Sao Paulo vs Seoul - Cost of Living Comparison

Updated: October 14, 2025

	Sao Paulo	Seoul
🚶 Cost of living one person	$1052	$1383
👨‍👩‍👧‍👦 Cost of living Family	$2682	$3421
🏠 One person rent	$496	$635
🏘️ Family rent	$872	$1111
🍽️ Food expenses	$302	$484
🚐 Transport expenses	$143	$152
💳 Monthly salary after tax	$701	$1954
😷 Air quality	Moderate	Moderate
✈️ Airport proximity	5 km	18 km
🎓 Higher education	95	100
😀 Quality of life	69	93
🏙️ Population	11.5M	9.67M

The cost of living in Sao Paulo is 24% less expensive than in Seoul. Cities ranked 5192nd and 4296th ($1052 vs $1383) in the list of the most expensive cities in the world and ranked 1st and 2nd in Brazil and South Korea, respectively. Check Brazil vs South Korea comparison.

The average after-tax salary is enough to cover living expenses for 0.7 months in Sao Paulo compared to 1.4 months in Seoul. Sao Paulo ranked 1st best city to live in Brazil vs Seoul ranked 2nd in South Korea, while ranked 4142nd and 90th 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	$7.6	$7.28
🥂 Dinner in a Restaurant, for 2	$34	$43.1
🥪 Fast food meal, equiv. McDonald's	$7.12	$5.99
🍻 Beer in a Pub, 0.5 L or 16 fl oz	$2.3	$3.46
☕ Cappuccino	$2.55	$3.69
🥤 Pepsi / Coke, 0.5 L or 16.9 fl oz	$1.19	$1.66
Rent & Utilities
🏙️ 1 bedroom apartment in Downtown, 40 m2 or 430 ft2	$622	$764
🏡 Cheap 1 bedroom apartment, 40 m2 or 430 ft2	$380	$460
🏙️ 3 bedroom apartment in Downtown, 80 m2 or 860 ft2	$1124	$1372
🏡 Cheap 3 bedroom apartment, 80 m2 or 860 ft2	$691	$841
🔌 Utility Bill one person, electricity, heating, water, etc.	$48.7	$97.1
🔌 Utility Bill for a Family, electricity, heating, water, etc.	$75	$147
🌐 Internet plan, 50 Mbps+ 1 month unlimited	$18.7	$16.8
🏦 Mortgage Interest Rate for 20 Years	12.27%	3.97%
🏙️ Apartment price to Buy in city Center, 1 m2 or 10 ft2	$2855	$20727
🏡 House price to Buy in Suburbs, 1 m2 or 10 ft2	$1938	$10845
Transportation
🚌 Local transport ticket	$0.96	$1.04
🎟️ Monthly ticket local transport	$48.5	$44.6
🚕 Taxi Ride, 8 km or 5 mi	$7.53	$9.78
⛽ Gas / Petrol, 1 L or 0.26 gal	$1.11	$1.15
Groceries
🥛 Milk, 1 L or 1 qt	$1.04	$2.01
🍞 Bread, 0.5 kg or 1.1 lb	$1.56	$2.68
🍚 Rice, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$1.19	$2.55
🥚 Eggs, x12	$2.66	$3.27
🧀 Cheese, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$11.5	$14.9
🐔 Chicken Breast, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$4.68	$9.59
🥩 Round Steak, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$9.54	$33
🍏 Apples, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$2.7	$7.35
🍌 Banana, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$1.84	$3.34
🍊 Oranges, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$1.61	$5.41
🍅 Tomato, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$1.82	$5.24
🥔 Potato, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$1.39	$3.68
🧅 Onion, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$1.26	$2.95
🌊 Water, 1 L or 1 qt	$0.48	$0.8
🍹 Coca-Cola / Pepsi, 2 L or 67.6 fl oz	$1.98	$1.8
🍾 Wine (mid-priced), 750 mL bottle	$8.72	$17.6
🍺 Beer, 0.5 L or 16 fl oz	$1.3	$1.97
🚬 Cigarette pack	$2.55	$3.12
💊 Cold medicince, 1 week	$6.16	$3.56
🧴 Hair Shampoo	$4.2	$3.98
🧻 Toilet paper, 4 rolls	$1.52	$3.5
👄 Toothpaste, 1 tube	$1.39	$1.3
Other
🏋️ Gym Membership, 1 month	$27.9	$47.8
🎫 Cinema Ticket, 1 person	$7.81	$10
👩‍⚕️ Doctor's visit	$65.2	$62.2
💇 Haircut, simple	$12.8	$16.7
👖 Brand Jeans	$55.2	$49.6
👟 Brand Sneakers	$92.9	$67.5
👶 Daycare or Preschool, 1 month	$475	$357
🏫 International Primary School, 1 year	$15428	$21347

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	$737
13 km or 8.3 mi	Taboao da Serra	$701
14 km or 8.6 mi	Guarulhos	$697
15 km or 9.4 mi	Diadema	$698
16 km or 9.7 mi	Santo Andre	$690
16 km or 10 mi	Osasco	$712
17 km or 11 mi	Sao Bernardo do Campo	$656
21 km or 13 mi	Carapicuiba	$605
22 km or 14 mi	Maua	$691
23 km or 15 mi	Caieiras	$687
25 km or 15 mi	Embu das Artes	$704
25 km or 16 mi	Barueri	$830
26 km or 16 mi	Mairipora	$671
26 km or 16 mi	Franco da Rocha	$699
27 km or 17 mi	Ferraz de Vasconcelos	$643
28 km or 17 mi	Jandira	$699
29 km or 18 mi	Ribeirao Pires	$665
29 km or 18 mi	Itapecerica da Serra	$706
30 km or 18 mi	Poa	$639
30 km or 18 mi	Cotia	$780
30 km or 19 mi	Itaquaquecetuba	$671
31 km or 19 mi	Itapevi	$654
31 km or 19 mi	Santana de Parnaiba	$689
32 km or 20 mi	Francisco Morato	$702
33 km or 20 mi	Itanhaem	$666
33 km or 20 mi	Cajamar	$693
36 km or 22 mi	Embu-Guacu	$678
36 km or 22 mi	Aruja	$664
41 km or 26 mi	Campo Limpo Paulista	$685
43 km or 26 mi	Varzea Paulista	$687
44 km or 27 mi	Cubatao	$657
45 km or 28 mi	Mogi das Cruzes	$741
48 km or 30 mi	Jundiai	$737
49 km or 30 mi	Atibaia	$618
51 km or 32 mi	Sao Roque	$673
52 km or 32 mi	Sao Vicente	$648
55 km or 34 mi	Santos	$816
56 km or 35 mi	Praia Grande	$638
61 km or 38 mi	Bertioga	$659
61 km or 38 mi	Ibiuna	$666

Cities near Seoul

Distance	City	Cost of living
13 km or 7.9 mi	Guri	$1134
17 km or 10 mi	Goyang	$1097
17 km or 10 mi	Gwangmyeong	$1090
17 km or 11 mi	Gwacheon	$1078
19 km or 12 mi	Uijeongbu	$918
20 km or 12 mi	Hanam	$1178
20 km or 12 mi	Namyangju	$1138
20 km or 13 mi	Seongnam	$1435
21 km or 13 mi	Siheung	$1307
21 km or 13 mi	Bucheon	$1175
22 km or 14 mi	Anyang	$1004
23 km or 14 mi	Yangju	$948
24 km or 15 mi	Gunpo	$1112
26 km or 16 mi	Gimpo	$1098
27 km or 17 mi	Uiwang	$1080
30 km or 19 mi	Gwangju	$1196
32 km or 20 mi	Paju	$1065
33 km or 20 mi	Ansan	$1049
33 km or 21 mi	Suwon	$1066
34 km or 21 mi	Incheon	$1088
37 km or 23 mi	Dongducheon	$1023
39 km or 24 mi	Pocheon	$1028
42 km or 26 mi	Yongin	$1120
47 km or 29 mi	Hwaseong	$1098
49 km or 31 mi	Osan	$1076
52 km or 32 mi	Icheon	$1171
58 km or 36 mi	Kaesong	$1568
65 km or 40 mi	Yeoju	$1079
66 km or 41 mi	Pyeongtaek	$1141
69 km or 43 mi	Anseong	$1078
72 km or 45 mi	Chuncheon	$874
83 km or 52 mi	Dangjin	$1059
86 km or 53 mi	Wonju	$1110
87 km or 54 mi	Cheonan	$1153
101 km or 63 mi	Seosan	$1068
107 km or 66 mi	Chungju	$920
114 km or 71 mi	Cheongju	$924
118 km or 73 mi	Jecheon	$1037
123 km or 77 mi	Haeju	$1565
124 km or 77 mi	Sejong	$1020