Last update: Nov 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Cape Town and Alcala de Guadaira

For one person, living is cheaper in Cape Town: $1,527 a month against $1,625 in Alcala de Guadaira, rent and utilities included – about $1,200 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

74

Cost of Living Index in Cape Town
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Cape Town Living Index
75

Cost of Living Index in Alcala de Guadaira
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Alcala de Guadaira Living Index

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Cape Town

🇿🇦 South Africa

$1,527

/mo nomad

Alcala de Guadaira

🇪🇸 Spain

$1,625

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Cape Town and in Alcala de Guadaira

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 Alcala de Guadaira actually costs, broken down by who's living it.

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,527 in Cape Town versus $1,625 in Alcala de Guadaira.

Cape Town $1,527
Alcala de Guadaira $1,625

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,417 in Cape Town versus $2,287 in Alcala de Guadaira.

Cape Town $2,417
Alcala de Guadaira $2,287

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,306 in Cape Town versus $2,950 in Alcala de Guadaira.

Cape Town $3,306
Alcala de Guadaira $2,950

Living in Cape Town costs roughly 6% less than in Alcala de Guadaira, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Both cities are pricier than the global median: Cape Town 13% above, Alcala de Guadaira 20% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$12.01 R 199

$13.26 €11.87

-9.43%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$42.92 R 709

$55.1 €49.33

-22.15%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$6.15 R 102

$9.08 €8.12

-32.27%

Cappuccino

$2.37 R 39.16

$1.94 €1.73

22.16%

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

$1.27 R 21.03

$2.11 €1.89

-39.81%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.94 R 15.50

$1.60 €1.43

-41.25%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.96 R 48.92

$2.93 €2.62

1.02%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.69 R 61.0

$3.34 €2.99

10.48%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.32 R 21.80

$1.10 €0.99

20.00%

White Bread (500g)

$1.21 R 19.93

$1.60 €1.43

-24.38%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.20 R 36.37

$1.42 €1.27

54.93%

Eggs

$3.10 R 51.3

$3.23 €2.89

-4.02%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$8.73 R 144

$13.22 €11.83

-33.96%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$6.89 R 114

$8.10 €7.25

-14.94%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$9.26 R 153

$15.94 €14.26

-41.91%

Apples (1kg)

$1.83 R 30.17

$2.33 €2.09

-21.46%

Banana (1kg)

$1.95 R 32.22

$1.98 €1.77

-1.52%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.66 R 27.40

$1.80 €1.61

-7.78%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.14 R 35.30

$2.50 €2.24

-14.40%

Potato (1kg)

$1.58 R 26.09

$1.80 €1.61

-12.22%

Onion (1kg)

$1.47 R 24.37

$2.12 €1.89

-30.66%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.35 R 22.25

$1.49 €1.33

-9.40%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.14 R 18.91

$0.75 €0.67

52.00%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$3.58 R 59.1

$6.71 €6.00

-46.65%

Wine (Bottle)

$6.05 R 100

$5.96 €5.33

1.51%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.39 R 23.02

$1.19 €1.06

16.81%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.18 R 36.01

$2.28 €2.04

-4.39%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.40 R 23.09

$1.56 €1.40

-10.26%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$60.8 R 1,004

$34.69 €31.04

75.12%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$0.93 R 15.31

$1.92 €1.72

-51.56%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.90 R 14.88

$1.27 €1.14

-29.13%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$4.96 R 82.0

$26.10 €23.35

-81.00%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.54 R 25.45

$1.83 €1.64

-15.85%

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

$35.4K R 584.6K

$32.0K €28.7K

10.37%

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

$33.4K R 551.6K

$31.2K €27.9K

7.03%

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

$117 R 1,935

$116 €104

1.04%

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

$25.71 R 425

$16.22 €14.52

58.51%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$39.41 R 651

$28.77 €25.75

36.98%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$51.6 R 853

$39.31 €35.18

31.29%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$11.35 R 188

$15.34 €13.73

-26.01%

Cinema Ticket

$8.89 R 147

$7.94 €7.10

11.96%

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

$308 R 5,085

$556 €497

-44.67%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$8,141 R 134.6K

$9,250 €8,277

-11.99%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$57.4 R 948

$89.8 €80.4

-36.11%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$31.75 R 525

$39.09 €34.97

-18.78%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$116 R 1,917

$95.8 €85.7

21.11%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$101 R 1,665

$113 €101

-10.84%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,047 R 17.3K

$894 €800

17.09%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$669 R 11.1K

$751 €672

-10.90%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,861 R 30.8K

$1,183 €1,059

57.21%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,407 R 23.3K

$916 €819

53.68%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,410 R 39.8K

$3,290 €2,944

-26.74%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,570 R 25.9K

$2,227 €1,992

-29.51%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,630 R 26.9K

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

10.89

3.34

226.05%

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

Last update for Cape Town: November 2, 2026

Last update for Alcala de Guadaira: November 1, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Cape Town

$669 43.8%

Alcala de Guadaira

$751 46.2% 12.2% $82

Groceries & Markets

Cape Town

$223 14.6%

Alcala de Guadaira

$264 16.2% 18.2% $41

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Cape Town

$182 11.9%

Alcala de Guadaira

$161 9.9% 11.7% $21

Eating Out

Cape Town

$174 11.4%

Alcala de Guadaira

$193 11.9% 10.8% $19

Clothing & Footwear

Cape Town

$138 9%

Alcala de Guadaira

$152 9.4% 10.4% $14

Getting Around

Cape Town

$72 4.7%

Alcala de Guadaira

$49 3% 31.4% $23

Sport & Entertainment

Cape Town

$69 4.5%

Alcala de Guadaira

$55 3.4% 20.5% $14

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,047 in Cape Town and $894 in Alcala de Guadaira. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Dining out: $43 in Cape Town vs $55 in Alcala de Guadaira for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $223 vs $264 per month, with Cape Town cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇿🇦 Cape Town

🇪🇸 Alcala de Guadaira

🕒 Local time

00:39 12:39 AM

23:39 11:39 PM

1 h behind Cape Town

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

3,740,026 Capital

76,547

💱 Currency

South African Rand ZAR R

Euro EUR €

📈 Exchange rate

100 ZAR = 6.05 USD

100 ZAR = 5.41 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 = 16.53 ZAR (100 ZAR = 6.05 USD). 1 EUR = 18.47 ZAR (100 ZAR = 5.41 EUR).

Euro exchange rates as of November 6, 2026: 1 USD = 0.895 EUR (1 EUR = 1.12 USD).

USD to ZAR in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Cape Town Alcala de Guadaira 8,310 km ≈ 11 h nonstop flight

From you

Cape Town
Alcala de Guadaira

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 Alcala de Guadaira: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Total monthly costs including rent come to $1,527 in Cape Town and $1,625 in Alcala de Guadaira, so Cape Town is about 6% cheaper – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

You’d need roughly $2,291 in Cape Town and $2,437 in Alcala de Guadaira to live well. The gap comes down to housing and overall price levels. Both cities are liveable on less, but these numbers represent actual comfort.

Rent for a central apartment: $1,047 in Cape Town versus $894 in Alcala de Guadaira. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Supermarket bills run roughly 18% higher in Alcala de Guadaira. 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 $55 in Alcala de Guadaira. 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.