Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Sao Paulo and Hulhumale

For one person, living is cheaper in Sao Paulo: $1,244 a month against $1,450 in Hulhumale, rent and utilities included – about $2,500 less a year. Higher rent and utilities in Hulhumale outweigh lower spending on other living expenses.

60

Cost of Living Index in Sao Paulo
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Sao Paulo Living Index
70

Cost of Living Index in Hulhumale
Learn more

Hulhumale Living Index

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Sao Paulo

🇧🇷 Brazil

$1,244

/mo nomad

Hulhumale

🇲🇻 Maldives

$1,450

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,244 in Sao Paulo versus $1,450 in Hulhumale.

Sao Paulo $1,244
Hulhumale $1,450

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,085 in Sao Paulo versus $2,606 in Hulhumale.

Sao Paulo $2,085
Hulhumale $2,606

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $2,926 in Sao Paulo versus $3,762 in Hulhumale.

Sao Paulo $2,926
Hulhumale $3,762

Living in Sao Paulo costs roughly 14% less than in Hulhumale, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in utilities.

The two cities straddle the global median: Sao Paulo is 7% below, Hulhumale is 8% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$8.94 R$44.64

$6.15 MVR 94.9

45.37%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$49.46 R$247

$38.70 MVR 597

27.80%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$9.22 R$46.01

$9.60 MVR 148

-3.96%

Local Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$4.78 MVR 73.6

Imported Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.96 MVR 76.5

Cappuccino

$2.54 R$12.70

$3.56 MVR 54.8

-28.65%

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

$1.45 R$7.25

$1.61 MVR 24.81

-9.94%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.91 R$4.55

$0.31 MVR 4.83

193.55%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.07 R$15.31

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.36 R$21.75

Milk (1 liter)

$1.27 R$6.32

$1.60 MVR 24.63

-20.63%

White Bread (500g)

$1.84 R$9.17

$1.64 MVR 25.27

12.20%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.41 R$7.05

$0.33 MVR 5.11

327.27%

Eggs

$2.84 R$14.20

$1.85 MVR 28.55

53.51%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$12.56 R$62.7

$3.30 MVR 50.8

280.61%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$5.37 R$26.81

$6.17 MVR 95.2

-12.97%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$10.72 R$53.5

$9.60 MVR 148

11.67%

Apples (1kg)

$2.74 R$13.67

$3.91 MVR 60.3

-29.92%

Banana (1kg)

$1.81 R$9.03

$3.08 MVR 47.48

-41.23%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.55 R$7.74

$2.82 MVR 43.56

-45.04%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.98 R$9.90

$2.71 MVR 41.71

-26.94%

Potato (1kg)

$1.47 R$7.34

$1.22 MVR 18.88

20.49%

Onion (1kg)

$1.24 R$6.20

$1.11 MVR 17.10

11.71%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.27 R$6.35

$2.12 MVR 32.72

-40.09%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.96 R$4.79

$0.62 MVR 9.50

54.84%

Bottle of Non-Alcoholic Wine (Mid-Range)

$12.11 MVR 187

Local Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.67 MVR 41.25

Imported Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.01 MVR 30.94

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$3.04 R$15.16

$12.87 MVR 198

-76.38%

Wine (Bottle)

$10.19 R$50.8

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.73 R$8.64

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.64 R$13.19

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.04 R$5.18

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$48.10 R$240

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.82 R$9.07

$1.89 MVR 29.12

-3.70%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.02 R$5.07

$1.91 MVR 29.39

-46.60%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$10.16 R$50.7

$10.07 MVR 155

0.89%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.27 R$6.35

$0.98 MVR 15.12

29.59%

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

$24.3K R$121.4K

$33.0K MVR 508.2K

-26.21%

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

$34.0K R$169.8K

$29.5K MVR 455.6K

15.09%

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

$104 R$519

$102 MVR 1,568

2.22%

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

$16.16 R$80.7

$30.38 MVR 469

-46.81%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$22.59 R$113

$72.4 MVR 1,117

-68.80%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$36.27 R$181

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$47.78 R$239

Cinema Ticket

$9.85 R$49.19

$9.82 MVR 151

0.31%

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

$525 R$2,622

$186 MVR 2,863

182.88%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$16.6K R$82.8K

$3,007 MVR 46.4K

451.27%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$66.9 R$334

$38.95 MVR 601

71.71%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$62.3 R$311

$50.3 MVR 775

23.88%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$101 R$505

$86.9 MVR 1,340

16.39%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$90.9 R$454

$51.6 MVR 796

75.99%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$663 R$3,309

$1,118 MVR 17.2K

-40.73%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$423 R$2,110

$786 MVR 12.1K

-46.24%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,527 R$7,622

$2,270 MVR 35.0K

-32.74%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,009 R$5,035

$2,293 MVR 35.4K

-56.01%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,744 R$13.7K

$5,453 MVR 84.1K

-49.67%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$2,068 R$10.3K

$506 MVR 7,802

308.75%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$881 R$4,396

$710 MVR 10.9K

24.04%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

11.68

-16.57%

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

Last update for Sao Paulo: October 6, 2026

Last update for Hulhumale: October 4, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Sao Paulo

$423 34.3%

Hulhumale

$786 54.3% 86% $364

Groceries & Markets

Sao Paulo

$243 19.8%

Hulhumale

$195 13.5% 19.7% $48

Eating Out

Sao Paulo

$163 13.3%

Hulhumale

$128 8.9% 21.4% $35

Clothing & Footwear

Sao Paulo

$145 11.7%

Hulhumale

$102 7.1% 29.1% $42

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Sao Paulo

$143 11.6%

Hulhumale

$204 14.1% 43.3% $62

Getting Around

Sao Paulo

$59 4.8%

Hulhumale

$11 * 0.8% 80.7% $48

Sport & Entertainment

Sao Paulo

$56 4.6%

Hulhumale

$20 * 1.4% 64.9% $36

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 $663 in Sao Paulo and $1,118 in Hulhumale. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Sao Paulo pays 24% more on average while also being the cheaper of the two. The combined effect is a noticeably stronger local purchasing power.

Dining out: $49.00 in Sao Paulo vs $39.00 in Hulhumale for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $243 vs $195 per month, with Hulhumale cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇧🇷 Sao Paulo

🇲🇻 Hulhumale

🕒 Local time

08:47 8:47 AM

16:47 4:47 PM

8 h ahead of Sao Paulo

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

11,451,999

5,000

💱 Currency

Brazilian Real BRL R$

Maldivian Rufiyaa MVR Rf

📈 Exchange rate

1 BRL = 0.2 USD

1 BRL = 0.179 EUR

100 MVR = 6.49 USD

100 MVR = 5.79 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

MVR, USD, EUR to BRL – Brazilian Real Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇧🇷 Brazilian Real (R$)

Brazilian Real exchange rates as of October 10, 2026: 1 USD = 4.99 BRL (1 BRL = 0.2 USD). 1 EUR = 5.59 BRL (1 BRL = 0.179 EUR).

Maldivian Rufiyaa exchange rates as of October 10, 2026: 1 USD = 15.42 MVR (100 MVR = 6.49 USD). 1 EUR = 17.28 MVR (100 MVR = 5.79 EUR).

USD to BRL in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Sao Paulo Hulhumale 13,260 km ≈ 17 h nonstop flight

From you

Sao Paulo
Hulhumale

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 Hulhumale: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Sao Paulo wins on cost – living expenses run 17% lower than in Hulhumale. Housing and daily spending are where you'll feel the difference most, making Sao Paulo the obvious pick if budget is a priority.

Average pay runs 24% higher in Sao Paulo, which matters when comparing affordability. Whether that higher income actually nets you more depends on your spending habits and housing choices.

Rent for a central apartment: $663 in Sao Paulo versus $1,118 in Hulhumale. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $525 in Sao Paulo versus $186 in Hulhumale. 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 $39.00 in Hulhumale. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

At $1,244 in Sao Paulo versus $1,450 in Hulhumale, a $1,500 budget is realistic in Sao Paulo but tight or insufficient in Hulhumale. The gap between the two cities makes Sao Paulo the clear choice for anyone on this budget.

Both work as nomad bases, but Sao Paulo delivers better value – similar infrastructure at $1,244 monthly. If stretching your runway or maximizing savings is the goal, the price difference makes Sao Paulo hard to pass up.

Safety-wise, Sao Paulo and Hulhumale 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 Paulo gentler on the wallet – expenses run 17% less than in Hulhumale. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.