Last update: Nov 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Sao Carlos and London

For one person, living is cheaper in Sao Carlos: $912 a month against $4,048 in London, rent and utilities included – about $37,600 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

43

Cost of Living Index in Sao Carlos
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Sao Carlos Living Index
196

Cost of Living Index in London
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London Living Index

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Sao Carlos

🇧🇷 Brazil

$912

/mo nomad

London

🇬🇧 United Kingdom

$4,048

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Sao Carlos and in London

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

A single person spends $912 per month in Sao Carlos vs $4,048 in London, rent included.

Sao Carlos $912
London $4,048

A couple spends around $1,586 per month in Sao Carlos vs $5,903 in London, rent included.

Sao Carlos $1,586
London $5,903

A family of three spends $2,260 per month in Sao Carlos vs $7,758 in London, rent included.

Sao Carlos $2,260
London $7,758

Sao Carlos is about 77% cheaper than London, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Sao Carlos sits 33% below the global median, while London is 199% above – they fall on opposite sides of the world average.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$4.62 R$25.40

$26.36 £19.68

-82.47%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$36.09 R$199

$109 £81.1

-66.76%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$6.48 R$35.68

$10.71 £8.00

-39.50%

Cappuccino

$1.92 R$10.55

$5.59 £4.17

-65.65%

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

$1.24 R$6.84

$3.00 £2.24

-58.67%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.75 R$4.10

$2.22 £1.66

-66.22%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$1.50 R$8.24

$9.65 £7.20

-84.46%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.62 R$14.43

$8.26 £6.16

-68.28%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.29 R$7.08

$1.97 £1.47

-34.52%

White Bread (500g)

$1.85 R$10.19

$2.09 £1.56

-11.48%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.68 R$9.27

$2.59 £1.94

-35.14%

Eggs

$2.60 R$14.33

$5.37 £4.01

-51.58%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$11.77 R$64.8

$13.12 £9.79

-10.29%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$4.95 R$27.26

$11.03 £8.23

-55.12%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$8.49 R$46.70

$17.73 £13.23

-52.12%

Apples (1kg)

$2.45 R$13.51

$3.17 £2.37

-22.71%

Banana (1kg)

$1.72 R$9.48

$1.38 £1.03

24.64%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.65 R$9.10

$2.82 £2.11

-41.49%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.76 R$9.71

$3.36 £2.51

-47.62%

Potato (1kg)

$1.55 R$8.52

$1.70 £1.27

-8.82%

Onion (1kg)

$1.31 R$7.22

$1.78 £1.33

-26.40%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.93 R$5.14

$1.49 £1.11

-37.58%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.07 R$5.90

$1.82 £1.36

-41.21%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$2.94 R$16.16

$23.85 £17.80

-87.67%

Wine (Bottle)

$7.79 R$42.90

$13.44 £10.03

-42.04%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.31 R$7.21

$3.11 £2.32

-57.88%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.80 R$15.40

$4.49 £3.35

-37.64%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.88 R$4.86

$4.13 £3.08

-78.69%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$21.90 R$121

$266 £199

-91.77%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.37 R$7.52

$5.98 £4.46

-77.09%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.93 R$5.12

$3.39 £2.53

-72.57%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$3.36 R$18.50

$56.6 £42.21

-94.06%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.11 R$6.09

$2.21 £1.65

-49.77%

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

$18.4K R$101.3K

$38.3K £28.6K

-51.90%

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

$29.3K R$161.2K

$41.0K £30.6K

-28.59%

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

$59.0 R$325

$372 £278

-84.16%

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

$12.99 R$71.5

$18.66 £13.93

-30.39%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$22.93 R$126

$40.53 £30.26

-43.42%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$32.02 R$176

$56.0 £41.82

-42.84%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$45.93 R$253

$17.10 £12.76

168.60%

Cinema Ticket

$5.00 R$27.53

$17.95 £13.40

-72.14%

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

$271 R$1,492

$2,946 £2,199

-90.80%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$2,733 R$15.0K

$47.6K £35.5K

-94.26%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$76.8 R$423

$116 £86.8

-33.93%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$89.5 R$493

$56.9 £42.47

57.33%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$131 R$722

$128 £95.5

2.58%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$148 R$816

$154 £115

-3.69%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$244 R$1,342

$2,935 £2,191

-91.70%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$220 R$1,209

$2,258 £1,686

-90.27%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$626 R$3,444

$5,250 £3,919

-88.08%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$620 R$3,411

$3,859 £2,881

-83.94%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$784 R$4,315

$17.2K £12.8K

-95.44%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$677 R$3,726

$8,278 £6,179

-91.82%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$619 R$3,405

$5,621 £4,196

-88.99%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

10.75

4.78

124.90%

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

Last update for Sao Carlos: November 3, 2026

Last update for London: November 1, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Groceries & Markets

Sao Carlos

$224 24.5%

London

$360 8.9% 61% $137

Accommodation & Living

Sao Carlos

$220 24.1%

London

$2.3K 55.8% 928% $2K

Clothing & Footwear

Sao Carlos

$201 22%

London

$205 5.1% 2.1% $4.1

Eating Out

Sao Carlos

$100 11%

London

$396 9.8% 296% $296

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Sao Carlos

$95 10.4%

London

$432 10.7% 355% $337

Sport & Entertainment

Sao Carlos

$42 4.6%

London

$92 2.3% 119% $50

Getting Around

Sao Carlos

$31 3.5%

London

$305 7.6% 871% $274

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $244 in Sao Carlos versus $2,935 in London. Rent is usually the largest line item in a monthly budget, so the gap here sets the tone for the overall comparison.

Salaries in London are about 9.1 times higher. Purchasing power depends on which expenses matter most to you.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $36 in Sao Carlos versus $109 in London. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $224 vs $360 – making Sao Carlos the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇧🇷 Sao Carlos

🇬🇧 London

🕒 Local time

12:49 12:49 PM

15:49 3:49 PM

3 h ahead of Sao Carlos

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

254,857

8,908,083 Capital

💱 Currency

Brazilian Real BRL R$

British Pound GBP £

📈 Exchange rate

1 BRL = 0.182 USD

1 BRL = 0.162 EUR

1 GBP = 1.34 USD

1 GBP = 1.19 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

GBP, USD, EUR to BRL – Brazilian Real Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇧🇷 Brazilian Real (R$)

Brazilian Real exchange rates as of November 6, 2026: 1 USD = 5.5 BRL (1 BRL = 0.182 USD). 1 EUR = 6.18 BRL (1 BRL = 0.162 EUR).

British Pound exchange rates as of November 6, 2026: 1 USD = 0.747 GBP (1 GBP = 1.34 USD). 1 EUR = 0.838 GBP (1 GBP = 1.19 EUR).

USD to BRL in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Sao Carlos London 9,390 km ≈ 12 h nonstop flight

From you

Sao Carlos
London

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

Sao Carlos vs London: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Monthly costs with rent: $912 in Sao Carlos, $4,048 in London – Sao Carlos comes out roughly 77% cheaper. Outside of rent, the biggest gap is in eating out.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $1,369 per month in Sao Carlos and $6,072 in London. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

Rent is clearly cheaper in Sao Carlos, especially for central apartments: a one-bedroom in the center costs $244 there versus $2,935 in London.

Groceries cost about 61% more in London, though the gap depends on what you buy.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $36 in Sao Carlos and $109 in London. That’s a good indicator of the overall restaurant and café pricing gap between the two cities.

$800 is a stretch for both – monthly costs hit $912 in Sao Carlos and $4,048 in London. You’ll need shared housing and careful budgeting no matter which city you pick.

Families tend to lean toward Sao Carlos – 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 Carlos. If higher salaries or specific career opportunities are the priority, London makes more sense. Both are solid long-term options with distinct trade-offs.