Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Alicante and Cape Town

For one person, living is cheaper in Cape Town: $1,527 a month against $1,839 in Alicante, rent and utilities included – about $3,700 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

89

Cost of Living Index in Alicante
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Alicante Living Index
74

Cost of Living Index in Cape Town
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Cape Town Living Index

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Alicante

🇪🇸 Spain

$1,839

/mo nomad

Cape Town

🇿🇦 South Africa

$1,527

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,839 in Alicante versus $1,527 in Cape Town.

Alicante $1,839
Cape Town $1,527

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,796 in Alicante versus $2,417 in Cape Town.

Alicante $2,796
Cape Town $2,417

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,754 in Alicante versus $3,306 in Cape Town.

Alicante $3,754
Cape Town $3,306

Living in Alicante is roughly 20% more expensive than in Cape Town, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Both cities are pricier than the global median: Alicante 36% above, Cape Town 13% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$16.95 €15.17

$12.01 R 199

41.13%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$65.8 €58.9

$42.92 R 709

53.40%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.10 €9.93

$6.15 R 102

80.49%

Cappuccino

$2.27 €2.03

$2.37 R 39.16

-4.22%

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

$2.29 €2.05

$1.27 R 21.03

80.31%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.39 €1.25

$0.94 R 15.50

47.87%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.41 €3.05

$2.96 R 48.92

15.20%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.27 €2.92

$3.69 R 61.0

-11.38%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.13 €1.01

$1.32 R 21.80

-14.39%

White Bread (500g)

$1.56 €1.40

$1.21 R 19.93

28.93%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.54 €1.37

$2.20 R 36.37

-30.00%

Eggs

$3.36 €3.01

$3.10 R 51.3

8.39%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$16.78 €15.02

$8.73 R 144

92.21%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.33 €8.35

$6.89 R 114

35.41%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$18.02 €16.12

$9.26 R 153

94.60%

Apples (1kg)

$2.58 €2.31

$1.83 R 30.17

40.98%

Banana (1kg)

$1.94 €1.74

$1.95 R 32.22

-0.51%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.94 €1.74

$1.66 R 27.40

16.87%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.78 €2.48

$2.14 R 35.30

29.91%

Potato (1kg)

$1.98 €1.78

$1.58 R 26.09

25.32%

Onion (1kg)

$1.94 €1.74

$1.47 R 24.37

31.97%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.18 €1.06

$1.35 R 22.25

-12.59%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.70 €0.62

$1.14 R 18.91

-38.60%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$6.62 €5.92

$3.58 R 59.1

84.92%

Wine (Bottle)

$5.48 €4.90

$6.05 R 100

-9.42%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.19 €1.07

$1.39 R 23.02

-14.39%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.04 €1.83

$2.18 R 36.01

-6.42%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.61 €1.44

$1.40 R 23.09

15.00%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$27.86 €24.93

$60.8 R 1,004

-54.14%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$2.50 €2.24

$0.93 R 15.31

168.82%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.49 €1.33

$0.90 R 14.88

65.56%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$27.60 €24.69

$4.96 R 82.0

456.45%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.86 €1.67

$1.54 R 25.45

20.78%

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

$31.5K €28.2K

$35.4K R 584.6K

-10.86%

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

$31.6K €28.3K

$33.4K R 551.6K

-5.17%

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

$140 €125

$117 R 1,935

19.24%

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

$18.93 €16.94

$25.71 R 425

-26.37%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$28.92 €25.88

$39.41 R 651

-26.62%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$41.66 €37.27

$51.6 R 853

-19.28%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$16.83 €15.06

$11.35 R 188

48.28%

Cinema Ticket

$8.07 €7.22

$8.89 R 147

-9.22%

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

$775 €693

$308 R 5,085

151.82%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$11.1K €9,905

$8,141 R 134.6K

35.96%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$86.3 €77.2

$57.4 R 948

50.44%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$35.67 €31.92

$31.75 R 525

12.35%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$96.8 €86.6

$116 R 1,917

-16.55%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$105 €94.0

$101 R 1,665

4.35%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,075 €962

$1,047 R 17.3K

2.73%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$881 €788

$669 R 11.1K

31.68%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,785 €1,598

$1,861 R 30.8K

-4.04%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,506 €1,347

$1,407 R 23.3K

6.99%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$4,218 €3,774

$2,410 R 39.8K

75.02%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$2,282 €2,042

$1,570 R 25.9K

45.41%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,864 €1,667

$1,630 R 26.9K

14.34%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

2.99

10.89

-72.54%

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

Last update for Alicante: 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

Alicante

$881 47.9%

Cape Town

$669 43.8% 24.1% $212

Groceries & Markets

Alicante

$288 15.7%

Cape Town

$223 14.6% 22.4% $65

Eating Out

Alicante

$234 12.8%

Cape Town

$174 11.4% 25.8% $60

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Alicante

$187 10.2%

Cape Town

$182 11.9% 2.8% $5.3

Clothing & Footwear

Alicante

$146 7.9%

Cape Town

$138 9% 5.6% $8.1

Sport & Entertainment

Alicante

$58 3.1%

Cape Town

$69 4.5% 20.1% $12

Getting Around

Alicante

$44 2.4%

Cape Town

$72 4.7% 62.2% $28

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,075 in Alicante and $1,047 in Cape Town. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Alicante pays 14% more on average. The extra income cushions the higher costs, though housing choices and lifestyle decide how much of the gap is truly closed.

Dining out: $66 in Alicante vs $43 in Cape Town for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $288 vs $223 per month, with Cape Town cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇪🇸 Alicante

🇿🇦 Cape Town

🕒 Local time

20:30 8:30 PM

21:30 9:30 PM

1 h ahead of Alicante

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

349,282

3,740,026 Capital

💱 Currency

Euro EUR €

South African Rand ZAR R

📈 Exchange rate

1 EUR = 1.12 USD

100 ZAR = 6.05 USD

100 ZAR = 5.41 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 = 0.895 EUR (1 EUR = 1.12 USD).

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 EUR in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Alicante Cape Town 8,270 km ≈ 11 h nonstop flight

From you

Alicante
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

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

Cape Town wins on cost – living expenses run 17% lower than in Alicante. Housing and daily spending are where you’ll feel the difference most, making Cape Town the obvious pick if budget is a priority.

Average pay runs 14% higher in Alicante, 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: $1,075 in Alicante versus $1,047 in Cape Town. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $775 in Alicante versus $308 in Cape Town. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Supermarket bills run roughly 29% higher in Alicante. 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 work as nomad bases, but Cape Town delivers better value at $1,527 monthly. If stretching your runway or maximizing savings is the goal, the price difference makes Cape Town hard to pass up.

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