Last update: Nov 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Cape Town and Abano Terme

For one person, living is cheaper in Cape Town: $1,527 a month against $1,681 in Abano Terme, rent and utilities included – about $1,800 less a year. The total is higher in Abano Terme despite lower rent and utilities.

74

Cost of Living Index in Cape Town
Learn more

Cape Town Living Index
82

Cost of Living Index in Abano Terme
Learn more

Abano Terme Living Index

Jump to prices

Cape Town

🇿🇦 South Africa

$1,527

/mo nomad

Abano Terme

🇮🇹 Italy

$1,681

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Cape Town and in Abano Terme

Real prices from locals and on-the-ground checks – rent, groceries, transit and the daily extras. Here's what a month in Cape Town and in Abano Terme actually costs, broken down by who's living it.

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,527 in Cape Town versus $1,681 in Abano Terme.

Cape Town $1,527
Abano Terme $1,681

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,417 in Cape Town versus $2,565 in Abano Terme.

Cape Town $2,417
Abano Terme $2,565

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,306 in Cape Town versus $3,449 in Abano Terme.

Cape Town $3,306
Abano Terme $3,449

Living in Cape Town costs roughly 9% less than in Abano Terme, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Both cities are pricier than the global median: Cape Town 13% above, Abano Terme 24% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$12.01 R 198

$16.75 €14.92

-28.30%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$42.92 R 707

$82.7 €73.7

-48.12%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$6.15 R 101

$11.03 €9.82

-44.24%

Cappuccino

$2.37 R 39.04

$1.94 €1.73

22.16%

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

$1.27 R 20.96

$2.76 €2.46

-53.99%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.94 R 15.46

$1.39 €1.23

-32.37%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.96 R 48.77

$6.19 €5.51

-52.18%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.69 R 60.8

$5.77 €5.14

-36.05%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.32 R 21.73

$1.55 €1.38

-14.84%

White Bread (500g)

$1.21 R 19.87

$2.13 €1.89

-43.19%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.20 R 36.26

$2.98 €2.66

-26.17%

Eggs

$3.10 R 51.1

$3.98 €3.55

-22.11%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$8.73 R 144

$16.61 €14.79

-47.44%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$6.89 R 114

$10.59 €9.43

-34.94%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$9.26 R 153

$19.42 €17.29

-52.32%

Apples (1kg)

$1.83 R 30.08

$2.92 €2.60

-37.33%

Banana (1kg)

$1.95 R 32.12

$2.14 €1.90

-8.88%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.66 R 27.32

$2.83 €2.52

-41.34%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.14 R 35.19

$3.53 €3.15

-39.38%

Potato (1kg)

$1.58 R 26.01

$1.99 €1.77

-20.60%

Onion (1kg)

$1.47 R 24.29

$1.63 €1.45

-9.82%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.35 R 22.18

$1.67 €1.49

-19.16%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.14 R 18.85

$0.53 €0.47

115.09%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$3.58 R 59.0

$5.83 €5.19

-38.59%

Wine (Bottle)

$6.05 R 99.7

$6.19 €5.51

-2.26%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.39 R 22.95

$1.44 €1.29

-3.47%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.18 R 35.90

$2.44 €2.17

-10.66%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.40 R 23.02

$1.71 €1.52

-18.13%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$60.8 R 1,001

$40.72 €36.26

49.19%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$0.93 R 15.26

$4.91 €4.38

-81.06%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.90 R 14.83

$1.87 €1.67

-51.87%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$4.96 R 81.7

$33.37 €29.71

-85.14%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.54 R 25.37

$2.09 €1.86

-26.32%

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

$35.4K R 582.8K

$35.1K €31.3K

0.67%

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

$33.4K R 549.9K

$34.3K €30.6K

-2.80%

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

$117 R 1,929

$215 €192

-45.67%

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

$25.71 R 424

$10.60 €9.44

142.55%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$39.41 R 649

$27.45 €24.44

43.57%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$51.6 R 850

$59.7 €53.1

-13.49%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$11.35 R 187

$24.22 €21.56

-53.14%

Cinema Ticket

$8.89 R 146

$10.98 €9.78

-19.03%

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

$308 R 5,069

$522 €464

-41.03%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$8,141 R 134.2K

$9,083 €8,087

-10.36%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$57.4 R 946

$83.7 €74.6

-31.47%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$31.75 R 523

$37.44 €33.34

-15.20%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$116 R 1,911

$95.8 €85.3

21.02%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$101 R 1,660

$121 €108

-17.02%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,047 R 17.2K

$693 €617

51.04%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$669 R 11.0K

$554 €493

20.83%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,861 R 30.7K

$1,227 €1,092

51.69%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,407 R 23.2K

$836 €745

68.29%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,410 R 39.7K

$3,203 €2,852

-24.76%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,570 R 25.9K

$1,752 €1,560

-10.39%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,630 R 26.9K

$2,576 €2,294

-36.73%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

10.89

3.31

229.00%

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

Last update for Cape Town: November 2, 2026

Last update for Abano Terme: November 3, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Cape Town

$669 43.8%

Abano Terme

$554 32.9% 17.2% $115

Groceries & Markets

Cape Town

$223 14.6%

Abano Terme

$329 19.6% 47.4% $106

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Cape Town

$182 11.9%

Abano Terme

$254 15.1% 39.2% $71

Eating Out

Cape Town

$174 11.4%

Abano Terme

$249 14.8% 43.4% $75

Clothing & Footwear

Cape Town

$138 9%

Abano Terme

$152 9.1% 10.6% $15

Getting Around

Cape Town

$72 4.7%

Abano Terme

$62 3.7% 13.8% $9.9

Sport & Entertainment

Cape Town

$69 4.5%

Abano Terme

$82 4.9% 17.6% $12

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,047 in Cape Town and $693 in Abano Terme. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Abano Terme pays 58% more on average. How far that income stretches comes down to housing choices and lifestyle.

Dining out: $43 in Cape Town vs $83 in Abano Terme for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $223 vs $329 per month, with Cape Town cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇿🇦 Cape Town

🇮🇹 Abano Terme

🕒 Local time

19:14 7:14 PM

18:14 6:14 PM

1 h behind Cape Town

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

3,740,026 Capital

19,950

💱 Currency

South African Rand ZAR R

Euro EUR €

📈 Exchange rate

100 ZAR = 6.07 USD

100 ZAR = 5.4 EUR

1 EUR = 1.12 USD

Exchange rates and currency converter

EUR, USD to ZAR – South African Rand Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇿🇦 South African Rand (R)

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).

Euro exchange rates as of November 6, 2026: 1 USD = 0.89 EUR (1 EUR = 1.12 USD).

USD to ZAR in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Cape Town Abano Terme 8,840 km ≈ 12 h nonstop flight

From you

Cape Town
Abano Terme

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

Cape Town vs Abano Terme: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Cape Town is about 9% cheaper overall, especially in groceries, eating out, and clothing. That difference adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

On paper, salaries run 37% lower in Cape Town. That’s worth factoring in alongside costs, though remote workers earning in a stronger currency may not notice the difference at all.

Rent for a central apartment: $1,047 in Cape Town versus $693 in Abano Terme. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Supermarket bills run roughly 47% higher in Abano Terme. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

Dining out is cheaper in Cape Town – a meal for two runs $43 versus $83 in Abano Terme. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

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