Last update: Nov 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Cape Town and Apeldoorn

For one person, living is cheaper in Cape Town: $1,527 a month against $2,566 in Apeldoorn, rent and utilities included – about $12,500 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
122

Cost of Living Index in Apeldoorn
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Apeldoorn Living Index

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Cape Town

🇿🇦 South Africa

$1,527

/mo nomad

Apeldoorn

🇳🇱 Netherlands

$2,566

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

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

A single person spends $1,527 per month in Cape Town vs $2,566 in Apeldoorn, rent included.

Cape Town $1,527
Apeldoorn $2,566

A couple spends around $2,417 per month in Cape Town vs $3,612 in Apeldoorn, rent included.

Cape Town $2,417
Apeldoorn $3,612

A family of three spends $3,306 per month in Cape Town vs $4,658 in Apeldoorn, rent included.

Cape Town $3,306
Apeldoorn $4,658

Cape Town is about 40% cheaper than Apeldoorn, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Both Cape Town and Apeldoorn sit above the global median – Cape Town by 13%, Apeldoorn by 90%.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$12.01 R 198

$22.21 €19.78

-45.93%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$42.92 R 707

$79.6 €70.8

-46.05%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$6.15 R 101

$8.88 €7.90

-30.74%

Cappuccino

$2.37 R 39.04

$4.53 €4.03

-47.68%

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

$1.27 R 20.96

$3.73 €3.32

-65.95%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.94 R 15.46

$3.44 €3.07

-72.67%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.96 R 48.77

$5.83 €5.19

-49.23%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.69 R 60.8

$5.49 €4.89

-32.79%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.32 R 21.73

$1.41 €1.26

-6.38%

White Bread (500g)

$1.21 R 19.87

$2.29 €2.04

-47.16%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.20 R 36.26

$3.14 €2.80

-29.94%

Eggs

$3.10 R 51.1

$5.31 €4.73

-41.62%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$8.73 R 144

$13.99 €12.46

-37.60%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$6.89 R 114

$14.70 €13.09

-53.13%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$9.26 R 153

$17.32 €15.42

-46.54%

Apples (1kg)

$1.83 R 30.08

$2.67 €2.38

-31.46%

Banana (1kg)

$1.95 R 32.12

$2.54 €2.26

-23.23%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.66 R 27.32

$2.16 €1.93

-23.15%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.14 R 35.19

$4.42 €3.93

-51.58%

Potato (1kg)

$1.58 R 26.01

$1.93 €1.72

-18.13%

Onion (1kg)

$1.47 R 24.29

$2.33 €2.08

-36.91%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.35 R 22.18

$1.28 €1.14

5.47%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.14 R 18.85

$0.88 €0.78

29.55%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$3.58 R 59.0

$14.06 €12.52

-74.54%

Wine (Bottle)

$6.05 R 99.7

$6.83 €6.09

-11.42%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.39 R 22.95

$1.28 €1.14

8.59%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.18 R 35.90

$2.72 €2.42

-19.85%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.40 R 23.02

$5.46 €4.86

-74.36%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$60.8 R 1,001

$66.7 €59.4

-8.92%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$0.93 R 15.26

$4.90 €4.36

-81.02%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.90 R 14.83

$3.52 €3.13

-74.43%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$4.96 R 81.7

$66.0 €58.7

-92.48%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.54 R 25.37

$2.47 €2.20

-37.65%

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

$35.4K R 582.8K

$40.8K €36.4K

-13.38%

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

$33.4K R 549.9K

$39.4K €35.1K

-15.36%

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

$117 R 1,929

$313 €278

-62.54%

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

$25.71 R 424

$26.80 €23.86

-4.07%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$39.41 R 649

$55.1 €49.10

-28.53%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$51.6 R 850

$33.59 €29.91

53.65%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$11.35 R 187

Cinema Ticket

$8.89 R 146

$15.52 €13.82

-42.72%

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

$308 R 5,069

$1,225 €1,090

-74.88%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$8,141 R 134.2K

$6,017 €5,358

35.31%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$57.4 R 946

$74.9 €66.7

-23.35%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$31.75 R 523

$38.59 €34.36

-17.72%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$116 R 1,911

$87.8 €78.2

32.01%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$101 R 1,660

$100 €89.3

0.46%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,047 R 17.2K

$945 €841

10.77%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$669 R 11.0K

$1,183 €1,054

-43.45%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,861 R 30.7K

$1,570 €1,398

18.51%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,407 R 23.2K

$1,680 €1,496

-16.22%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,410 R 39.7K

$4,503 €4,009

-46.48%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,570 R 25.9K

$3,659 €3,258

-57.10%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,630 R 26.9K

$3,214 €2,862

-49.29%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

10.89

3.95

175.70%

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

Last update for Cape Town: November 2, 2026

Last update for Apeldoorn: November 1, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Cape Town

$669 43.8%

Apeldoorn

$1.2K 46.1% 76.8% $514

Groceries & Markets

Cape Town

$223 14.6%

Apeldoorn

$349 13.6% 56.4% $126

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Cape Town

$182 11.9%

Apeldoorn

$394 15.4% 117% $212

Eating Out

Cape Town

$174 11.4%

Apeldoorn

$328 12.8% 88.2% $154

Clothing & Footwear

Cape Town

$138 9%

Apeldoorn

$136 5.3% 1.4% $1.9

Getting Around

Cape Town

$72 4.7%

Apeldoorn

$111 4.3% 54.7% $39

Sport & Entertainment

Cape Town

$69 4.5%

Apeldoorn

$65 2.5% 6.9% $4.8

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $1,047 in Cape Town versus $945 in Apeldoorn. Rent is usually the largest line item in a monthly budget, so the gap here sets the tone for the overall comparison.

Salaries run about 97% higher in Apeldoorn. Purchasing power depends on which expenses matter most to you.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $43 in Cape Town versus $80 in Apeldoorn. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $223 vs $349 – making Cape Town the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇿🇦 Cape Town

🇳🇱 Apeldoorn

🕒 Local time

11:12 11:12 AM

10:12 10:12 AM

1 h behind Cape Town

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

3,740,026 Capital

167,191

💱 Currency

South African Rand ZAR R

Euro EUR €

📈 Exchange rate

100 ZAR = 6.07 USD

100 ZAR = 5.4 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 = 16.48 ZAR (100 ZAR = 6.07 USD). 1 EUR = 18.51 ZAR (100 ZAR = 5.4 EUR).

Euro exchange rates as of November 6, 2026: 1 USD = 0.89 EUR (1 EUR = 1.12 USD).

USD to ZAR in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Cape Town Apeldoorn 9,650 km ≈ 13 h nonstop flight

From you

Cape Town
Apeldoorn

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 Apeldoorn: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Yes – Apeldoorn is pricier by about 68%, and outside of rent the gap shows up most in eating out.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $2,291 per month in Cape Town and $3,849 in Apeldoorn. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

Rent is clearly cheaper in Apeldoorn, especially for central apartments: a one-bedroom in the center costs $945 there versus $1,047 in Cape Town.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $43 in Cape Town and $80 in Apeldoorn. That’s a good indicator of the overall restaurant and café pricing gap between the two cities.

Monthly expenses with rent come to $1,527 in Cape Town and $2,566 in Apeldoorn. That makes Cape Town about 40% cheaper.

$1,000 is a stretch for both – monthly costs hit $1,527 in Cape Town and $2,566 in Apeldoorn. You’ll need shared housing and careful budgeting no matter which city you pick.

It depends on your priorities. Cape Town has an edge in some lifestyle areas, with costs from $1,527 in Cape Town to $2,566 in Apeldoorn. Climate, culture, job market, and personal taste all factor in.

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