Last update: Nov 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Cape Town and Alfenas

For one person, living is cheaper in Alfenas: $731 a month against $1,527 in Cape Town, rent and utilities included – about $9,600 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

74

Cost of Living Index in Cape Town
Learn more

Cape Town Living Index
35

Cost of Living Index in Alfenas
Learn more

Alfenas Living Index

Jump to prices

Cape Town

🇿🇦 South Africa

$1,527

/mo nomad

Alfenas

🇧🇷 Brazil

$731

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Cape Town and in Alfenas

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

A single person spends $1,527 per month in Cape Town vs $731 in Alfenas, rent included.

Cape Town $1,527
Alfenas $731

A couple spends around $2,417 per month in Cape Town vs $1,297 in Alfenas, rent included.

Cape Town $2,417
Alfenas $1,297

A family of three spends $3,306 per month in Cape Town vs $1,862 in Alfenas, rent included.

Cape Town $3,306
Alfenas $1,862

Cape Town costs about 109% more than Alfenas, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Cape Town sits 13% above the global median, while Alfenas is 46% below – they fall on opposite sides of the world average.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$12.01 R 197

$3.59 R$19.62

234.54%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$42.92 R 703

$27.35 R$149

56.93%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$6.15 R 101

$5.43 R$29.65

13.26%

Cappuccino

$2.37 R 38.81

$0.89 R$4.84

166.29%

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

$1.27 R 20.84

$0.57 R$3.13

122.81%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.94 R 15.37

$0.54 R$2.93

74.07%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.96 R 48.48

$2.17 R$11.84

36.41%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.69 R 60.5

$2.73 R$14.92

35.16%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.32 R 21.61

$1.15 R$6.30

14.78%

White Bread (500g)

$1.21 R 19.75

$1.66 R$9.07

-27.11%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.20 R 36.05

$1.40 R$7.64

57.14%

Eggs

$3.10 R 50.8

$2.53 R$13.82

22.53%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$8.73 R 143

$11.22 R$61.3

-22.19%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$6.89 R 113

$4.97 R$27.17

38.63%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$9.26 R 152

$10.00 R$54.6

-7.40%

Apples (1kg)

$1.83 R 29.90

$2.49 R$13.60

-26.51%

Banana (1kg)

$1.95 R 31.94

$1.62 R$8.85

20.37%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.66 R 27.16

$1.38 R$7.52

20.29%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.14 R 34.99

$1.74 R$9.53

22.99%

Potato (1kg)

$1.58 R 25.86

$1.31 R$7.15

20.61%

Onion (1kg)

$1.47 R 24.15

$1.19 R$6.50

23.53%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.35 R 22.05

$1.15 R$6.27

17.39%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.14 R 18.75

$0.92 R$5.02

23.91%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$3.58 R 58.6

$1.82 R$9.95

96.70%

Wine (Bottle)

$6.05 R 99.2

$9.29 R$50.8

-34.88%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.39 R 22.82

$1.67 R$9.12

-16.77%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.18 R 35.69

$2.36 R$12.89

-7.63%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.40 R 22.88

$1.10 R$6.00

27.27%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$60.8 R 995

$47.17 R$258

28.79%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$0.93 R 15.18

$1.26 R$6.88

-26.19%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.90 R 14.75

$0.94 R$5.15

-4.26%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$4.96 R 81.3

$10.02 R$54.8

-50.50%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.54 R 25.23

$1.24 R$6.80

24.19%

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

$35.4K R 579.4K

$21.6K R$118.3K

63.35%

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

$33.4K R 546.7K

$27.5K R$150.0K

21.52%

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

$117 R 1,918

$55.7 R$304

110.37%

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

$25.71 R 421

$15.69 R$85.7

63.86%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$39.41 R 646

$18.60 R$102

111.88%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$51.6 R 846

$25.24 R$138

104.48%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$11.35 R 186

$22.35 R$122

-49.22%

Cinema Ticket

$8.89 R 146

$6.58 R$35.95

35.11%

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

$308 R 5,040

$572 R$3,126

-46.24%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$8,141 R 133.4K

$6,674 R$36.5K

21.99%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$57.4 R 940

$58.7 R$321

-2.20%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$31.75 R 520

$56.1 R$306

-43.36%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$116 R 1,900

$93.2 R$509

24.46%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$101 R 1,650

$86.8 R$474

16.07%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,047 R 17.1K

$337 R$1,843

210.36%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$669 R 11.0K

$114 R$623

487.07%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,861 R 30.5K

$654 R$3,575

184.36%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,407 R 23.1K

$451 R$2,464

212.05%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,410 R 39.5K

$1,784 R$9,749

35.06%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,570 R 25.7K

$1,165 R$6,363

34.78%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,630 R 26.7K

$458 R$2,500

256.20%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

10.89

11.5

-5.30%

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

Last update for Cape Town: November 2, 2026

Last update for Alfenas: November 3, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Cape Town

$669 43.8%

Alfenas

$114 15.6% 83% $555

Groceries & Markets

Cape Town

$223 14.6%

Alfenas

$222 30.4% 0.4% $0.9

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Cape Town

$182 11.9%

Alfenas

$90 12.3% 50.6% $92

Eating Out

Cape Town

$174 11.4%

Alfenas

$76 10.5% 56.1% $98

Clothing & Footwear

Cape Town

$138 9%

Alfenas

$133 18.1% 3.6% $5

Getting Around

Cape Town

$72 4.7%

Alfenas

$58 7.9% 19.8% $14

Sport & Entertainment

Cape Town

$69 4.5%

Alfenas

$38 5.3% 44.7% $31

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $1,047 in Cape Town versus $337 in Alfenas. Rent is usually the largest line item in a monthly budget, so the gap here sets the tone for the overall comparison.

Salaries in Cape Town are about 3.6 times higher. Purchasing power depends on which expenses matter most to you.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $43 in Cape Town versus $27 in Alfenas. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $223 vs $222 – making Alfenas the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇿🇦 Cape Town

🇧🇷 Alfenas

🕒 Local time

20:04 8:04 PM

15:04 3:04 PM

5 h behind Cape Town

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

3,740,026 Capital

78,970

💱 Currency

South African Rand ZAR R

Brazilian Real BRL R$

📈 Exchange rate

100 ZAR = 6.1 USD

100 ZAR = 5.43 EUR

1 BRL = 0.183 USD

1 BRL = 0.163 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

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

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇿🇦 South African Rand (R)

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).

Brazilian Real exchange rates as of November 5, 2026: 1 USD = 5.46 BRL (1 BRL = 0.183 USD). 1 EUR = 6.14 BRL (1 BRL = 0.163 EUR).

USD to ZAR in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Cape Town Alfenas 6,390 km ≈ 8 h nonstop flight

From you

Cape Town
Alfenas

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 Alfenas: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Monthly costs with rent: $1,527 in Cape Town, $731 in Alfenas – Alfenas comes out roughly 52% cheaper. Outside of rent, the biggest gap is in eating out.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $2,291 per month in Cape Town and $1,097 in Alfenas. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

Rent is clearly cheaper in Alfenas, especially for central apartments: a one-bedroom in the center costs $337 there versus $1,047 in Cape Town.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $43 in Cape Town and $27 in Alfenas. That’s a good indicator of the overall restaurant and café pricing gap between the two cities.

Public transport costs about 22% less in Alfenas. For daily commuters, that gap adds up to noticeable savings over a year.

A $1,200 monthly budget goes further in Alfenas, where all-in costs run around $731, than in Cape Town at $1,527. In Alfenas 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 $731 in Alfenas to $1,527 in Cape Town. Climate, culture, job market, and personal taste all factor in.

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