Last update: Nov 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Cape Town and Bialystok

For one person, living is cheaper in Bialystok: $1,441 a month against $1,527 in Cape Town, rent and utilities included – about $1,000 less a year. Other living expenses account for most of the difference.

74

Cost of Living Index in Cape Town
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Cape Town Living Index
69

Cost of Living Index in Bialystok
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Bialystok Living Index

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Cape Town

🇿🇦 South Africa

$1,527

/mo nomad

Bialystok

🇵🇱 Poland

$1,441

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

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

A single person spends $1,527 per month in Cape Town vs $1,441 in Bialystok, rent included.

Cape Town $1,527
Bialystok $1,441

A couple spends around $2,417 per month in Cape Town vs $2,038 in Bialystok, rent included.

Cape Town $2,417
Bialystok $2,038

A family of three spends $3,306 per month in Cape Town vs $2,635 in Bialystok, rent included.

Cape Town $3,306
Bialystok $2,635

Cape Town costs about 6% more than Bialystok, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in utilities.

Both Cape Town and Bialystok sit above the global median – Cape Town by 13%, Bialystok by 7%.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$12.01 R 198

$9.72 zł 38.10

23.56%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$42.92 R 707

$45.08 zł 177

-4.79%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$6.15 R 101

$8.91 zł 34.94

-30.98%

Cappuccino

$2.37 R 39.04

$3.63 zł 14.24

-34.71%

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

$1.27 R 20.96

$1.88 zł 7.38

-32.45%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.94 R 15.46

$1.49 zł 5.84

-36.91%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.96 R 48.77

$3.37 zł 13.22

-12.17%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.69 R 60.8

$3.05 zł 11.96

20.98%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.32 R 21.73

$1.06 zł 4.16

24.53%

White Bread (500g)

$1.21 R 19.87

$0.99 zł 3.87

22.22%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.20 R 36.26

$2.17 zł 8.49

1.38%

Eggs

$3.10 R 51.1

$3.66 zł 14.34

-15.30%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$8.73 R 144

$8.97 zł 35.16

-2.68%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$6.89 R 114

$5.47 zł 21.46

25.96%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$9.26 R 153

$11.14 zł 43.66

-16.88%

Apples (1kg)

$1.83 R 30.08

$1.24 zł 4.85

47.58%

Banana (1kg)

$1.95 R 32.12

$1.82 zł 7.14

7.14%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.66 R 27.32

$1.58 zł 6.19

5.06%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.14 R 35.19

$1.92 zł 7.52

11.46%

Potato (1kg)

$1.58 R 26.01

$1.02 zł 4.00

54.90%

Onion (1kg)

$1.47 R 24.29

$1.21 zł 4.72

21.49%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.35 R 22.18

$1.11 zł 4.37

21.62%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.14 R 18.85

$0.58 zł 2.27

96.55%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$3.58 R 59.0

$5.12 zł 20.07

-30.08%

Wine (Bottle)

$6.05 R 99.7

$6.24 zł 24.47

-3.04%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.39 R 22.95

$1.20 zł 4.70

15.83%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.18 R 35.90

$1.52 zł 5.95

43.42%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.40 R 23.02

$1.25 zł 4.88

12.00%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$60.8 R 1,001

$32.57 zł 128

86.52%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$0.93 R 15.26

$2.07 zł 8.13

-55.07%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.90 R 14.83

$0.67 zł 2.64

34.33%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$4.96 R 81.7

$12.86 zł 50.4

-61.43%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.54 R 25.37

$1.57 zł 6.16

-1.91%

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

$35.4K R 582.8K

$30.2K zł 118.6K

16.93%

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

$33.4K R 549.9K

$28.3K zł 111.0K

17.88%

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

$117 R 1,929

$306 zł 1,200

-61.76%

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

$25.71 R 424

$8.28 zł 32.47

210.51%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$39.41 R 649

$17.42 zł 68.3

126.23%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$51.6 R 850

$45.87 zł 180

12.51%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$11.35 R 187

$26.60 zł 104

-57.33%

Cinema Ticket

$8.89 R 146

$8.31 zł 32.58

6.98%

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

$308 R 5,069

$346 zł 1,357

-11.12%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$8,141 R 134.2K

$4,218 zł 16.5K

93.01%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$57.4 R 946

$96.6 zł 379

-40.58%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$31.75 R 523

$35.75 zł 140

-11.19%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$116 R 1,911

$86.1 zł 337

34.73%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$101 R 1,660

$87.6 zł 343

15.01%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,047 R 17.2K

$557 zł 2,185

87.82%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$669 R 11.0K

$479 zł 1,876

39.79%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,861 R 30.7K

$794 zł 3,111

134.44%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,407 R 23.2K

$681 zł 2,668

106.78%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,410 R 39.7K

$2,762 zł 10.8K

-12.74%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,570 R 25.9K

$2,247 zł 8,810

-30.16%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,630 R 26.9K

$1,427 zł 5,596

14.17%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

10.89

7.07

54.03%

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

Last update for Cape Town: November 2, 2026

Last update for Bialystok: November 2, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Cape Town

$669 43.8%

Bialystok

$479 33.2% 28.5% $190

Groceries & Markets

Cape Town

$223 14.6%

Bialystok

$203 14.1% 9.1% $20

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Cape Town

$182 11.9%

Bialystok

$332 23% 82.2% $150

Eating Out

Cape Town

$174 11.4%

Bialystok

$185 12.8% 6% $11

Clothing & Footwear

Cape Town

$138 9%

Bialystok

$138 9.6% 0.1% $0.1

Getting Around

Cape Town

$72 4.7%

Bialystok

$43 3% 40.1% $29

Sport & Entertainment

Cape Town

$69 4.5%

Bialystok

$63 4.3% 9.9% $6.9

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $1,047 in Cape Town versus $557 in Bialystok. 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 14% higher in Cape Town. Purchasing power depends on which expenses matter most to you.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $43 in Cape Town versus $45 in Bialystok. Groceries tell a different story – $223 in Cape Town vs $203 in Bialystok – so Bialystok wins on supermarket bills even if dining out costs more.

Good to know

🇿🇦 Cape Town

🇵🇱 Bialystok

🕒 Local time

16:09 4:09 PM

15:09 3:09 PM

1 h behind Cape Town

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

3,740,026 Capital

297,554

💱 Currency

South African Rand ZAR R

Polish Złoty PLN zł

📈 Exchange rate

100 ZAR = 6.07 USD

100 ZAR = 5.4 EUR

1 PLN = 0.255 USD

1 PLN = 0.227 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

PLN, 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 = 18.51 ZAR (100 ZAR = 5.4 EUR).

Polish Złoty exchange rates as of November 6, 2026: 1 USD = 3.92 PLN (1 PLN = 0.255 USD). 1 EUR = 4.4 PLN (1 PLN = 0.227 EUR).

USD to ZAR in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Cape Town Bialystok 9,690 km ≈ 13 h nonstop flight

From you

Cape Town
Bialystok

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 Bialystok: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Cape Town costs about 6% more than Bialystok, and outside of rent the gap comes mainly from utilities. That’s enough to noticeably affect everyday spending and lifestyle for anyone choosing between the two.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $2,291 per month in Cape Town and $2,162 in Bialystok. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

Rent is clearly cheaper in Bialystok, especially for central apartments: a one-bedroom in the center costs $557 there versus $1,047 in Cape Town.

Kindergarten costs $308 per month in Cape Town and $346 in Bialystok. For families with young kids, this one expense can tip the scales when choosing between the two cities.

Groceries cost about 10% more in Cape Town, though the gap depends on what you buy.

$1,000 is a stretch for both – monthly costs hit $1,527 in Cape Town and $1,441 in Bialystok. 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 $1,441 in Bialystok to $1,527 in Cape Town. Climate, culture, job market, and personal taste all factor in.

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