Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Aarau and Cape Town

For one person, living is cheaper in Cape Town: $1,527 a month against $2,819 in Aarau, rent and utilities included – about $15,500 less a year. Other living expenses account for most of the difference.

135

Cost of Living Index in Aarau
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Aarau Living Index
74

Cost of Living Index in Cape Town
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Cape Town Living Index

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Aarau

🇨🇭 Switzerland

$2,819

/mo nomad

Cape Town

🇿🇦 South Africa

$1,527

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Aarau 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 Aarau and in Cape Town actually costs, broken down by who's living it.

A single person spends $2,819 per month in Aarau vs $1,527 in Cape Town, rent included.

Aarau $2,819
Cape Town $1,527

A couple spends around $4,634 per month in Aarau vs $2,417 in Cape Town, rent included.

Aarau $4,634
Cape Town $2,417

A family of three spends $6,448 per month in Aarau vs $3,306 in Cape Town, rent included.

Aarau $6,448
Cape Town $3,306

Aarau costs about 85% more than Cape Town, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Both Aarau and Cape Town sit above the global median – Aarau by 109%, Cape Town by 13%.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$30.35 CHF 24.83

$12.01 R 197

152.71%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$107 CHF 87.7

$42.92 R 703

149.74%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$18.48 CHF 15.11

$6.15 R 101

200.49%

Cappuccino

$6.05 CHF 4.95

$2.37 R 38.81

155.27%

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

$5.33 CHF 4.36

$1.27 R 20.84

319.69%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$5.00 CHF 4.09

$0.94 R 15.37

431.91%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$6.05 CHF 4.95

$2.96 R 48.48

104.39%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$6.74 CHF 5.51

$3.69 R 60.5

82.66%

Milk (1 liter)

$2.06 CHF 1.68

$1.32 R 21.61

56.06%

White Bread (500g)

$3.77 CHF 3.08

$1.21 R 19.75

211.57%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.69 CHF 2.20

$2.20 R 36.05

22.27%

Eggs

$7.41 CHF 6.06

$3.10 R 50.8

139.03%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$31.60 CHF 25.84

$8.73 R 143

261.97%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$28.80 CHF 23.56

$6.89 R 113

318.00%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$41.04 CHF 33.57

$9.26 R 152

343.20%

Apples (1kg)

$2.89 CHF 2.36

$1.83 R 29.90

57.92%

Banana (1kg)

$1.80 CHF 1.48

$1.95 R 31.94

-7.69%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.42 CHF 1.98

$1.66 R 27.16

45.78%

Tomato (1kg)

$5.62 CHF 4.59

$2.14 R 34.99

162.62%

Potato (1kg)

$1.73 CHF 1.42

$1.58 R 25.86

9.49%

Onion (1kg)

$1.99 CHF 1.62

$1.47 R 24.15

35.37%

Lettuce (1 head)

$2.33 CHF 1.90

$1.35 R 22.05

72.59%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.13 CHF 0.92

$1.14 R 18.75

-0.88%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$11.01 CHF 9.01

$3.58 R 58.6

207.54%

Wine (Bottle)

$10.46 CHF 8.56

$6.05 R 99.2

72.89%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.51 CHF 2.06

$1.39 R 22.82

80.58%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.89 CHF 2.36

$2.18 R 35.69

32.57%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$5.23 CHF 4.27

$1.40 R 22.88

273.57%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$147 CHF 120

$60.8 R 995

142.47%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$4.61 CHF 3.77

$0.93 R 15.18

395.70%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$2.96 CHF 2.42

$0.90 R 14.75

228.89%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$61.6 CHF 50.4

$4.96 R 81.3

1142.74%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$2.21 CHF 1.81

$1.54 R 25.23

43.51%

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

$38.7K CHF 31.6K

$35.4K R 579.4K

9.41%

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

$39.5K CHF 32.3K

$33.4K R 546.7K

18.45%

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

$124 CHF 102

$117 R 1,918

6.15%

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

$29.44 CHF 24.08

$25.71 R 421

14.51%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$56.8 CHF 46.44

$39.41 R 646

44.08%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$101 CHF 82.6

$51.6 R 846

95.66%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$61.9 CHF 50.6

$11.35 R 186

445.20%

Cinema Ticket

$22.02 CHF 18.01

$8.89 R 146

147.69%

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

$3,225 CHF 2,638

$308 R 5,040

948.34%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$24.6K CHF 20.1K

$8,141 R 133.4K

201.76%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$91.4 CHF 74.7

$57.4 R 940

59.25%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$72.5 CHF 59.3

$31.75 R 520

128.47%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$109 CHF 89.4

$116 R 1,900

-5.73%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$173 CHF 141

$101 R 1,650

71.34%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,262 CHF 1,032

$1,047 R 17.1K

20.53%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,024 CHF 838

$669 R 11.0K

53.09%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,286 CHF 1,870

$1,861 R 30.5K

22.89%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$2,147 CHF 1,756

$1,407 R 23.1K

52.58%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,410 R 39.5K

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$12.4K CHF 10.2K

$1,570 R 25.7K

692.07%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$7,098 CHF 5,806

$1,630 R 26.7K

335.52%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

2.31

10.89

-78.79%

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

Last update for Aarau: 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

Aarau

$1K 36.3%

Cape Town

$669 43.8% 34.7% $355

Groceries & Markets

Aarau

$595 21.1%

Cape Town

$223 14.6% 62.5% $372

Eating Out

Aarau

$456 16.2%

Cape Town

$174 11.4% 61.8% $282

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Aarau

$210 7.5%

Cape Town

$182 11.9% 13.4% $28

Clothing & Footwear

Aarau

$201 7.1%

Cape Town

$138 9% 31.4% $63

Getting Around

Aarau

$188 6.7%

Cape Town

$72 4.7% 61.8% $116

Sport & Entertainment

Aarau

$145 5.1%

Cape Town

$69 4.5% 52.2% $76

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $1,262 in Aarau 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 Aarau are about 4.4 times higher. Purchasing power depends on which expenses matter most to you.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $107 in Aarau versus $43 in Cape Town. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $595 vs $223 – making Cape Town the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇨🇭 Aarau

🇿🇦 Cape Town

🕒 Local time

03:32 3:32 AM

04:32 4:32 AM

1 h ahead of Aarau

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

21,191

3,740,026 Capital

💱 Currency

Swiss Franc CHF Fr

South African Rand ZAR R

📈 Exchange rate

1 CHF = 1.22 USD

1 CHF = 1.09 EUR

100 ZAR = 6.1 USD

100 ZAR = 5.44 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

ZAR, USD, EUR to CHF – Swiss Franc Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇨🇭 Swiss Franc (Fr)

Swiss Franc exchange rates as of November 6, 2026: 1 USD = 0.818 CHF (1 CHF = 1.22 USD). 1 EUR = 0.918 CHF (1 CHF = 1.09 EUR).

South African Rand exchange rates as of November 6, 2026: 1 USD = 16.38 ZAR (100 ZAR = 6.1 USD). 1 EUR = 18.39 ZAR (100 ZAR = 5.44 EUR).

USD to CHF in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Aarau Cape Town 9,100 km ≈ 12 h nonstop flight

From you

Aarau
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

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

Aarau costs about 85% more than Cape Town, and outside of rent the gap comes mainly from groceries. That’s enough to noticeably affect everyday spending and lifestyle for anyone choosing between the two.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $4,229 per month in Aarau 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 Cape Town, especially for central apartments: a one-bedroom in the center costs $1,047 there versus $1,262 in Aarau.

Public transport costs about 59% less in Cape Town. For daily commuters, that gap adds up to noticeable savings over a year.

Kindergarten costs $3,225 per month in Aarau and $308 in Cape Town. For families with young kids, this one expense can tip the scales when choosing between the two cities.

$1,000 is a stretch for both – monthly costs hit $2,819 in Aarau and $1,527 in Cape Town. You’ll need shared housing and careful budgeting no matter which city you pick.

Families tend to lean toward Cape Town – lower housing and cheaper childcare make a real difference, especially on a single income or when paying for private education.

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