Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Salto, Uruguay and Cape Town

For one person, living is cheaper in Salto: $1,315 a month against $1,527 in Cape Town, rent and utilities included – about $2,500 less a year. Higher rent and utilities in Cape Town outweigh lower spending on other living expenses.

63

Cost of Living Index in Salto
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Salto Living Index
74

Cost of Living Index in Cape Town
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Cape Town Living Index

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Salto

🇺🇾 Uruguay

$1,315

/mo nomad

Cape Town

🇿🇦 South Africa

$1,527

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Salto and in Cape Town

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

A single person spends $1,315 per month in Salto vs $1,527 in Cape Town, rent included.

Salto $1,315
Cape Town $1,527

A couple spends around $1,942 per month in Salto vs $2,417 in Cape Town, rent included.

Salto $1,942
Cape Town $2,417

A family of three spends $2,568 per month in Salto vs $3,306 in Cape Town, rent included.

Salto $2,568
Cape Town $3,306

Salto is about 14% cheaper than Cape Town, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in transport.

Salto sits 3% below the global median, while Cape Town is 13% above – they fall on opposite sides of the world average.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$16.05 UYU 645

$12.01 R 199

33.64%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$37.24 UYU 1,498

$42.92 R 709

-13.23%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.94 UYU 480

$6.15 R 102

94.15%

Cappuccino

$3.24 UYU 130

$2.37 R 39.16

36.71%

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

$2.15 UYU 86.3

$1.27 R 21.03

69.29%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.59 UYU 64.1

$0.94 R 15.50

69.15%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$4.42 UYU 178

$2.96 R 48.92

49.32%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.14 UYU 126

$3.69 R 61.0

-14.91%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.40 UYU 56.3

$1.32 R 21.80

6.06%

White Bread (500g)

$2.07 UYU 83.2

$1.21 R 19.93

71.07%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.48 UYU 59.4

$2.20 R 36.37

-32.73%

Eggs

$5.34 UYU 215

$3.10 R 51.3

72.26%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$14.97 UYU 602

$8.73 R 144

71.48%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$8.48 UYU 341

$6.89 R 114

23.08%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$10.21 UYU 411

$9.26 R 153

10.26%

Apples (1kg)

$1.22 UYU 49.01

$1.83 R 30.17

-33.33%

Banana (1kg)

$2.20 UYU 88.4

$1.95 R 32.22

12.82%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.26 UYU 50.9

$1.66 R 27.40

-24.10%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.87 UYU 75.4

$2.14 R 35.30

-12.62%

Potato (1kg)

$0.83 UYU 33.31

$1.58 R 26.09

-47.47%

Onion (1kg)

$1.67 UYU 67.2

$1.47 R 24.37

13.61%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.93 UYU 37.21

$1.35 R 22.25

-31.11%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.50 UYU 60.4

$1.14 R 18.91

31.58%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$5.30 UYU 213

$3.58 R 59.1

48.04%

Wine (Bottle)

$7.41 UYU 298

$6.05 R 100

22.48%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.83 UYU 73.7

$1.39 R 23.02

31.65%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.55 UYU 103

$2.18 R 36.01

16.97%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.60 UYU 23.99

$1.40 R 23.09

-57.14%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$29.83 UYU 1,200

$60.8 R 1,004

-50.90%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$0.93 R 15.31

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$3.71 UYU 149

$0.90 R 14.88

312.22%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$4.96 R 82.0

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.99 UYU 80.2

$1.54 R 25.45

29.22%

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

$35.4K R 584.6K

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

$33.4K R 551.6K

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

$200 UYU 8,056

$117 R 1,935

71.09%

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

$21.36 UYU 859

$25.71 R 425

-16.92%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$30.41 UYU 1,223

$39.41 R 651

-22.84%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$36.84 UYU 1,482

$51.6 R 853

-28.62%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$12.64 UYU 509

$11.35 R 188

11.37%

Cinema Ticket

$9.83 UYU 395

$8.89 R 147

10.57%

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

$308 R 5,085

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$4,410 UYU 177.3K

$8,141 R 134.6K

-45.84%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$88.8 UYU 3,569

$57.4 R 948

54.67%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$55.7 UYU 2,239

$31.75 R 525

75.34%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$112 UYU 4,504

$116 R 1,917

-3.41%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$66.6 UYU 2,678

$101 R 1,665

-33.88%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$451 UYU 18.1K

$1,047 R 17.3K

-56.94%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$294 UYU 11.8K

$669 R 11.1K

-56.06%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$758 UYU 30.5K

$1,861 R 30.8K

-59.23%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$431 UYU 17.3K

$1,407 R 23.3K

-69.38%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,410 R 39.8K

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,570 R 25.9K

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$620 UYU 24.9K

$1,630 R 26.9K

-61.99%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

10.89

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

Last update for Salto: October 31, 2026

Last update for Cape Town: November 2, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Salto

$294 22.4%

Cape Town

$669 43.8% 128% $375

Groceries & Markets

Salto

$270 20.5%

Cape Town

$223 14.6% 17.4% $47

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Salto

$252 19.2%

Cape Town

$182 11.9% 27.7% $70

Eating Out

Salto

$246 18.7%

Cape Town

$174 11.4% 29.4% $72

Clothing & Footwear

Salto

$145 11.1%

Cape Town

$138 9% 5.3% $7.7

Sport & Entertainment

Salto

$56 4.3%

Cape Town

$69 4.5% 22.8% $13

Getting Around

Salto

$51 * 3.9%

Cape Town

$72 4.7% 41.3% $21

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

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $451 in Salto versus $1,047 in Cape Town. Rent is usually the largest line item in a monthly budget, so the gap here sets the tone for the overall comparison.

Salaries in Cape Town are about 2.6 times higher. Purchasing power depends on which expenses matter most to you.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $37 in Salto versus $43 in Cape Town. Groceries tell a different story – $270 in Salto vs $223 in Cape Town – so Cape Town wins on supermarket bills even if dining out costs more.

Good to know

🇺🇾 Salto

🇿🇦 Cape Town

🕒 Local time

16:54 4:54 PM

21:54 9:54 PM

5 h ahead of Salto

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

104,028

3,740,026 Capital

💱 Currency

Uruguayan Peso UYU $U

South African Rand ZAR R

📈 Exchange rate

100 UYU = 2.49 USD

100 UYU = 2.22 EUR

100 ZAR = 6.05 USD

100 ZAR = 5.41 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

ZAR, USD, EUR to UYU – Uruguayan Peso Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇺🇾 Uruguayan Peso ($U)

Uruguayan Peso exchange rates as of November 6, 2026: 1 USD = 40.22 UYU (100 UYU = 2.49 USD). 1 EUR = 44.95 UYU (100 UYU = 2.22 EUR).

South African Rand exchange rates as of November 6, 2026: 1 USD = 16.53 ZAR (100 ZAR = 6.05 USD). 1 EUR = 18.47 ZAR (100 ZAR = 5.41 EUR).

USD to UYU in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Salto Cape Town 6,980 km ≈ 9 h nonstop flight

From you

Salto
Cape Town

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

Salto vs Cape Town: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Cape Town costs about 16% more than Salto, and outside of rent the gap comes mainly from transport. That’s enough to noticeably affect everyday spending and lifestyle for anyone choosing between the two.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $1,973 per month in Salto and $2,291 in Cape Town. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

Rent is clearly cheaper in Salto, especially for central apartments: a one-bedroom in the center costs $451 there versus $1,047 in Cape Town.

Monthly expenses with rent come to $1,315 in Salto and $1,527 in Cape Town. That makes Salto about 14% cheaper.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $37 in Salto and $43 in Cape Town. That’s a good indicator of the overall restaurant and café pricing gap between the two cities.

A $1,500 monthly budget goes further in Salto, where all-in costs run around $1,315, than in Cape Town at $1,527. In Salto it covers expenses comfortably, while in Cape Town it requires careful planning or may not stretch far enough.

It depends on your priorities. Cape Town has an edge in some lifestyle areas, with costs from $1,315 in Salto to $1,527 in Cape Town. Climate, culture, job market, and personal taste all factor in.

If budget matters most, go with Salto. If higher salaries or specific career opportunities are the priority, Cape Town makes more sense. Both are solid long-term options with distinct trade-offs.