Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Thompson and Sao Paulo

For one person, living is cheaper in Sao Paulo: $1,244 a month against $1,808 in Thompson, rent and utilities included – about $6,800 less a year. Rent and utilities account for about half of the difference.

86

Cost of Living Index in Thompson
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Thompson Living Index
60

Cost of Living Index in Sao Paulo
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Sao Paulo Living Index

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Thompson

🇨🇦 Canada

$1,808

/mo nomad

Sao Paulo

🇧🇷 Brazil

$1,244

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Thompson and in Sao Paulo

Real prices from locals and on-the-ground checks – rent, groceries, transit and the daily extras. Here's what a month in Thompson and in Sao Paulo actually costs, broken down by who's living it.

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,808 in Thompson versus $1,244 in Sao Paulo.

Thompson $1,808
Sao Paulo $1,244

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,730 in Thompson versus $2,085 in Sao Paulo.

Thompson $2,730
Sao Paulo $2,085

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,652 in Thompson versus $2,926 in Sao Paulo.

Thompson $3,652
Sao Paulo $2,926

Living in Thompson is roughly 45% more expensive than in Sao Paulo, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

The two cities straddle the global median: Thompson is 35% above, Sao Paulo is 7% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$17.37 CA$24.71

$8.94 R$44.87

94.30%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$63.3 CA$90.0

$49.46 R$248

27.96%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$10.63 CA$15.12

$9.22 R$46.25

15.29%

Cappuccino

$3.62 CA$5.15

$2.54 R$12.77

42.52%

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

$1.96 CA$2.79

$1.45 R$7.29

35.17%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.62 CA$2.30

$0.91 R$4.57

78.02%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$5.33 CA$7.58

$3.07 R$15.39

73.62%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$5.60 CA$7.97

$4.36 R$21.87

28.44%

Milk (1 liter)

$2.13 CA$3.02

$1.27 R$6.36

67.72%

White Bread (500g)

$2.49 CA$3.55

$1.84 R$9.22

35.33%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$3.20 CA$4.56

$1.41 R$7.08

126.95%

Eggs

$3.33 CA$4.74

$2.84 R$14.27

17.25%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$10.09 CA$14.35

$12.56 R$63.0

-19.67%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$11.46 CA$16.30

$5.37 R$26.95

113.41%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$14.70 CA$20.91

$10.72 R$53.8

37.13%

Apples (1kg)

$3.65 CA$5.19

$2.74 R$13.74

33.21%

Banana (1kg)

$1.17 CA$1.67

$1.81 R$9.08

-35.36%

Oranges (1kg)

$3.77 CA$5.37

$1.55 R$7.78

143.23%

Tomato (1kg)

$4.16 CA$5.92

$1.98 R$9.95

110.10%

Potato (1kg)

$2.40 CA$3.42

$1.47 R$7.38

63.27%

Onion (1kg)

$2.20 CA$3.13

$1.24 R$6.23

77.42%

Lettuce (1 head)

$2.42 CA$3.44

$1.27 R$6.38

90.55%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.60 CA$2.27

$0.96 R$4.82

66.67%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$13.73 CA$19.53

$3.04 R$15.24

351.64%

Wine (Bottle)

$12.67 CA$18.02

$10.19 R$51.1

24.34%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.69 CA$3.83

$1.73 R$8.69

55.49%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.04 CA$4.32

$2.64 R$13.26

15.15%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$2.20 CA$3.13

$1.04 R$5.20

111.54%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$67.2 CA$95.5

$48.10 R$241

39.60%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$2.86 CA$4.07

$1.82 R$9.12

57.14%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.38 CA$1.97

$1.02 R$5.10

35.29%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$22.69 CA$32.27

$10.16 R$51.0

123.33%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.12 CA$1.60

$1.27 R$6.38

-11.81%

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

$27.8K CA$39.6K

$24.3K R$122.0K

14.44%

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

$20.4K CA$29.1K

$34.0K R$170.6K

-39.92%

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

$137 CA$195

$104 R$522

31.86%

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

$37.96 CA$54.0

$16.16 R$81.1

134.90%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$53.0 CA$75.4

$22.59 R$113

134.53%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$41.03 CA$58.4

$36.27 R$182

13.12%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$15.67 CA$22.28

$47.78 R$240

-67.20%

Cinema Ticket

$10.96 CA$15.59

$9.85 R$49.45

11.27%

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

$641 CA$911

$525 R$2,635

21.97%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$13.8K CA$19.6K

$16.6K R$83.2K

-16.91%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$53.5 CA$76.0

$66.9 R$336

-20.07%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$38.21 CA$54.4

$62.3 R$312

-38.62%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$84.0 CA$120

$101 R$507

-16.90%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$102 CA$145

$90.9 R$456

12.46%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$672 CA$956

$663 R$3,326

1.36%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$674 CA$958

$423 R$2,121

59.35%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,090 CA$1,551

$1,527 R$7,662

-28.59%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,116 CA$1,587

$1,009 R$5,061

10.62%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$4,094 CA$5,823

$2,744 R$13.8K

49.17%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$4,002 CA$5,693

$2,068 R$10.4K

93.52%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,531 CA$2,178

$881 R$4,419

73.87%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

4.64

11.68

-60.27%

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

Last update for Thompson: October 5, 2026

Last update for Sao Paulo: October 6, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Thompson

$674 37.6%

Sao Paulo

$423 34.3% 37.2% $251

Groceries & Markets

Thompson

$350 19.6%

Sao Paulo

$243 19.8% 30.6% $107

Eating Out

Thompson

$266 14.9%

Sao Paulo

$163 13.3% 38.7% $103

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Thompson

$228 12.7%

Sao Paulo

$143 11.6% 37.4% $85

Clothing & Footwear

Thompson

$125 7%

Sao Paulo

$145 11.7% 15.6% $19

Getting Around

Thompson

$86 4.8%

Sao Paulo

$59 4.8% 31% $27

Sport & Entertainment

Thompson

$63 3.5%

Sao Paulo

$56 4.6% 11.1% $7

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $672 in Thompson and $663 in Sao Paulo. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Thompson pays 74% more on average. The extra income cushions the higher costs, though housing choices and lifestyle decide how much of the gap is truly closed.

Dining out: $63.0 in Thompson vs $49.00 in Sao Paulo for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $350 vs $243 per month, with Sao Paulo cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇨🇦 Thompson

🇧🇷 Sao Paulo

🕒 Local time

00:39 12:39 AM

02:39 2:39 AM

2 h ahead of Thompson

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

12,829

11,451,999

💱 Currency

Canadian Dollar CAD $

Brazilian Real BRL R$

📈 Exchange rate

1 CAD = 0.703 USD

1 CAD = 0.627 EUR

1 BRL = 0.199 USD

1 BRL = 0.178 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

BRL, USD, EUR to CAD – Canadian Dollar Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇨🇦 Canadian Dollar ($)

Canadian Dollar exchange rates as of October 10, 2026: 1 USD = 1.42 CAD (1 CAD = 0.703 USD). 1 EUR = 1.6 CAD (1 CAD = 0.627 EUR).

Brazilian Real exchange rates as of October 10, 2026: 1 USD = 5.02 BRL (1 BRL = 0.199 USD). 1 EUR = 5.63 BRL (1 BRL = 0.178 EUR).

USD to CAD in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Thompson Sao Paulo 10,050 km ≈ 13 h nonstop flight

From you

Thompson
Sao Paulo

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

Thompson vs Sao Paulo: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Sao Paulo is cheaper overall, especially in groceries, eating out, and utilities. The 45% gap adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

Average pay runs 74% higher in Thompson, which matters when comparing affordability. Whether that higher income actually nets you more depends on your spending habits and housing choices.

Rent for a central apartment: $672 in Thompson versus $663 in Sao Paulo. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

A monthly transit pass in Sao Paulo runs roughly 40% less than in Thompson. Both cities have functional networks, but the price difference matters if you're watching your budget.

Childcare runs $641 in Thompson versus $525 in Sao Paulo. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

At $1,244 in Sao Paulo versus $1,808 in Thompson, a $1,500 budget is realistic in Sao Paulo but tight or insufficient in Thompson. The gap between the two cities makes Sao Paulo the clear choice for anyone on this budget.

For families, Sao Paulo is more practical. Housing and childcare are both notably cheaper than in Thompson, and the savings on those two alone free up budget for education, activities, and family trips.

Expats usually find Sao Paulo gentler on the wallet – expenses run 45% less than in Thompson. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.