What life in Cape Verde costs.
Local groceries from the market are noticeably cheaper than in Germany, while imported goods are often pricier - an effect of the isolated island location. Rents vary sharply by island: Mindelo and Praia are considerably cheaper than the tourism-driven beach towns on Sal. This guide bundles real price ranges for rent, food, and utilities, and delivers realistic monthly budgets instead of marketing numbers.
Your personal budget.
A model calculation based on the price ranges researched above in the article - no guarantee, but a realistic starting point for your own planning.
How this is calculated
- Rent: the range already researched above for the selected island (see the island comparison table) - "Frugal" takes the low end, "Comfortable" the high end, "Mid-range" the average.
- Food, single: scaled up from the weekly shop mentioned in the article (€27-46) to a month (×4.33 weeks). Couple: the value stated directly in the article (€183-366/month).
- Utilities: the €63-109 range stated in the article, independent of household size (not broken down further in the original material). Tends toward the upper end on Sal and Boa Vista because of seawater desalination.
- Family (4 people): rent is extrapolated with a factor of roughly 2.3, derived from the article's documented ratio between 1-bedroom rent and a 3-bedroom house in Praia/Mindelo (€640-1,100 vs. €245-430/€275-410). Food costs are scaled up from the couple figure. Both family figures are estimates, not separately researched numbers.
- This calculation doesn't replace individual budget planning or advice - it just bundles the ranges already sourced in the article into an interactive format.
Cost of living at a glance.
- Private-sector minimum wage
- 17,000 CVE (approx. €154), since January 2025
- Public-sector minimum wage
- 19,000 CVE (approx. €172)
- Government target
- 25,000 CVE (approx. €226) by 2027, enshrined in law in the 2026 state budget
- Studio rent, Mindelo
- from approx. 7,000 CVE (approx. €63)
- 1-bedroom rent, Praia
- center approx. €430, outskirts approx. €245
- Rent, Sal (beachfront, furnished)
- approx. €915-1,640 - noticeably pricier than other islands
- Utilities (water/power/internet)
- approx. €63-109, often over €200 with AC
- Fuel prices 2026
- significant fluctuation, regularly adjusted by ARME
Rent - sharp regional differences.
Rents vary considerably by island and location. In Praia, the capital on Santiago, a 1-bedroom apartment in the center costs around €430 a month, dropping to about €245 outside the center - a basic studio can already be found from around €136. In Mindelo on São Vicente, entry-level prices are similar or slightly cheaper: a basic studio (T0) is sometimes available from as little as around €63, while a decently furnished 1-bedroom apartment runs between €275 and €410. A 3-bedroom house in Praia or Mindelo costs between €640 and €1,100 a month.
It gets noticeably pricier on Sal, especially in the tourism-driven zones: furnished, beachfront apartments for expats often run between €915 and €1,640 - an effect of strong tourist demand and limited housing stock in the coastal towns. Anyone looking for cheaper long-term housing will find more choice on Santiago and São Vicente, away from the tourism centers.
Cheap locally, expensive imported.
At the local markets in Praia and Mindelo, fresh produce is cheap compared to Germany: a weekly grocery shop for one person costs around €27-46 there. A baguette costs around 50 CVE (approx. €0.45), tomatoes 200-300 CVE (approx. €1.80-2.70) per kilo, bananas 150-250 CVE (approx. €1.35-2.25) per kilo, fresh tuna 500-800 CVE (approx. €4.50-7.25) per kilo. For a couple, average monthly grocery spending runs around €183-366, depending on the share of imported products.
The catch: imported goods - almost everything except fish and local fruit/vegetables - carry a markup of around 40-60% over European prices because of the transport and logistics costs of island isolation, sometimes even more than on mainland Portugal. Supermarkets like Pingo Doce, Jaime Mota, or Modelo offer a wider selection including European brands, cheese, and wine, but at noticeably higher prices than the local markets.
Eating out spans a wide range: a "Prato do Dia" at a simple local kitchen costs €4.50-6.50, a portion of Cachupa at a churrasqueira 450-800 CVE (approx. €4-7). A three-course meal at a more upscale restaurant runs €14-23 (1,500-2,500 CVE) excluding drinks, a fresh lobster dish in Santa Maria or Sal Rei €23-36 (2,500-4,000 CVE). A fast-food meal costs around €4.60 (515 CVE).
Utilities, mobile & transport.
Power, water & internet
Water, power, internet, and gas together run around €63-109 a month, depending on usage and apartment size. Power is by far the biggest line item, especially with regular air conditioning use - here the budget can rise noticeably above €200. Sal and Boa Vista tend to be pricier for water because of their heavy reliance on seawater desalination compared to the greener islands.
Mobile & internet
A SIM plan with data allowance costs about €15-25 a month. For short stays, generous data packages (10-25 GB) are available for as little as €10-15.
Fuel
Fuel prices are set as price caps by the regulator ARME and adjusted several times a year - in 2026 with some sizable jumps within just a few months. Anyone budgeting for a rental car should check the current ARME price caps on site rather than relying on older figures found online.
Aluguer (shared taxis)
Within towns and for shorter trips, aluguer shared taxis are the cheapest way to get around - noticeably more affordable than rental cars or private taxis, but with less flexibility on departure times.
Market over supermarket saves the most
The biggest lever for your budget is your shopping habits: anyone who eats mostly local market products (fish, fruit, vegetables, staples) instead of imported supermarket goods gets by on a fraction of the budget. The minimum wage of around €154 makes clear that a large share of the local population shops mostly locally - the 40-60% import markup mainly affects the European-style expat lifestyle. A Cape Verdean source (expressodasilhas.cv, April 2026) shows just how big that gap really is: basic living costs in Praia, Sal, or São Vicente reportedly run 24,000 to just under 35,000 CVE/month (approx. €217-317) - well above the current minimum wage of 17,000-19,000 CVE.
Realistic monthly budgets.
Guide values for Praia and Mindelo - rent and utilities in particular run noticeably higher on Sal and Boa Vista.
| Category | Frugal | Mid-range | Comfortable |
|---|---|---|---|
| Single, total/month | approx. €600-700 | approx. €800-1,000 | approx. €920-1,370 |
| Rent | room/studio outside center | 1-bedroom apartment, central | apartment with sea view/amenities |
| Food | mostly market goods | mix of market & supermarket | mostly supermarket/imported |
| Family (4 people), total/month | approx. €1,740-2,750, depending on school, location, and leisure spending | ||
All figures are guide values based on several independent sources (incl. Expatistan, Numbeo, local price research) and in some cases approximately converted from US dollars. Actual costs depend heavily on island, lifestyle, and exchange rate - no guarantee of current individual prices on the ground.
Rent levels in island comparison.
Solid comparison data exists for the larger islands; for the smaller islands, only scattered expat sources - the table deliberately makes this difference visible instead of glossing over it.
| Island | 1-bedroom/studio rent, furnished (approx./month) | Price level | Context |
|---|---|---|---|
| Santiago (Praia) | €245-430 | Medium | capital, largest supply, see details above |
| São Vicente (Mindelo) | €63-410 | Cheap-medium | cheapest of the big islands, see details above |
| Sal (Santa Maria) | €915-1,640 | High | most expensive island, strong tourism pressure |
| Boa Vista | €244-491 | Medium-high | second tourism island, but cheaper than Sal |
| Fogo | approx. €250-400 | Cheap | very small, barely documented rental market |
| Santo Antão | approx. €300-500* | Cheap | *only short-stay/guesthouse prices found, no long-term rental index |
| São Nicolau | approx. €150-300 | Very cheap | very small rental market, barely any listings |
| Maio | approx. €180-500 | Cheap | largely rural, barely any listings |
| Brava | approx. €250-400 | Cheap | Cape Verde's smallest rental market |
Data quality varies by island: the figures for Santiago, São Vicente, and Sal come from several independent, current sources (incl. Expatistan, Numbeo-style indices, local price research). Boa Vista is based on welt-preise.de (as of 27 Sept. 2026). No established cost index exists for Fogo, São Nicolau, Maio, or Brava - the figures are guide values from individual expat guides (incl. jarniascyril.com) and property listings, not solid market statistics. For Santo Antão, only short-stay prices (Airbnb/guesthouses) were found, no documented long-term rental market - the figure is a cautious extrapolation and accordingly less certain than the other rows.
Author: Michael Krautwald · Last checked: October 13, 2026Sources & status of this page
- Minimum wage, rent, groceries, utilities: Expatistan, Numbeo, ARME fuel prices, and several independent digital nomad/expat guides.
- Government target of 25,000 CVE by 2027 and basic living costs of 24,000-35,000 CVE/month: expressodasilhas.cv (a leading Cape Verdean outlet, April 2026).
- Island rent-level comparison: Boa Vista via welt-preise.de (as of 27 Sept. 2026); Fogo, São Nicolau, Maio, and Brava as guide values from expat guides (incl. jarniascyril.com), no established cost index exists; Santo Antão as a cautious extrapolation from short-stay accommodation prices, since no long-term rental index could be found.
Questions about Cost of Living.
Is Cape Verde cheaper than Germany?
For local products (fish, fruit, vegetables, simple meals), yes, often noticeably so. For imported goods, electronics, and many branded products, often not - here the markup due to island location runs 40-60% over Europe.
How high is the minimum wage in Cape Verde?
17,000 CVE (approx. €154) in the private sector and 19,000 CVE (approx. €172) in the public sector, as of January 2025 (Lei 45/X/2024). The 2026 state budget enshrines a gradual increase to 25,000 CVE (approx. €226) by 2027 via a dedicated tripartite commission (government, employers, unions).
Where is housing cheapest?
Praia (Santiago) and Mindelo (São Vicente) offer noticeably cheaper rents than the tourism-driven coastal towns on Sal, where housing is pricier due to high demand.
How much does a monthly budget cost for one person?
A comfortable budget in Praia or Mindelo runs about €920-1,370 including rent - you can live more frugally on around €600-700, especially if you shop mostly locally.
Why are imported goods so expensive?
Cape Verde is an island nation with no significant domestic industry - almost all consumer goods except fish and local fruit/vegetables have to be imported, which adds transport and logistics costs to the final price.
What do electricity and water cost?
Water, power, internet, and gas together usually run €63-109 a month - with regular air conditioning use, the budget can rise above €200.
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