Last update: Nov 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Cape Town and Antofagasta

For one person, living is cheaper in Antofagasta: $891 a month against $1,527 in Cape Town, rent and utilities included – about $7,600 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
42

Cost of Living Index in Antofagasta
Learn more

Antofagasta Living Index

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Cape Town

🇿🇦 South Africa

$1,527

/mo nomad

Antofagasta

🇨🇱 Chile

$891

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,527 in Cape Town versus $891 in Antofagasta.

Cape Town $1,527
Antofagasta $891

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,417 in Cape Town versus $1,422 in Antofagasta.

Cape Town $2,417
Antofagasta $1,422

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,306 in Cape Town versus $1,953 in Antofagasta.

Cape Town $3,306
Antofagasta $1,953

Living in Cape Town is roughly 71% more expensive than in Antofagasta, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in transport.

The two cities straddle the global median: Cape Town is 13% above, Antofagasta is 34% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$12.01 R 198

$7.35 CLP 7,184

63.40%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$42.92 R 707

$35.85 CLP 35.1K

19.72%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$6.15 R 101

$7.22 CLP 7,054

-14.82%

Cappuccino

$2.37 R 39.04

$2.53 CLP 2,471

-6.32%

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

$1.27 R 20.96

$1.29 CLP 1,262

-1.55%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.94 R 15.46

$0.84 CLP 823

11.90%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.96 R 48.77

$1.56 CLP 1,525

89.74%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.69 R 60.8

$1.80 CLP 1,764

105.00%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.32 R 21.73

$1.05 CLP 1,026

25.71%

White Bread (500g)

$1.21 R 19.87

$1.90 CLP 1,856

-36.32%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.20 R 36.26

$1.27 CLP 1,241

73.23%

Eggs

$3.10 R 51.1

$2.59 CLP 2,532

19.69%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$8.73 R 144

$8.79 CLP 8,590

-0.68%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$6.89 R 114

$3.14 CLP 3,074

119.43%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$9.26 R 153

$7.59 CLP 7,422

22.00%

Apples (1kg)

$1.83 R 30.08

$2.07 CLP 2,021

-11.59%

Banana (1kg)

$1.95 R 32.12

$2.17 CLP 2,119

-10.14%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.66 R 27.32

$2.84 CLP 2,775

-41.55%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.14 R 35.19

$1.10 CLP 1,074

94.55%

Potato (1kg)

$1.58 R 26.01

$0.88 CLP 860

79.55%

Onion (1kg)

$1.47 R 24.29

$0.84 CLP 817

75.00%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.35 R 22.18

$1.31 CLP 1,276

3.05%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.14 R 18.85

$1.07 CLP 1,050

6.54%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$3.58 R 59.0

$5.33 CLP 5,216

-32.83%

Wine (Bottle)

$6.05 R 99.7

$5.08 CLP 4,968

19.09%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.39 R 22.95

$1.35 CLP 1,324

2.96%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.18 R 35.90

$1.05 CLP 1,022

107.62%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.40 R 23.02

$0.63 CLP 615

122.22%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$60.8 R 1,001

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$0.93 R 15.26

$2.57 CLP 2,511

-63.81%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.90 R 14.83

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$4.96 R 81.7

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.54 R 25.37

$1.35 CLP 1,317

14.07%

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

$35.4K R 582.8K

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

$33.4K R 549.9K

$17.8K CLP 17.4M

87.89%

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

$117 R 1,929

$45.41 CLP 44.4K

157.81%

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

$25.71 R 424

$9.87 CLP 9,652

160.49%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$39.41 R 649

$12.54 CLP 12.3K

214.27%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$51.6 R 850

$41.36 CLP 40.4K

24.78%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$11.35 R 187

$25.36 CLP 24.8K

-55.24%

Cinema Ticket

$8.89 R 146

$5.01 CLP 4,900

77.45%

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

$308 R 5,069

$255 CLP 249.0K

20.79%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$8,141 R 134.2K

$3,148 CLP 3.1M

158.66%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$57.4 R 946

$39.16 CLP 38.3K

46.53%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$31.75 R 523

$15.29 CLP 14.9K

107.65%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$116 R 1,911

$58.7 CLP 57.4K

97.48%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$101 R 1,660

$68.9 CLP 67.3K

46.25%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,047 R 17.2K

$437 CLP 427.3K

139.50%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$669 R 11.0K

$363 CLP 354.9K

84.36%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,861 R 30.7K

$814 CLP 796.2K

128.45%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,407 R 23.2K

$669 CLP 654.3K

110.28%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,410 R 39.7K

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,570 R 25.9K

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,630 R 26.9K

$693 CLP 677.3K

135.26%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

10.89

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

Last update for Cape Town: November 2, 2026

Last update for Antofagasta: November 1, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Cape Town

$669 43.8%

Antofagasta

$363 40.7% 45.8% $306

Groceries & Markets

Cape Town

$223 14.6%

Antofagasta

$191 21.5% 14.3% $32

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Cape Town

$182 11.9%

Antofagasta

$68 7.6% 62.8% $114

Eating Out

Cape Town

$174 11.4%

Antofagasta

$131 14.7% 24.9% $43

Clothing & Footwear

Cape Town

$138 9%

Antofagasta

$82 9.2% 40.5% $56

Getting Around

Cape Town

$72 4.7%

Antofagasta

$5.1 * 0.6% 92.9% $67

Sport & Entertainment

Cape Town

$69 4.5%

Antofagasta

$51 5.8% 26% $18

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

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,047 in Cape Town and $437 in Antofagasta. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Cape Town pays about 2.4 times more on average. How far that income stretches comes down to housing choices and lifestyle.

Dining out: $43 in Cape Town vs $36 in Antofagasta for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $223 vs $191 per month, with Antofagasta cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇿🇦 Cape Town

🇨🇱 Antofagasta

🕒 Local time

09:05 9:05 AM

04:05 4:05 AM

5 h behind Cape Town

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

3,740,026 Capital

348,517

💱 Currency

South African Rand ZAR R

Chilean Peso CLP $

📈 Exchange rate

100 ZAR = 6.07 USD

100 ZAR = 5.41 EUR

10,000 CLP = 10.23 USD

10,000 CLP = 9.11 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

CLP, 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).

Chilean Peso exchange rates as of November 6, 2026: 1 USD = 978 CLP (1,000 CLP = 1.02 USD). 1 EUR = 1,098 CLP (10,000 CLP = 9.11 EUR).

USD to ZAR in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Cape Town Antofagasta 8,470 km ≈ 11 h nonstop flight

From you

Cape Town
Antofagasta

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 Antofagasta: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Antofagasta wins on cost – living expenses run 42% lower than in Cape Town. Housing and daily spending are where you’ll feel the difference most, making Antofagasta the obvious pick if budget is a priority.

Average pay in Cape Town is about 2.4 times higher, 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: $1,047 in Cape Town versus $437 in Antofagasta. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $308 in Cape Town versus $255 in Antofagasta. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Dining out is cheaper in Antofagasta – a meal for two runs $36 versus $43 in Cape Town. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

Both cities are expensive relative to $800. Antofagasta 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.

It comes down to priorities – Antofagasta wins on affordability, Cape Town on earning potential. Factor in climate, language, visa rules, and proximity to places that matter to you before deciding.