Last update: Nov 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Barreiras and Cape Town

For one person, living is cheaper in Barreiras: $829 a month against $1,527 in Cape Town, rent and utilities included – about $8,400 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

39

Cost of Living Index in Barreiras
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Barreiras Living Index
74

Cost of Living Index in Cape Town
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Cape Town Living Index

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Barreiras

🇧🇷 Brazil

$829

/mo nomad

Cape Town

🇿🇦 South Africa

$1,527

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $829 in Barreiras versus $1,527 in Cape Town.

Barreiras $829
Cape Town $1,527

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,316 in Barreiras versus $2,417 in Cape Town.

Barreiras $1,316
Cape Town $2,417

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $1,803 in Barreiras versus $3,306 in Cape Town.

Barreiras $1,803
Cape Town $3,306

Living in Barreiras costs roughly 46% less than in Cape Town, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Barreiras is 39% below, Cape Town is 13% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$5.60 R$30.75

$12.01 R 198

-53.37%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$29.98 R$165

$42.92 R 707

-30.15%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$7.35 R$40.33

$6.15 R 101

19.51%

Cappuccino

$1.90 R$10.44

$2.37 R 39.04

-19.83%

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

$1.26 R$6.89

$1.27 R 20.96

-0.79%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.74 R$4.06

$0.94 R 15.46

-21.28%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$1.90 R$10.43

$2.96 R 48.77

-35.81%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.82 R$15.47

$3.69 R 60.8

-23.58%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.01 R$5.54

$1.32 R 21.73

-23.48%

White Bread (500g)

$1.59 R$8.72

$1.21 R 19.87

31.40%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.21 R$6.62

$2.20 R 36.26

-45.00%

Eggs

$2.09 R$11.45

$3.10 R 51.1

-32.58%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$8.82 R$48.39

$8.73 R 144

1.03%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$4.14 R$22.71

$6.89 R 114

-39.91%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$7.98 R$43.81

$9.26 R 153

-13.82%

Apples (1kg)

$2.14 R$11.73

$1.83 R 30.08

16.94%

Banana (1kg)

$1.24 R$6.79

$1.95 R 32.12

-36.41%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.12 R$6.14

$1.66 R 27.32

-32.53%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.47 R$8.06

$2.14 R 35.19

-31.31%

Potato (1kg)

$1.17 R$6.44

$1.58 R 26.01

-25.95%

Onion (1kg)

$1.04 R$5.69

$1.47 R 24.29

-29.25%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.77 R$4.21

$1.35 R 22.18

-42.96%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.77 R$4.21

$1.14 R 18.85

-32.46%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$2.38 R$13.04

$3.58 R 59.0

-33.52%

Wine (Bottle)

$7.34 R$40.25

$6.05 R 99.7

21.32%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.18 R$6.46

$1.39 R 22.95

-15.11%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.94 R$10.67

$2.18 R 35.90

-11.01%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.95 R$5.19

$1.40 R 23.02

-32.14%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$41.14 R$226

$60.8 R 1,001

-32.28%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.18 R$6.45

$0.93 R 15.26

26.88%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.81 R$4.43

$0.90 R 14.83

-10.00%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$7.58 R$41.57

$4.96 R 81.7

52.82%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.22 R$6.71

$1.54 R 25.37

-20.78%

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

$21.8K R$119.7K

$35.4K R 582.8K

-38.34%

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

$31.6K R$173.3K

$33.4K R 549.9K

-5.38%

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

$71.6 R$393

$117 R 1,929

-38.88%

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

$11.56 R$63.4

$25.71 R 424

-55.04%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$19.43 R$107

$39.41 R 649

-50.70%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$24.02 R$132

$51.6 R 850

-53.46%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$26.08 R$143

$11.35 R 187

129.78%

Cinema Ticket

$6.95 R$38.13

$8.89 R 146

-21.82%

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

$259 R$1,423

$308 R 5,069

-15.71%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$6,653 R$36.5K

$8,141 R 134.2K

-18.28%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$51.0 R$280

$57.4 R 946

-11.05%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$47.31 R$260

$31.75 R 523

49.01%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$83.3 R$457

$116 R 1,911

-28.16%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$67.3 R$369

$101 R 1,660

-33.22%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$331 R$1,817

$1,047 R 17.2K

-68.36%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$231 R$1,270

$669 R 11.0K

-65.41%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$629 R$3,449

$1,861 R 30.7K

-66.22%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$444 R$2,437

$1,407 R 23.2K

-68.44%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$1,572 R$8,628

$2,410 R 39.7K

-34.76%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,128 R$6,187

$1,570 R 25.9K

-28.16%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,630 R 26.9K

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

10.89

1.01%

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

Last update for Barreiras: 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

Barreiras

$231 27.9%

Cape Town

$669 43.8% 189% $438

Groceries & Markets

Barreiras

$183 22%

Cape Town

$223 14.6% 22.3% $41

Eating Out

Barreiras

$113 13.6%

Cape Town

$174 11.4% 54.2% $61

Clothing & Footwear

Barreiras

$112 13.5%

Cape Town

$138 9% 22.9% $26

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Barreiras

$103 12.4%

Cape Town

$182 11.9% 77.7% $80

Getting Around

Barreiras

$50 6%

Cape Town

$72 4.7% 43.1% $22

Sport & Entertainment

Barreiras

$38 4.6%

Cape Town

$69 4.5% 83% $31

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $331 in Barreiras and $1,047 in Cape Town. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Dining out: $30 in Barreiras vs $43 in Cape Town for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $183 vs $223 per month, with Barreiras cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇧🇷 Barreiras

🇿🇦 Cape Town

🕒 Local time

03:45 3:45 AM

08:45 8:45 AM

5 h ahead of Barreiras

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

159,734

3,740,026 Capital

💱 Currency

Brazilian Real BRL R$

South African Rand ZAR R

📈 Exchange rate

1 BRL = 0.182 USD

1 BRL = 0.162 EUR

100 ZAR = 6.07 USD

100 ZAR = 5.41 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

ZAR, USD, EUR to BRL – Brazilian Real Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇧🇷 Brazilian Real (R$)

Brazilian Real exchange rates as of November 6, 2026: 1 USD = 5.49 BRL (1 BRL = 0.182 USD). 1 EUR = 6.16 BRL (1 BRL = 0.162 EUR).

South African Rand exchange rates as of November 6, 2026: 1 USD = 16.48 ZAR (100 ZAR = 6.07 USD). 1 EUR = 18.5 ZAR (100 ZAR = 5.41 EUR).

USD to BRL in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Barreiras Cape Town 6,810 km ≈ 9 h nonstop flight

From you

Barreiras
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

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

Barreiras is about 46% cheaper overall, especially in eating out, groceries, and utilities. That difference adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

You’d need roughly $1,244 in Barreiras and $2,291 in Cape Town to live well. The gap comes down to housing and overall price levels. Both cities are liveable on less, but these numbers represent actual comfort.

Rent for a central apartment: $331 in Barreiras versus $1,047 in Cape Town. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $259 in Barreiras 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 22% higher in Cape Town. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

At $829 in Barreiras versus $1,527 in Cape Town, a $1,000 budget is realistic in Barreiras but tight or insufficient in Cape Town. The gap between the two cities makes Barreiras the clear choice for anyone on this budget.

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.

Expats usually find Barreiras gentler on the wallet – expenses run 46% less than in Cape Town. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.