Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Calafat and Cape Town

For one person, living is cheaper in Calafat: $1,009 a month against $1,586 in Cape Town, rent and utilities included – about $6,900 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

49

Cost of Living Index in Calafat
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Calafat Living Index
77

Cost of Living Index in Cape Town
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Cape Town Living Index

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Calafat

🇷🇴 Romania

$1,009

/mo nomad

Cape Town

🇿🇦 South Africa

$1,586

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

A single person spends $1,009 per month in Calafat vs $1,586 in Cape Town, rent included.

Calafat $1,009
Cape Town $1,586

A couple spends around $1,485 per month in Calafat vs $2,425 in Cape Town, rent included.

Calafat $1,485
Cape Town $2,425

A family of three spends $1,961 per month in Calafat vs $3,263 in Cape Town, rent included.

Calafat $1,961
Cape Town $3,263

Calafat is about 36% cheaper than Cape Town, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Calafat sits 25% below the global median, while Cape Town is 17% above – they fall on opposite sides of the world average.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$7.28 RON 34.45

$12.14 R 200

-40.03%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$38.41 RON 182

$45.34 R 747

-15.28%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$7.46 RON 35.29

$5.88 R 96.9

26.87%

Cappuccino

$2.05 RON 9.69

$2.50 R 41.18

-18.00%

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

$1.50 RON 7.08

$1.27 R 20.94

18.11%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.80 RON 3.80

$0.98 R 16.14

-18.37%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$1.02 RON 4.84

$2.99 R 49.33

-65.89%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.95 RON 9.21

$3.72 R 61.4

-47.58%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.19 RON 5.65

$1.30 R 21.40

-8.46%

White Bread (500g)

$0.82 RON 3.89

$1.25 R 20.68

-34.40%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.34 RON 6.35

$2.23 R 36.76

-39.91%

Eggs

$2.37 RON 11.20

$3.11 R 51.2

-23.79%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$6.91 RON 32.68

$9.06 R 149

-23.73%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$6.19 RON 29.29

$6.92 R 114

-10.55%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$6.14 RON 29.03

$9.30 R 153

-33.98%

Apples (1kg)

$0.98 RON 4.62

$1.84 R 30.25

-46.74%

Banana (1kg)

$1.50 RON 7.10

$1.96 R 32.29

-23.47%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.24 RON 5.89

$1.67 R 27.45

-25.75%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.50 RON 7.10

$2.17 R 35.70

-30.88%

Potato (1kg)

$0.62 RON 2.92

$1.57 R 25.81

-60.51%

Onion (1kg)

$0.72 RON 3.39

$1.48 R 24.45

-51.35%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.74 RON 3.51

$1.30 R 21.41

-43.08%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.77 RON 3.64

$1.13 R 18.60

-31.86%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$5.28 RON 25.00

$3.60 R 59.3

46.67%

Wine (Bottle)

$6.37 RON 30.13

$6.15 R 101

3.58%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$0.80 RON 3.79

$1.38 R 22.66

-42.03%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.47 RON 6.95

$2.14 R 35.20

-31.31%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.76 RON 3.57

$1.50 R 24.65

-49.33%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$21.28 RON 101

$60.8 R 1,001

-64.97%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$0.54 RON 2.56

$0.59 R 9.71

-8.47%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.52 RON 2.46

$1.50 R 24.65

-65.33%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$6.20 RON 29.34

$5.11 R 84.2

21.33%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.43 RON 6.78

$1.55 R 25.50

-7.74%

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

$25.9K RON 122.7K

$36.2K R 596.5K

-28.36%

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

$26.7K RON 126.1K

$31.2K R 514.8K

-14.68%

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

$217 RON 1,029

$114 R 1,883

90.25%

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

$7.32 RON 34.61

$28.91 R 476

-74.68%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$6.42 RON 30.39

$39.73 R 654

-83.84%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$37.74 RON 179

$49.01 R 808

-23.00%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$19.94 RON 94.4

$10.99 R 181

81.44%

Cinema Ticket

$7.33 RON 34.70

$9.15 R 151

-19.89%

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

$419 RON 1,983

$259 R 4,264

61.91%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$8,102 RON 38.3K

$6,794 R 111.9K

19.26%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$61.9 RON 293

$56.2 R 926

10.25%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$42.75 RON 202

$32.41 R 534

31.90%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$82.0 RON 388

$121 R 1,987

-32.01%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$84.7 RON 401

$108 R 1,781

-21.68%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$382 RON 1,808

$1,021 R 16.8K

-62.57%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$286 RON 1,354

$717 R 11.8K

-60.08%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$597 RON 2,827

$1,824 R 30.1K

-67.25%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$445 RON 2,106

$1,327 R 21.9K

-66.45%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$1,861 RON 8,807

$2,391 R 39.4K

-22.16%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,356 RON 6,414

$1,542 R 25.4K

-12.08%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$810 RON 3,833

$1,639 R 27.0K

-50.57%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

10.97

-45.31%

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

Last update for Calafat: October 11, 2026

Last update for Cape Town: October 10, 2026

Monthly budget structure

Share of the monthly basket for one person, rent included.

Accommodation & Living

Calafat

$286 28.3%

Cape Town

$717 45.2% 151% $431

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Calafat

$231 22.9%

Cape Town

$183 11.5% 20.9% $48

Groceries & Markets

Calafat

$167 16.5%

Cape Town

$225 14.2% 35% $58

Eating Out

Calafat

$123 12.2%

Cape Town

$176 11.1% 42.7% $53

Clothing & Footwear

Calafat

$122 12.1%

Cape Town

$143 9% 16.9% $21

Sport & Entertainment

Calafat

$52 5.2%

Cape Town

$67 4.2% 28.5% $15

Getting Around

Calafat

$27 2.7%

Cape Town

$75 4.7% 173% $47

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $382 in Calafat versus $1,021 in Cape Town. Rent is usually the largest line item in a monthly budget, so the gap here sets the tone for the overall comparison.

Salaries run about 102% higher in Cape Town, which partly offsets the higher cost of living there. Purchasing power depends on which expenses matter most to you.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $38.00 in Calafat versus $45.00 in Cape Town. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $167 vs $225 – making Calafat the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇷🇴 Calafat

🇿🇦 Cape Town

🕒 Local time

01:22 1:22 AM

00:22 12:22 AM

1 h behind Calafat

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

18,500

3,740,026 Capital

💱 Currency

Romanian Leu RON lei

South African Rand ZAR R

📈 Exchange rate

1 RON = 0.211 USD

1 RON = 0.188 EUR

100 ZAR = 6.07 USD

100 ZAR = 5.4 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

ZAR, USD, EUR to RON – Romanian Leu Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇷🇴 Romanian Leu (lei)

Romanian Leu exchange rates as of October 17, 2026: 1 USD = 4.73 RON (1 RON = 0.211 USD). 1 EUR = 5.32 RON (1 RON = 0.188 EUR).

South African Rand exchange rates as of October 17, 2026: 1 USD = 16.48 ZAR (100 ZAR = 6.07 USD). 1 EUR = 18.52 ZAR (100 ZAR = 5.4 EUR).

USD to RON in detail →

On the map

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Highest

Between locations

Calafat Cape Town 8,680 km ≈ 11 h nonstop flight

From you

Calafat
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

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

Monthly costs with rent: $1,009 in Calafat, $1,586 in Cape Town – roughly 57% apart. Outside of rent, the biggest gap is in groceries.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $1,514 per month in Calafat and $2,379 in Cape Town. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

Rent is clearly cheaper in Calafat, especially for central apartments. Housing is actually the single biggest factor behind the overall cost gap between these two cities.

Monthly expenses with rent come to $1,009 in Calafat and $1,586 in Cape Town. That's a gap of about 57%.

Public transport costs about 185% less in Calafat. For daily commuters, that gap adds up to noticeable savings over a year.

A $2,000 monthly budget goes further in Calafat, where all-in costs run around $1,009, than in Cape Town at $1,586. In Calafat it covers expenses comfortably, while in Cape Town it requires careful planning or may not stretch far enough.

It depends on your priorities. Cape Town has an edge in some lifestyle areas, with costs from $1,009 in Calafat to $1,586 in Cape Town. Climate, culture, job market, and personal taste all factor in.

Both have safer and rougher neighborhoods, but overall safety is comparable to other large cities. Neighborhood choice matters more than the city-level comparison – central, well-trafficked areas feel secure in both.

If budget matters most, go with Calafat. If higher salaries, better infrastructure, or specific career opportunities are the priority, Cape Town makes more sense. Both are solid long-term options with distinct trade-offs.