Sao Paulo vs Seoul - Cost of Living Comparison

Updated: March 02, 2025

	Sao Paulo	Seoul
🚶 Cost of living one person	$976	$1334
👨‍👩‍👧‍👦 Cost of living Family	$2532	$3862
🏠 One person rent	$462	$608
🏘️ Family rent	$837	$1634
🍽️ Food expenses	$279	$488
🚐 Transport expenses	$134	$144
💳 Monthly salary after tax	$581	$2911
😷 Air quality	Moderate	Moderate
✈️ Airport proximity	5 km	18 km
🎓 Higher education	95	100
😀 Quality of life	65	95
🏙️ Population	11.5M	9.67M

The cost of living in Sao Paulo is 27% less expensive than in Seoul. Cities ranked 5654th and 4104th ($976 vs $1334) in the list of the most expensive cities in the world and ranked 1st and 3rd in Brazil and South Korea, respectively. Check Brazil vs South Korea comparison.

The average after-tax salary is enough to cover living expenses for 0.6 months in Sao Paulo compared to 2.2 months in Seoul. Sao Paulo ranked 1st best city to live in Brazil vs Seoul ranked 1st in South Korea, while ranked 4281st and 30th among best cities to live in the world.

Salary adjustment calculator
the estimated difference in money purchasing power

Cost of living in Sao Paulo vs Seoul infographic

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<img src="https://livingcost.org/assets/photo/cost/sao-paulo/seoul.jpg" alt="Cost of living in Sao Paulo vs Seoul infographic" style="max-width: 100%; height: auto;"><p>Source: <a href="https://livingcost.org/cost/sao-paulo/seoul" target="_blank">Sao Paulo vs Seoul - Cost of Living Comparison</a></p>

Prices in Sao Paulo vs Seoul

Prices for goods and services in Sao Paulo and Seoul are partly crowdsourced by our visitors, just like yourself. Please consider telling us about your city.

	Sao Paulo	Seoul
Eating Out
🍱 Lunch Menu	$6.51	$7.53
🥂 Dinner in a Restaurant, for 2	$36.4	$40.1
🥪 Fast food meal, equiv. McDonald's	$6.68	$5.87
🍻 Beer in a Pub, 0.5 L or 16 fl oz	$2.12	$3.5
☕ Cappuccino	$2.27	$3.57
🥤 Pepsi / Coke, 0.5 L or 16.9 fl oz	$1.15	$1.58
Rent & Utilities
🏙️ 1 bedroom apartment in Downtown, 40 m2 or 430 ft2	$557	$754
🏡 Cheap 1 bedroom apartment, 40 m2 or 430 ft2	$360	$422
🏙️ 3 bedroom apartment in Downtown, 80 m2 or 860 ft2	$1051	$2293
🏡 Cheap 3 bedroom apartment, 80 m2 or 860 ft2	$677	$1250
🔌 Utility Bill one person, electricity, heating, water, etc.	$43.1	$99.6
🔌 Utility Bill for a Family, electricity, heating, water, etc.	$65.8	$155
🌐 Internet plan, 50 Mbps+ 1 month unlimited	$18.9	$20.3
🏦 Mortgage Interest Rate for 20 Years	11.38%	4.85%
🏙️ Apartment price to Buy in city Center, 1 m2 or 10 ft2	$2420	$19682
🏡 House price to Buy in Suburbs, 1 m2 or 10 ft2	$1633	$11168
Transportation
🚌 Local transport ticket	$0.87	$1.05
🎟️ Monthly ticket local transport	$44.7	$44.5
🚕 Taxi Ride, 8 km or 5 mi	$7.37	$8.29
⛽ Gas / Petrol, 1 L or 0.26 gal	$1.02	$1.17
Groceries
🥛 Milk, 1 L or 1 qt	$1	$2.06
🍞 Bread, 0.5 kg or 1.1 lb	$1.43	$3.08
🍚 Rice, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$1.14	$3.06
🥚 Eggs, x12	$2.32	$3.38
🧀 Cheese, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$9.78	$12.7
🐔 Chicken Breast, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$4.18	$8.56
🥩 Round Steak, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$7.95	$32
🍏 Apples, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$2.54	$7.25
🍌 Banana, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$1.75	$3.37
🍊 Oranges, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$1.5	$5.31
🍅 Tomato, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$1.7	$5.9
🥔 Potato, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$1.47	$3.54
🧅 Onion, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$1.29	$2.82
🌊 Water, 1 L or 1 qt	$0.45	$0.81
🍹 Coca-Cola / Pepsi, 2 L or 67.6 fl oz	$1.84	$2.18
🍾 Wine (mid-priced), 750 mL bottle	$8.53	$20.3
🍺 Beer, 0.5 L or 16 fl oz	$1.22	$2.46
🚬 Cigarette pack	$2.1	$3.17
💊 Cold medicince, 1 week	$4.69	$4.67
🧴 Hair Shampoo	$3.85	$5.75
🧻 Toilet paper, 4 rolls	$1.44	$2.16
👄 Toothpaste, 1 tube	$1.32	$2.86
Other
🏋️ Gym Membership, 1 month	$25.5	$48.3
🎫 Cinema Ticket, 1 person	$7.36	$10.5
👩‍⚕️ Doctor's visit	$62.6	$22.9
💇 Haircut, simple	$11.3	$9.53
👖 Brand Jeans	$51.9	$58.3
👟 Brand Sneakers	$78.9	$82.4
👶 Daycare or Preschool, 1 month	$527	$420
🏫 International Primary School, 1 year	$14254	$20197

Cost of living in other countries

Cost of living

Cost of Living in the nearest cities

Cities near Sao Paulo

Distance	City	Cost of living
12 km or 7.3 mi	Sao Caetano do Sul	$687
13 km or 8.3 mi	Taboao da Serra	$645
14 km or 8.6 mi	Guarulhos	$662
15 km or 9.4 mi	Diadema	$647
16 km or 9.7 mi	Santo Andre	$618
16 km or 10 mi	Osasco	$661
17 km or 11 mi	Sao Bernardo do Campo	$618
21 km or 13 mi	Carapicuiba	$563
22 km or 14 mi	Maua	$636
23 km or 15 mi	Caieiras	$628
25 km or 15 mi	Embu das Artes	$624
25 km or 16 mi	Barueri	$703
26 km or 16 mi	Mairipora	$622
26 km or 16 mi	Franco da Rocha	$635
27 km or 17 mi	Ferraz de Vasconcelos	$612
28 km or 17 mi	Jandira	$621
29 km or 18 mi	Ribeirao Pires	$613
29 km or 18 mi	Itapecerica da Serra	$626
30 km or 18 mi	Poa	$605
30 km or 18 mi	Cotia	$612
30 km or 19 mi	Itaquaquecetuba	$627
31 km or 19 mi	Itapevi	$600
31 km or 19 mi	Santana de Parnaiba	$624
32 km or 20 mi	Francisco Morato	$641
33 km or 20 mi	Itanhaem	$614
33 km or 20 mi	Cajamar	$628
36 km or 22 mi	Embu-Guacu	$619
36 km or 22 mi	Aruja	$615
41 km or 26 mi	Campo Limpo Paulista	$644
43 km or 26 mi	Varzea Paulista	$656
44 km or 27 mi	Cubatao	$603
45 km or 28 mi	Mogi das Cruzes	$663
48 km or 30 mi	Jundiai	$722
49 km or 30 mi	Atibaia	$568
51 km or 32 mi	Sao Roque	$615
52 km or 32 mi	Sao Vicente	$569
55 km or 34 mi	Santos	$732
56 km or 35 mi	Praia Grande	$607
61 km or 38 mi	Bertioga	$609
61 km or 38 mi	Ibiuna	$611

Cities near Seoul

Distance	City	Cost of living
13 km or 7.9 mi	Guri	$1122
17 km or 10 mi	Goyang	$1171
17 km or 10 mi	Gwangmyeong	$1089
17 km or 11 mi	Gwacheon	$1070
19 km or 12 mi	Uijeongbu	$955
20 km or 12 mi	Hanam	$1161
20 km or 12 mi	Namyangju	$1129
20 km or 13 mi	Seongnam	$1400
21 km or 13 mi	Siheung	$1283
21 km or 13 mi	Bucheon	$1163
22 km or 14 mi	Anyang	$1022
23 km or 14 mi	Yangju	$974
24 km or 15 mi	Gunpo	$1098
26 km or 16 mi	Gimpo	$1099
27 km or 17 mi	Uiwang	$1063
30 km or 19 mi	Gwangju	$1165
32 km or 20 mi	Paju	$1075
33 km or 20 mi	Ansan	$1070
33 km or 21 mi	Suwon	$1022
34 km or 21 mi	Incheon	$1092
37 km or 23 mi	Dongducheon	$1055
39 km or 24 mi	Pocheon	$1040
42 km or 26 mi	Yongin	$1127
47 km or 29 mi	Hwaseong	$1089
49 km or 31 mi	Osan	$1042
52 km or 32 mi	Icheon	$1020
58 km or 36 mi	Kaesong	$1565
65 km or 40 mi	Yeoju	$1026
66 km or 41 mi	Pyeongtaek	$984
69 km or 43 mi	Anseong	$1026
72 km or 45 mi	Chuncheon	$865
83 km or 52 mi	Dangjin	$1033
86 km or 53 mi	Wonju	$1074
87 km or 54 mi	Cheonan	$1151
101 km or 63 mi	Seosan	$1036
107 km or 66 mi	Chungju	$900
114 km or 71 mi	Cheongju	$936
118 km or 73 mi	Jecheon	$1016
123 km or 77 mi	Haeju	$1550
124 km or 77 mi	Sejong	$1019