Last update: Nov 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Sao Paulo and Sydney, NS

For one person, living is cheaper in Sao Paulo: $1,137 a month against $1,620 in Sydney, NS, rent and utilities included – about $5,800 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

54

Cost of Living Index in Sao Paulo
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Sao Paulo Living Index
78

Cost of Living Index in Sydney, NS
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Sydney, NS Living Index

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Sao Paulo

🇧🇷 Brazil

$1,137

/mo nomad

Sydney, NS

🇨🇦 Canada

$1,620

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Sao Paulo and in Sydney, NS

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,137 in Sao Paulo versus $1,620 in Sydney, NS.

Sao Paulo $1,137
Sydney, NS $1,620

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,898 in Sao Paulo versus $2,580 in Sydney, NS.

Sao Paulo $1,898
Sydney, NS $2,580

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $2,660 in Sao Paulo versus $3,539 in Sydney, NS.

Sao Paulo $2,660
Sydney, NS $3,539

Living in Sao Paulo costs roughly 30% less than in Sydney, NS, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in utilities.

The two cities straddle the global median: Sao Paulo is 16% below, Sydney, NS is 20% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$8.09 R$44.53

$11.58 CA$16.29

-30.14%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$46.75 R$257

$63.3 CA$89.0

-26.09%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$8.19 R$45.10

$7.29 CA$10.25

12.35%

Cappuccino

$2.34 R$12.90

$2.80 CA$3.93

-16.43%

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

$1.35 R$7.42

$2.23 CA$3.14

-39.46%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.81 R$4.45

$2.09 CA$2.93

-61.24%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.83 R$15.56

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.08 R$22.46

Milk (1 liter)

$1.10 R$6.08

$2.51 CA$3.53

-56.18%

White Bread (500g)

$1.73 R$9.54

$2.57 CA$3.62

-32.68%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.47 R$8.11

$2.48 CA$3.48

-40.73%

Eggs

$2.55 R$14.01

$3.29 CA$4.63

-22.49%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$11.49 R$63.3

$6.61 CA$9.29

73.83%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$4.82 R$26.52

$8.45 CA$11.88

-42.96%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$10.03 R$55.2

$13.02 CA$18.31

-22.96%

Apples (1kg)

$2.41 R$13.25

$7.36 CA$10.35

-67.26%

Banana (1kg)

$1.60 R$8.81

$1.12 CA$1.57

42.86%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.37 R$7.56

Tomato (1kg)

$1.77 R$9.76

$1.41 CA$1.99

25.53%

Potato (1kg)

$1.31 R$7.21

$0.99 CA$1.39

32.32%

Onion (1kg)

$1.15 R$6.32

$2.13 CA$3.00

-46.01%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.16 R$6.37

$6.28 CA$8.83

-81.53%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.87 R$4.80

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$2.70 R$14.87

$17.99 CA$25.31

-84.99%

Wine (Bottle)

$9.28 R$51.1

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.62 R$8.93

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.39 R$13.18

$4.17 CA$5.87

-42.69%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.96 R$5.27

$1.09 CA$1.53

-11.93%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$43.95 R$242

$48.78 CA$68.6

-9.90%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.26 R$6.93

$4.27 CA$6.00

-70.49%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.89 R$4.92

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$10.10 R$55.6

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.18 R$6.47

$1.16 CA$1.63

1.72%

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

$21.4K R$118.0K

$26.4K CA$37.1K

-18.78%

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

$32.3K R$177.8K

$19.0K CA$26.7K

70.11%

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

$93.0 R$512

$88.8 CA$125

4.69%

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

$15.28 R$84.1

$36.35 CA$51.1

-57.96%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$19.65 R$108

$73.3 CA$103

-73.19%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$31.16 R$171

$49.08 CA$69.0

-36.51%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$47.29 R$260

$3.51 CA$4.93

1247.29%

Cinema Ticket

$9.36 R$51.5

$7.02 CA$9.87

33.33%

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

$564 R$3,102

$721 CA$1,014

-21.84%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$25.1K R$138.0K

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$59.2 R$326

$70.1 CA$98.6

-15.58%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$56.0 R$308

$66.1 CA$92.9

-15.17%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$96.3 R$530

$99.3 CA$140

-3.07%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$86.9 R$479

$109 CA$153

-20.27%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$602 R$3,313

$913 CA$1,284

-34.06%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$401 R$2,206

$715 CA$1,005

-43.91%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,343 R$7,392

$1,789 CA$2,515

-24.92%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$925 R$5,093

$1,418 CA$1,994

-34.73%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,514 R$13.8K

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,866 R$10.3K

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$863 R$4,750

$2,553 CA$3,590

-66.20%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

11.5

5.8

98.28%

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

Last update for Sao Paulo: November 2, 2026

Last update for Sydney, NS: November 1, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Sao Paulo

$401 35.3%

Sydney, NS

$715 44.1% 78.3% $314

Groceries & Markets

Sao Paulo

$222 19.5%

Sydney, NS

$266 * 16.4% 20% $44

Eating Out

Sao Paulo

$148 13.1%

Sydney, NS

$165 * 10.2% 11.5% $17

Clothing & Footwear

Sao Paulo

$134 11.8%

Sydney, NS

$155 9.6% 15.4% $21

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Sao Paulo

$128 11.3%

Sydney, NS

$198 12.3% 55.1% $71

Getting Around

Sao Paulo

$54 4.7%

Sydney, NS

$57 * 3.5% 7.3% $3.9

Sport & Entertainment

Sao Paulo

$50 4.4%

Sydney, NS

$63 3.9% 26.5% $13

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 $602 in Sao Paulo and $913 in Sydney, NS. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Sydney, NS pays about 3 times more on average. How far that income stretches comes down to housing choices and lifestyle.

Dining out: $47 in Sao Paulo vs $63 in Sydney, NS for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $222 vs $266 per month, with Sao Paulo cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇧🇷 Sao Paulo

🇨🇦 Sydney, NS

🕒 Local time

16:02 4:02 PM

15:02 3:02 PM

1 h behind Sao Paulo

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

11,451,999

30,960

💱 Currency

Brazilian Real BRL R$

Canadian Dollar CAD $

📈 Exchange rate

1 BRL = 0.182 USD

1 BRL = 0.162 EUR

1 CAD = 0.711 USD

1 CAD = 0.633 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

CAD, USD, EUR to BRL – Brazilian Real Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇧🇷 Brazilian Real (R$)

Brazilian Real exchange rates as of November 6, 2026: 1 USD = 5.5 BRL (1 BRL = 0.182 USD). 1 EUR = 6.18 BRL (1 BRL = 0.162 EUR).

Canadian Dollar exchange rates as of November 6, 2026: 1 USD = 1.41 CAD (1 CAD = 0.711 USD). 1 EUR = 1.58 CAD (1 CAD = 0.633 EUR).

USD to BRL in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Sao Paulo Sydney, NS 7,870 km ≈ 10 h nonstop flight

From you

Sao Paulo
Sydney, NS

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 Sydney, NS: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Sao Paulo is about 30% cheaper overall, especially in utilities, groceries, and clothing. That difference adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

On paper, salaries run 66% 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: $602 in Sao Paulo versus $913 in Sydney, NS. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

A monthly transit pass in Sao Paulo runs roughly 10% less than in Sydney, NS. The price difference matters if you commute daily and watch your budget.

Childcare runs $564 in Sao Paulo versus $721 in Sydney, NS. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

At $1,137 in Sao Paulo versus $1,620 in Sydney, NS, a $1,500 budget is realistic in Sao Paulo but tight or insufficient in Sydney, NS. 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 30% less than in Sydney, NS. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.