Sao Paulo vs Seoul - Cost of Living Comparison

Updated: June 21, 2026

	Sao Paulo	Seoul
🚶 Cost of living one person	$1126	$1296
👨‍👩‍👧‍👦 Cost of living Family	$2856	$3195
🏠 One person rent	$538	$624
🏘️ Family rent	$954	$1077
🍽️ Food expenses	$331	$438
🚐 Transport expenses	$149	$132
💳 Monthly salary after tax	$843	$3066
😷 Air quality	Moderate	Moderate
✈️ Airport proximity	5 km	18 km
🎓 Higher education	96	99
😀 Quality of life	75	95
🏙️ Population	11.5M	9.67M

The cost of living in Sao Paulo is 13% less expensive than in Seoul. Cities ranked 4918th and 4545th ($1126 vs $1296) 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 0.7 months in Sao Paulo compared to 2.4 months in Seoul. Sao Paulo ranked 1st best city to live in Brazil vs Seoul ranked 1st in South Korea, while ranked 1670th and 16th among best cities to live in the world.

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the estimated difference in money purchasing power

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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	$7.66	$7.13
🥂 Dinner in a Restaurant, for 2	$42.5	$45.4
🥪 Fast food meal, equiv. McDonald's	$8.1	$5.97
🍻 Beer in a Pub, 0.5 L or 16 fl oz	$2.48	$3.36
☕ Cappuccino	$2.69	$3.47
🥤 Pepsi / Coke, 0.5 L or 16.9 fl oz	$1.34	$1.44
Rent & Utilities
🏙️ 1 bedroom apartment in Downtown, 40 m2 or 430 ft2	$649	$717
🏡 Cheap 1 bedroom apartment, 40 m2 or 430 ft2	$405	$459
🏙️ 3 bedroom apartment in Downtown, 80 m2 or 860 ft2	$1195	$1281
🏡 Cheap 3 bedroom apartment, 80 m2 or 860 ft2	$747	$818
🔌 Utility Bill one person, electricity, heating, water, etc.	$64.6	$98.8
🔌 Utility Bill for a Family, electricity, heating, water, etc.	$97.4	$152
🌐 Internet plan, 50 Mbps+ 1 month unlimited	$20.2	$14.5
🏦 Mortgage Interest Rate for 20 Years	11.72%	4.02%
🏙️ Apartment price to Buy in city Center, 1 m2 or 10 ft2	$2685	$24031
🏡 House price to Buy in Suburbs, 1 m2 or 10 ft2	$1939	$10129
Transportation
🚌 Local transport ticket	$0.99	$1.01
🎟️ Monthly ticket local transport	$44.4	$40.1
🚕 Taxi Ride, 8 km or 5 mi	$9.09	$7.36
⛽ Gas / Petrol, 1 L or 0.26 gal	$1.21	$1.17
Groceries
🥛 Milk, 1 L or 1 qt	$1.14	$1.82
🍞 Bread, 0.5 kg or 1.1 lb	$1.56	$2.4
🍚 Rice, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$1.23	$2.98
🥚 Eggs, x12	$2.77	$2.79
🧀 Cheese, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$12.7	$13
🐔 Chicken Breast, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$5.23	$7.93
🥩 Round Steak, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$10.7	$25.3
🍏 Apples, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$2.77	$6.15
🍌 Banana, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$1.82	$3.06
🍊 Oranges, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$1.71	$5.02
🍅 Tomato, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$1.81	$4.7
🥔 Potato, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$1.38	$3.05
🧅 Onion, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$1.22	$2.37
🌊 Water, 1 L or 1 qt	$0.6	$0.68
🍹 Coca-Cola / Pepsi, 2 L or 67.6 fl oz	$2.27	$1.46
🍾 Wine (mid-priced), 750 mL bottle	$10.8	$15.3
🍺 Beer, 0.5 L or 16 fl oz	$1.43	$1.86
🚬 Cigarette pack	$2.85	$2.98
💊 Cold medicince, 1 week	$6.72	$3.33
🧴 Hair Shampoo	$3.63	$3.6
🧻 Toilet paper, 4 rolls	$1.51	$2.88
👄 Toothpaste, 1 tube	$1.49	$1.15
Other
🏋️ Gym Membership, 1 month	$33.9	$45.8
🎫 Cinema Ticket, 1 person	$9.22	$9.18
👩‍⚕️ Doctor's visit	$48.1	$52.1
💇 Haircut, simple	$10.4	$14.3
👖 Brand Jeans	$60.8	$49.6
👟 Brand Sneakers	$102	$64.7
👶 Daycare or Preschool, 1 month	$486	$480
🏫 International Primary School, 1 year	$15990	$19916

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	$821
13 km or 8.3 mi	Taboao da Serra	$759
14 km or 8.6 mi	Guarulhos	$783
15 km or 9.4 mi	Diadema	$765
16 km or 9.7 mi	Santo Andre	$700
16 km or 10 mi	Osasco	$793
17 km or 11 mi	Sao Bernardo do Campo	$713
21 km or 13 mi	Carapicuiba	$664
22 km or 14 mi	Maua	$737
23 km or 15 mi	Caieiras	$713
25 km or 15 mi	Embu das Artes	$761
25 km or 16 mi	Barueri	$886
26 km or 16 mi	Mairipora	$716
26 km or 16 mi	Franco da Rocha	$715
27 km or 17 mi	Ferraz de Vasconcelos	$737
28 km or 17 mi	Jandira	$752
29 km or 18 mi	Ribeirao Pires	$717
29 km or 18 mi	Itapecerica da Serra	$753
30 km or 18 mi	Poa	$720
30 km or 18 mi	Cotia	$848
30 km or 19 mi	Itaquaquecetuba	$746
31 km or 19 mi	Itapevi	$699
31 km or 19 mi	Santana de Parnaiba	$747
32 km or 20 mi	Francisco Morato	$713
33 km or 20 mi	Itanhaem	$722
33 km or 20 mi	Cajamar	$752
36 km or 22 mi	Embu-Guacu	$733
36 km or 22 mi	Aruja	$723
41 km or 26 mi	Campo Limpo Paulista	$706
43 km or 26 mi	Varzea Paulista	$721
44 km or 27 mi	Cubatao	$710
45 km or 28 mi	Mogi das Cruzes	$794
48 km or 30 mi	Jundiai	$776
49 km or 30 mi	Atibaia	$673
51 km or 32 mi	Sao Roque	$728
52 km or 32 mi	Sao Vicente	$687
55 km or 34 mi	Santos	$901
56 km or 35 mi	Praia Grande	$700
61 km or 38 mi	Bertioga	$716
61 km or 38 mi	Ibiuna	$720

Cities near Seoul

Distance	City	Cost of living
13 km or 7.9 mi	Guri	$1089
17 km or 10 mi	Goyang	$1052
17 km or 10 mi	Gwangmyeong	$1029
17 km or 11 mi	Gwacheon	$1031
19 km or 12 mi	Uijeongbu	$868
20 km or 12 mi	Hanam	$1152
20 km or 12 mi	Namyangju	$1094
20 km or 13 mi	Seongnam	$1455
21 km or 13 mi	Siheung	$1313
21 km or 13 mi	Bucheon	$1090
22 km or 14 mi	Anyang	$943
23 km or 14 mi	Yangju	$894
24 km or 15 mi	Gunpo	$1053
26 km or 16 mi	Gimpo	$1040
27 km or 17 mi	Uiwang	$1022
30 km or 19 mi	Gwangju	$1179
32 km or 20 mi	Paju	$1010
33 km or 20 mi	Ansan	$1001
33 km or 21 mi	Suwon	$985
34 km or 21 mi	Incheon	$1032
37 km or 23 mi	Dongducheon	$977
39 km or 24 mi	Pocheon	$982
42 km or 26 mi	Yongin	$1061
47 km or 29 mi	Hwaseong	$1045
49 km or 31 mi	Osan	$1019
52 km or 32 mi	Icheon	$1108
58 km or 36 mi	Kaesong	$1557
65 km or 40 mi	Yeoju	$1033
66 km or 41 mi	Pyeongtaek	$1048
69 km or 43 mi	Anseong	$1016
72 km or 45 mi	Chuncheon	$819
83 km or 52 mi	Dangjin	$952
86 km or 53 mi	Wonju	$1062
87 km or 54 mi	Cheonan	$1128
101 km or 63 mi	Seosan	$917
107 km or 66 mi	Chungju	$852
114 km or 71 mi	Cheongju	$865
118 km or 73 mi	Jecheon	$993
123 km or 77 mi	Haeju	$1562
124 km or 77 mi	Sejong	$971