Last update: Nov 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Cape Town and Arnhem

For one person, living is cheaper in Cape Town: $1,527 a month against $2,589 in Arnhem, rent and utilities included – about $12,700 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
124

Cost of Living Index in Arnhem
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Arnhem Living Index

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Cape Town

🇿🇦 South Africa

$1,527

/mo nomad

Arnhem

🇳🇱 Netherlands

$2,589

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,527 in Cape Town versus $2,589 in Arnhem.

Cape Town $1,527
Arnhem $2,589

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,417 in Cape Town versus $3,794 in Arnhem.

Cape Town $2,417
Arnhem $3,794

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,306 in Cape Town versus $5,000 in Arnhem.

Cape Town $3,306
Arnhem $5,000

Living in Cape Town costs roughly 41% less than in Arnhem, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Both cities are pricier than the global median: Cape Town 13% above, Arnhem 91% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$12.01 R 197

$22.53 €20.07

-46.69%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$42.92 R 703

$85.8 €76.4

-49.95%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$6.15 R 101

$14.67 €13.07

-58.08%

Cappuccino

$2.37 R 38.81

$4.17 €3.72

-43.17%

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

$1.27 R 20.84

$3.39 €3.02

-62.54%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.94 R 15.37

$2.94 €2.62

-68.03%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.96 R 48.48

$5.55 €4.94

-46.67%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.69 R 60.5

$5.65 €5.03

-34.69%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.32 R 21.61

$1.42 €1.27

-7.04%

White Bread (500g)

$1.21 R 19.75

$2.07 €1.84

-41.55%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.20 R 36.05

$2.46 €2.19

-10.57%

Eggs

$3.10 R 50.8

$5.14 €4.58

-39.69%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$8.73 R 143

$13.16 €11.72

-33.66%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$6.89 R 113

$14.09 €12.55

-51.10%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$9.26 R 152

$16.08 €14.33

-42.41%

Apples (1kg)

$1.83 R 29.90

$2.68 €2.38

-31.72%

Banana (1kg)

$1.95 R 31.94

$2.41 €2.15

-19.09%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.66 R 27.16

$1.82 €1.63

-8.79%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.14 R 34.99

$5.12 €4.56

-58.20%

Potato (1kg)

$1.58 R 25.86

$1.93 €1.72

-18.13%

Onion (1kg)

$1.47 R 24.15

$2.36 €2.10

-37.71%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.35 R 22.05

$1.29 €1.15

4.65%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.14 R 18.75

$0.80 €0.71

42.50%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$3.58 R 58.6

$14.07 €12.54

-74.56%

Wine (Bottle)

$6.05 R 99.2

$7.17 €6.39

-15.62%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.39 R 22.82

$1.43 €1.27

-2.80%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.18 R 35.69

$2.71 €2.42

-19.56%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.40 R 22.88

$4.41 €3.93

-68.25%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$60.8 R 995

$113 €101

-46.25%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$0.93 R 15.18

$4.83 €4.30

-80.75%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.90 R 14.75

$3.50 €3.12

-74.29%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$4.96 R 81.3

$66.4 €59.1

-92.53%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.54 R 25.23

$2.48 €2.21

-37.90%

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

$35.4K R 579.4K

$42.2K €37.6K

-16.22%

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

$33.4K R 546.7K

$40.0K €35.6K

-16.50%

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

$117 R 1,918

$282 €251

-58.43%

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

$25.71 R 421

$22.92 €20.42

12.17%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$39.41 R 646

$61.4 €54.7

-35.77%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$51.6 R 846

$41.50 €36.97

24.36%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$11.35 R 186

$11.38 €10.14

-0.26%

Cinema Ticket

$8.89 R 146

$14.53 €12.95

-38.82%

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

$308 R 5,040

$3,018 €2,688

-89.81%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$8,141 R 133.4K

$5,954 €5,303

36.75%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$57.4 R 940

$96.6 €86.0

-40.58%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$31.75 R 520

$29.18 €25.99

8.81%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$116 R 1,900

$107 €95.7

7.89%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$101 R 1,650

$156 €139

-35.42%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,047 R 17.1K

$1,415 €1,261

-26.05%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$669 R 11.0K

$1,149 €1,024

-41.77%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,861 R 30.5K

$2,213 €1,971

-15.91%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,407 R 23.1K

$1,841 €1,640

-23.58%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,410 R 39.5K

$5,150 €4,588

-53.21%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,570 R 25.7K

$4,156 €3,702

-62.23%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,630 R 26.7K

$3,721 €3,315

-56.20%

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 Arnhem: November 2, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Cape Town

$669 43.8%

Arnhem

$1.1K 44.4% 71.7% $480

Groceries & Markets

Cape Town

$223 14.6%

Arnhem

$336 13% 50.7% $113

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Cape Town

$182 11.9%

Arnhem

$366 14.1% 101% $184

Eating Out

Cape Town

$174 11.4%

Arnhem

$339 13.1% 94.6% $165

Clothing & Footwear

Cape Town

$138 9%

Arnhem

$175 6.8% 27.3% $38

Getting Around

Cape Town

$72 4.7%

Arnhem

$153 5.9% 113% $81

Sport & Entertainment

Cape Town

$69 4.5%

Arnhem

$71 2.7% 1.7% $1.2

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,047 in Cape Town and $1,415 in Arnhem. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Arnhem pays about 2.3 times more on average. How far that income stretches comes down to housing choices and lifestyle.

Dining out: $43 in Cape Town vs $86 in Arnhem for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $223 vs $336 per month, with Cape Town cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇿🇦 Cape Town

🇳🇱 Arnhem

🕒 Local time

05:46 5:46 AM

04:46 4:46 AM

1 h behind Cape Town

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

3,740,026 Capital

165,770

💱 Currency

South African Rand ZAR R

Euro EUR €

📈 Exchange rate

100 ZAR = 6.1 USD

100 ZAR = 5.44 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 = 16.38 ZAR (100 ZAR = 6.1 USD). 1 EUR = 18.39 ZAR (100 ZAR = 5.44 EUR).

Euro exchange rates as of November 6, 2026: 1 USD = 0.891 EUR (1 EUR = 1.12 USD).

USD to ZAR in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Cape Town Arnhem 9,630 km ≈ 13 h nonstop flight

From you

Cape Town
Arnhem

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 Arnhem: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Total monthly costs including rent come to $1,527 in Cape Town and $2,589 in Arnhem, so Cape Town is about 41% cheaper – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

On paper, salaries run 56% lower in Cape Town. That’s worth factoring in alongside costs, though remote workers earning in a stronger currency may not notice the difference at all.

Rent for a central apartment: $1,047 in Cape Town versus $1,415 in Arnhem. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Supermarket bills run roughly 51% higher in Arnhem. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

Dining out is cheaper in Cape Town – a meal for two runs $43 versus $86 in Arnhem. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

Both cities are expensive relative to $1,000. Cape Town 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.

Expats usually find Cape Town gentler on the wallet – expenses run 41% less than in Arnhem. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.