Last update: Nov 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Cape Town and Altstätten

For one person, living is cheaper in Cape Town: $1,527 a month against $3,740 in Altstätten, rent and utilities included – about $26,600 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
171

Cost of Living Index in Altstätten
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Altstätten Living Index

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Cape Town

🇿🇦 South Africa

$1,527

/mo nomad

Altstätten

🇨🇭 Switzerland

$3,740

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

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

A single person spends $1,527 per month in Cape Town vs $3,740 in Altstätten, rent included.

Cape Town $1,527
Altstätten $3,740

A couple spends around $2,417 per month in Cape Town vs $5,258 in Altstätten, rent included.

Cape Town $2,417
Altstätten $5,258

A family of three spends $3,306 per month in Cape Town vs $6,776 in Altstätten, rent included.

Cape Town $3,306
Altstätten $6,776

Cape Town is about 59% cheaper than Altstätten, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Both Cape Town and Altstätten sit above the global median – Cape Town by 13%, Altstätten by 177%.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$12.01 R 198

$30.38 CHF 24.77

-60.47%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$42.92 R 707

$121 CHF 98.8

-64.56%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$6.15 R 101

$18.27 CHF 14.90

-66.34%

Cappuccino

$2.37 R 39.04

$6.23 CHF 5.08

-61.96%

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

$1.27 R 20.96

$5.40 CHF 4.40

-76.48%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.94 R 15.46

$4.96 CHF 4.05

-81.05%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.96 R 48.77

$9.25 CHF 7.54

-68.00%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.69 R 60.8

$7.50 CHF 6.12

-50.80%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.32 R 21.73

$2.19 CHF 1.78

-39.73%

White Bread (500g)

$1.21 R 19.87

$3.63 CHF 2.96

-66.67%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.20 R 36.26

$3.69 CHF 3.01

-40.38%

Eggs

$3.10 R 51.1

$7.92 CHF 6.46

-60.86%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$8.73 R 144

$26.62 CHF 21.71

-67.21%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$6.89 R 114

$28.09 CHF 22.91

-75.47%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$9.26 R 153

$40.58 CHF 33.09

-77.18%

Apples (1kg)

$1.83 R 30.08

$3.50 CHF 2.86

-47.71%

Banana (1kg)

$1.95 R 32.12

$2.05 CHF 1.67

-4.88%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.66 R 27.32

$2.73 CHF 2.23

-39.19%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.14 R 35.19

$4.81 CHF 3.93

-55.51%

Potato (1kg)

$1.58 R 26.01

$1.80 CHF 1.47

-12.22%

Onion (1kg)

$1.47 R 24.29

$2.24 CHF 1.83

-34.38%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.35 R 22.18

$2.43 CHF 1.98

-44.44%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.14 R 18.85

$1.26 CHF 1.03

-9.52%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$3.58 R 59.0

$10.83 CHF 8.83

-66.94%

Wine (Bottle)

$6.05 R 99.7

$12.24 CHF 9.98

-50.57%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.39 R 22.95

$2.82 CHF 2.30

-50.71%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.18 R 35.90

$3.09 CHF 2.52

-29.45%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.40 R 23.02

$4.32 CHF 3.52

-67.59%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$60.8 R 1,001

$99.1 CHF 80.8

-38.67%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$0.93 R 15.26

$7.50 CHF 6.11

-87.60%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.90 R 14.83

$4.18 CHF 3.41

-78.47%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$4.96 R 81.7

$72.6 CHF 59.2

-93.17%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.54 R 25.37

$2.35 CHF 1.92

-34.47%

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

$35.4K R 582.8K

$42.1K CHF 34.3K

-15.98%

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

$33.4K R 549.9K

$38.9K CHF 31.7K

-14.26%

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

$117 R 1,929

$256 CHF 209

-54.23%

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

$25.71 R 424

$30.76 CHF 25.08

-16.42%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$39.41 R 649

$58.5 CHF 47.70

-32.63%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$51.6 R 850

$75.6 CHF 61.7

-31.77%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$11.35 R 187

$43.38 CHF 35.37

-73.84%

Cinema Ticket

$8.89 R 146

$20.89 CHF 17.04

-57.44%

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

$308 R 5,069

$2,539 CHF 2,071

-87.89%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$8,141 R 134.2K

$34.3K CHF 28.0K

-76.29%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$57.4 R 946

$134 CHF 110

-57.30%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$31.75 R 523

$71.0 CHF 57.9

-55.26%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$116 R 1,911

$165 CHF 135

-29.87%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$101 R 1,660

$193 CHF 158

-47.87%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,047 R 17.2K

$1,720 CHF 1,403

-39.15%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$669 R 11.0K

$1,812 CHF 1,478

-63.08%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,861 R 30.7K

$2,810 CHF 2,291

-33.79%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,407 R 23.2K

$2,294 CHF 1,871

-38.66%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,410 R 39.7K

$15.8K CHF 12.9K

-84.77%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,570 R 25.9K

$11.8K CHF 9,587

-86.65%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,630 R 26.9K

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

10.89

2.03

436.45%

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

Last update for Cape Town: November 2, 2026

Last update for Altstätten: November 1, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Cape Town

$669 43.8%

Altstätten

$1.8K 48.5% 171% $1.1K

Groceries & Markets

Cape Town

$223 14.6%

Altstätten

$591 15.8% 165% $368

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Cape Town

$182 11.9%

Altstätten

$345 9.2% 89.4% $163

Eating Out

Cape Town

$174 11.4%

Altstätten

$475 12.7% 173% $301

Clothing & Footwear

Cape Town

$138 9%

Altstätten

$254 6.8% 84.4% $116

Getting Around

Cape Town

$72 4.7%

Altstätten

$145 3.9% 102% $73

Sport & Entertainment

Cape Town

$69 4.5%

Altstätten

$117 3.1% 69.2% $48

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $1,047 in Cape Town versus $1,720 in Altstätten. Rent is usually the largest line item in a monthly budget, so the gap here sets the tone for the overall comparison.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $43 in Cape Town versus $121 in Altstätten. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $223 vs $591 – making Cape Town the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇿🇦 Cape Town

🇨🇭 Altstätten

🕒 Local time

05:26 5:26 AM

04:26 4:26 AM

1 h behind Cape Town

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

3,740,026 Capital

11,145

💱 Currency

South African Rand ZAR R

Swiss Franc CHF Fr

📈 Exchange rate

100 ZAR = 6.07 USD

100 ZAR = 5.41 EUR

1 CHF = 1.23 USD

1 CHF = 1.09 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

CHF, USD, EUR 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 = 18.5 ZAR (100 ZAR = 5.41 EUR).

Swiss Franc exchange rates as of November 6, 2026: 1 USD = 0.815 CHF (1 CHF = 1.23 USD). 1 EUR = 0.915 CHF (1 CHF = 1.09 EUR).

USD to ZAR in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Cape Town Altstätten 9,080 km ≈ 12 h nonstop flight

From you

Cape Town
Altstätten

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 Altstätten: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Yes – Altstätten is pricier by about 145%, and outside of rent the gap shows up most in groceries.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $2,291 per month in Cape Town and $5,610 in Altstätten. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

Rent is clearly cheaper in Cape Town, especially for central apartments: a one-bedroom in the center costs $1,047 there versus $1,720 in Altstätten.

Monthly expenses with rent come to $1,527 in Cape Town and $3,740 in Altstätten. That makes Cape Town about 59% cheaper.

Public transport costs about 39% less in Cape Town. For daily commuters, that gap adds up to noticeable savings over a year.

$1,000 is a stretch for both – monthly costs hit $1,527 in Cape Town and $3,740 in Altstätten. You’ll need shared housing and careful budgeting no matter which city you pick.

Families tend to lean toward Cape Town – lower housing and cheaper childcare make a real difference, especially on a single income or when paying for private education.

For expats, Cape Town is the easier option financially – housing and daily costs are lower, and overall it costs about 59% less, which matters a lot on a fixed budget or early-career salary.