Last update: Nov 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Cape Town and Biel

For one person, living is cheaper in Cape Town: $1,527 a month against $2,882 in Biel, rent and utilities included – about $16,300 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
137

Cost of Living Index in Biel
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Biel Living Index

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Cape Town

🇿🇦 South Africa

$1,527

/mo nomad

Biel

🇨🇭 Switzerland

$2,882

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

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

A single person spends $1,527 per month in Cape Town vs $2,882 in Biel, rent included.

Cape Town $1,527
Biel $2,882

A couple spends around $2,417 per month in Cape Town vs $4,522 in Biel, rent included.

Cape Town $2,417
Biel $4,522

A family of three spends $3,306 per month in Cape Town vs $6,163 in Biel, rent included.

Cape Town $3,306
Biel $6,163

Cape Town is about 47% cheaper than Biel, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Both Cape Town and Biel sit above the global median – Cape Town by 13%, Biel by 113%.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$12.01 R 198

$30.14 CHF 24.58

-60.15%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$42.92 R 707

$108 CHF 87.9

-60.19%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$6.15 R 101

$18.51 CHF 15.09

-66.77%

Cappuccino

$2.37 R 39.04

$6.17 CHF 5.03

-61.59%

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

$1.27 R 20.96

$4.95 CHF 4.04

-74.34%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.94 R 15.46

$4.08 CHF 3.33

-76.96%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.96 R 48.77

$7.82 CHF 6.37

-62.15%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.69 R 60.8

$4.83 CHF 3.94

-23.60%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.32 R 21.73

$2.09 CHF 1.71

-36.84%

White Bread (500g)

$1.21 R 19.87

$4.03 CHF 3.29

-69.98%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.20 R 36.26

$3.24 CHF 2.64

-32.10%

Eggs

$3.10 R 51.1

$7.57 CHF 6.17

-59.05%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$8.73 R 144

$22.23 CHF 18.13

-60.73%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$6.89 R 114

$28.41 CHF 23.16

-75.75%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$9.26 R 153

$39.40 CHF 32.13

-76.50%

Apples (1kg)

$1.83 R 30.08

$3.13 CHF 2.56

-41.53%

Banana (1kg)

$1.95 R 32.12

$2.05 CHF 1.67

-4.88%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.66 R 27.32

$2.57 CHF 2.10

-35.41%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.14 R 35.19

$3.12 CHF 2.54

-31.41%

Potato (1kg)

$1.58 R 26.01

$1.50 CHF 1.23

5.33%

Onion (1kg)

$1.47 R 24.29

$1.86 CHF 1.52

-20.97%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.35 R 22.18

$2.06 CHF 1.68

-34.47%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.14 R 18.85

$1.12 CHF 0.91

1.79%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$3.58 R 59.0

$10.85 CHF 8.85

-67.00%

Wine (Bottle)

$6.05 R 99.7

$15.47 CHF 12.61

-60.89%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.39 R 22.95

$0.96 CHF 0.78

44.79%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.18 R 35.90

$1.87 CHF 1.53

16.58%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.40 R 23.02

$5.00 CHF 4.08

-72.00%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$60.8 R 1,001

$95.7 CHF 78.0

-36.52%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$0.93 R 15.26

$7.81 CHF 6.37

-88.09%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.90 R 14.83

$4.72 CHF 3.85

-80.93%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$4.96 R 81.7

$85.1 CHF 69.4

-94.17%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.54 R 25.37

$2.34 CHF 1.91

-34.19%

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

$35.4K R 582.8K

$39.3K CHF 32.1K

-10.03%

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

$33.4K R 549.9K

$35.5K CHF 29.0K

-6.10%

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

$117 R 1,929

$136 CHF 111

-13.82%

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

$25.71 R 424

$36.33 CHF 29.63

-29.23%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$39.41 R 649

$52.8 CHF 43.03

-25.30%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$51.6 R 850

$78.2 CHF 63.8

-33.99%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$11.35 R 187

Cinema Ticket

$8.89 R 146

$22.31 CHF 18.19

-60.15%

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

$308 R 5,069

$2,738 CHF 2,233

-88.77%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$8,141 R 134.2K

$41.7K CHF 34.0K

-80.49%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$57.4 R 946

$109 CHF 89.0

-47.41%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$31.75 R 523

$40.63 CHF 33.13

-21.86%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$116 R 1,911

$139 CHF 113

-16.36%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$101 R 1,660

$215 CHF 175

-53.08%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,047 R 17.2K

$1,279 CHF 1,043

-18.18%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$669 R 11.0K

$1,150 CHF 938

-41.84%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,861 R 30.7K

$2,325 CHF 1,896

-19.97%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,407 R 23.2K

$2,065 CHF 1,684

-31.86%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,410 R 39.7K

$9,897 CHF 8,071

-75.65%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,570 R 25.9K

$7,910 CHF 6,450

-80.16%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,630 R 26.9K

$5,757 CHF 4,695

-71.69%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

10.89

1.68

548.21%

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

Last update for Cape Town: November 2, 2026

Last update for Biel: November 2, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Cape Town

$669 43.8%

Biel

$1.2K 39.9% 71.9% $481

Groceries & Markets

Cape Town

$223 14.6%

Biel

$555 19.2% 148% $331

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Cape Town

$182 11.9%

Biel

$225 7.8% 23.5% $43

Eating Out

Cape Town

$174 11.4%

Biel

$456 15.8% 162% $282

Clothing & Footwear

Cape Town

$138 9%

Biel

$226 7.9% 64.5% $89

Getting Around

Cape Town

$72 4.7%

Biel

$147 5.1% 105% $75

Sport & Entertainment

Cape Town

$69 4.5%

Biel

$123 4.3% 77% $53

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $1,047 in Cape Town versus $1,279 in Biel. Rent is usually the largest line item in a monthly budget, so the gap here sets the tone for the overall comparison.

Salaries in Biel are about 3.5 times higher. Purchasing power depends on which expenses matter most to you.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $43 in Cape Town versus $108 in Biel. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $223 vs $555 – making Cape Town the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇿🇦 Cape Town

🇨🇭 Biel

🕒 Local time

06:37 6:37 AM

05:37 5:37 AM

1 h behind Cape Town

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

3,740,026 Capital

56,378

💱 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

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Between locations

Cape Town Biel 9,080 km ≈ 12 h nonstop flight

From you

Cape Town
Biel

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 Biel: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Yes – Biel is pricier by about 89%, and outside of rent the gap shows up most in groceries.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $2,291 per month in Cape Town and $4,323 in Biel. 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 $1,279 in Biel.

Public transport costs about 37% less in Cape Town. For daily commuters, that gap adds up to noticeable savings over a year.

Kindergarten costs $308 per month in Cape Town and $2,738 in Biel. For families with young kids, this one expense can tip the scales when choosing between the two cities.

$1,000 is a stretch for both – monthly costs hit $1,527 in Cape Town and $2,882 in Biel. 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, Biel makes more sense. Both are solid long-term options with distinct trade-offs.