Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Sao Paulo and San Francisco de Macoris

For one person, living is cheaper in San Francisco de Macoris: $694 a month against $1,235 in Sao Paulo, rent and utilities included – about $6,500 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

60

Cost of Living Index in Sao Paulo
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Sao Paulo Living Index
34

Cost of Living Index in San Francisco de Macoris
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San Francisco de Macoris Living Index

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Sao Paulo

🇧🇷 Brazil

$1,235

/mo nomad

San Francisco de Macoris

🇩🇴 Dominican Republic

$694

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Sao Paulo and in San Francisco de Macoris

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 Francisco de Macoris actually costs, broken down by who's living it.

A single person spends $1,235 per month in Sao Paulo vs $694 in San Francisco de Macoris, rent included.

Sao Paulo $1,235
San Francisco de Macoris $694

A couple spends around $2,073 per month in Sao Paulo vs $1,144 in San Francisco de Macoris, rent included.

Sao Paulo $2,073
San Francisco de Macoris $1,144

A family of three spends $2,911 per month in Sao Paulo vs $1,595 in San Francisco de Macoris, rent included.

Sao Paulo $2,911
San Francisco de Macoris $1,595

Sao Paulo costs about 78% more than San Francisco de Macoris, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in transport.

Both Sao Paulo and San Francisco de Macoris are more affordable than the global median – Sao Paulo 9% lower, San Francisco de Macoris 49% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$8.81 R$44.32

$9.74 DOP 595

-9.55%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$49.37 R$248

$49.20 DOP 3,005

0.35%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$8.80 R$44.27

$7.53 DOP 460

16.87%

Cappuccino

$2.49 R$12.53

$2.19 DOP 134

13.70%

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

$1.42 R$7.13

$1.00 DOP 61.3

42.00%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.85 R$4.27

$0.54 DOP 33.23

57.41%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.98 R$14.98

$2.44 DOP 149

22.13%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.34 R$21.84

$3.15 DOP 192

37.78%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.24 R$6.23

$1.39 DOP 84.9

-10.79%

White Bread (500g)

$1.91 R$9.58

$1.47 DOP 90.0

29.93%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.43 R$7.19

$1.59 DOP 97.3

-10.06%

Eggs

$2.81 R$14.11

$2.38 DOP 146

18.07%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$12.74 R$64.0

$7.16 DOP 437

77.93%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$5.41 R$27.21

$5.40 DOP 330

0.19%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$10.64 R$53.5

$6.43 DOP 392

65.47%

Apples (1kg)

$2.75 R$13.84

$3.10 DOP 189

-11.29%

Banana (1kg)

$1.81 R$9.12

$0.81 DOP 49.55

123.46%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.63 R$8.20

$2.65 DOP 162

-38.49%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.00 R$10.07

$1.84 DOP 113

8.70%

Potato (1kg)

$1.40 R$7.04

$1.96 DOP 120

-28.57%

Onion (1kg)

$1.27 R$6.38

$2.17 DOP 133

-41.47%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.28 R$6.42

$0.99 DOP 60.4

29.29%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.95 R$4.79

$1.02 DOP 62.2

-6.86%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$2.99 R$15.03

$5.24 DOP 320

-42.94%

Wine (Bottle)

$9.96 R$50.1

$10.46 DOP 639

-4.78%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.85 R$9.30

$2.57 DOP 157

-28.02%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.54 R$12.80

$2.99 DOP 183

-15.05%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.09 R$5.46

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$48.78 R$245

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.85 R$9.31

$3.24 DOP 198

-42.90%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.99 R$4.95

$2.27 DOP 139

-56.39%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$10.29 R$51.7

$5.60 DOP 342

83.75%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.34 R$6.72

$1.45 DOP 88.3

-7.59%

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

$24.4K R$122.7K

$23.4K DOP 1.4M

4.19%

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

$33.9K R$170.7K

$33.2K DOP 2.0M

2.33%

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

$104 R$525

$91.2 DOP 5,569

14.53%

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

$16.71 R$84.0

$31.66 DOP 1,934

-47.22%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$22.18 R$112

$36.44 DOP 2,226

-39.13%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$35.82 R$180

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$47.28 R$238

Cinema Ticket

$10.06 R$50.6

$7.28 DOP 445

38.19%

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

$579 R$2,913

$250 DOP 15.3K

131.53%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$17.1K R$85.9K

$7,404 DOP 452.2K

130.70%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$65.7 R$330

$45.90 DOP 2,803

43.05%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$61.0 R$307

$46.47 DOP 2,838

31.33%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$100 R$505

$84.8 DOP 5,181

18.33%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$92.1 R$463

$123 DOP 7,537

-25.38%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$659 R$3,314

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$428 R$2,152

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,515 R$7,615

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,026 R$5,158

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,773 R$13.9K

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$2,007 R$10.1K

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$909 R$4,572

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

11.68

13.56

-13.86%

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

Last update for Sao Paulo: October 13, 2026

Last update for San Francisco de Macoris: October 11, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Sao Paulo

$428 34.7%

San Francisco de Macoris

- * 0% 100%

Groceries & Markets

Sao Paulo

$244 19.8%

San Francisco de Macoris

$219 31.5% 10.5% $26

Eating Out

Sao Paulo

$159 12.9%

San Francisco de Macoris

$152 21.8% 5% $8

Clothing & Footwear

Sao Paulo

$144 11.6%

San Francisco de Macoris

$135 19.5% 5.8% $8.3

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Sao Paulo

$143 11.6%

San Francisco de Macoris

$159 23% 11.1% $16

Getting Around

Sao Paulo

$60 4.9%

San Francisco de Macoris

$15 * 2.1% 75.6% $45

Sport & Entertainment

Sao Paulo

$56 4.5%

San Francisco de Macoris

$15 * 2.1% 74% $41

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

Cost Breakdown

A mid-range dinner for two costs $49.00 in Sao Paulo versus $49.00 in San Francisco de Macoris. Groceries tell a different story – $244 in Sao Paulo vs $219 in San Francisco de Macoris – so San Francisco de Macoris wins on supermarket bills even if dining out costs more.

Good to know

🇧🇷 Sao Paulo

🇩🇴 San Francisco de Macoris

🕒 Local time

17:00 5:00 PM

16:00 4:00 PM

1 h behind Sao Paulo

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

11,451,999

245,397

💱 Currency

Brazilian Real BRL R$

Dominican Peso DOP $

📈 Exchange rate

1 BRL = 0.199 USD

1 BRL = 0.178 EUR

100 DOP = 1.64 USD

100 DOP = 1.46 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

DOP, USD, EUR to BRL – Brazilian Real Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇧🇷 Brazilian Real (R$)

Brazilian Real exchange rates as of October 15, 2026: 1 USD = 5.03 BRL (1 BRL = 0.199 USD). 1 EUR = 5.63 BRL (1 BRL = 0.178 EUR).

Dominican Peso exchange rates as of October 15, 2026: 1 USD = 61.07 DOP (100 DOP = 1.64 USD). 1 EUR = 68.39 DOP (100 DOP = 1.46 EUR).

USD to BRL in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Sao Paulo San Francisco de Macoris 5,410 km ≈ 7 h nonstop flight

From you

Sao Paulo
San Francisco de Macoris

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 Francisco de Macoris: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Sao Paulo costs about 78% more than San Francisco de Macoris, and outside of rent the gap comes mainly from transport. That's enough to noticeably affect everyday spending and lifestyle for anyone choosing between the two.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $1,852 per month in Sao Paulo and $1,041 in San Francisco de Macoris. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

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

Groceries cost about 12% more in Sao Paulo, though it depends on what you buy. Local produce may be comparable; imported and premium items show the biggest price gap.

A $1,000 monthly budget goes further in San Francisco de Macoris, where all-in costs run around $694, than in Sao Paulo at $1,235. In San Francisco de Macoris it covers expenses comfortably, while in Sao Paulo it requires careful planning or may not stretch far enough.

For digital nomads, it depends on budget. San Francisco de Macoris costs $694 versus $1,235 in Sao Paulo. Both have workable remote work infrastructure, but the cost gap matters when income varies month to month.

If budget matters most, go with San Francisco de Macoris. 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.