Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Sao Paulo and Bentota

For one person, living is cheaper in Bentota: $774 a month against $1,235 in Sao Paulo, rent and utilities included – about $5,500 less a year. Other living expenses account for most of the difference.

60

Cost of Living Index in Sao Paulo
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Sao Paulo Living Index
38

Cost of Living Index in Bentota
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Bentota Living Index

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Sao Paulo

🇧🇷 Brazil

$1,235

/mo nomad

Bentota

🇱🇰 Sri Lanka

$774

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Sao Paulo and in Bentota

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 Bentota actually costs, broken down by who's living it.

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,235 in Sao Paulo versus $774 in Bentota.

Sao Paulo $1,235
Bentota $774

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,073 in Sao Paulo versus $896 in Bentota.

Sao Paulo $2,073
Bentota $896

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $2,911 in Sao Paulo versus $1,018 in Bentota.

Sao Paulo $2,911
Bentota $1,018

Living in Sao Paulo is roughly 60% more expensive than in Bentota, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in clothing.

Both cities sit below the global median: Sao Paulo 9% lower, Bentota 43% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$8.81 R$44.68

$4.29 LKR 1,421

105.36%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$49.37 R$250

$11.97 LKR 3,965

312.45%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$8.80 R$44.63

$7.73 LKR 2,560

13.84%

Cappuccino

$2.49 R$12.63

$2.46 LKR 815

1.22%

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

$1.42 R$7.19

$0.68 LKR 225

108.82%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.85 R$4.31

$0.25 LKR 82.2

240.00%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.98 R$15.11

$2.24 LKR 742

33.04%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.34 R$22.02

$3.07 LKR 1,016

41.37%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.24 R$6.28

$1.62 LKR 535

-23.46%

White Bread (500g)

$1.91 R$9.66

$0.53 LKR 176

260.38%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.43 R$7.25

$0.74 LKR 244

93.24%

Eggs

$2.81 R$14.23

$1.56 LKR 518

80.13%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$12.74 R$64.6

$14.03 LKR 4,648

-9.19%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$5.41 R$27.44

$3.32 LKR 1,099

62.95%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$10.64 R$54.0

$4.62 LKR 1,529

130.30%

Apples (1kg)

$2.75 R$13.95

$6.81 LKR 2,257

-59.62%

Banana (1kg)

$1.81 R$9.19

$0.73 LKR 241

147.95%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.63 R$8.27

$4.59 LKR 1,519

-64.49%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.00 R$10.16

$0.90 LKR 297

122.22%

Potato (1kg)

$1.40 R$7.10

$1.00 LKR 331

40.00%

Onion (1kg)

$1.27 R$6.43

$0.79 LKR 263

60.76%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.28 R$6.47

$0.94 LKR 312

36.17%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.95 R$4.83

$0.43 LKR 143

120.93%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$2.99 R$15.15

$10.13 LKR 3,356

-70.48%

Wine (Bottle)

$9.96 R$50.5

$13.36 LKR 4,424

-25.45%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.85 R$9.37

$1.95 LKR 645

-5.13%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.54 R$12.90

$2.91 LKR 963

-12.71%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.09 R$5.50

$0.18 LKR 61.0

505.56%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$48.78 R$247

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.85 R$9.39

$0.40 LKR 133

362.50%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.99 R$4.99

$0.31 LKR 103

219.35%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$10.29 R$52.2

$0.87 LKR 289

1082.76%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.34 R$6.78

$1.39 LKR 461

-3.60%

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

$24.4K R$123.8K

$37.2K LKR 12.3M

-34.31%

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

$33.9K R$172.1K

$40.1K LKR 13.3M

-15.40%

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

$104 R$529

$54.0 LKR 17.9K

93.28%

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

$16.71 R$84.7

$2.23 LKR 739

649.33%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$22.18 R$112

$9.03 LKR 2,990

145.63%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$35.82 R$182

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$47.28 R$240

Cinema Ticket

$10.06 R$51.0

$4.28 LKR 1,417

135.05%

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

$579 R$2,936

$38.08 LKR 12.6K

1421.17%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$17.1K R$86.6K

$1,230 LKR 407.3K

1289.12%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$65.7 R$333

$17.80 LKR 5,897

268.88%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$61.0 R$309

$16.82 LKR 5,573

262.84%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$100 R$509

$80.4 LKR 26.6K

24.91%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$92.1 R$467

$42.09 LKR 13.9K

118.79%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$659 R$3,341

$541 LKR 179.2K

21.80%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$428 R$2,170

$298 LKR 98.7K

43.65%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,515 R$7,678

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,026 R$5,201

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 %)

11.68

12.69

-7.96%

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

Last update for Sao Paulo: October 13, 2026

Last update for Bentota: October 11, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Sao Paulo

$428 34.7%

Bentota

$298 38.5% 30.4% $130

Groceries & Markets

Sao Paulo

$244 19.8%

Bentota

$220 28.5% 9.8% $24

Eating Out

Sao Paulo

$159 12.9%

Bentota

$108 14% 32.2% $51

Clothing & Footwear

Sao Paulo

$144 11.6%

Bentota

$71 9.1% 50.8% $73

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Sao Paulo

$143 11.6%

Bentota

$65 8.4% 54.4% $78

Getting Around

Sao Paulo

$60 4.9%

Bentota

$2.7 * 0.4% 95.5% $57

Sport & Entertainment

Sao Paulo

$56 4.5%

Bentota

$8.6 * 1.1% 84.7% $47

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 $659 in Sao Paulo and $541 in Bentota. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Dining out: $49.00 in Sao Paulo vs $12.00 in Bentota for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $244 vs $220 per month, with Bentota cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇧🇷 Sao Paulo

🇱🇰 Bentota

🕒 Local time

23:40 11:40 PM

08:10 8:10 AM

8 h 30 min ahead of Sao Paulo

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

11,451,999

37,000

💱 Currency

Brazilian Real BRL R$

Sri Lankan Rupee LKR Rs

📈 Exchange rate

1 BRL = 0.197 USD

1 BRL = 0.175 EUR

1,000 LKR = 3.02 USD

1,000 LKR = 2.69 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

LKR, USD, EUR to BRL – Brazilian Real Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇧🇷 Brazilian Real (R$)

Brazilian Real exchange rates as of October 18, 2026: 1 USD = 5.07 BRL (1 BRL = 0.197 USD). 1 EUR = 5.7 BRL (1 BRL = 0.175 EUR).

Sri Lankan Rupee exchange rates as of October 18, 2026: 1 USD = 331 LKR (1,000 LKR = 3.02 USD). 1 EUR = 372 LKR (1,000 LKR = 2.69 EUR).

USD to BRL in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Sao Paulo Bentota 14,010 km ≈ 18 h nonstop flight

From you

Sao Paulo
Bentota

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 Bentota: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Bentota is cheaper overall, especially in groceries, eating out, and clothing. The 60% gap adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

You'd need roughly $1,852 in Sao Paulo and $1,160 in Bentota 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: $659 in Sao Paulo versus $541 in Bentota. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Supermarket bills run roughly 11% higher in Sao Paulo. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

All in, you'll spend $1,235 per month in Sao Paulo versus $774 in Bentota – a 60% gap that adds up to real savings over time for anyone picking the cheaper option.

At $774 in Bentota versus $1,235 in Sao Paulo, a $1,500 budget is realistic in Bentota but tight or insufficient in Sao Paulo. The gap between the two cities makes Bentota the clear choice for anyone on this budget.

For families, Bentota is more practical. Housing and childcare are both notably cheaper than in Sao Paulo, and the savings on those two alone free up budget for education, activities, and family trips.

Expats usually find Bentota gentler on the wallet – expenses run 60% less than in Sao Paulo. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.