.91

50.88%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.81 R$4.12

$0.82 R$4.18

-1.22%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$2.38 R$12.07

$2.24 R$11.38

6.25%

Wine (Bottle)

$8.18 R$41.44

$7.30 R$37.00

12.05%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.14 R$5.77

$0.98 R$4.97

16.33%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.19 R$11.09

$2.52 R$12.80

-13.10%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.01 R$5.13

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$30.52 R$155

$48.59 R$246

-37.19%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.32 R$6.70

$1.03 R$5.21

28.16%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.87 R$4.39

$0.78 R$3.96

11.54%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$8.16 R$41.36

$8.37 R$42.45

-2.51%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.23 R$6.21

$1.24 R$6.29

-0.81%

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

$23.9K R$121.2K

$23.8K R$120.4K

0.68%

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

$32.6K R$165.3K

$31.8K R$161.2K

2.51%

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

$53.4 R$271

$67.0 R$340

-20.29%

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

$12.65 R$64.1

$12.08 R$61.2

4.72%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$16.66 R$84.5

$19.65 R$99.6

-15.22%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$23.82 R$121

$33.02 R$167

-27.86%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$12.05 R$61.1

$14.00 R$71.0

-13.93%

Cinema Ticket

$5.66 R$28.68

$8.06 R$40.88

-29.78%

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

$163 R$828

$121 R$615

34.69%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$3,049 R$15.5K

$8,534 R$43.3K

-64.27%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$51.2 R$260

$64.5 R$327

-20.60%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$43.38 R$220

$37.63 R$191

15.28%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$95.9 R$486

$59.2 R$300

62.14%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$62.3 R$316

$79.5 R$403

-21.67%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$293 R$1,486

$419 R$2,126

-30.10%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$172 R$870

$241 R$1,220

-28.74%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$648 R$3,285

$795 R$4,028

-18.44%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$391 R$1,982

$595 R$3,017

-34.30%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,029 R$10.3K

$1,477 R$7,486

37.37%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$674 R$3,416

$5,026 R$25.5K

-86.59%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$637 R$3,227

$438 R$2,218

45.50%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

10.81

-7.49%

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

Last update for Santa Maria: October 10, 2026

Last update for Praia Grande: October 13, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Groceries & Markets

Santa Maria

$192 25.9%

Praia Grande

$174 20.6% 9.6% $18

Accommodation & Living

Santa Maria

$172 23.1%

Praia Grande

$241 28.6% 40.3% $69

Clothing & Footwear

Santa Maria

$114 15.3%

Praia Grande

$108 12.9% 4.8% $5.4

Eating Out

Santa Maria

$108 14.5%

Praia Grande

$114 13.5% 5.8% $6.2

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Santa Maria

$83 11.1%

Praia Grande

$99 11.7% 19.4% $16

Getting Around

Santa Maria

$40 5.4%

Praia Grande

$58 6.8% 43.2% $17

Sport & Entertainment

Santa Maria

$35 4.7%

Praia Grande

$49 5.8% 39.9% $14

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $293 in Santa Maria and $419 in Praia Grande. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Santa Maria pays 46% more on average while also being the cheaper of the two. The combined effect is a noticeably stronger local purchasing power.

Dining out: $37.00 in Santa Maria vs $37.00 in Praia Grande. Groceries flip the comparison at $192 vs $174, with Praia Grande cheaper for home cooking.

Good to know

🇧🇷 Santa Maria

🇧🇷 Praia Grande

🕒 Local time

05:00 5:00 AM

Same time as Santa Maria

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

271,735

349,935

💱 Currency

Brazilian Real BRL R$

📈 Exchange rate

1 BRL = 0.197 USD

1 BRL = 0.175 EUR

1 BRL = 0.197 USD

1 BRL = 0.175 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Santa Maria Praia Grande 970 km ≈ 1 h 45 min nonstop flight

From you

Santa Maria
Praia Grande

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

Santa Maria vs Praia Grande: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Santa Maria and Praia Grande differ by about 13% in total monthly costs ($743 vs $842 including rent). Santa Maria is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

Average pay runs 46% higher in Santa Maria, 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: $293 in Santa Maria versus $419 in Praia Grande. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Shoppers in Praia Grande pay roughly 11% less for everyday groceries. It's an unusual reversal that partly offsets higher costs elsewhere.

Dining out is cheaper in Santa Maria – a meal for two runs $37.00 versus $37.00 in Praia Grande. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

Either city works on $1,200 a month, though Santa Maria gives you more room to save. At this income level, the choice is more about lifestyle than financial pressure.

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 Santa Maria gentler on the wallet – expenses run 13% less than in Praia Grande. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.