Last update: Nov 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Bergamo and Cape Town

For one person, living is cheaper in Cape Town: $1,527 a month against $1,610 in Bergamo, rent and utilities included – about $1,000 less a year. Other living expenses account for most of the difference.

77

Cost of Living Index in Bergamo
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Bergamo Living Index
74

Cost of Living Index in Cape Town
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Cape Town Living Index

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Bergamo

🇮🇹 Italy

$1,610

/mo nomad

Cape Town

🇿🇦 South Africa

$1,527

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,610 in Bergamo versus $1,527 in Cape Town.

Bergamo $1,610
Cape Town $1,527

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,458 in Bergamo versus $2,417 in Cape Town.

Bergamo $2,458
Cape Town $2,417

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

Bergamo $3,306
Cape Town $3,306

Living in Bergamo is roughly 5% more expensive than in Cape Town, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Both cities are pricier than the global median: Bergamo 19% above, Cape Town 13% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$15.51 €13.81

$12.01 R 198

29.14%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$85.2 €75.9

$42.92 R 707

98.58%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.32 €10.08

$6.15 R 101

84.07%

Cappuccino

$1.86 €1.66

$2.37 R 39.04

-21.52%

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

$3.17 €2.83

$1.27 R 20.96

149.61%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.28 €1.14

$0.94 R 15.46

36.17%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$5.60 €4.99

$2.96 R 48.77

89.19%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$5.47 €4.87

$3.69 R 60.8

48.24%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.41 €1.25

$1.32 R 21.73

6.82%

White Bread (500g)

$2.04 €1.81

$1.21 R 19.87

68.60%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.94 €2.62

$2.20 R 36.26

33.64%

Eggs

$3.67 €3.27

$3.10 R 51.1

18.39%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$14.90 €13.26

$8.73 R 144

70.68%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$11.40 €10.15

$6.89 R 114

65.46%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$16.10 €14.34

$9.26 R 153

73.87%

Apples (1kg)

$2.18 €1.94

$1.83 R 30.08

19.13%

Banana (1kg)

$1.65 €1.47

$1.95 R 32.12

-15.38%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.34 €2.08

$1.66 R 27.32

40.96%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.52 €2.24

$2.14 R 35.19

17.76%

Potato (1kg)

$1.76 €1.57

$1.58 R 26.01

11.39%

Onion (1kg)

$2.22 €1.97

$1.47 R 24.29

51.02%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.86 €1.65

$1.35 R 22.18

37.78%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.45 €0.40

$1.14 R 18.85

-60.53%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$7.06 €6.29

$3.58 R 59.0

97.21%

Wine (Bottle)

$4.23 €3.77

$6.05 R 99.7

-30.08%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.20 €1.06

$1.39 R 22.95

-13.67%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.76 €1.56

$2.18 R 35.90

-19.27%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.86 €1.66

$1.40 R 23.02

32.86%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$42.89 €38.19

$60.8 R 1,001

-29.40%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$10.37 €9.23

$0.93 R 15.26

1015.05%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$2.19 €1.95

$0.90 R 14.83

143.33%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$39.52 €35.19

$4.96 R 81.7

696.77%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$2.08 €1.85

$1.54 R 25.37

35.06%

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

$35.6K €31.7K

$35.4K R 582.8K

0.55%

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

$35.7K €31.7K

$33.4K R 549.9K

6.83%

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

$196 €174

$117 R 1,929

67.27%

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

$8.90 €7.93

$25.71 R 424

-65.38%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$28.45 €25.33

$39.41 R 649

-27.81%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$30.03 €26.73

$51.6 R 850

-41.81%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$22.96 €20.44

$11.35 R 187

102.29%

Cinema Ticket

$10.97 €9.77

$8.89 R 146

23.40%

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

$580 €516

$308 R 5,069

88.40%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$16.2K €14.5K

$8,141 R 134.2K

99.46%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$71.3 €63.5

$57.4 R 946

24.28%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$32.53 €28.96

$31.75 R 523

2.46%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$86.4 €76.9

$116 R 1,911

-25.50%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$103 €91.8

$101 R 1,660

2.37%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$732 €652

$1,047 R 17.2K

-30.09%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$590 €525

$669 R 11.0K

-11.86%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,374 €1,224

$1,861 R 30.7K

-26.14%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$897 €798

$1,407 R 23.2K

-36.29%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,535 €3,147

$2,410 R 39.7K

46.67%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$2,616 €2,329

$1,570 R 25.9K

66.64%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$2,361 €2,103

$1,630 R 26.9K

44.89%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

3.05

10.89

-71.99%

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

Last update for Bergamo: 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

Bergamo

$590 36.6%

Cape Town

$669 43.8% 13.5% $79

Groceries & Markets

Bergamo

$294 18.3%

Cape Town

$223 14.6% 24.1% $71

Eating Out

Bergamo

$237 14.7%

Cape Town

$174 11.4% 26.6% $63

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Bergamo

$233 14.5%

Cape Town

$182 11.9% 21.9% $51

Clothing & Footwear

Bergamo

$132 8.2%

Cape Town

$138 9% 4.3% $5.6

Getting Around

Bergamo

$72 4.5%

Cape Town

$72 4.7% 0.2% $0.1

Sport & Entertainment

Bergamo

$52 3.2%

Cape Town

$69 4.5% 33.5% $17

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $732 in Bergamo and $1,047 in Cape Town. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Bergamo pays 45% more on average. How far that income stretches comes down to housing choices and lifestyle.

Dining out: $85 in Bergamo vs $43 in Cape Town for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $294 vs $223 per month, with Cape Town cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇮🇹 Bergamo

🇿🇦 Cape Town

🕒 Local time

16:14 4:14 PM

17:14 5:14 PM

1 h ahead of Bergamo

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

120,569

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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Between locations

Bergamo Cape Town 8,900 km ≈ 12 h nonstop flight

From you

Bergamo
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

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

Total monthly costs including rent come to $1,610 in Bergamo and $1,527 in Cape Town, so Cape Town is about 5% cheaper – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

Average pay runs 45% higher in Bergamo, 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: $732 in Bergamo versus $1,047 in Cape Town. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Dining out is cheaper in Cape Town – a meal for two runs $43 versus $85 in Bergamo. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

All in, you’ll spend $1,610 per month in Bergamo versus $1,527 in Cape Town – Cape Town is about 5% cheaper, which adds up to real savings over time.

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, Bergamo on earning potential. Factor in climate, language, visa rules, and proximity to places that matter to you before deciding.