Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Sao Paulo and Male

For one person, living is cheaper in Sao Paulo: $1,244 a month against $1,524 in Male, rent and utilities included – about $3,400 less a year. Higher rent and utilities in Male outweigh lower spending on other living expenses.

60

Cost of Living Index in Sao Paulo
Learn more

Sao Paulo Living Index
74

Cost of Living Index in Male
Learn more

Male Living Index

Jump to prices

Sao Paulo

🇧🇷 Brazil

$1,244

/mo nomad

Male

🇲🇻 Maldives

$1,524

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,244 in Sao Paulo versus $1,524 in Male.

Sao Paulo $1,244
Male $1,524

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,085 in Sao Paulo versus $2,454 in Male.

Sao Paulo $2,085
Male $2,454

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $2,926 in Sao Paulo versus $3,385 in Male.

Sao Paulo $2,926
Male $3,385

Living in Sao Paulo costs roughly 18% less than in Male, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in utilities.

The two cities straddle the global median: Sao Paulo is 7% below, Male is 14% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$8.94 R$44.87

$5.86 MVR 90.3

52.56%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$49.46 R$248

$38.10 MVR 587

29.82%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$9.22 R$46.25

$9.73 MVR 150

-5.24%

Local Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$4.73 MVR 72.9

Imported Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.78 MVR 73.7

Cappuccino

$2.54 R$12.77

$3.49 MVR 53.8

-27.22%

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

$1.45 R$7.29

$1.63 MVR 25.14

-11.04%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.91 R$4.57

$0.31 MVR 4.80

193.55%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.07 R$15.39

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.36 R$21.87

Milk (1 liter)

$1.27 R$6.36

$1.98 MVR 30.50

-35.86%

White Bread (500g)

$1.84 R$9.22

$1.60 MVR 24.74

15.00%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.41 R$7.08

$1.21 MVR 18.59

16.53%

Eggs

$2.84 R$14.27

$1.94 MVR 29.89

46.39%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$12.56 R$63.0

$10.48 MVR 162

19.85%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$5.37 R$26.95

$6.01 MVR 92.7

-10.65%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$10.72 R$53.8

$9.67 MVR 149

10.86%

Apples (1kg)

$2.74 R$13.74

$4.05 MVR 62.5

-32.35%

Banana (1kg)

$1.81 R$9.08

$3.13 MVR 48.26

-42.17%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.55 R$7.78

$3.98 MVR 61.4

-61.06%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.98 R$9.95

$2.66 MVR 41.00

-25.56%

Potato (1kg)

$1.47 R$7.38

$2.02 MVR 31.10

-27.23%

Onion (1kg)

$1.24 R$6.23

$1.88 MVR 28.95

-34.04%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.27 R$6.38

$2.12 MVR 32.75

-40.09%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.96 R$4.82

$0.61 MVR 9.47

57.38%

Bottle of Non-Alcoholic Wine (Mid-Range)

$12.24 MVR 189

Local Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.68 MVR 41.39

Imported Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.90 MVR 29.35

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$3.04 R$15.24

$15.01 MVR 231

-79.75%

Wine (Bottle)

$10.19 R$51.1

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.73 R$8.69

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.64 R$13.26

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.04 R$5.20

$0.63 MVR 9.74

65.08%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$48.10 R$241

$30.22 MVR 466

59.17%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.82 R$9.12

$1.98 MVR 30.56

-8.08%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.02 R$5.10

$1.90 MVR 29.35

-46.32%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$10.16 R$51.0

$10.18 MVR 157

-0.20%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.27 R$6.38

$0.99 MVR 15.24

28.28%

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

$24.3K R$122.0K

$32.9K MVR 506.6K

-25.97%

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

$34.0K R$170.6K

$28.8K MVR 443.6K

18.22%

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

$104 R$522

$117 MVR 1,808

-11.34%

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

$16.16 R$81.1

$30.56 MVR 471

-47.12%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$22.59 R$113

$71.8 MVR 1,107

-68.54%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$36.27 R$182

$72.0 MVR 1,110

-49.59%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$47.78 R$240

$34.45 MVR 531

38.69%

Cinema Ticket

$9.85 R$49.45

$9.90 MVR 153

-0.51%

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

$525 R$2,635

$185 MVR 2,860

183.18%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$16.6K R$83.2K

$3,048 MVR 47.0K

443.97%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$66.9 R$336

$39.25 MVR 605

70.39%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$62.3 R$312

$49.98 MVR 771

24.55%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$101 R$507

$85.8 MVR 1,323

17.87%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$90.9 R$456

$51.5 MVR 794

76.50%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$663 R$3,326

$948 MVR 14.6K

-30.10%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$423 R$2,121

$709 MVR 10.9K

-40.42%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,527 R$7,662

$2,035 MVR 31.4K

-24.97%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,009 R$5,061

$1,524 MVR 23.5K

-33.82%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,744 R$13.8K

$2,282 MVR 35.2K

20.24%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$2,068 R$10.4K

$1,391 MVR 21.5K

48.66%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$881 R$4,419

$837 MVR 12.9K

5.26%

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 Male: October 3, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Sao Paulo

$423 34.3%

Male

$709 46.5% 67.8% $287

Groceries & Markets

Sao Paulo

$243 19.8%

Male

$233 15.3% 4.3% $10

Eating Out

Sao Paulo

$163 13.3%

Male

$126 8.2% 23% $38

Clothing & Footwear

Sao Paulo

$145 11.7%

Male

$102 6.7% 29.5% $43

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Sao Paulo

$143 11.6%

Male

$220 14.4% 53.9% $77

Getting Around

Sao Paulo

$59 4.8%

Male

$44 2.9% 25.2% $15

Sport & Entertainment

Sao Paulo

$56 4.6%

Male

$92 6% 63.9% $36

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $663 in Sao Paulo and $948 in Male. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Sao Paulo pays 5% 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 $38.00 in Male for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $243 vs $233 per month, with Male cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇧🇷 Sao Paulo

🇲🇻 Male

🕒 Local time

02:56 2:56 AM

10:56 10:56 AM

8 h ahead of Sao Paulo

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

11,451,999

103,693 Capital

💱 Currency

Brazilian Real BRL R$

Maldivian Rufiyaa MVR Rf

📈 Exchange rate

1 BRL = 0.199 USD

1 BRL = 0.178 EUR

100 MVR = 6.49 USD

100 MVR = 5.78 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 = 5.02 BRL (1 BRL = 0.199 USD). 1 EUR = 5.63 BRL (1 BRL = 0.178 EUR).

Maldivian Rufiyaa exchange rates as of October 10, 2026: 1 USD = 15.42 MVR (100 MVR = 6.49 USD). 1 EUR = 17.29 MVR (100 MVR = 5.78 EUR).

USD to BRL in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

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

From you

Sao Paulo
Male

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 Male: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Sao Paulo is cheaper overall, especially in leisure and utilities. The 22% gap adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

Average pay runs 5% 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 $948 in Male. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

All in, you'll spend $1,244 per month in Sao Paulo versus $1,524 in Male – a 22% gap that adds up to real savings over time for anyone picking the cheaper option.

A monthly transit pass in Sao Paulo runs roughly 59% less than in Male. Both cities have functional networks, but the price difference matters if you're watching your budget.

At $1,244 in Sao Paulo versus $1,524 in Male, a $1,500 budget is realistic in Sao Paulo but tight or insufficient in Male. 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 Male, and the savings on those two alone free up budget for education, activities, and family trips.

Safety-wise, Sao Paulo and Male 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 22% less than in Male. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.