Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Sao Paulo and Augusta, ME

For one person, living is cheaper in Sao Paulo: $1,183 a month against $2,388 in Augusta, ME, rent and utilities included – about $14,500 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

57

Cost of Living Index in Sao Paulo
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Sao Paulo Living Index
114

Cost of Living Index in Augusta, ME
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Augusta, ME Living Index

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Sao Paulo

🇧🇷 Brazil

$1,183

/mo nomad

Augusta, ME

🇺🇸 United States

$2,388

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Sao Paulo and in Augusta, ME

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,183 in Sao Paulo versus $2,388 in Augusta, ME.

Sao Paulo $1,183
Augusta, ME $2,388

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,948 in Sao Paulo versus $3,317 in Augusta, ME.

Sao Paulo $1,948
Augusta, ME $3,317

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $2,713 in Sao Paulo versus $4,246 in Augusta, ME.

Sao Paulo $2,713
Augusta, ME $4,246

Living in Sao Paulo costs roughly 50% less than in Augusta, ME, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

The two cities straddle the global median: Sao Paulo is 13% below, Augusta, ME is 75% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$8.15 R$43.60

$19.90 $19.90

-59.05%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$46.78 R$250

$53.1 $53.1

-11.94%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$8.24 R$44.07

$10.39 $10.39

-20.69%

Cappuccino

$2.41 R$12.90

$5.40 $5.40

-55.37%

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

$1.32 R$7.06

$2.36 $2.36

-44.07%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.85 R$4.52

$1.59 $1.59

-46.54%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.78 R$14.85

$5.02 $5.02

-44.62%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.16 R$22.22

$7.72 $7.72

-46.11%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.15 R$6.13

$1.14 $1.14

0.88%

White Bread (500g)

$1.69 R$9.02

$4.56 $4.56

-62.94%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.35 R$7.21

$1.45 $1.45

-6.90%

Eggs

$2.69 R$14.39

$3.96 $3.96

-32.07%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$11.78 R$63.0

$15.09 $15.09

-21.94%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$4.97 R$26.56

$14.12 $14.12

-64.80%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$10.10 R$54.0

$19.52 $19.52

-48.26%

Apples (1kg)

$2.56 R$13.69

$7.48 $7.48

-65.78%

Banana (1kg)

$1.74 R$9.32

$1.31 $1.31

32.82%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.44 R$7.71

$3.09 $3.09

-53.40%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.83 R$9.76

$4.59 $4.59

-60.13%

Potato (1kg)

$1.29 R$6.90

$2.33 $2.33

-44.64%

Onion (1kg)

$1.17 R$6.24

$2.86 $2.86

-59.09%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.22 R$6.53

$2.08 $2.08

-41.35%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.89 R$4.75

$1.81 $1.81

-50.83%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$2.75 R$14.71

$11.98 $11.98

-77.05%

Wine (Bottle)

$9.27 R$49.56

$12.99 $12.99

-28.64%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.73 R$9.23

$1.56 $1.56

10.90%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.38 R$12.71

$1.55 $1.55

53.55%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.02 R$5.48

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$45.02 R$241

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.72 R$9.17

$2.55 $2.55

-32.55%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.89 R$4.78

$1.27 $1.27

-29.92%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$9.52 R$50.9

$28.55 $28.55

-66.65%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.23 R$6.57

$0.90 $0.90

36.67%

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

$22.3K R$119.3K

$29.6K $29.6K

-24.54%

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

$32.5K R$173.7K

$24.3K $24.3K

33.86%

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

$98.2 R$525

$243 $243

-59.59%

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

$15.47 R$82.7

$45.59 $45.59

-66.07%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$20.73 R$111

$61.0 $61.0

-65.99%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$31.85 R$170

$22.60 $22.60

40.93%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$44.21 R$236

Cinema Ticket

$9.07 R$48.51

$14.13 $14.13

-35.81%

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

$512 R$2,740

$2,656 $2,656

-80.71%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$15.8K R$84.6K

$36.6K $36.6K

-56.75%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$60.2 R$322

$73.5 $73.5

-18.14%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$57.2 R$306

$50.9 $50.9

12.40%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$92.8 R$496

$113 $113

-17.86%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$86.0 R$460

$154 $154

-44.32%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$632 R$3,377

$1,200 $1,200

-47.35%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$433 R$2,318

$1,078 $1,078

-59.79%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,354 R$7,239

$1,602 $1,602

-15.49%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$957 R$5,119

$1,473 $1,473

-34.98%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,480 R$13.3K

$2,386 $2,386

3.95%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,909 R$10.2K

$2,378 $2,378

-19.72%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$818 R$4,373

$1,948 $1,948

-58.02%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

11.68

6.3

85.40%

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

Last update for Sao Paulo: October 26, 2026

Last update for Augusta, ME: October 24, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Sao Paulo

$433 36.6%

Augusta, ME

$1.1K 45.2% 149% $645

Groceries & Markets

Sao Paulo

$227 19.2%

Augusta, ME

$413 17.3% 82.2% $186

Eating Out

Sao Paulo

$150 12.7%

Augusta, ME

$312 13% 108% $162

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Sao Paulo

$134 11.4%

Augusta, ME

$349 14.6% 160% $215

Clothing & Footwear

Sao Paulo

$133 11.3%

Augusta, ME

$176 7.4% 32.3% $43

Getting Around

Sao Paulo

$55 4.7%

Augusta, ME

$8.9 * 0.4% 83.9% $46

Sport & Entertainment

Sao Paulo

$50 4.2%

Augusta, ME

$51 2.1% 1.7% $0.9

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 $632 in Sao Paulo and $1,200 in Augusta, ME. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Augusta, ME pays about 2.4 times more on average. How far that income stretches comes down to housing choices and lifestyle.

Dining out: $47 in Sao Paulo vs $53 in Augusta, ME for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $227 vs $413 per month, with Sao Paulo cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇧🇷 Sao Paulo

🇺🇸 Augusta, ME

🕒 Local time

14:36 2:36 PM

13:36 1:36 PM

1 h behind Sao Paulo

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

11,451,999

194,343

💱 Currency

Brazilian Real BRL R$

United States Dollar USD $

📈 Exchange rate

1 BRL = 0.187 USD

1 BRL = 0.168 EUR

1 USD = 0.898 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

USD, EUR to BRL – Brazilian Real Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇧🇷 Brazilian Real (R$)

Brazilian Real exchange rates as of October 28, 2026: 1 USD = 5.35 BRL (1 BRL = 0.187 USD). 1 EUR = 5.95 BRL (1 BRL = 0.168 EUR).

United States Dollar exchange rates as of October 28, 2026: 1 EUR = 1.11 USD (1 USD = 0.898 EUR).

USD to BRL in detail →

On the map

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Highest

Between locations

Sao Paulo Augusta, ME 7,910 km ≈ 10 h nonstop flight

From you

Sao Paulo
Augusta, ME

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 Paulo vs Augusta, ME: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Sao Paulo and Augusta, ME differ by about 102% in total monthly costs ($1,183 vs $2,388 including rent). Sao Paulo is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

On paper, salaries run 58% lower in Sao Paulo. 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: $632 in Sao Paulo versus $1,200 in Augusta, ME. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $512 in Sao Paulo versus $2,656 in Augusta, ME. 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 $47 versus $53 in Augusta, ME. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

At $1,183 in Sao Paulo versus $2,388 in Augusta, ME, a $1,500 budget is realistic in Sao Paulo but tight or insufficient in Augusta, ME. 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.

It comes down to priorities – Sao Paulo wins on affordability, Augusta, ME on earning potential. Factor in climate, language, visa rules, and proximity to places that matter to you before deciding.