Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Sao Paulo and San Felipe

For one person, living is cheaper in San Felipe: $1,106 a month against $1,222 in Sao Paulo, rent and utilities included – about $1,400 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

59

Cost of Living Index in Sao Paulo
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Sao Paulo Living Index
54

Cost of Living Index in San Felipe
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San Felipe Living Index

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Sao Paulo

🇧🇷 Brazil

$1,222

/mo nomad

San Felipe

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,106

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Sao Paulo and in San Felipe

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

A single person spends $1,222 per month in Sao Paulo vs $1,106 in San Felipe, rent included.

Sao Paulo $1,222
San Felipe $1,106

A couple spends around $2,044 per month in Sao Paulo vs $1,777 in San Felipe, rent included.

Sao Paulo $2,044
San Felipe $1,777

A family of three spends $2,867 per month in Sao Paulo vs $2,448 in San Felipe, rent included.

Sao Paulo $2,867
San Felipe $2,448

Sao Paulo costs about 10% more than San Felipe, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in transport.

Both Sao Paulo and San Felipe are more affordable than the global median – Sao Paulo 10% lower, San Felipe 18% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$8.71 R$44.15

$7.35 MX$136

18.50%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$48.61 R$246

$43.63 MX$806

11.41%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$9.03 R$45.77

$8.27 MX$153

9.19%

Cappuccino

$2.55 R$12.94

$3.49 MX$64.4

-26.93%

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

$1.35 R$6.83

$1.35 MX$24.91

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.91 R$4.63

$1.05 MX$19.41

-13.33%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.07 R$15.55

$2.45 MX$45.34

25.31%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.38 R$22.21

$4.10 MX$75.8

6.83%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.19 R$6.05

$1.64 MX$30.38

-27.44%

White Bread (500g)

$1.80 R$9.14

$2.54 MX$46.89

-29.13%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.48 R$7.51

$1.72 MX$31.80

-13.95%

Eggs

$2.82 R$14.31

$2.53 MX$46.82

11.46%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$12.61 R$63.9

$8.42 MX$156

49.76%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$5.40 R$27.36

$8.46 MX$156

-36.17%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$10.76 R$54.6

$11.72 MX$217

-8.19%

Apples (1kg)

$2.82 R$14.28

$2.67 MX$49.26

5.62%

Banana (1kg)

$1.82 R$9.25

$1.53 MX$28.23

18.95%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.60 R$8.14

$1.89 MX$35.02

-15.34%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.03 R$10.28

$1.83 MX$33.76

10.93%

Potato (1kg)

$1.46 R$7.40

$1.99 MX$36.84

-26.63%

Onion (1kg)

$1.25 R$6.35

$1.87 MX$34.64

-33.16%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.25 R$6.32

$1.43 MX$26.39

-12.59%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.98 R$4.98

$1.08 MX$20.02

-9.26%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$3.00 R$15.18

$4.50 MX$83.1

-33.33%

Wine (Bottle)

$9.71 R$49.22

$10.26 MX$190

-5.36%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.84 R$9.32

$1.75 MX$32.42

5.14%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.52 R$12.80

$3.07 MX$56.8

-17.92%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.07 R$5.41

$0.63 MX$11.65

69.84%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$47.26 R$240

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.81 R$9.16

$2.63 MX$48.65

-31.18%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.01 R$5.14

$1.93 MX$35.73

-47.67%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$10.24 R$51.9

$11.06 MX$204

-7.41%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.29 R$6.52

$1.45 MX$26.73

-11.03%

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

$23.5K R$119.3K

$21.4K MX$395.3K

10.02%

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

$34.5K R$174.9K

$24.5K MX$452.2K

41.02%

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

$104 R$527

$57.9 MX$1,070

79.69%

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

$16.60 R$84.1

$23.12 MX$427

-28.20%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$22.04 R$112

$29.50 MX$545

-25.29%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$36.43 R$185

$33.66 MX$622

8.23%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$47.29 R$240

$20.47 MX$378

131.02%

Cinema Ticket

$9.69 R$49.12

$5.36 MX$99.0

80.78%

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

$573 R$2,906

$219 MX$4,051

161.51%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$16.9K R$85.8K

$4,580 MX$84.6K

269.71%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$66.3 R$336

$54.2 MX$1,002

22.18%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$61.1 R$310

$40.18 MX$742

52.17%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$98.8 R$501

$99.7 MX$1,842

-0.91%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$91.4 R$463

$90.0 MX$1,662

1.58%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$654 R$3,316

$617 MX$11.4K

5.94%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$418 R$2,120

$389 MX$7,184

7.58%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,524 R$7,724

$1,059 MX$19.6K

43.83%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$992 R$5,028

$757 MX$14.0K

31.10%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,670 R$13.5K

$1,934 MX$35.7K

38.07%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$2,019 R$10.2K

$1,147 MX$21.2K

76.12%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$900 R$4,563

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

11.68

11.3

3.36%

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

Last update for Sao Paulo: October 18, 2026

Last update for San Felipe: October 17, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Sao Paulo

$418 34.2%

San Felipe

$389 35.1% 7% $29

Groceries & Markets

Sao Paulo

$243 19.9%

San Felipe

$265 23.9% 8.8% $21

Eating Out

Sao Paulo

$161 13.1%

San Felipe

$156 14.1% 3.1% $5

Clothing & Footwear

Sao Paulo

$143 11.7%

San Felipe

$128 11.6% 10.5% $15

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Sao Paulo

$143 11.7%

San Felipe

$111 10% 22.5% $32

Getting Around

Sao Paulo

$58 4.8%

San Felipe

$15 * 1.3% 74.6% $44

Sport & Entertainment

Sao Paulo

$56 4.6%

San Felipe

$44 4% 20.5% $11

Categories marked with * are only partly priced – their share counts the items that do have prices.

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $654 in Sao Paulo versus $617 in San Felipe. Rent is usually the largest line item in a monthly budget, so the gap here sets the tone for the overall comparison.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $49.00 in Sao Paulo versus $44.00 in San Felipe. Groceries tell a different story – $243 in Sao Paulo vs $265 in San Felipe – so Sao Paulo wins on supermarket bills even if dining out costs more.

Good to know

🇧🇷 Sao Paulo

🇲🇽 San Felipe

🕒 Local time

17:32 5:32 PM

14:32 2:32 PM

3 h behind Sao Paulo

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

11,451,999

28,452

💱 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 20, 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 20, 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

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Sao Paulo San Felipe 7,740 km ≈ 10 h nonstop flight

From you

Sao Paulo
San Felipe

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 San Felipe: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Yes – Sao Paulo is pricier by about 10%, and outside of rent the gap shows up most in transport.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $1,833 per month in Sao Paulo and $1,660 in San Felipe. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

Rent is clearly cheaper in San Felipe, especially for central apartments. Housing is actually the single biggest factor behind the overall cost gap between these two cities.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $49.00 in Sao Paulo and $44.00 in San Felipe. That's a good indicator of the overall restaurant and café pricing gap between the two cities.

Interestingly, groceries are about 9% cheaper in Sao Paulo – one category where the pricier city actually offers better value, probably thanks to stronger retail competition or local farming.

A $1,500 monthly budget goes further in San Felipe, where all-in costs run around $1,106, than in Sao Paulo at $1,222. In San Felipe it covers expenses comfortably, while in Sao Paulo it requires careful planning or may not stretch far enough.

Families tend to lean toward San Felipe – lower housing and cheaper childcare make a real difference, especially on a single income or when paying for private education.

Both have safer and rougher neighborhoods, but overall safety is comparable to other large cities. Neighborhood choice matters more than the city-level comparison – central, well-trafficked areas feel secure in both.

If budget matters most, go with San Felipe. If higher salaries, better infrastructure, or specific career opportunities are the priority, Sao Paulo makes more sense. Both are solid long-term options with distinct trade-offs.