Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Sao Paulo and Cuautla

For one person, living costs are similar in Sao Paulo and in Cuautla: $1,235 and $1,253 a month, rent and utilities included.

60

Cost of Living Index in Sao Paulo
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Sao Paulo Living Index
59

Cost of Living Index in Cuautla
Learn more

Cuautla Living Index

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Sao Paulo

🇧🇷 Brazil

$1,235

/mo nomad

Cuautla

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,253

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,235 in Sao Paulo versus $1,253 in Cuautla.

Sao Paulo $1,235
Cuautla $1,253

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,073 in Sao Paulo versus $1,999 in Cuautla.

Sao Paulo $2,073
Cuautla $1,999

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $2,911 in Sao Paulo versus $2,745 in Cuautla.

Sao Paulo $2,911
Cuautla $2,745

Living in Sao Paulo costs roughly 1% less than in Cuautla, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Both cities sit below the global median: Sao Paulo 9% lower, Cuautla 7% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$8.81 R$44.68

$11.03 MX$204

-20.13%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$49.37 R$250

$64.2 MX$1,186

-23.10%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$8.80 R$44.63

$9.42 MX$174

-6.58%

Cappuccino

$2.49 R$12.63

$3.71 MX$68.5

-32.88%

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

$1.42 R$7.19

$1.63 MX$30.20

-12.88%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.85 R$4.31

$1.04 MX$19.22

-18.27%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.98 R$15.11

$3.27 MX$60.5

-8.87%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.34 R$22.02

$5.54 MX$102

-21.66%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.24 R$6.28

$1.92 MX$35.52

-35.42%

White Bread (500g)

$1.91 R$9.66

$2.79 MX$51.6

-31.54%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.43 R$7.25

$1.94 MX$35.82

-26.29%

Eggs

$2.81 R$14.23

$2.75 MX$50.8

2.18%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$12.74 R$64.6

$8.75 MX$162

45.60%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$5.41 R$27.44

$9.17 MX$169

-41.00%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$10.64 R$54.0

$13.77 MX$255

-22.73%

Apples (1kg)

$2.75 R$13.95

$3.39 MX$62.7

-18.88%

Banana (1kg)

$1.81 R$9.19

$1.60 MX$29.55

13.12%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.63 R$8.27

$2.14 MX$39.45

-23.83%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.00 R$10.16

$1.94 MX$35.78

3.09%

Potato (1kg)

$1.40 R$7.10

$1.86 MX$34.37

-24.73%

Onion (1kg)

$1.27 R$6.43

$1.76 MX$32.51

-27.84%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.28 R$6.47

$1.51 MX$27.96

-15.23%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.95 R$4.83

$1.19 MX$22.07

-20.17%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$2.99 R$15.15

$4.50 MX$83.2

-33.56%

Wine (Bottle)

$9.96 R$50.5

$17.50 MX$323

-43.09%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.85 R$9.37

$2.24 MX$41.32

-17.41%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.54 R$12.90

$3.95 MX$73.0

-35.70%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.09 R$5.50

$0.63 MX$11.60

73.02%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$48.78 R$247

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.85 R$9.39

$3.23 MX$59.6

-42.72%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.99 R$4.99

$2.54 MX$47.02

-61.02%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$10.29 R$52.2

$11.09 MX$205

-7.21%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.34 R$6.78

$1.31 MX$24.22

2.29%

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

$24.4K R$123.8K

$20.8K MX$384.9K

17.20%

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

$33.9K R$172.1K

$24.0K MX$444.0K

41.27%

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

$104 R$529

$58.8 MX$1,087

77.58%

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

$16.71 R$84.7

$26.84 MX$496

-37.74%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$22.18 R$112

$24.52 MX$453

-9.54%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$35.82 R$182

$36.29 MX$671

-1.30%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$47.28 R$240

$20.97 MX$387

125.46%

Cinema Ticket

$10.06 R$51.0

$7.36 MX$136

36.68%

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

$579 R$2,936

$263 MX$4,865

120.03%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$17.1K R$86.6K

$5,033 MX$93.0K

239.35%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$65.7 R$333

$51.9 MX$959

26.49%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$61.0 R$309

$45.28 MX$837

34.78%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$100 R$509

$99.8 MX$1,844

0.62%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$92.1 R$467

$98.4 MX$1,817

-6.37%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$659 R$3,341

$645 MX$11.9K

2.24%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$428 R$2,170

$434 MX$8,019

-1.35%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,515 R$7,678

$1,182 MX$21.8K

28.11%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,026 R$5,201

$736 MX$13.6K

39.46%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,773 R$14.1K

$1,712 MX$31.6K

62.04%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$2,007 R$10.2K

$1,075 MX$19.9K

86.65%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$909 R$4,609

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

11.68

11.99

-2.59%

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

Last update for Sao Paulo: October 13, 2026

Last update for Cuautla: October 13, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Sao Paulo

$428 34.7%

Cuautla

$434 34.6% 1.4% $5.9

Groceries & Markets

Sao Paulo

$244 19.8%

Cuautla

$308 24.6% 25.9% $63

Eating Out

Sao Paulo

$159 12.9%

Cuautla

$199 15.9% 24.8% $40

Clothing & Footwear

Sao Paulo

$144 11.6%

Cuautla

$133 10.6% 7.5% $11

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Sao Paulo

$143 11.6%

Cuautla

$110 8.8% 23.1% $33

Getting Around

Sao Paulo

$60 4.9%

Cuautla

$18 * 1.5% 69.2% $41

Sport & Entertainment

Sao Paulo

$56 4.5%

Cuautla

$51 4.1% 8.8% $4.9

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 $659 in Sao Paulo and $645 in Cuautla. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Dining out: $49.00 in Sao Paulo vs $64.0 in Cuautla for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $244 vs $308 per month, with Sao Paulo cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇧🇷 Sao Paulo

🇲🇽 Cuautla

🕒 Local time

08:49 8:49 AM

05:49 5:49 AM

3 h behind Sao Paulo

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

11,451,999

157,336

💱 Currency

Brazilian Real BRL R$

Mexican Peso MXN $

📈 Exchange rate

1 BRL = 0.197 USD

1 BRL = 0.175 EUR

100 MXN = 5.41 USD

100 MXN = 4.81 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

MXN, 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).

Mexican Peso exchange rates as of October 18, 2026: 1 USD = 18.48 MXN (100 MXN = 5.41 USD). 1 EUR = 20.77 MXN (100 MXN = 4.81 EUR).

USD to BRL in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Sao Paulo Cuautla 7,380 km ≈ 10 h nonstop flight

From you

Sao Paulo
Cuautla

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 Cuautla: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Sao Paulo is cheaper overall, especially in groceries, eating out, and utilities. The 2% gap adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

You'd need roughly $1,852 in Sao Paulo and $1,880 in Cuautla 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 $645 in Cuautla. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $579 in Sao Paulo versus $263 in Cuautla. 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 $49.00 versus $64.0 in Cuautla. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

At $1,235 in Sao Paulo versus $1,253 in Cuautla, a $1,500 budget is realistic in Sao Paulo but tight or insufficient in Cuautla. The gap between the two cities makes Sao Paulo the clear choice for anyone on this budget.

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

Expats usually find Sao Paulo gentler on the wallet – expenses run 2% less than in Cuautla. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.