Last update: Nov 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Belgium and Cape Town

For one person, living is cheaper in Cape Town: $1,527 a month against $2,195 in Belgium, rent and utilities included – about $8,000 less a year. Rent and utilities account for about half of the difference.

Belgium
Cape Town, South Africa
🇧🇪 Belgium
$2,195
/mo nomad
Cape Town
🇿🇦 South Africa
$1,527
/mo nomad
😐 Solo nomad: Belgium is 48.4% more expensive than Cape Town without rent, and 43.7% more expensive with rent.
😐 Family of 3: Belgium is 56.7% more expensive than Cape Town without rent, and 29.6% more expensive with rent.
Currency
🍽 Eating Out
Belgium
Cape Town
Difference
Meal at Budget Restaurant
$21.96 €19.65
$12.01 R 199
82.85%
Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range
$89.5 €80.1
$42.92 R 709
108.50%
Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)
$13.62 €12.18
$6.15 R 102
121.46%
Cappuccino
$4.08 €3.65
$2.37 R 39.16
72.15%
Coke/Pepsi/Fanta/Sprite (0.33 liter bottle)
$3.39 €3.03
$1.27 R 21.03
166.93%
Water (0.33 liter bottle)
$3.06 €2.74
$0.94 R 15.50
225.53%
Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)
$5.67 €5.07
$2.96 R 48.92
91.55%
Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)
$5.64 €5.05
$3.69 R 61.0
52.85%
🛒 Groceries & Markets
Belgium
Cape Town
Difference
Milk (1 liter)
$1.25 €1.12
$1.32 R 21.80
-5.30%
White Bread (500g)
$2.50 €2.23
$1.21 R 19.93
106.61%
Rice (white) (1kg)
$2.31 €2.06
$2.20 R 36.37
5.00%
Eggs
$4.00 €3.58
$3.10 R 51.3
29.03%
Local Cheese (1kg)
$15.81 €14.15
$8.73 R 144
81.10%
Chicken Fillets (1kg)
$12.21 €10.93
$6.89 R 114
77.21%
Beef Round Steak (1kg)
$20.69 €18.52
$9.26 R 153
123.43%
Apples (1kg)
$2.82 €2.52
$1.83 R 30.17
54.10%
Banana (1kg)
$2.42 €2.16
$1.95 R 32.22
24.10%
Oranges (1kg)
$2.77 €2.48
$1.66 R 27.40
66.87%
Tomato (1kg)
$3.30 €2.95
$2.14 R 35.30
54.21%
Potato (1kg)
$2.37 €2.12
$1.58 R 26.09
50.00%
Onion (1kg)
$1.81 €1.62
$1.47 R 24.37
23.13%
Lettuce (1 head)
$1.52 €1.36
$1.35 R 22.25
12.59%
Water (1.5 liter bottle)
$1.06 €0.95
$1.14 R 18.91
-7.02%
Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)
$13.30 €11.90
$3.58 R 59.1
271.51%
Wine (Bottle)
$8.88 €7.94
$6.05 R 100
46.78%
Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)
$1.92 €1.72
$1.39 R 23.02
38.13%
Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)
$2.27 €2.03
$2.18 R 36.01
4.13%
🚌 Getting Around
Belgium
Cape Town
Difference
One-way Ticket (Public Transport)
$3.45 €3.08
$1.40 R 23.09
146.43%
Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)
$60.4 €54.0
$60.8 R 1,004
-0.63%
Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)
$5.55 €4.96
$0.93 R 15.31
496.77%
Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)
$2.75 €2.46
$0.90 R 14.88
205.56%
Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)
$44.85 €40.13
$4.96 R 82.0
804.23%
Gasoline (1 liter)
$1.96 €1.76
$1.54 R 25.45
27.27%
Midsize Hatchback 1.4l (Volkswagen Golf, Toyota Prius, Honda Civic, etc)
$35.3K €31.5K
$35.4K R 584.6K
-0.30%
Compact Sedan 1.6l (Toyota Corolla, Mazda3, Kia K4, Hyundai Elantra, etc)
$35.8K €32.0K
$33.4K R 551.6K
7.26%
🧾 Monthly Utilities & Internet
Belgium
Cape Town
Difference
Utilities for 2 People in 2-bedroom Apartment (Heating, Electricity, Gas, Water, Garbage) (85m2)
$235 €210
$117 R 1,935
100.44%
SIM Card Monthly Plan (Calls and 10GB+ Data)
$22.77 €20.37
$25.71 R 425
-11.44%
Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)
$54.2 €48.49
$39.41 R 651
37.50%
🎉 Sport & Entertainment
Belgium
Cape Town
Difference
Gym Membership (Monthly)
$34.14 €30.55
$51.6 R 853
-33.85%
Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)
$21.33 €19.08
$11.35 R 188
87.93%
Cinema Ticket
$15.50 €13.87
$8.89 R 147
74.35%
🧸 Childcare & Education
Belgium
Cape Town
Difference
Preschool or Kindergarten, Full Day, Private, 1 Child (Monthly)
$1,055 €944
$308 R 5,085
242.98%
International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)
$28.9K €25.9K
$8,141 R 134.6K
255.01%
👕👟 Clothing & Footwear
Belgium
Cape Town
Difference
Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)
$105 €94.2
$57.4 R 948
83.39%
Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)
$48.63 €43.51
$31.75 R 525
53.17%
Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)
$106 €94.7
$116 R 1,917
-8.70%
Men's Leather Business Shoes
$145 €130
$101 R 1,665
44.21%
🏠 Accommodation & Living
Belgium
Cape Town
Difference
1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)
$986 €883
$1,047 R 17.3K
-5.75%
1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)
$861 €770
$669 R 11.1K
28.68%
3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)
$1,527 €1,366
$1,861 R 30.8K
-17.93%
3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)
$1,257 €1,124
$1,407 R 23.3K
-10.71%
Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)
$4,430 €3,964
$2,410 R 39.8K
83.79%
Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)
$3,098 €2,772
$1,570 R 25.9K
97.37%
💵 Salaries & Financials
Belgium
Cape Town
Difference
Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)
$3,085 €2,761
$1,630 R 26.9K
89.31%
20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)
3.65
10.89
-66.48%

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

Last update for Belgium: November 3, 2026

Last update for Cape Town: November 2, 2026

Monthly budget structure
Share of the monthly basket for one person, rent included.
Accommodation & Living
Belgium
$861
Cape Town
$669 22.3% $192
Groceries & Markets
Belgium
$351
Cape Town
$223 36.4% $128
Eating Out
Belgium
$331
Cape Town
$174 47.4% $157
Monthly Utilities & Internet
Belgium
$312
Cape Town
$182 41.5% $129
Clothing & Footwear
Belgium
$182
Cape Town
$138 24.5% $45
Getting Around
Belgium
$93
Cape Town
$72 23.2% $22
Sport & Entertainment
Belgium
$65
Cape Town
$69 6.5% $4.2
Good to know
🇧🇪 Belgium
🇿🇦 Cape Town
🕒 Local time
14:22 2:22 PM
15:22 3:22 PM
1 h ahead of Belgium
🌤 Weather
👥 Population
11,584,008
3,740,026 Capital
💱 Currency
Euro EUR €
Exchange rates and currency converter

ZAR, USD to EUR – Euro Converter

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 = 18.56 ZAR (100 ZAR = 5.39 EUR).

On the map
Between locations
  • Belgium Cape Town 9,530 km ≈ 12 h nonstop flight
From you
  • Belgium
  • 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

Belgium vs other spots: cost of living compared

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