Last update: Nov 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Cape Town and Arbon

For one person, living is cheaper in Cape Town: $1,527 a month against $3,763 in Arbon, rent and utilities included – about $26,800 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
172

Cost of Living Index in Arbon
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Arbon Living Index

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Cape Town

🇿🇦 South Africa

$1,527

/mo nomad

Arbon

🇨🇭 Switzerland

$3,763

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

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

A single person spends $1,527 per month in Cape Town vs $3,763 in Arbon, rent included.

Cape Town $1,527
Arbon $3,763

A couple spends around $2,417 per month in Cape Town vs $5,707 in Arbon, rent included.

Cape Town $2,417
Arbon $5,707

A family of three spends $3,306 per month in Cape Town vs $7,651 in Arbon, rent included.

Cape Town $3,306
Arbon $7,651

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

Both Cape Town and Arbon sit above the global median – Cape Town by 13%, Arbon by 178%.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$12.01 R 198

$30.86 CHF 25.16

-61.08%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$42.92 R 707

$144 CHF 117

-70.13%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$6.15 R 101

$19.65 CHF 16.02

-68.70%

Cappuccino

$2.37 R 39.04

$5.98 CHF 4.87

-60.37%

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

$1.27 R 20.96

$5.82 CHF 4.75

-78.18%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.94 R 15.46

$5.11 CHF 4.17

-81.60%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.96 R 48.77

$9.19 CHF 7.49

-67.79%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.69 R 60.8

$6.25 CHF 5.10

-40.96%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.32 R 21.73

$2.20 CHF 1.79

-40.00%

White Bread (500g)

$1.21 R 19.87

$3.12 CHF 2.55

-61.22%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.20 R 36.26

$3.68 CHF 3.00

-40.22%

Eggs

$3.10 R 51.1

$8.00 CHF 6.52

-61.25%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$8.73 R 144

$25.26 CHF 20.59

-65.44%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$6.89 R 114

$28.83 CHF 23.51

-76.10%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$9.26 R 153

$41.88 CHF 34.15

-77.89%

Apples (1kg)

$1.83 R 30.08

$3.48 CHF 2.84

-47.41%

Banana (1kg)

$1.95 R 32.12

$2.03 CHF 1.66

-3.94%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.66 R 27.32

$2.43 CHF 1.98

-31.69%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.14 R 35.19

$5.44 CHF 4.44

-60.66%

Potato (1kg)

$1.58 R 26.01

$2.04 CHF 1.66

-22.55%

Onion (1kg)

$1.47 R 24.29

$2.12 CHF 1.73

-30.66%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.35 R 22.18

$2.32 CHF 1.89

-41.81%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.14 R 18.85

$1.20 CHF 0.98

-5.00%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$3.58 R 59.0

$11.07 CHF 9.03

-67.66%

Wine (Bottle)

$6.05 R 99.7

$16.77 CHF 13.67

-63.92%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.39 R 22.95

$2.25 CHF 1.84

-38.22%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.18 R 35.90

$2.34 CHF 1.91

-6.84%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.40 R 23.02

$4.96 CHF 4.04

-71.77%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$60.8 R 1,001

$100 CHF 81.9

-39.50%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$0.93 R 15.26

$6.88 CHF 5.61

-86.48%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.90 R 14.83

$4.89 CHF 3.99

-81.60%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$4.96 R 81.7

$36.81 CHF 30.02

-86.53%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.54 R 25.37

$2.37 CHF 1.93

-35.02%

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

$35.4K R 582.8K

$40.1K CHF 32.7K

-11.80%

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

$33.4K R 549.9K

$40.3K CHF 32.8K

-17.12%

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

$117 R 1,929

$321 CHF 261

-63.49%

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

$25.71 R 424

$38.33 CHF 31.26

-32.92%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$39.41 R 649

$54.5 CHF 44.47

-27.73%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$51.6 R 850

$90.8 CHF 74.1

-43.19%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$11.35 R 187

$41.46 CHF 33.81

-72.62%

Cinema Ticket

$8.89 R 146

$24.19 CHF 19.72

-63.25%

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

$308 R 5,069

$2,284 CHF 1,863

-86.53%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$8,141 R 134.2K

$33.0K CHF 26.9K

-75.31%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$57.4 R 946

$146 CHF 119

-60.66%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$31.75 R 523

$65.1 CHF 53.1

-51.21%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$116 R 1,911

$144 CHF 118

-19.66%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$101 R 1,660

$187 CHF 152

-46.08%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,047 R 17.2K

$2,023 CHF 1,650

-48.26%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$669 R 11.0K

$1,740 CHF 1,419

-61.53%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,861 R 30.7K

$2,949 CHF 2,405

-36.92%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,407 R 23.2K

$2,929 CHF 2,389

-51.96%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,410 R 39.7K

$14.0K CHF 11.4K

-82.80%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,570 R 25.9K

$11.5K CHF 9,380

-86.35%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,630 R 26.9K

$11.3K CHF 9,228

-85.60%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

10.89

1.9

473.16%

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

Last update for Cape Town: November 2, 2026

Last update for Arbon: November 2, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Cape Town

$669 43.8%

Arbon

$1.7K 46.2% 160% $1.1K

Groceries & Markets

Cape Town

$223 14.6%

Arbon

$595 15.8% 167% $372

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Cape Town

$182 11.9%

Arbon

$414 11% 127% $231

Eating Out

Cape Town

$174 11.4%

Arbon

$480 12.8% 176% $306

Clothing & Footwear

Cape Town

$138 9%

Arbon

$244 6.5% 77.2% $106

Getting Around

Cape Town

$72 4.7%

Arbon

$152 4% 111% $80

Sport & Entertainment

Cape Town

$69 4.5%

Arbon

$139 3.7% 101% $70

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $1,047 in Cape Town versus $2,023 in Arbon. Rent is usually the largest line item in a monthly budget, so the gap here sets the tone for the overall comparison.

Salaries in Arbon are about 6.9 times higher. Purchasing power depends on which expenses matter most to you.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $43 in Cape Town versus $144 in Arbon. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $223 vs $595 – making Cape Town the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇿🇦 Cape Town

🇨🇭 Arbon

🕒 Local time

02:43 2:43 AM

01:43 1:43 AM

1 h behind Cape Town

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

3,740,026 Capital

15,853

💱 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

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Cape Town Arbon 9,100 km ≈ 12 h nonstop flight

From you

Cape Town
Arbon

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 Arbon: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Monthly costs with rent: $1,527 in Cape Town, $3,763 in Arbon – Cape Town comes out roughly 59% cheaper. Outside of rent, the biggest gap is in groceries.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $2,291 per month in Cape Town and $5,645 in Arbon. 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 $2,023 in Arbon.

Monthly expenses with rent come to $1,527 in Cape Town and $3,763 in Arbon. 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 $3,763 in Arbon. 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.

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