Last update: Nov 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Bethune and Cape Town

For one person, living is cheaper in Cape Town: $1,527 a month against $1,757 in Bethune, rent and utilities included – about $2,800 less a year. Other living expenses account for most of the difference.

84

Cost of Living Index in Bethune
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Bethune Living Index
74

Cost of Living Index in Cape Town
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Cape Town Living Index

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Bethune

🇫🇷 France

$1,757

/mo nomad

Cape Town

🇿🇦 South Africa

$1,527

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,757 in Bethune versus $1,527 in Cape Town.

Bethune $1,757
Cape Town $1,527

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,766 in Bethune versus $2,417 in Cape Town.

Bethune $2,766
Cape Town $2,417

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,775 in Bethune versus $3,306 in Cape Town.

Bethune $3,775
Cape Town $3,306

Living in Bethune is roughly 15% more expensive than in Cape Town, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Both cities are pricier than the global median: Bethune 30% above, Cape Town 13% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$18.11 €16.13

$12.01 R 197

50.79%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$73.9 €65.9

$42.92 R 703

72.27%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$13.47 €12.00

$6.15 R 101

119.02%

Cappuccino

$3.26 €2.91

$2.37 R 38.81

37.55%

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

$2.84 €2.53

$1.27 R 20.84

123.62%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.68 €1.49

$0.94 R 15.37

78.72%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$6.69 €5.96

$2.96 R 48.48

126.01%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$5.48 €4.88

$3.69 R 60.5

48.51%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.31 €1.17

$1.32 R 21.61

-0.76%

White Bread (500g)

$1.94 €1.73

$1.21 R 19.75

60.33%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.96 €2.64

$2.20 R 36.05

34.55%

Eggs

$4.03 €3.59

$3.10 R 50.8

30.00%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$21.15 €18.84

$8.73 R 143

142.27%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$12.49 €11.13

$6.89 R 113

81.28%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$23.13 €20.60

$9.26 R 152

149.78%

Apples (1kg)

$2.92 €2.60

$1.83 R 29.90

59.56%

Banana (1kg)

$2.12 €1.89

$1.95 R 31.94

8.72%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.39 €2.13

$1.66 R 27.16

43.98%

Tomato (1kg)

$3.09 €2.75

$2.14 R 34.99

44.39%

Potato (1kg)

$1.87 €1.67

$1.58 R 25.86

18.35%

Onion (1kg)

$2.07 €1.84

$1.47 R 24.15

40.82%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.45 €1.29

$1.35 R 22.05

7.41%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.54 €0.48

$1.14 R 18.75

-52.63%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$13.81 €12.30

$3.58 R 58.6

285.75%

Wine (Bottle)

$7.86 €7.00

$6.05 R 99.2

29.92%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.82 €1.62

$1.39 R 22.82

30.94%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.61 €2.33

$2.18 R 35.69

19.72%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.83 €1.63

$1.40 R 22.88

30.71%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$49.19 €43.82

$60.8 R 995

-19.03%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$2.18 €1.94

$0.93 R 15.18

134.41%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$2.15 €1.92

$0.90 R 14.75

138.89%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$23.93 €21.32

$4.96 R 81.3

382.46%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$2.02 €1.80

$1.54 R 25.23

31.17%

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

$34.0K €30.3K

$35.4K R 579.4K

-3.84%

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

$38.8K €34.6K

$33.4K R 546.7K

16.42%

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

$177 €158

$117 R 1,918

51.22%

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

$15.34 €13.67

$25.71 R 421

-40.33%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$30.32 €27.01

$39.41 R 646

-23.07%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$35.62 €31.73

$51.6 R 846

-30.98%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$17.08 €15.21

$11.35 R 186

50.48%

Cinema Ticket

$9.87 €8.79

$8.89 R 146

11.02%

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

$628 €559

$308 R 5,040

104.09%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$8,269 €7,366

$8,141 R 133.4K

1.56%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$87.6 €78.0

$57.4 R 940

52.60%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$38.02 €33.87

$31.75 R 520

19.75%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$75.6 €67.3

$116 R 1,900

-34.83%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$95.0 €84.6

$101 R 1,650

-5.68%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$777 €692

$1,047 R 17.1K

-25.80%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$629 €560

$669 R 11.0K

-6.04%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,488 €1,325

$1,861 R 30.5K

-20.05%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,172 €1,044

$1,407 R 23.1K

-16.74%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$4,193 €3,735

$2,410 R 39.5K

73.98%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$3,156 €2,812

$1,570 R 25.7K

101.09%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$3,677 €3,276

$1,630 R 26.7K

125.61%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

3.92

10.89

-64.00%

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

Last update for Bethune: 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

Bethune

$629 35.8%

Cape Town

$669 43.8% 6.4% $40

Groceries & Markets

Bethune

$360 20.5%

Cape Town

$223 14.6% 38% $137

Eating Out

Bethune

$287 16.3%

Cape Town

$174 11.4% 39.4% $113

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Bethune

$223 12.7%

Cape Town

$182 11.9% 18.2% $41

Clothing & Footwear

Bethune

$133 7.6%

Cape Town

$138 9% 3.3% $4.4

Getting Around

Bethune

$69 4%

Cape Town

$72 4.7% 3.4% $2.3

Sport & Entertainment

Bethune

$55 3.2%

Cape Town

$69 4.5% 25.3% $14

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $777 in Bethune and $1,047 in Cape Town. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Bethune pays about 2.3 times more on average. How far that income stretches comes down to housing choices and lifestyle.

Dining out: $74 in Bethune vs $43 in Cape Town for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $360 vs $223 per month, with Cape Town cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇫🇷 Bethune

🇿🇦 Cape Town

🕒 Local time

19:41 7:41 PM

20:41 8:41 PM

1 h ahead of Bethune

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

24,992

3,740,026 Capital

💱 Currency

Euro EUR €

South African Rand ZAR R

📈 Exchange rate

1 EUR = 1.12 USD

100 ZAR = 6.1 USD

100 ZAR = 5.43 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

ZAR, USD to EUR – Euro Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇪🇺 Euro (€)

Euro exchange rates as of November 5, 2026: 1 USD = 0.891 EUR (1 EUR = 1.12 USD).

South African Rand exchange rates as of November 5, 2026: 1 USD = 16.38 ZAR (100 ZAR = 6.1 USD). 1 EUR = 18.41 ZAR (100 ZAR = 5.43 EUR).

USD to EUR in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Bethune Cape Town 9,520 km ≈ 12 h nonstop flight

From you

Bethune
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

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

Cape Town wins on cost – living expenses run 13% lower than in Bethune. 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 in Bethune is about 2.3 times higher, 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: $777 in Bethune versus $1,047 in Cape Town. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $628 in Bethune 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 61% higher in Bethune. 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, Bethune on earning potential. Factor in climate, language, visa rules, and proximity to places that matter to you before deciding.