Colonia del Sacramento vs Cali
In short
Calculated from the figures below, with no overall “who wins” score.
Rent
✓in Colonia del Sacramento cheaper — −41%
Internet
✓in Cali cheaper — −72%
Ready-made house
✓in Cali cheaper — −26%
In numbers
Exchange rate as of the date each figure was checked.
House or apartment rent
per month✓Colonia del Sacramento≈ $619–793UYU 25–32kcheaper by 41%Cali≈ $434–1,980COP 1,425k – 6.5MInternet
per monthColonia del Sacramento≈ $41–108UYU 1,650–4,342✓Cali≈ $19–23COP 60,900–75,900cheaper by 72%Winter
averageColonia del Sacramento11 °C11 °CCali19–29 °C19–29 °CPrecipitation
per yearColonia del Sacramento1,144.5 mm1,144.5 mmCali1,485 mm1,485 mmReady-made house
purchaseColonia del Sacramento$155–350k$155–350k✓Cali≈ $131–243kCOP 430–800Mcheaper by 26%
By topic
A quick look at each city. Details and sources are on the city page.
Daily life
Colonia del Sacramento
The 2023 census counted 135,797 people in the department of Colonia, about 4% of Uruguay's population. The source gives no separate figure for the city.
OfficialINE: final results of the 2023 census, population by department · checked 6 Oct 2026
Cali
Nothing yet
Housing
Colonia del Sacramento
A two-bedroom house or apartment in listings costs 25–32 thousand pesos a month, median 27 thousand (about 670 dollars). Furnished or by the rambla: in dollars.
SpecialistInfoCasas: houses and apartments for rent in Colonia del Sacramento, all six pages of results (about 120 listings) · checked 6 Oct 2026
A three-bedroom house in listings costs 155–350 thousand dollars, median 230 thousand. Two bedrooms: 100–160 thousand, median 135 thousand.
SpecialistInfoCasas: houses for sale in Colonia del Sacramento, first four pages of results (85 houses out of more than 400 listings) · checked 6 Oct 2026
Cali
A three-bedroom by listings: in stratum 4 in the south the median is 1.4 million pesos a month (about 430 dollars, 65 m²), in stratum 6 it is 6.5 million (about 1,940 dollars, 210 m²).
SpecialistFincaraíz: three-bedroom apartments for rent in Cali · checked 6 Oct 2026
A resale three-bedroom by listings: from 155 million to 1.5 billion pesos, half within 430-800 million. New three-bedroom units sell from 220 million to 1.6 billion.
SpecialistFincaraíz: three-bedroom apartments for sale in Cali · checked 6 Oct 2026
Money and prices
Colonia del Sacramento
Nothing yet
Cali
The DANE minimum food basket for Cali is 247,372 pesos per person a month, about 989 thousand (296 dollars) for a family of four. Figures for 2025.
OfficialDANE: monetary poverty 2025, presentation of results with poverty lines by city · checked 6 Oct 2026
A family of four in Cali counts as poor with income below 2.05 million pesos a month, about 610 dollars (2025). Average income is 1.58 million per person.
OfficialDANE: monetary poverty 2025, presentation of results with poverty lines by city · checked 6 Oct 2026
Healthcare
Colonia del Sacramento
The local FONASA health provider is ORAMECO (Alberto Méndez 170). The department also has CAMEC in Rosario and CAMOC in Carmelo. The BPS list is old, from 2018.
OfficialBPS: list of FONASA providers with the full range of services · checked 6 Oct 2026
Cali
Fundación Valle del Lili in Cali is Colombia's best hospital in the Newsweek ranking for the fifth year in a row; 126th in the world list of 2026 out of 2,530 assessed.
SpecialistConsultorSalud: which Colombian hospitals are in the World's Best Hospitals 2026 ranking · checked 6 Oct 2026
Transport
Colonia del Sacramento
To Buenos Aires by Colonia Express ferry in 1 h 15 min, five sailings a day each way. From Montevideo a bus with a transfer to the ferry takes 3 h 30 min.
SpecialistColonia Express: Colonia – Buenos Aires ferry timetable, September–October 2026 · checked 6 Oct 2026
Cali
In 2025 about 6.4 million passengers passed through Cali airport, 1.2 million of them international. Since September 2025 it has been run by the state agency Aerocivil.
OfficialAerocivil, open data: commercial air traffic by origin-destination, 2020-2026 · checked 6 Oct 2026
Climate
Colonia del Sacramento
The 1991–2020 July normal is 11.0 °C: about 15 by day, about 7 at night. Frosts are rare; the absolute minimum over 30 years was minus 2.6 °C.
OfficialINUMET: 1991–2020 climate normals, Colonia station · checked 6 Oct 2026
About 1,145 mm a year with no dry season: from 69 mm in June and August to 126 mm in March. About 75 days a year with at least 1 mm of rain.
OfficialINUMET: 1991–2020 climate normals, Colonia station · checked 6 Oct 2026
Cali
There is no winter: in the coolest month, November, it averages 19 degrees at night and 28.8 during the day, in August 18.5 and 30.9. The difference between months is about 2 degrees.
OfficialWMO, World Weather Information Service: climate normals of Cali 1971-2000 · checked 6 Oct 2026
In the city about 1,485 mm a year and 166 rainy days. Two wet seasons, March-May and October-November; driest in July-August.
OfficialWMO, World Weather Information Service: climate normals of Cali 1971-2000 · checked 6 Oct 2026
Safety
Colonia del Sacramento
In 2025 Uruguay had 369 homicides, 10.3 per 100 thousand. Colonia is not among the four departments with the most, where fourth place is 13 cases.
SpecialistMontevideo Portal: preliminary Interior Ministry data on homicides in 2025 · checked 6 Oct 2026
Cali
According to Ministry of Defense open data, Cali had 1,068 homicides in 2025 against 950 in 2024. In January-August 2026 there were 766, 17% more than in the same period of 2025.
OfficialColombian Ministry of Defense, open data: homicides by municipality (HOMICIDIO) · checked 6 Oct 2026
Internet and phone
Colonia del Sacramento
Antel fibre: 400/30 Mbit/s for 1,650 pesos a month, 1 Gbit/s for 4,342 pesos, taxes included. The price list is the same nationwide.
OfficialAntel: data tariff price list, 2026 · checked 6 Oct 2026
Cali
Tigo sells home internet at 200-500 Mbit/s for 60,900-75,900 pesos a month (strata 1-3, VAT included). On cable the upload is only 12-15 Mbit/s, on fibre 100-250.
SpecialistTigo: terms of home plans, internet plan specifications · checked 6 Oct 2026
Services
Colonia del Sacramento
UTE's tariff is the same nationwide: 6.744–8.452 pesos per kWh. 300 kWh with 3 kW of power is about 2,940 pesos a month (73 dollars); the decree is silent on taxes.
OfficialDecree 339/025: UTE tariffs from 1 January 2026 · checked 6 Oct 2026
OSE outside the resort zone: for 15 m³ a month, water is about 1,065 pesos, with sewerage about 1,940 pesos (48 dollars). Tariff from 1 January 2026.
OfficialDecree 340/025: OSE water and sewerage tariffs from 1 January 2026 · checked 6 Oct 2026
Colonia has a Conecta natural gas network: 46.6 pesos per m³ plus 380 a month, before taxes. 30 m³ is about 1,780 pesos, 100 m³ in winter about 5,040.
OfficialConecta: maximum natural gas tariffs in the department of Colonia from 1 August 2026 · checked 6 Oct 2026
Cali
EMCALI has one of the cheapest electricity prices in the country: 868.6 pesos per kWh for stratum 4 as of June 2026. 300 kWh a month is about 261 thousand pesos (78 dollars).
SpecialistValora Analitik: the most expensive electricity tariffs for stratum 4 in Colombia · checked 6 Oct 2026

