Last update: Nov 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Sal and Athens

For one person, living is cheaper in Sal: $851 a month against $1,779 in Athens, rent and utilities included – about $11,100 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

41

Cost of Living Index in Sal
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Sal Living Index
85

Cost of Living Index in Athens
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Athens Living Index

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Sal

🇨🇻 Cape Verde

$851

/mo nomad

Athens

🇬🇷 Greece

$1,779

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Sal and in Athens

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $851 in Sal versus $1,779 in Athens.

Sal $851
Athens $1,779

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,317 in Sal versus $2,721 in Athens.

Sal $1,317
Athens $2,721

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $1,784 in Sal versus $3,663 in Athens.

Sal $1,784
Athens $3,663

Living in Sal costs roughly 52% less than in Athens, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Sal is 37% below, Athens is 32% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$5.62 CVE 552

$16.83 €15.06

-66.61%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$44.81 CVE 4,403

$66.0 €59.1

-32.11%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.38 CVE 1,118

$11.21 €10.03

1.52%

Cappuccino

$2.36 CVE 232

$4.08 €3.65

-42.16%

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

$2.53 CVE 249

$2.77 €2.48

-8.66%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.11 CVE 109

$0.54 €0.48

105.56%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$4.62 CVE 454

$5.70 €5.10

-18.95%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.08 CVE 303

$6.26 €5.60

-50.80%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.60 CVE 157

$1.84 €1.65

-13.04%

White Bread (500g)

$2.20 CVE 216

$1.43 €1.28

53.85%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.20 CVE 118

$2.67 €2.39

-55.06%

Eggs

$2.89 CVE 284

$4.95 €4.43

-41.62%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$9.08 CVE 892

$15.09 €13.51

-39.83%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$7.80 CVE 767

$10.99 €9.83

-29.03%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$15.92 CVE 1,564

$19.77 €17.69

-19.47%

Apples (1kg)

$3.13 CVE 307

$2.12 €1.90

47.64%

Banana (1kg)

$2.38 CVE 234

$1.98 €1.77

20.20%

Oranges (1kg)

$3.19 CVE 313

$1.33 €1.19

139.85%

Tomato (1kg)

$3.84 CVE 378

$2.16 €1.93

77.78%

Potato (1kg)

$1.69 CVE 166

$1.06 €0.95

59.43%

Onion (1kg)

$1.83 CVE 180

$1.15 €1.03

59.13%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.49 CVE 147

$1.08 €0.97

37.96%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.09 CVE 107

$0.85 €0.76

28.24%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.44 CVE 436

$5.46 €4.88

-18.68%

Wine (Bottle)

$6.41 CVE 630

$10.03 €8.97

-36.09%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$4.09 CVE 402

$2.04 €1.83

100.49%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.83 CVE 180

$2.38 €2.13

-23.11%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.99 CVE 97.6

$1.35 €1.21

-26.67%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$30.52 €27.31

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$2.06 CVE 203

$3.81 €3.41

-45.93%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$3.14 CVE 308

$1.03 €0.92

204.85%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$12.47 CVE 1,225

$16.49 €14.75

-24.38%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.34 CVE 132

$2.34 €2.10

-42.74%

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

$27.8K €24.8K

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

$26.6K €23.8K

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

$60.0 CVE 5,894

$202 €181

-70.33%

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

$26.81 €23.99

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$49.50 CVE 4,864

$30.49 €27.28

62.35%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$27.44 CVE 2,696

$54.1 €48.38

-49.25%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$27.40 €24.52

Cinema Ticket

$10.44 €9.34

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

$116 CVE 11.4K

$568 €508

-79.52%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$15.2K €13.6K

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$30.02 CVE 2,950

$90.7 €81.1

-66.88%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$39.32 €35.19

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$105 €94.1

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$144 CVE 14.2K

$129 €115

11.72%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$252 CVE 24.8K

$742 €664

-65.97%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$168 CVE 16.5K

$648 €580

-74.13%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$301 CVE 29.5K

$1,271 €1,138

-76.36%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$207 CVE 20.3K

$1,122 €1,004

-81.57%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$669 CVE 65.7K

$3,999 €3,578

-83.27%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$339 CVE 33.3K

$3,281 €2,936

-89.66%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$257 CVE 25.2K

$1,245 €1,114

-79.37%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

5.25

4.44

18.24%

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

Last update for Sal: November 2, 2026

Last update for Athens: October 31, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Groceries & Markets

Sal

$295 34.7%

Athens

$316 17.8% 7.2% $21

Accommodation & Living

Sal

$168 19.7%

Athens

$648 36.4% 287% $481

Eating Out

Sal

$151 17.8%

Athens

$272 15.3% 79.6% $120

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Sal

$110 * 12.9%

Athens

$260 14.6% 137% $150

Clothing & Footwear

Sal

$78 * 9.2%

Athens

$164 9.2% 109% $86

Sport & Entertainment

Sal

$27 * 3.2%

Athens

$75 4.2% 173% $48

Getting Around

Sal

$22 * 2.6%

Athens

$45 2.5% 107% $23

Categories marked with * are only partly priced – their share counts the items that do have prices.

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $252 in Sal and $742 in Athens. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Athens pays about 4.8 times more on average. How far that income stretches comes down to housing choices and lifestyle.

Dining out: $45 in Sal vs $66 in Athens for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $295 vs $316 per month, with Sal cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇨🇻 Sal

🇬🇷 Athens

🕒 Local time

18:21 6:21 PM

21:21 9:21 PM

3 h ahead of Sal

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

1,288

3,090,508 Capital

💱 Currency

Cabo Verdean Escudo CVE $

Euro EUR €

📈 Exchange rate

1,000 CVE = 10.18 USD

1,000 CVE = 9.11 EUR

1 EUR = 1.12 USD

Exchange rates and currency converter

EUR, USD to CVE – Cabo Verdean Escudo Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇨🇻 Cabo Verdean Escudo ($)

Cabo Verdean Escudo exchange rates as of November 6, 2026: 1 USD = 98.25 CVE (100 CVE = 1.02 USD). 1 EUR = 110 CVE (1,000 CVE = 9.11 EUR).

Euro exchange rates as of November 6, 2026: 1 USD = 0.895 EUR (1 EUR = 1.12 USD).

USD to CVE in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Sal Athens 5,110 km ≈ 7 h nonstop flight

From you

Sal
Athens

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

Sal vs Athens: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Sal wins on cost – living expenses run 52% lower than in Athens. Housing and daily spending are where you’ll feel the difference most, making Sal the obvious pick if budget is a priority.

On paper, salaries run 79% lower in Sal. That’s worth factoring in alongside costs, though remote workers earning in a stronger currency may not notice the difference at all.

Rent for a central apartment: $252 in Sal versus $742 in Athens. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $116 in Sal versus $568 in Athens. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Dining out is cheaper in Sal – a meal for two runs $45 versus $66 in Athens. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

At $851 in Sal versus $1,779 in Athens, a $1,200 budget is realistic in Sal but tight or insufficient in Athens. The gap between the two cities makes Sal the clear choice for anyone on this budget.

Both cities offer a good standard of living with different trade-offs. Neither is objectively better – the right pick depends on what matters most: affordability, career, cultural scene, or climate.

Safety-wise, Sal and Athens are both considered safe, so it’s unlikely to be the deciding factor between them.

It comes down to priorities – Sal wins on affordability, Athens on earning potential. Factor in climate, language, visa rules, and proximity to places that matter to you before deciding.