Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Sao Paulo and Neu-Ulm

For one person, living is cheaper in Sao Paulo: $1,183 a month against $1,896 in Neu-Ulm, rent and utilities included – about $8,600 less a year. Rent and utilities account for about half of the difference.

57

Cost of Living Index in Sao Paulo
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Sao Paulo Living Index
92

Cost of Living Index in Neu-Ulm
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Neu-Ulm Living Index

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Sao Paulo

🇧🇷 Brazil

$1,183

/mo nomad

Neu-Ulm

🇩🇪 Germany

$1,896

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Sao Paulo and in Neu-Ulm

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 Neu-Ulm actually costs, broken down by who's living it.

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,183 in Sao Paulo versus $1,896 in Neu-Ulm.

Sao Paulo $1,183
Neu-Ulm $1,896

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,948 in Sao Paulo versus $2,879 in Neu-Ulm.

Sao Paulo $1,948
Neu-Ulm $2,879

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $2,713 in Sao Paulo versus $3,862 in Neu-Ulm.

Sao Paulo $2,713
Neu-Ulm $3,862

Living in Sao Paulo costs roughly 38% less than in Neu-Ulm, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Sao Paulo is 13% below, Neu-Ulm is 39% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$8.15 R$43.60

$16.97 €15.24

-51.97%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$46.78 R$250

$66.1 €59.3

-29.19%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$8.24 R$44.07

$12.42 €11.16

-33.66%

Cappuccino

$2.41 R$12.90

$3.88 €3.48

-37.89%

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

$1.32 R$7.06

$2.68 €2.41

-50.75%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.85 R$4.52

$1.93 €1.73

-55.96%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.78 R$14.85

$4.52 €4.06

-38.50%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.16 R$22.22

$4.62 €4.15

-9.96%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.15 R$6.13

$1.40 €1.26

-17.86%

White Bread (500g)

$1.69 R$9.02

$1.99 €1.79

-15.08%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.35 R$7.21

$4.12 €3.70

-67.23%

Eggs

$2.69 R$14.39

$4.03 €3.62

-33.25%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$11.78 R$63.0

$14.75 €13.25

-20.14%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$4.97 R$26.56

$10.30 €9.25

-51.75%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$10.10 R$54.0

$24.25 €21.79

-58.35%

Apples (1kg)

$2.56 R$13.69

$3.23 €2.90

-20.74%

Banana (1kg)

$1.74 R$9.32

$2.15 €1.93

-19.07%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.44 R$7.71

$2.17 €1.95

-33.64%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.83 R$9.76

$4.03 €3.62

-54.59%

Potato (1kg)

$1.29 R$6.90

$1.14 €1.02

13.16%

Onion (1kg)

$1.17 R$6.24

$1.09 €0.98

7.34%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.22 R$6.53

$1.54 €1.39

-20.78%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.89 R$4.75

$1.19 €1.07

-25.21%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$2.75 R$14.71

$9.97 €8.96

-72.42%

Wine (Bottle)

$9.27 R$49.56

$5.46 €4.90

69.78%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.73 R$9.23

$1.09 €0.98

58.72%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.38 R$12.71

$1.52 €1.37

56.58%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.02 R$5.48

$3.55 €3.19

-71.27%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$45.02 R$241

$54.0 €48.54

-16.69%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.72 R$9.17

$3.89 €3.50

-55.78%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.89 R$4.78

$2.21 €1.98

-59.73%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$9.52 R$50.9

$27.94 €25.10

-65.93%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.23 R$6.57

$2.12 €1.90

-41.98%

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

$22.3K R$119.3K

$33.5K €30.1K

-33.32%

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

$32.5K R$173.7K

$38.7K €34.7K

-15.99%

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

$98.2 R$525

$264 €237

-62.78%

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

$15.47 R$82.7

$33.18 €29.81

-53.38%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$20.73 R$111

$51.6 €46.37

-59.84%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$31.85 R$170

$38.89 €34.93

-18.10%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$44.21 R$236

$25.10 €22.54

76.14%

Cinema Ticket

$9.07 R$48.51

$13.62 €12.23

-33.41%

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

$512 R$2,740

$354 €318

44.79%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$15.8K R$84.6K

$9,561 €8,589

65.53%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$60.2 R$322

$45.00 €40.43

33.78%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$57.2 R$306

$55.2 €49.57

3.66%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$92.8 R$496

$78.5 €70.5

18.24%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$86.0 R$460

$149 €134

-42.34%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$632 R$3,377

$795 €714

-20.58%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$433 R$2,318

$642 €577

-32.52%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,354 R$7,239

$1,125 €1,010

20.39%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$957 R$5,119

$1,144 €1,027

-16.27%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,480 R$13.3K

$4,906 €4,407

-49.45%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,909 R$10.2K

$3,404 €3,057

-43.90%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$818 R$4,373

$3,650 €3,279

-77.60%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

11.68

3.95

195.70%

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

Last update for Sao Paulo: October 26, 2026

Last update for Neu-Ulm: October 25, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Sao Paulo

$433 36.6%

Neu-Ulm

$642 33.9% 48.2% $209

Groceries & Markets

Sao Paulo

$227 19.2%

Neu-Ulm

$338 17.8% 49.2% $112

Eating Out

Sao Paulo

$150 12.7%

Neu-Ulm

$270 14.2% 80.1% $120

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Sao Paulo

$134 11.4%

Neu-Ulm

$349 18.4% 159% $214

Clothing & Footwear

Sao Paulo

$133 11.3%

Neu-Ulm

$148 7.8% 10.7% $14

Getting Around

Sao Paulo

$55 4.7%

Neu-Ulm

$83 4.4% 50.4% $28

Sport & Entertainment

Sao Paulo

$50 4.2%

Neu-Ulm

$66 3.5% 32.3% $16

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $632 in Sao Paulo and $795 in Neu-Ulm. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Neu-Ulm pays about 4.5 times more on average. How far that income stretches comes down to housing choices and lifestyle.

Dining out: $47 in Sao Paulo vs $66 in Neu-Ulm for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $227 vs $338 per month, with Sao Paulo cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇧🇷 Sao Paulo

🇩🇪 Neu-Ulm

🕒 Local time

20:13 8:13 PM

00:13 12:13 AM

4 h ahead of Sao Paulo

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

11,451,999

62,610

💱 Currency

Brazilian Real BRL R$

Euro EUR €

📈 Exchange rate

1 BRL = 0.187 USD

1 BRL = 0.168 EUR

1 EUR = 1.11 USD

Exchange rates and currency converter

EUR, USD 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).

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

USD to BRL in detail →

On the map

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Highest

Between locations

Sao Paulo Neu-Ulm 9,780 km ≈ 13 h nonstop flight

From you

Sao Paulo
Neu-Ulm

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 Neu-Ulm: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Sao Paulo wins on cost – living expenses run 38% lower than in Neu-Ulm. Housing and daily spending are where you’ll feel the difference most, making Sao Paulo the obvious pick if budget is a priority.

On paper, salaries run 78% 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 $795 in Neu-Ulm. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $512 in Sao Paulo versus $354 in Neu-Ulm. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Supermarket bills run roughly 49% higher in Neu-Ulm. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

At $1,183 in Sao Paulo versus $1,896 in Neu-Ulm, a $1,500 budget is realistic in Sao Paulo but tight or insufficient in Neu-Ulm. 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.

Expats usually find Sao Paulo gentler on the wallet – expenses run 38% less than in Neu-Ulm. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.