Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Sao Paulo and San Juan de Pasto

For one person, living is cheaper in Sao Paulo: $1,235 a month against $1,371 in San Juan de Pasto, rent and utilities included – about $1,600 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
63

Cost of Living Index in San Juan de Pasto
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San Juan de Pasto Living Index

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Sao Paulo

🇧🇷 Brazil

$1,235

/mo nomad

San Juan de Pasto

🇨🇴 Colombia

$1,371

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Sao Paulo and in San Juan de Pasto

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 Juan de Pasto actually costs, broken down by who's living it.

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,235 in Sao Paulo versus $1,371 in San Juan de Pasto.

Sao Paulo $1,235
San Juan de Pasto $1,371

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,073 in Sao Paulo versus $2,031 in San Juan de Pasto.

Sao Paulo $2,073
San Juan de Pasto $2,031

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $2,911 in Sao Paulo versus $2,691 in San Juan de Pasto.

Sao Paulo $2,911
San Juan de Pasto $2,691

Living in Sao Paulo costs roughly 10% less than in San Juan de Pasto, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in transport.

The two cities straddle the global median: Sao Paulo is 9% below, San Juan de Pasto is 2% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$8.81 R$44.68

$6.63 COP 21.0K

32.88%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$49.37 R$250

$45.64 COP 144.7K

8.17%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$8.80 R$44.63

$9.96 COP 31.6K

-11.65%

Cappuccino

$2.49 R$12.63

$2.57 COP 8,146

-3.11%

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

$1.42 R$7.19

$1.56 COP 4,948

-8.97%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.85 R$4.31

$0.86 COP 2,715

-1.16%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.98 R$15.11

$3.07 COP 9,733

-2.93%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.34 R$22.02

$4.05 COP 12.9K

7.16%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.24 R$6.28

$1.43 COP 4,538

-13.29%

White Bread (500g)

$1.91 R$9.66

$2.41 COP 7,629

-20.75%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.43 R$7.25

$1.83 COP 5,795

-21.86%

Eggs

$2.81 R$14.23

$3.33 COP 10.6K

-15.62%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$12.74 R$64.6

$7.27 COP 23.1K

75.24%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$5.41 R$27.44

$11.06 COP 35.1K

-51.08%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$10.64 R$54.0

$13.41 COP 42.5K

-20.66%

Apples (1kg)

$2.75 R$13.95

$3.58 COP 11.3K

-23.18%

Banana (1kg)

$1.81 R$9.19

$1.40 COP 4,426

29.29%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.63 R$8.27

$2.01 COP 6,359

-18.91%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.00 R$10.16

$1.78 COP 5,640

12.36%

Potato (1kg)

$1.40 R$7.10

$1.41 COP 4,481

-0.71%

Onion (1kg)

$1.27 R$6.43

$1.27 COP 4,041

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.28 R$6.47

$1.12 COP 3,566

14.29%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.95 R$4.83

$1.12 COP 3,555

-15.18%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$2.99 R$15.15

$3.65 COP 11.6K

-18.08%

Wine (Bottle)

$9.96 R$50.5

$13.43 COP 42.6K

-25.84%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.85 R$9.37

$1.46 COP 4,635

26.71%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.54 R$12.90

$2.73 COP 8,670

-6.96%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.09 R$5.50

$1.07 COP 3,390

1.87%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$48.78 R$247

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.85 R$9.39

$1.61 COP 5,102

14.91%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.99 R$4.99

$2.39 COP 7,590

-58.58%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$10.29 R$52.2

$9.04 COP 28.7K

13.83%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.34 R$6.78

$1.19 COP 3,770

12.61%

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

$24.4K R$123.8K

$22.6K COP 71.7M

7.99%

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

$33.9K R$172.1K

$32.0K COP 101.4M

6.16%

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

$104 R$529

$124 COP 392.5K

-15.62%

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

$16.71 R$84.7

$13.01 COP 41.2K

28.44%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$22.18 R$112

$29.19 COP 92.5K

-24.02%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$35.82 R$182

$42.67 COP 135.3K

-16.05%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$47.28 R$240

Cinema Ticket

$10.06 R$51.0

$6.19 COP 19.6K

62.52%

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

$579 R$2,936

$682 COP 2.2M

-15.05%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$17.1K R$86.6K

$6,774 COP 21.5M

152.16%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$65.7 R$333

$91.0 COP 288.5K

-27.84%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$61.0 R$309

$61.1 COP 193.8K

-0.16%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$100 R$509

$153 COP 486.6K

-34.59%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$92.1 R$467

$102 COP 323.0K

-9.61%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$659 R$3,341

$706 COP 2.2M

-6.64%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$428 R$2,170

$518 COP 1.6M

-17.42%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,515 R$7,678

$1,082 COP 3.4M

40.03%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,026 R$5,201

$789 COP 2.5M

30.10%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,773 R$14.1K

$2,028 COP 6.4M

36.75%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$2,007 R$10.2K

$1,580 COP 5.0M

27.07%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$909 R$4,609

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

11.68

11.58

0.86%

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 Juan de Pasto: October 11, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Sao Paulo

$428 34.7%

San Juan de Pasto

$518 37.8% 21.1% $90

Groceries & Markets

Sao Paulo

$244 19.8%

San Juan de Pasto

$284 20.7% 16.2% $40

Eating Out

Sao Paulo

$159 12.9%

San Juan de Pasto

$147 10.7% 7.9% $13

Clothing & Footwear

Sao Paulo

$144 11.6%

San Juan de Pasto

$183 13.4% 27.7% $40

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Sao Paulo

$143 11.6%

San Juan de Pasto

$166 12.1% 15.8% $23

Getting Around

Sao Paulo

$60 4.9%

San Juan de Pasto

$18 * 1.3% 70.2% $42

Sport & Entertainment

Sao Paulo

$56 4.5%

San Juan de Pasto

$55 4% 1.6% $0.9

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 $659 in Sao Paulo and $706 in San Juan de Pasto. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Dining out: $49.00 in Sao Paulo vs $46.00 in San Juan de Pasto. Groceries flip the comparison at $244 vs $284, with Sao Paulo cheaper for home cooking.

Good to know

🇧🇷 Sao Paulo

🇨🇴 San Juan de Pasto

🕒 Local time

22:45 10:45 PM

20:45 8:45 PM

2 h behind Sao Paulo

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

11,451,999

392,930

💱 Currency

Brazilian Real BRL R$

Colombian Peso COP $

📈 Exchange rate

1 BRL = 0.197 USD

1 BRL = 0.175 EUR

10,000 COP = 3.15 USD

10,000 COP = 2.81 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

COP, USD, EUR to BRL – Brazilian Real Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇧🇷 Brazilian Real (R$)

Brazilian Real exchange rates as of October 19, 2026: 1 USD = 5.07 BRL (1 BRL = 0.197 USD). 1 EUR = 5.7 BRL (1 BRL = 0.175 EUR).

Colombian Peso exchange rates as of October 19, 2026: 1 USD = 3,171 COP (10,000 COP = 3.15 USD). 1 EUR = 3,565 COP (10,000 COP = 2.81 EUR).

USD to BRL in detail →

On the map

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Highest

Between locations

Sao Paulo San Juan de Pasto 4,310 km ≈ 6 h nonstop flight

From you

Sao Paulo
San Juan de Pasto

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 Juan de Pasto: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Sao Paulo wins on cost – living expenses run 11% lower than in San Juan de Pasto. Housing and daily spending are where you'll feel the difference most, making Sao Paulo the obvious pick if budget is a priority.

You'd need roughly $1,852 in Sao Paulo and $2,057 in San Juan de Pasto to live well. The gap comes down to housing and overall price levels. Both cities are liveable on less, but these numbers represent actual comfort.

Rent for a central apartment: $659 in Sao Paulo versus $706 in San Juan de Pasto. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $579 in Sao Paulo versus $682 in San Juan de Pasto. 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 $46.00 in San Juan de Pasto. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

At $1,235 in Sao Paulo versus $1,371 in San Juan de Pasto, a $1,500 budget is realistic in Sao Paulo but tight or insufficient in San Juan de Pasto. 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 $1,235 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 San Juan de Pasto 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 11% less than in San Juan de Pasto. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.