Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Cape Town and Barlad

For one person, living is cheaper in Barlad: $975 a month against $1,599 in Cape Town, rent and utilities included – about $7,500 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

77

Cost of Living Index in Cape Town
Learn more

Cape Town Living Index
47

Cost of Living Index in Barlad
Learn more

Barlad Living Index

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Cape Town

🇿🇦 South Africa

$1,599

/mo nomad

Barlad

🇷🇴 Romania

$975

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

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

A single person spends $1,599 per month in Cape Town vs $975 in Barlad, rent included.

Cape Town $1,599
Barlad $975

A couple spends around $2,460 per month in Cape Town vs $1,521 in Barlad, rent included.

Cape Town $2,460
Barlad $1,521

A family of three spends $3,320 per month in Cape Town vs $2,066 in Barlad, rent included.

Cape Town $3,320
Barlad $2,066

Cape Town costs about 64% more than Barlad, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in utilities.

Cape Town sits 18% above the global median, while Barlad is 28% below – they fall on opposite sides of the world average.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$12.07 R 199

$8.96 RON 42.41

34.71%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$46.65 R 769

$41.38 RON 196

12.74%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$6.20 R 102

$7.20 RON 34.06

-13.89%

Cappuccino

$2.50 R 41.13

$2.41 RON 11.40

3.73%

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

$1.35 R 22.28

$1.85 RON 8.75

-27.03%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.00 R 16.47

$1.54 RON 7.27

-35.06%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.06 R 50.4

$2.17 RON 10.25

41.01%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.67 R 60.5

$2.69 RON 12.72

36.43%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.30 R 21.45

$1.34 RON 6.34

-2.99%

White Bread (500g)

$1.27 R 20.89

$1.12 RON 5.31

13.39%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.17 R 35.68

$1.40 RON 6.63

55.00%

Eggs

$3.09 R 50.9

$3.39 RON 16.02

-8.85%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$8.98 R 148

$7.51 RON 35.53

19.57%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$6.99 R 115

$5.22 RON 24.69

33.91%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$9.67 R 159

$10.04 RON 47.49

-3.69%

Apples (1kg)

$1.87 R 30.78

$1.04 RON 4.92

79.81%

Banana (1kg)

$1.93 R 31.72

$1.63 RON 7.73

18.40%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.77 R 29.13

$1.38 RON 6.54

28.26%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.18 R 35.86

$1.76 RON 8.31

23.86%

Potato (1kg)

$1.52 R 25.07

$0.79 RON 3.75

92.41%

Onion (1kg)

$1.56 R 25.63

$0.77 RON 3.65

102.60%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.32 R 21.74

$0.84 RON 3.99

57.14%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.15 R 18.97

$0.89 RON 4.20

29.21%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$3.72 R 61.4

$6.64 RON 31.41

-43.98%

Wine (Bottle)

$6.01 R 99.0

$5.58 RON 26.38

7.71%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.34 R 22.13

$1.20 RON 5.68

11.67%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.13 R 35.11

$1.62 RON 7.67

31.48%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.55 R 25.53

$0.51 RON 2.40

203.92%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$61.3 R 1,010

$19.88 RON 94.0

208.30%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$0.60 R 9.85

$0.72 RON 3.42

-16.67%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.54 R 25.36

$0.73 RON 3.46

110.96%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$5.01 R 82.5

$6.99 RON 33.08

-28.33%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.60 R 26.33

$1.75 RON 8.30

-8.57%

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

$35.4K R 583.4K

$26.5K RON 125.3K

33.67%

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

$34.7K R 570.9K

$25.1K RON 118.7K

38.16%

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

$119 R 1,955

$158 RON 748

-24.95%

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

$29.42 R 485

$8.87 RON 41.95

231.68%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$39.81 R 656

$8.36 RON 39.58

376.20%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$50.8 R 836

$34.02 RON 161

49.21%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$10.93 R 180

$18.05 RON 85.4

-39.45%

Cinema Ticket

$8.99 R 148

$6.61 RON 31.28

36.01%

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

$261 R 4,303

$465 RON 2,202

-43.88%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$6,966 R 114.8K

$7,715 RON 36.5K

-9.70%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$56.1 R 925

$62.0 RON 293

-9.39%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$33.26 R 548

$34.81 RON 165

-4.45%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$121 R 1,999

$72.7 RON 344

66.85%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$108 R 1,779

$86.2 RON 408

25.36%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,028 R 16.9K

$407 RON 1,927

152.36%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$720 R 11.9K

$269 RON 1,271

167.84%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,835 R 30.2K

$651 RON 3,081

181.80%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,360 R 22.4K

$505 RON 2,387

169.60%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,407 R 39.6K

$1,755 RON 8,305

37.10%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,504 R 24.8K

$1,263 RON 5,976

19.10%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,649 R 27.2K

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 20, 2026

Last update for Barlad: October 17, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Cape Town

$720 45%

Barlad

$269 27.6% 62.7% $451

Groceries & Markets

Cape Town

$226 14.2%

Barlad

$190 19.5% 15.9% $36

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Cape Town

$188 11.8%

Barlad

$175 18% 6.7% $13

Eating Out

Cape Town

$177 11.1%

Barlad

$152 15.6% 14.2% $25

Clothing & Footwear

Cape Town

$143 9%

Barlad

$115 11.8% 19.8% $28

Getting Around

Cape Town

$76 4.7%

Barlad

$26 2.7% 65.3% $50

Sport & Entertainment

Cape Town

$69 4.3%

Barlad

$47 4.9% 31.3% $21

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $1,028 in Cape Town versus $407 in Barlad. Rent is usually the largest line item in a monthly budget, so the gap here sets the tone for the overall comparison.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $47.00 in Cape Town versus $41.00 in Barlad. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $226 vs $190 – making Barlad the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇿🇦 Cape Town

🇷🇴 Barlad

🕒 Local time

01:46 1:46 AM

02:46 2:46 AM

1 h ahead of Cape Town

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

3,740,026 Capital

77,518

💱 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 20, 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 20, 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

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Cape Town Barlad 8,960 km ≈ 12 h nonstop flight

From you

Cape Town
Barlad

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 Barlad: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Monthly costs with rent: $1,599 in Cape Town, $975 in Barlad – roughly 64% apart. Outside of rent, the biggest gap is in utilities.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $2,398 per month in Cape Town and $1,462 in Barlad. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

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

Public transport costs about 208% less in Barlad. For daily commuters, that gap adds up to noticeable savings over a year.

Kindergarten costs $261 per month in Cape Town and $465 in Barlad. For families with young kids, this one expense can tip the scales when choosing between the two cities.

A $2,000 monthly budget goes further in Barlad, where all-in costs run around $975, than in Cape Town at $1,599. In Barlad it covers expenses comfortably, while in Cape Town it requires careful planning or may not stretch far enough.

It depends on your priorities. Cape Town has an edge in some lifestyle areas, with costs from $975 in Barlad to $1,599 in Cape Town. Climate, culture, job market, and personal taste all factor in.

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 Barlad. 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.