Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Sal and Buenos Aires

For one person, living is cheaper in Sal: $857 a month against $1,685 in Buenos Aires, rent and utilities included – about $9,900 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

42

Cost of Living Index in Sal
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Sal Living Index
81

Cost of Living Index in Buenos Aires
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Buenos Aires Living Index

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Sal

🇨🇻 Cape Verde

$857

/mo nomad

Buenos Aires

🇦🇷 Argentina

$1,685

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Sal and in Buenos Aires

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 Buenos Aires actually costs, broken down by who's living it.

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $857 in Sal versus $1,685 in Buenos Aires.

Sal $857
Buenos Aires $1,685

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,347 in Sal versus $2,742 in Buenos Aires.

Sal $1,347
Buenos Aires $2,742

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $1,836 in Sal versus $3,799 in Buenos Aires.

Sal $1,836
Buenos Aires $3,799

Living in Sal costs roughly 49% less than in Buenos Aires, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in clothing.

The two cities straddle the global median: Sal is 36% below, Buenos Aires is 26% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$5.71 CVE 562

$18.73 ARS 28.4K

-69.51%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$46.45 CVE 4,571

$64.5 ARS 97.7K

-27.96%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.40 CVE 1,122

$12.88 ARS 19.5K

-11.49%

Cappuccino

$2.27 CVE 223

$3.98 ARS 6,027

-42.96%

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

$2.69 CVE 265

$2.05 ARS 3,102

31.22%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.15 CVE 113

$1.55 ARS 2,348

-25.81%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$4.50 CVE 443

$3.84 ARS 5,828

17.19%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.14 CVE 309

$4.60 ARS 6,968

-31.74%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.61 CVE 159

$1.44 ARS 2,180

11.81%

White Bread (500g)

$2.21 CVE 218

$2.46 ARS 3,737

-10.16%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.21 CVE 119

$1.63 ARS 2,466

-25.77%

Eggs

$2.98 CVE 293

$2.89 ARS 4,384

3.11%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$9.52 CVE 936

$10.65 ARS 16.1K

-10.61%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$7.63 CVE 751

$10.00 ARS 15.2K

-23.70%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$16.54 CVE 1,628

$13.74 ARS 20.8K

20.38%

Apples (1kg)

$3.27 CVE 322

$2.75 ARS 4,165

18.91%

Banana (1kg)

$2.42 CVE 238

$2.18 ARS 3,299

11.01%

Oranges (1kg)

$3.26 CVE 321

$1.45 ARS 2,204

124.83%

Tomato (1kg)

$4.03 CVE 396

$1.99 ARS 3,012

102.51%

Potato (1kg)

$1.74 CVE 172

$1.24 ARS 1,884

40.32%

Onion (1kg)

$1.89 CVE 186

$1.27 ARS 1,920

48.82%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.57 CVE 155

$1.70 ARS 2,574

-7.65%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.16 CVE 114

$1.73 ARS 2,616

-32.95%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.54 CVE 447

$4.18 ARS 6,335

8.61%

Wine (Bottle)

$6.82 CVE 671

$5.80 ARS 8,787

17.59%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$4.01 CVE 395

$2.09 ARS 3,162

91.87%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.86 CVE 183

$2.77 ARS 4,197

-32.85%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.05 CVE 103

$0.75 ARS 1,131

40.00%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$27.15 ARS 41.2K

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$2.09 CVE 206

$1.62 ARS 2,450

29.01%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$3.17 CVE 312

$0.98 ARS 1,480

223.47%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$12.72 CVE 1,252

$7.72 ARS 11.7K

64.77%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.34 CVE 132

$1.36 ARS 2,057

-1.47%

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

$28.0K ARS 42.5M

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

$34.5K ARS 52.3M

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

$62.3 CVE 6,132

$216 ARS 326.8K

-71.10%

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

$25.61 ARS 38.8K

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$50.3 CVE 4,945

$31.36 ARS 47.5K

60.27%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$28.27 CVE 2,782

$49.82 ARS 75.5K

-43.26%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$17.06 ARS 25.9K

Cinema Ticket

$10.43 ARS 15.8K

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

$115 CVE 11.3K

$466 ARS 706.5K

-75.33%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$9,057 ARS 13.7M

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$30.89 CVE 3,040

$122 ARS 185.1K

-74.70%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$97.4 ARS 147.7K

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$117 ARS 177.3K

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$144 CVE 14.2K

$140 ARS 211.8K

3.01%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$260 CVE 25.6K

$763 ARS 1.2M

-65.97%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$172 CVE 17.0K

$505 ARS 765.8K

-65.88%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$304 CVE 29.9K

$1,598 ARS 2.4M

-81.01%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$208 CVE 20.5K

$1,185 ARS 1.8M

-82.45%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$672 CVE 66.1K

$2,678 ARS 4.1M

-74.91%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$341 CVE 33.5K

$1,858 ARS 2.8M

-81.65%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$254 CVE 25.0K

$954 ARS 1.4M

-73.39%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

5.25

57.25

-90.83%

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

Last update for Sal: October 4, 2026

Last update for Buenos Aires: October 6, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Groceries & Markets

Sal

$302 34.8%

Buenos Aires

$284 17.1% 5.9% $18

Accommodation & Living

Sal

$172 19.9%

Buenos Aires

$505 30.4% 193% $333

Eating Out

Sal

$151 17.4%

Buenos Aires

$279 16.8% 84.4% $128

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Sal

$113 * 13%

Buenos Aires

$273 16.4% 142% $160

Clothing & Footwear

Sal

$79 * 9.1%

Buenos Aires

$214 12.9% 172% $136

Sport & Entertainment

Sal

$28 * 3.3%

Buenos Aires

$71 4.3% 150% $42

Getting Around

Sal

$22 * 2.6%

Buenos Aires

$37 2.2% 65.6% $15

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 $260 in Sal and $763 in Buenos Aires. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Buenos Aires pays 276% more on average. The extra income cushions the higher costs, though housing choices and lifestyle decide how much of the gap is truly closed.

Dining out: $46.00 in Sal vs $64.0 in Buenos Aires. Groceries flip the comparison at $302 vs $284, with Buenos Aires cheaper for home cooking.

Good to know

🇨🇻 Sal

🇦🇷 Buenos Aires

🕒 Local time

00:54 12:54 AM

22:54 10:54 PM

2 h behind Sal

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

1,288

2,891,082 Capital

💱 Currency

Cabo Verdean Escudo CVE $

Argentine Peso ARS $

📈 Exchange rate

1,000 CVE = 10.16 USD

1,000 CVE = 9.06 EUR

10,000 ARS = 6.6 USD

10,000 ARS = 5.88 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

ARS, USD, EUR to CVE – Cabo Verdean Escudo Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇨🇻 Cabo Verdean Escudo ($)

Cabo Verdean Escudo exchange rates as of October 10, 2026: 1 USD = 98.4 CVE (100 CVE = 1.02 USD). 1 EUR = 110 CVE (1,000 CVE = 9.06 EUR).

Argentine Peso exchange rates as of October 10, 2026: 1 USD = 1,516 ARS (10,000 ARS = 6.6 USD). 1 EUR = 1,700 ARS (10,000 ARS = 5.88 EUR).

USD to CVE in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Sal Buenos Aires 6,830 km ≈ 9 h nonstop flight

From you

Sal
Buenos Aires

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 Buenos Aires: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Sal and Buenos Aires differ by about 97% in total monthly costs ($857 vs $1,685 including rent). Sal is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

On paper, salaries run 276% lower in Buenos Aires. 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: $260 in Sal versus $763 in Buenos Aires. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $115 in Sal versus $466 in Buenos Aires. 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 $46.00 versus $64.0 in Buenos Aires. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

At $857 in Sal versus $1,685 in Buenos Aires, a $2,000 budget is realistic in Sal but tight or insufficient in Buenos Aires. 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 Buenos Aires are on par. Petty crime is typical for cities this size, and most residents feel comfortable going about their daily routines in either place.

Expats usually find Sal gentler on the wallet – expenses run 97% less than in Buenos Aires. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.