Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Cape Town and Alba Iulia

For one person, living is cheaper in Alba Iulia: $902 a month against $1,586 in Cape Town, rent and utilities included – about $8,200 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

77

Cost of Living Index in Cape Town
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Cape Town Living Index
44

Cost of Living Index in Alba Iulia
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Alba Iulia Living Index

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Cape Town

🇿🇦 South Africa

$1,586

/mo nomad

Alba Iulia

🇷🇴 Romania

$902

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Cape Town and in Alba Iulia

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 Alba Iulia actually costs, broken down by who's living it.

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,586 in Cape Town versus $902 in Alba Iulia.

Cape Town $1,586
Alba Iulia $902

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,425 in Cape Town versus $1,372 in Alba Iulia.

Cape Town $2,425
Alba Iulia $1,372

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,263 in Cape Town versus $1,841 in Alba Iulia.

Cape Town $3,263
Alba Iulia $1,841

Living in Cape Town is roughly 76% more expensive than in Alba Iulia, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in clothing.

The two cities straddle the global median: Cape Town is 17% above, Alba Iulia is 33% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$12.14 R 200

$8.42 RON 39.84

44.18%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$45.34 R 747

$30.94 RON 146

46.54%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$5.88 R 96.9

$5.67 RON 26.85

3.70%

Cappuccino

$2.50 R 41.18

$2.16 RON 10.24

15.74%

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

$1.27 R 20.94

$1.76 RON 8.32

-27.84%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.98 R 16.14

$1.45 RON 6.85

-32.41%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.99 R 49.33

$2.01 RON 9.50

48.76%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.72 R 61.4

$2.13 RON 10.10

74.65%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.30 R 21.40

$1.23 RON 5.80

5.69%

White Bread (500g)

$1.25 R 20.68

$1.09 RON 5.15

14.68%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.23 R 36.76

$1.49 RON 7.07

49.66%

Eggs

$3.11 R 51.2

$2.67 RON 12.65

16.48%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$9.06 R 149

$7.53 RON 35.62

20.32%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$6.92 R 114

$5.82 RON 27.54

18.90%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$9.30 R 153

$10.61 RON 50.2

-12.35%

Apples (1kg)

$1.84 R 30.25

$0.96 RON 4.52

91.67%

Banana (1kg)

$1.96 R 32.29

$1.35 RON 6.38

45.19%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.67 R 27.45

$1.22 RON 5.77

36.89%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.17 R 35.70

$2.34 RON 11.06

-7.26%

Potato (1kg)

$1.57 R 25.81

$0.71 RON 3.38

121.13%

Onion (1kg)

$1.48 R 24.45

$0.58 RON 2.75

155.17%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.30 R 21.41

$0.82 RON 3.89

58.54%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.13 R 18.60

$0.64 RON 3.04

76.56%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$3.60 R 59.3

$5.31 RON 25.13

-32.20%

Wine (Bottle)

$6.15 R 101

$4.21 RON 19.90

46.08%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.38 R 22.66

$1.12 RON 5.29

23.21%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.14 R 35.20

$1.22 RON 5.75

75.41%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.50 R 24.65

$0.71 RON 3.38

111.27%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$60.8 R 1,001

$16.66 RON 78.8

264.65%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$0.59 R 9.71

$0.63 RON 2.98

-6.35%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.50 R 24.65

$0.68 RON 3.21

120.59%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$5.11 R 84.2

$4.55 RON 21.51

12.31%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.55 R 25.50

$1.53 RON 7.22

1.31%

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

$36.2K R 596.5K

$28.1K RON 133.1K

28.74%

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

$31.2K R 514.8K

$24.3K RON 115.1K

28.45%

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

$114 R 1,883

$123 RON 583

-7.21%

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

$28.91 R 476

$7.40 RON 35.00

290.68%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$39.73 R 654

$9.34 RON 44.20

325.37%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$49.01 R 808

$28.80 RON 136

70.17%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$10.99 R 181

$31.03 RON 147

-64.58%

Cinema Ticket

$9.15 R 151

$4.98 RON 23.57

83.73%

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

$259 R 4,264

$442 RON 2,090

-41.41%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$6,794 R 111.9K

$6,914 RON 32.7K

-1.74%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$56.2 R 926

$38.88 RON 184

44.50%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$32.41 R 534

$23.97 RON 113

35.21%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$121 R 1,987

$73.6 RON 348

63.97%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$108 R 1,781

$64.0 RON 303

68.93%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,021 R 16.8K

$293 RON 1,386

248.60%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$717 R 11.8K

$289 RON 1,367

148.13%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,824 R 30.1K

$621 RON 2,938

193.74%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,327 R 21.9K

$474 RON 2,243

179.85%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,391 R 39.4K

$1,602 RON 7,578

49.28%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,542 R 25.4K

$1,414 RON 6,688

9.07%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,639 R 27.0K

$904 RON 4,278

81.23%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

10.97

6.97

57.39%

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

Last update for Cape Town: October 10, 2026

Last update for Alba Iulia: October 11, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Cape Town

$717 45.2%

Alba Iulia

$289 32% 59.7% $428

Groceries & Markets

Cape Town

$225 14.2%

Alba Iulia

$184 20.3% 18.4% $41

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Cape Town

$183 11.5%

Alba Iulia

$140 15.5% 23.5% $43

Eating Out

Cape Town

$176 11.1%

Alba Iulia

$137 15.2% 21.9% $39

Clothing & Footwear

Cape Town

$143 9%

Alba Iulia

$90 10% 36.8% $53

Getting Around

Cape Town

$75 4.7%

Alba Iulia

$24 2.6% 68.5% $51

Sport & Entertainment

Cape Town

$67 4.2%

Alba Iulia

$39 4.3% 42.4% $29

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,021 in Cape Town and $293 in Alba Iulia. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Cape Town pays 81% more on average. The extra income cushions the higher costs, though housing choices and lifestyle decide how much of the gap is truly closed.

Dining out: $45.00 in Cape Town vs $31.00 in Alba Iulia for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $225 vs $184 per month, with Alba Iulia cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇿🇦 Cape Town

🇷🇴 Alba Iulia

🕒 Local time

22:49 10:49 PM

23:49 11:49 PM

1 h ahead of Cape Town

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

3,740,026 Capital

63,536

💱 Currency

South African Rand ZAR R

Romanian Leu RON lei

📈 Exchange rate

100 ZAR = 6.07 USD

100 ZAR = 5.4 EUR

1 RON = 0.211 USD

1 RON = 0.188 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

RON, USD, EUR to ZAR – South African Rand Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇿🇦 South African Rand (R)

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).

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).

USD to ZAR in detail →

On the map

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Highest

Between locations

Cape Town Alba Iulia 8,910 km ≈ 12 h nonstop flight

From you

Cape Town
Alba Iulia

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 Alba Iulia: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Alba Iulia is cheaper overall, especially in groceries, eating out, and clothing. The 76% gap adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

Average pay runs 81% higher in Cape Town, 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: $1,021 in Cape Town versus $293 in Alba Iulia. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

All in, you'll spend $1,586 per month in Cape Town versus $902 in Alba Iulia – a 76% gap that adds up to real savings over time for anyone picking the cheaper option.

A monthly transit pass in Alba Iulia runs roughly 265% less than in Cape Town. Both cities have functional networks, but the price difference matters if you're watching your budget.

At $902 in Alba Iulia versus $1,586 in Cape Town, a $1,500 budget is realistic in Alba Iulia but tight or insufficient in Cape Town. The gap between the two cities makes Alba Iulia the clear choice for anyone on this budget.

For families, Alba Iulia is more practical. Housing and childcare are both notably cheaper than in Cape Town, and the savings on those two alone free up budget for education, activities, and family trips.

Safety-wise, Cape Town and Alba Iulia are on par. Petty crime is typical for cities this size, and most residents feel comfortable going about their daily routines in either place.

Expats usually find Alba Iulia gentler on the wallet – expenses run 76% less than in Cape Town. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.