Last update: Nov 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Cape Town and Amersfoort, South Africa

For one person, living is cheaper in Amersfoort: $1,073 a month against $1,527 in Cape Town, rent and utilities included – about $5,400 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

Cape Town, South Africa
Amersfoort, South Africa
Cape Town
🇿🇦 South Africa
$1,527
/mo nomad
Amersfoort
🇿🇦 South Africa
$1,073
/mo nomad
Monthly Cost of Living

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

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

A single person spends $1,527 per month in Cape Town vs $1,073 in Amersfoort, rent included.

  • Cape Town $1,527
  • Amersfoort $1,073

A couple spends around $2,417 per month in Cape Town vs $1,628 in Amersfoort, rent included.

  • Cape Town $2,417
  • Amersfoort $1,628

A family of three spends $3,306 per month in Cape Town vs $2,182 in Amersfoort, rent included.

  • Cape Town $3,306
  • Amersfoort $2,182

Cape Town costs about 42% more than Amersfoort, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in transport.

Cape Town sits 13% above the global median, while Amersfoort is 21% below – they fall on opposite sides of the world average.

Currency
🍽 Eating Out
Cape Town
Amersfoort
Difference
Meal at Budget Restaurant
$12.01 R 198
$8.82 R 145
36.17%
Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range
$42.92 R 706
$36.20 R 595
18.56%
Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)
$6.15 R 101
$5.21 R 85.7
18.04%
Cappuccino
$2.37 R 38.97
$2.29 R 37.60
3.49%
Coke/Pepsi/Fanta/Sprite (0.33 liter bottle)
$1.27 R 20.93
$1.03 R 16.87
23.30%
Water (0.33 liter bottle)
$0.94 R 15.43
$0.78 R 12.88
20.51%
Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)
$2.96 R 48.68
$2.37 R 39.06
24.89%
Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)
$3.69 R 60.7
$3.41 R 56.0
8.21%
🛒 Groceries & Markets
Cape Town
Amersfoort
Difference
Milk (1 liter)
$1.32 R 21.70
$1.18 R 19.46
11.86%
White Bread (500g)
$1.21 R 19.83
$1.09 R 17.92
11.01%
Rice (white) (1kg)
$2.20 R 36.19
$1.77 R 29.19
24.29%
Eggs
$3.10 R 51.0
$2.34 R 38.43
32.48%
Local Cheese (1kg)
$8.73 R 144
$4.20 R 69.1
107.86%
Chicken Fillets (1kg)
$6.89 R 113
$5.14 R 84.5
34.05%
Beef Round Steak (1kg)
$9.26 R 152
$4.34 R 71.4
113.36%
Apples (1kg)
$1.83 R 30.02
$1.87 R 30.72
-2.14%
Banana (1kg)
$1.95 R 32.07
$1.68 R 27.61
16.07%
Oranges (1kg)
$1.66 R 27.27
$1.79 R 29.39
-7.26%
Tomato (1kg)
$2.14 R 35.13
$1.57 R 25.90
36.31%
Potato (1kg)
$1.58 R 25.96
$1.11 R 18.30
42.34%
Onion (1kg)
$1.47 R 24.25
$1.18 R 19.46
24.58%
Lettuce (1 head)
$1.35 R 22.14
$1.23 R 20.24
9.76%
Water (1.5 liter bottle)
$1.14 R 18.82
$1.31 R 21.60
-12.98%
Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)
$3.58 R 58.9
$1.42 R 23.33
152.11%
Wine (Bottle)
$6.05 R 99.6
$1.91 R 31.38
216.75%
Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)
$1.39 R 22.91
$1.50 R 24.62
-7.33%
Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)
$2.18 R 35.84
$1.98 R 32.64
10.10%
🚌 Getting Around
Cape Town
Amersfoort
Difference
One-way Ticket (Public Transport)
$1.40 R 22.98
$1.66 R 27.34
-15.66%
Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)
$60.8 R 999
-
-
Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)
$0.93 R 15.24
$0.31 R 5.13
200.00%
Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)
$0.90 R 14.81
$0.74 R 12.21
21.62%
Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)
$4.96 R 81.6
$14.41 R 237
-65.58%
Gasoline (1 liter)
$1.54 R 25.33
$1.60 R 26.25
-3.75%
Midsize Hatchback 1.4l (Volkswagen Golf, Toyota Prius, Honda Civic, etc)
$35.4K R 581.8K
$35.7K R 587.1K
-0.91%
Compact Sedan 1.6l (Toyota Corolla, Mazda3, Kia K4, Hyundai Elantra, etc)
$33.4K R 549.0K
$35.1K R 578.0K
-5.02%
🧾 Monthly Utilities & Internet
Cape Town
Amersfoort
Difference
Utilities for 2 People in 2-bedroom Apartment (Heating, Electricity, Gas, Water, Garbage) (85m2)
$117 R 1,926
$149 R 2,444
-21.20%
SIM Card Monthly Plan (Calls and 10GB+ Data)
$25.71 R 423
$36.32 R 597
-29.21%
Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)
$39.41 R 648
$37.09 R 610
6.26%
🎉 Sport & Entertainment
Cape Town
Amersfoort
Difference
Gym Membership (Monthly)
$51.6 R 849
$36.17 R 595
42.69%
Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)
$11.35 R 187
$12.17 R 200
-6.74%
Cinema Ticket
$8.89 R 146
$7.32 R 120
21.45%
🧸 Childcare & Education
Cape Town
Amersfoort
Difference
Preschool or Kindergarten, Full Day, Private, 1 Child (Monthly)
$308 R 5,061
$262 R 4,316
17.25%
International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)
$8,141 R 133.9K
$6,158 R 101.3K
32.21%
👕👟 Clothing & Footwear
Cape Town
Amersfoort
Difference
Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)
$57.4 R 944
$53.6 R 881
7.13%
Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)
$31.75 R 522
$32.03 R 527
-0.87%
Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)
$116 R 1,908
$92.7 R 1,526
25.04%
Men's Leather Business Shoes
$101 R 1,657
$81.5 R 1,340
23.60%
🏠 Accommodation & Living
Cape Town
Amersfoort
Difference
1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)
$1,047 R 17.2K
$383 R 6,299
173.37%
1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)
$669 R 11.0K
$367 R 6,037
82.33%
3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)
$1,861 R 30.6K
$628 R 10.3K
196.24%
3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)
$1,407 R 23.1K
$677 R 11.1K
107.72%
Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)
$2,410 R 39.6K
$811 R 13.3K
197.35%
Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)
$1,570 R 25.8K
$761 R 12.5K
106.15%
💵 Salaries & Financials
Cape Town
Amersfoort
Difference
Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)
$1,630 R 26.8K
-
-
20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)
10.89
11.34
-3.97%

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

Last update for Cape Town: November 2, 2026

Last update for Amersfoort: November 1, 2026

Monthly budget structure
Share of the monthly basket for one person, rent included.
Accommodation & Living
Cape Town
$669
Amersfoort
$367 45.2% $302
Groceries & Markets
Cape Town
$223
Amersfoort
$167 25.4% $57
Monthly Utilities & Internet
Cape Town
$182
Amersfoort
$222 21.8% $40
Eating Out
Cape Town
$174
Amersfoort
$140 19.8% $35
Clothing & Footwear
Cape Town
$138
Amersfoort
$117 15% $21
Getting Around
Cape Town
$72
Amersfoort
$11 * 85.1% $61
Sport & Entertainment
Cape Town
$69
Amersfoort
$51 26.8% $19

Categories marked with * are only partly priced – their share counts the items that do have prices.

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $1,047 in Cape Town versus $383 in Amersfoort. 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 $36 in Amersfoort. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $223 vs $167 – making Amersfoort the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know
🇿🇦 Cape Town
🇿🇦 Amersfoort
🕒 Local time
15:52 3:52 PM
15:52 3:52 PM
Same time as Cape Town
🌤 Weather
👥 Population
3,740,026 Capital
12,335
Exchange rates and currency converter

USD, EUR to ZAR – South African Rand Converter

South African Rand exchange rates as of November 4, 2026: 1 USD = 16.45 ZAR (100 ZAR = 6.08 USD). 1 EUR = 18.44 ZAR (100 ZAR = 5.42 EUR).

On the map
Between locations
  • Cape Town Amersfoort 1,340 km ≈ 2 h 15 min nonstop flight
From you
  • Cape Town
  • Amersfoort

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 Amersfoort: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions
Which city is more expensive, Cape Town or Amersfoort?
Cape Town costs about 42% more than Amersfoort, and outside of rent the gap comes mainly from transport. That’s enough to noticeably affect everyday spending and lifestyle for anyone choosing between the two.
How much do you need to earn to live comfortably in Cape Town and in Amersfoort?
For a comfortable life, plan on about $2,291 per month in Cape Town and $1,610 in Amersfoort. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.
Where is rent cheaper, Cape Town or Amersfoort?
Rent is clearly cheaper in Amersfoort, especially for central apartments: a one-bedroom in the center costs $383 there versus $1,047 in Cape Town.
How do dining costs compare in Cape Town and in Amersfoort?
A mid-range dinner for two costs $43 in Cape Town and $36 in Amersfoort. That’s a good indicator of the overall restaurant and café pricing gap between the two cities.
Are groceries more expensive in Cape Town or in Amersfoort?
Groceries cost about 34% more in Cape Town, though the gap depends on what you buy.
Can you live on $1,000/month in Cape Town or in Amersfoort?
$1,000 is a stretch for both – monthly costs hit $1,527 in Cape Town and $1,073 in Amersfoort. You’ll need shared housing and careful budgeting no matter which city you pick.
Which city is better for families?
Families tend to lean toward Amersfoort – lower housing and cheaper childcare make a real difference, especially on a single income or when paying for private education.

Cape Town vs other spots: cost of living compared

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