Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Sao Luis and Barcelona

For one person, living is cheaper in Sao Luis: $832 a month against $2,381 in Barcelona, rent and utilities included – about $18,600 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

40

Cost of Living Index in Sao Luis
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Sao Luis Living Index
115

Cost of Living Index in Barcelona
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Barcelona Living Index

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Sao Luis

🇧🇷 Brazil

$832

/mo nomad

Barcelona

🇪🇸 Spain

$2,381

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Sao Luis and in Barcelona

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $832 in Sao Luis versus $2,381 in Barcelona.

Sao Luis $832
Barcelona $2,381

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,317 in Sao Luis versus $3,406 in Barcelona.

Sao Luis $1,317
Barcelona $3,406

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $1,802 in Sao Luis versus $4,431 in Barcelona.

Sao Luis $1,802
Barcelona $4,431

Living in Sao Luis costs roughly 65% less than in Barcelona, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Sao Luis is 39% below, Barcelona is 76% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$6.64 R$33.64

$17.89 €15.92

-62.88%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$40.14 R$203

$66.2 €58.9

-39.33%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$6.89 R$34.93

$13.69 €12.18

-49.67%

Cappuccino

$2.13 R$10.80

$3.06 €2.72

-30.39%

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

$1.22 R$6.20

$3.07 €2.73

-60.26%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.71 R$3.60

$1.94 €1.73

-63.40%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$1.95 R$9.87

$3.87 €3.44

-49.61%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.43 R$12.31

$4.61 €4.10

-47.29%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.05 R$5.33

$1.30 €1.16

-19.23%

White Bread (500g)

$1.98 R$10.06

$2.10 €1.87

-5.71%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.14 R$5.80

$1.83 €1.62

-37.70%

Eggs

$2.21 R$11.21

$4.62 €4.11

-52.16%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$9.82 R$49.77

$17.36 €15.44

-43.43%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$4.31 R$21.87

$9.28 €8.25

-53.56%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$7.89 R$39.99

$19.83 €17.64

-60.21%

Apples (1kg)

$2.17 R$11.02

$3.01 €2.68

-27.91%

Banana (1kg)

$1.38 R$7.02

$2.03 €1.81

-32.02%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.20 R$6.08

$2.65 €2.36

-54.72%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.69 R$8.58

$2.87 €2.55

-41.11%

Potato (1kg)

$1.39 R$7.03

$2.16 €1.92

-35.65%

Onion (1kg)

$1.27 R$6.45

$2.15 €1.91

-40.93%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.88 R$4.46

$1.47 €1.31

-40.14%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.77 R$3.88

$0.88 €0.79

-12.50%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$2.36 R$11.97

$6.93 €6.16

-65.95%

Wine (Bottle)

$8.07 R$40.90

$7.83 €6.96

3.07%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.27 R$6.44

$1.39 €1.24

-8.63%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.25 R$11.42

$2.63 €2.34

-14.45%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.85 R$4.30

$2.91 €2.59

-70.79%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$37.93 R$192

$25.46 €22.64

48.98%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$0.95 R$4.83

$3.00 €2.66

-68.33%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.92 R$4.66

$1.44 €1.28

-36.11%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$33.20 €29.53

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.24 R$6.29

$1.86 €1.65

-33.33%

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

$23.8K R$120.7K

$32.3K €28.8K

-26.37%

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

$30.7K R$155.9K

$31.7K €28.2K

-3.02%

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

$95.3 R$483

$183 €163

-47.88%

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

$17.60 R$89.2

$13.61 €12.11

29.32%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$21.13 R$107

$32.93 €29.29

-35.83%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$20.40 R$103

$54.7 €48.65

-62.70%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$15.06 R$76.4

$16.52 €14.70

-8.84%

Cinema Ticket

$6.76 R$34.25

$11.23 €9.99

-39.80%

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

$184 R$935

$954 €849

-80.66%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$2,903 R$14.7K

$16.6K €14.8K

-82.52%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$64.5 R$327

$86.0 €76.5

-25.04%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$54.2 R$275

$39.11 €34.78

38.63%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$76.1 R$386

$104 €92.2

-26.61%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$59.2 R$300

$119 €106

-50.07%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$360 R$1,824

$1,695 €1,508

-78.77%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$184 R$930

$1,276 €1,135

-85.62%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$577 R$2,923

$2,576 €2,291

-77.61%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$322 R$1,635

$1,922 €1,710

-83.23%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$1,529 R$7,749

$7,281 €6,477

-79.01%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$717 R$3,633

$5,010 €4,456

-85.69%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$394 R$1,998

$2,227 €1,981

-82.30%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

3.28

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

Last update for Sao Luis: October 18, 2026

Last update for Barcelona: October 20, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Groceries & Markets

Sao Luis

$197 23.7%

Barcelona

$325 13.7% 64.7% $128

Accommodation & Living

Sao Luis

$184 22.1%

Barcelona

$1.3K 53.6% 595% $1.1K

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Sao Luis

$134 16.1%

Barcelona

$229 9.6% 71.2% $95

Eating Out

Sao Luis

$122 14.6%

Barcelona

$270 11.3% 122% $148

Clothing & Footwear

Sao Luis

$114 13.8%

Barcelona

$156 6.6% 36.8% $42

Getting Around

Sao Luis

$47 5.6%

Barcelona

$47 2% 0.9% $0.4

Sport & Entertainment

Sao Luis

$34 4.1%

Barcelona

$77 3.2% 128% $43

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $360 in Sao Luis and $1,695 in Barcelona. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Barcelona pays 465% more on average. The extra income cushions the higher costs, though housing choices and lifestyle decide how much of the gap is truly closed.

Dining out: $40.00 in Sao Luis vs $66.0 in Barcelona for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $197 vs $325 per month, with Sao Luis cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇧🇷 Sao Luis

🇪🇸 Barcelona

🕒 Local time

09:32 9:32 AM

14:32 2:32 PM

5 h ahead of Sao Luis

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

1,037,775

1,660,122

💱 Currency

Brazilian Real BRL R$

Euro EUR €

📈 Exchange rate

1 BRL = 0.197 USD

1 BRL = 0.175 EUR

1 EUR = 1.12 USD

Exchange rates and currency converter

EUR, USD to BRL – Brazilian Real Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇧🇷 Brazilian Real (R$)

Brazilian Real exchange rates as of October 20, 2026: 1 USD = 5.07 BRL (1 BRL = 0.197 USD). 1 EUR = 5.7 BRL (1 BRL = 0.175 EUR).

Euro exchange rates as of October 20, 2026: 1 USD = 0.889 EUR (1 EUR = 1.12 USD).

USD to BRL in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Sao Luis Barcelona 6,770 km ≈ 9 h nonstop flight

From you

Sao Luis
Barcelona

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 Luis vs Barcelona: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Sao Luis and Barcelona differ by about 186% in total monthly costs ($832 vs $2,381 including rent). Sao Luis is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

On paper, salaries run 465% lower in Barcelona. That's worth factoring in alongside costs, though remote workers earning in a stronger currency may not notice the difference at all.

Rent for a central apartment: $360 in Sao Luis versus $1,695 in Barcelona. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $184 in Sao Luis versus $954 in Barcelona. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Supermarket bills run roughly 65% higher in Barcelona. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

At $832 in Sao Luis versus $2,381 in Barcelona, a $2,000 budget is realistic in Sao Luis but tight or insufficient in Barcelona. The gap between the two cities makes Sao Luis 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, Sao Luis and Barcelona 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 Luis gentler on the wallet – expenses run 186% less than in Barcelona. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.