Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Sao Paulo and the United Arab Emirates

Name: United Arab Emirates
Address: AE

For one person, living is cheaper in Sao Paulo: $1,244 a month against $2,227 in the United Arab Emirates, rent and utilities included – about $11,800 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

60

Cost of Living Index in Sao Paulo
Learn more

Sao Paulo Living Index
110

Cost of Living Index in the United Arab Emirates
Learn more

United Arab Emirates Living Index

Jump to prices

Sao Paulo

🇧🇷 Brazil

$1,244

/mo nomad

🇦🇪 United Arab Emirates

$2,227

/mo nomad

🙂 Solo nomad: Sao Paulo is 25.4% cheaper than the United Arab Emirates without rent, and 44.1% cheaper with rent.

🙂 Family of 3: Sao Paulo is 23.7% cheaper than the United Arab Emirates without rent, and 35% cheaper with rent.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$8.94 R$44.64

$9.40 AED 34.51

-4.89%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$49.46 R$247

$60.5 AED 222

-18.23%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$9.22 R$46.01

$9.69 AED 35.60

-4.85%

Cappuccino

$2.54 R$12.70

$5.34 AED 19.63

-52.43%

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

$1.45 R$7.25

$1.05 AED 3.86

38.10%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.91 R$4.55

$0.46 AED 1.70

97.83%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.07 R$15.31

$11.80 AED 43.33

-73.98%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.36 R$21.75

$12.35 AED 45.35

-64.70%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.27 R$6.32

$1.72 AED 6.33

-26.16%

White Bread (500g)

$1.84 R$9.17

$1.46 AED 5.38

26.03%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.41 R$7.05

$2.14 AED 7.85

-34.11%

Eggs

$2.84 R$14.20

$3.22 AED 11.82

-11.80%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$12.56 R$62.7

$10.60 AED 38.92

18.49%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$5.37 R$26.81

$8.82 AED 32.38

-39.12%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$10.72 R$53.5

$11.55 AED 42.44

-7.19%

Apples (1kg)

$2.74 R$13.67

$2.46 AED 9.04

11.38%

Banana (1kg)

$1.81 R$9.03

$1.77 AED 6.51

2.26%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.55 R$7.74

$1.68 AED 6.18

-7.74%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.98 R$9.90

$1.36 AED 4.99

45.59%

Potato (1kg)

$1.47 R$7.34

$1.07 AED 3.92

37.38%

Onion (1kg)

$1.24 R$6.20

$1.06 AED 3.88

16.98%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.27 R$6.35

$1.49 AED 5.46

-14.77%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.96 R$4.79

$0.56 AED 2.06

71.43%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$3.04 R$15.16

$6.09 AED 22.38

-50.08%

Wine (Bottle)

$10.19 R$50.8

$13.52 AED 49.66

-24.63%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.73 R$8.64

$2.43 AED 8.94

-28.81%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.64 R$13.19

$2.76 AED 10.14

-4.35%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.04 R$5.18

$1.62 AED 5.94

-35.80%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$48.10 R$240

$47.10 AED 173

2.12%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.82 R$9.07

$3.25 AED 11.93

-44.00%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.02 R$5.07

$0.60 AED 2.22

70.00%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$10.16 R$50.7

$8.32 AED 30.57

22.12%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.27 R$6.35

$0.95 AED 3.48

33.68%

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

$24.3K R$121.4K

$44.9K AED 165.0K

-45.86%

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

$34.0K R$169.8K

$22.4K AED 82.2K

51.87%

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

$104 R$519

$198 AED 726

-47.40%

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

$16.16 R$80.7

$53.4 AED 196

-69.74%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$22.59 R$113

$91.3 AED 335

-75.27%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$36.27 R$181

$73.8 AED 271

-50.87%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$47.78 R$239

$33.45 AED 123

42.84%

Cinema Ticket

$9.85 R$49.19

$13.77 AED 50.6

-28.47%

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

$525 R$2,622

$570 AED 2,094

-7.89%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$16.6K R$82.8K

$12.2K AED 44.8K

35.96%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$66.9 R$334

$61.2 AED 225

9.28%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$62.3 R$311

$58.0 AED 213

7.29%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$101 R$505

$99.5 AED 365

1.64%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$90.9 R$454

$100 AED 368

-9.20%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$663 R$3,309

$1,553 AED 5,704

-57.32%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$423 R$2,110

$1,092 AED 4,011

-61.29%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,527 R$7,622

$2,731 AED 10.0K

-44.09%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,009 R$5,035

$2,022 AED 7,427

-50.12%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,744 R$13.7K

$5,628 AED 20.7K

-51.24%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$2,068 R$10.3K

$2,849 AED 10.5K

-27.40%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$881 R$4,396

$2,827 AED 10.4K

-68.85%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

11.68

4.63

152.27%

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

Last update for Sao Paulo: October 6, 2026

Last update for the United Arab Emirates: October 3, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Sao Paulo

$423 34.3%

United Arab Emirates

$1.1K 48.3% 158% $669

Groceries & Markets

Sao Paulo

$243 19.8%

United Arab Emirates

$263 11.6% 8.1% $20

Eating Out

Sao Paulo

$163 13.3%

United Arab Emirates

$258 11.4% 58.1% $95

Clothing & Footwear

Sao Paulo

$145 11.7%

United Arab Emirates

$143 6.4% 0.7% $1

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Sao Paulo

$143 11.6%

United Arab Emirates

$342 15.2% 140% $200

Getting Around

Sao Paulo

$59 4.8%

United Arab Emirates

$60 2.7% 1.2% $0.7

Sport & Entertainment

Sao Paulo

$56 4.6%

United Arab Emirates

$101 4.5% 81.1% $45

Good to know

🇧🇷 Sao Paulo

🇦🇪 United Arab Emirates

🕒 Local time

09:06 9:06 AM

16:06 4:06 PM

7 h ahead of Sao Paulo

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

11,451,999

9,890,400

💱 Currency

Brazilian Real BRL R$

UAE Dirham AED د.إ

📈 Exchange rate

1 BRL = 0.2 USD

1 BRL = 0.179 EUR

1 AED = 0.272 USD

1 AED = 0.243 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

AED, USD, EUR to BRL – Brazilian Real Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇧🇷 Brazilian Real (R$)

Brazilian Real exchange rates as of October 10, 2026: 1 USD = 4.99 BRL (1 BRL = 0.2 USD). 1 EUR = 5.59 BRL (1 BRL = 0.179 EUR).

UAE Dirham exchange rates as of October 10, 2026: 1 USD = 3.67 AED (1 AED = 0.272 USD). 1 EUR = 4.12 AED (1 AED = 0.243 EUR).

USD to BRL in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Sao Paulo United Arab Emirates 12,110 km ≈ 16 h nonstop flight

From you

Sao Paulo
United Arab Emirates

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 other spots: cost of living compared

Similar cities

Phuket

🇹🇭 Thailand

Playa del Carmen

🇲🇽 Mexico

Tbilisi

🇬🇪 Georgia

Bali

🇮🇩 Indonesia

Kuta, Bali

🇮🇩 Indonesia

Shanghai

🇨🇳 China

Izmir

🇹🇷 Turkey

Bogota

🇨🇴 Colombia