A comparative study has been carried out of the spread F occurrence characteristics of the magnetic equatorial station, Fortaleza (4¿S, 38¿W, dip latitude 1.8¿S) and the low-latitude station, Cachoeira Paulista (22¿S, 45¿W, dip latitude 14¿S)located with a relatively small longitudinal difference, in Brazil. The results show strong correlation between the occurrences of spread F events at the two stations for most of the time. While all the spread F events over Cachoeira Paulista are accompanied by such events over Fortaleza, the converse is not true. Also, the spread F onset times over the equator are systematically earlier than those over the low latitude. Another interesting result is that while the spread F durations at the two stations are approximately linearly related, an event over Cachoeira Paulista is observed only for those that have durations more than 4--5 hours over Fortaleza. Possible implications of these results on the plasma bubble rise velocities in the equatorial ionosphere are discussed. It seems possible also to predict the approximate duration of a spread F event over the equator by observations carried out at a low-latitude station situated close to a common magnetic meridional plane.