Last update: Nov 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Albacete and Cape Town

For one person, living costs are similar in Albacete and in Cape Town: $1,551 and $1,527 a month, rent and utilities included.

74

Cost of Living Index in Albacete
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Albacete Living Index
74

Cost of Living Index in Cape Town
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Cape Town Living Index

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Albacete

🇪🇸 Spain

$1,551

/mo nomad

Cape Town

🇿🇦 South Africa

$1,527

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,551 in Albacete versus $1,527 in Cape Town.

Albacete $1,551
Cape Town $1,527

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,229 in Albacete versus $2,417 in Cape Town.

Albacete $2,229
Cape Town $2,417

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $2,907 in Albacete versus $3,306 in Cape Town.

Albacete $2,907
Cape Town $3,306

Monthly costs are close between Albacete and Cape Town; which city is cheaper depends on the spending category.

Both cities are pricier than the global median: Albacete 15% above, Cape Town 13% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$14.79 €13.17

$12.01 R 198

23.15%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$48.48 €43.16

$42.92 R 707

12.95%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$9.24 €8.23

$6.15 R 101

50.24%

Cappuccino

$2.19 €1.95

$2.37 R 39.04

-7.59%

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

$2.36 €2.10

$1.27 R 20.96

85.83%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.73 €1.54

$0.94 R 15.46

84.04%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.82 €2.51

$2.96 R 48.77

-4.73%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.63 €4.12

$3.69 R 60.8

25.47%

Milk (1 liter)

$0.84 €0.75

$1.32 R 21.73

-36.36%

White Bread (500g)

$0.81 €0.72

$1.21 R 19.87

-33.06%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.75 €1.55

$2.20 R 36.26

-20.45%

Eggs

$3.11 €2.77

$3.10 R 51.1

0.32%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$16.36 €14.57

$8.73 R 144

87.40%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$5.48 €4.88

$6.89 R 114

-20.46%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$17.81 €15.86

$9.26 R 153

92.33%

Apples (1kg)

$2.54 €2.27

$1.83 R 30.08

38.80%

Banana (1kg)

$2.10 €1.87

$1.95 R 32.12

7.69%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.43 €2.16

$1.66 R 27.32

46.39%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.57 €2.28

$2.14 R 35.19

20.09%

Potato (1kg)

$2.34 €2.08

$1.58 R 26.01

48.10%

Onion (1kg)

$2.10 €1.87

$1.47 R 24.29

42.86%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.54 €1.37

$1.35 R 22.18

14.07%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.54 €0.48

$1.14 R 18.85

-52.63%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$6.78 €6.03

$3.58 R 59.0

89.39%

Wine (Bottle)

$5.26 €4.68

$6.05 R 99.7

-13.06%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.18 €1.05

$1.39 R 22.95

-15.11%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.19 €1.95

$2.18 R 35.90

0.46%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.32 €1.17

$1.40 R 23.02

-5.71%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$16.48 €14.67

$60.8 R 1,001

-72.87%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.40 €3.02

$0.93 R 15.26

265.59%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.56 €1.39

$0.90 R 14.83

73.33%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$30.49 €27.15

$4.96 R 81.7

514.72%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.74 €1.55

$1.54 R 25.37

12.99%

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

$33.4K €29.8K

$35.4K R 582.8K

-5.48%

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

$29.6K €26.4K

$33.4K R 549.9K

-11.19%

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

$178 €159

$117 R 1,929

52.17%

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

$17.57 €15.64

$25.71 R 424

-31.66%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$16.60 €14.78

$39.41 R 649

-57.88%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$51.6 R 850

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$4.37 €3.89

$11.35 R 187

-61.50%

Cinema Ticket

$8.84 €7.87

$8.89 R 146

-0.56%

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

$681 €607

$308 R 5,069

121.49%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$17.7K €15.7K

$8,141 R 134.2K

116.97%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$84.5 €75.3

$57.4 R 946

47.30%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$42.02 €37.41

$31.75 R 523

32.35%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$89.1 €79.3

$116 R 1,911

-23.20%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$115 €102

$101 R 1,660

14.08%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$937 €835

$1,047 R 17.2K

-10.45%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$669 €596

$669 R 11.0K

-0.02%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,249 €1,112

$1,861 R 30.7K

-32.88%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$947 €843

$1,407 R 23.2K

-32.69%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,390 €2,128

$2,410 R 39.7K

-0.84%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$2,034 €1,811

$1,570 R 25.9K

29.58%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$2,017 €1,796

$1,630 R 26.9K

23.78%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

3.15

10.89

-71.07%

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

Last update for Albacete: November 1, 2026

Last update for Cape Town: November 2, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Albacete

$669 43.1%

Cape Town

$669 43.8% 0% $0.1

Groceries & Markets

Albacete

$258 16.7%

Cape Town

$223 14.6% 13.6% $35

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Albacete

$212 13.7%

Cape Town

$182 11.9% 14.2% $30

Eating Out

Albacete

$212 13.7%

Cape Town

$174 11.4% 17.9% $38

Clothing & Footwear

Albacete

$149 9.6%

Cape Town

$138 9% 7.5% $11

Getting Around

Albacete

$33 2.1%

Cape Town

$72 4.7% 118% $39

Sport & Entertainment

Albacete

$18 * 1.1%

Cape Town

$69 4.5% 293% $52

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 $937 in Albacete and $1,047 in Cape Town. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Albacete pays 24% more on average. How far that income stretches comes down to housing choices and lifestyle.

Dining out: $48 in Albacete vs $43 in Cape Town for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $258 vs $223 per month, with Cape Town cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇪🇸 Albacete

🇿🇦 Cape Town

🕒 Local time

08:53 8:53 AM

09:53 9:53 AM

1 h ahead of Albacete

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

173,206

3,740,026 Capital

💱 Currency

Euro EUR €

South African Rand ZAR R

📈 Exchange rate

1 EUR = 1.12 USD

100 ZAR = 6.07 USD

100 ZAR = 5.4 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

ZAR, USD to EUR – Euro Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇪🇺 Euro (€)

Euro exchange rates as of November 6, 2026: 1 USD = 0.89 EUR (1 EUR = 1.12 USD).

South African Rand exchange rates as of November 6, 2026: 1 USD = 16.48 ZAR (100 ZAR = 6.07 USD). 1 EUR = 18.51 ZAR (100 ZAR = 5.4 EUR).

USD to EUR in detail →

On the map

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Highest

Between locations

Albacete Cape Town 8,370 km ≈ 11 h nonstop flight

From you

Albacete
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

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

Average pay runs 24% higher in Albacete, which matters when comparing affordability. Whether that higher income actually nets you more depends on your spending habits and housing choices.

Rent for a central apartment: $937 in Albacete versus $1,047 in Cape Town. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

A monthly transit pass in Albacete runs roughly 73% less than in Cape Town. The price difference matters if you commute daily and watch your budget.

Supermarket bills run roughly 16% higher in Albacete. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

Both cities are expensive relative to $1,000. Cape Town is the more realistic option, but even there you’ll need to be disciplined with housing, food, and fun money.

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.

It comes down to priorities – Cape Town wins on affordability, Albacete on earning potential. Factor in climate, language, visa rules, and proximity to places that matter to you before deciding.