Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Cape Town and Bacau

For one person, living is cheaper in Bacau: $913 a month against $1,586 in Cape Town, rent and utilities included – about $8,100 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

77

Cost of Living Index in Cape Town
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Cape Town Living Index
44

Cost of Living Index in Bacau
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Bacau Living Index

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Cape Town

🇿🇦 South Africa

$1,586

/mo nomad

Bacau

🇷🇴 Romania

$913

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

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

A single person spends $1,586 per month in Cape Town vs $913 in Bacau, rent included.

Cape Town $1,586
Bacau $913

A couple spends around $2,425 per month in Cape Town vs $1,548 in Bacau, rent included.

Cape Town $2,425
Bacau $1,548

A family of three spends $3,263 per month in Cape Town vs $2,182 in Bacau, rent included.

Cape Town $3,263
Bacau $2,182

Cape Town costs about 74% more than Bacau, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in utilities.

Cape Town sits 17% above the global median, while Bacau is 32% below – they fall on opposite sides of the world average.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$12.14 R 200

$14.05 RON 66.5

-13.59%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$45.34 R 747

$85.1 RON 402

-46.70%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$5.88 R 96.9

$7.39 RON 34.96

-20.43%

Cappuccino

$2.50 R 41.18

$1.98 RON 9.37

26.26%

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

$1.27 R 20.94

$1.94 RON 9.16

-34.54%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.98 R 16.14

$1.90 RON 8.97

-48.42%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.99 R 49.33

$2.48 RON 11.75

20.56%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.72 R 61.4

$3.16 RON 14.96

17.72%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.30 R 21.40

$1.22 RON 5.76

6.56%

White Bread (500g)

$1.25 R 20.68

$0.65 RON 3.09

92.31%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.23 R 36.76

$1.64 RON 7.74

35.98%

Eggs

$3.11 R 51.2

$3.39 RON 16.03

-8.26%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$9.06 R 149

$7.79 RON 36.87

16.30%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$6.92 R 114

$5.43 RON 25.67

27.44%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$9.30 R 153

$8.42 RON 39.86

10.45%

Apples (1kg)

$1.84 R 30.25

$1.14 RON 5.41

61.40%

Banana (1kg)

$1.96 R 32.29

$1.49 RON 7.06

31.54%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.67 R 27.45

$1.55 RON 7.32

7.74%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.17 R 35.70

$1.74 RON 8.24

24.71%

Potato (1kg)

$1.57 R 25.81

$0.72 RON 3.43

118.06%

Onion (1kg)

$1.48 R 24.45

$0.65 RON 3.07

127.69%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.30 R 21.41

$0.76 RON 3.59

71.05%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.13 R 18.60

$0.68 RON 3.23

66.18%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$3.60 R 59.3

$5.47 RON 25.87

-34.19%

Wine (Bottle)

$6.15 R 101

$5.08 RON 24.02

21.06%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.38 R 22.66

$0.94 RON 4.46

46.81%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.14 R 35.20

$1.22 RON 5.78

75.41%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.50 R 24.65

$0.74 RON 3.51

102.70%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$60.8 R 1,001

$29.14 RON 138

108.48%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$0.59 R 9.71

$0.62 RON 2.92

-4.84%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.50 R 24.65

$0.67 RON 3.17

123.88%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$5.11 R 84.2

$7.08 RON 33.51

-27.82%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.55 R 25.50

$1.80 RON 8.50

-13.89%

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

$36.2K R 596.5K

$28.9K RON 136.6K

25.41%

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

$31.2K R 514.8K

$24.9K RON 117.9K

25.44%

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

$114 R 1,883

$106 RON 502

7.70%

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

$28.91 R 476

$7.51 RON 35.53

284.95%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$39.73 R 654

$4.83 RON 22.86

722.57%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$49.01 R 808

$25.72 RON 122

90.55%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$10.99 R 181

$15.83 RON 74.9

-30.57%

Cinema Ticket

$9.15 R 151

$6.44 RON 30.45

42.08%

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

$259 R 4,264

$591 RON 2,794

-56.17%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$6,794 R 111.9K

$4,858 RON 23.0K

39.83%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$56.2 R 926

$82.9 RON 392

-32.20%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$32.41 R 534

$31.49 RON 149

2.92%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$121 R 1,987

$59.6 RON 282

102.38%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$108 R 1,781

$83.6 RON 395

29.31%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,021 R 16.8K

$400 RON 1,891

155.43%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$717 R 11.8K

$235 RON 1,113

204.71%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,824 R 30.1K

$546 RON 2,584

234.01%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,327 R 21.9K

$399 RON 1,889

232.28%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,391 R 39.4K

$1,818 RON 8,604

31.50%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,542 R 25.4K

$1,199 RON 5,673

28.58%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,639 R 27.0K

$933 RON 4,415

75.63%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

10.97

6.97

57.39%

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

Last update for Cape Town: October 10, 2026

Last update for Bacau: October 10, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Cape Town

$717 45.2%

Bacau

$235 25.8% 67.2% $482

Groceries & Markets

Cape Town

$225 14.2%

Bacau

$176 19.3% 21.7% $49

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Cape Town

$183 11.5%

Bacau

$118 13% 35.2% $64

Eating Out

Cape Town

$176 11.1%

Bacau

$192 21.1% 9.2% $16

Clothing & Footwear

Cape Town

$143 9%

Bacau

$116 12.7% 18.8% $27

Getting Around

Cape Town

$75 4.7%

Bacau

$36 4% 51.8% $39

Sport & Entertainment

Cape Town

$67 4.2%

Bacau

$39 4.2% 42.7% $29

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $1,021 in Cape Town versus $400 in Bacau. 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 76% higher in Cape Town, which partly offsets the higher cost of living there. Purchasing power depends on which expenses matter most to you.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $45.00 in Cape Town versus $85.0 in Bacau. Groceries tell a different story – $225 in Cape Town vs $176 in Bacau – so Bacau wins on supermarket bills even if dining out costs more.

Good to know

🇿🇦 Cape Town

🇷🇴 Bacau

🕒 Local time

00:26 12:26 AM

01:26 1:26 AM

1 h ahead of Cape Town

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

3,740,026 Capital

144,307

💱 Currency

South African Rand ZAR R

Romanian Leu RON lei

📈 Exchange rate

100 ZAR = 6.07 USD

100 ZAR = 5.4 EUR

1 RON = 0.211 USD

1 RON = 0.188 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

RON, USD, EUR to ZAR – South African Rand Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇿🇦 South African Rand (R)

South African Rand exchange rates as of October 17, 2026: 1 USD = 16.48 ZAR (100 ZAR = 6.07 USD). 1 EUR = 18.52 ZAR (100 ZAR = 5.4 EUR).

Romanian Leu exchange rates as of October 17, 2026: 1 USD = 4.73 RON (1 RON = 0.211 USD). 1 EUR = 5.32 RON (1 RON = 0.188 EUR).

USD to ZAR in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Cape Town Bacau 8,990 km ≈ 12 h nonstop flight

From you

Cape Town
Bacau

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 Bacau: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Yes – Cape Town is pricier by about 74%, and outside of rent the gap shows up most in utilities.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $2,379 per month in Cape Town and $1,369 in Bacau. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

Rent is clearly cheaper in Bacau, especially for central apartments. Housing is actually the single biggest factor behind the overall cost gap between these two cities.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $45.00 in Cape Town and $85.0 in Bacau. That's a good indicator of the overall restaurant and café pricing gap between the two cities.

Monthly expenses with rent come to $1,586 in Cape Town and $913 in Bacau. That's a gap of about 74%.

A $1,500 monthly budget goes further in Bacau, where all-in costs run around $913, than in Cape Town at $1,586. In Bacau it covers expenses comfortably, while in Cape Town it requires careful planning or may not stretch far enough.

Families tend to lean toward Bacau – lower housing and cheaper childcare make a real difference, especially on a single income or when paying for private education.

Both have safer and rougher neighborhoods, but overall safety is comparable to other large cities. Neighborhood choice matters more than the city-level comparison – central, well-trafficked areas feel secure in both.

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