Last update: Nov 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Cape Town and Bilbao

For one person, living is cheaper in Cape Town: $1,527 a month against $2,157 in Bilbao, rent and utilities included – about $7,600 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
104

Cost of Living Index in Bilbao
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Bilbao Living Index

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Cape Town

🇿🇦 South Africa

$1,527

/mo nomad

Bilbao

🇪🇸 Spain

$2,157

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,527 in Cape Town versus $2,157 in Bilbao.

Cape Town $1,527
Bilbao $2,157

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,417 in Cape Town versus $3,105 in Bilbao.

Cape Town $2,417
Bilbao $3,105

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,306 in Cape Town versus $4,053 in Bilbao.

Cape Town $3,306
Bilbao $4,053

Living in Cape Town costs roughly 29% less than in Bilbao, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Both cities are pricier than the global median: Cape Town 13% above, Bilbao 60% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$12.01 R 198

$21.95 €19.54

-45.28%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$42.92 R 707

$72.7 €64.7

-40.96%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$6.15 R 101

$12.38 €11.02

-50.32%

Cappuccino

$2.37 R 39.04

$2.65 €2.36

-10.57%

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

$1.27 R 20.96

$3.15 €2.81

-59.68%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.94 R 15.46

$1.81 €1.61

-48.07%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.96 R 48.77

$3.30 €2.94

-10.30%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.69 R 60.8

$3.35 €2.98

10.15%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.32 R 21.73

$1.29 €1.15

2.33%

White Bread (500g)

$1.21 R 19.87

$1.65 €1.47

-26.67%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.20 R 36.26

$1.49 €1.33

47.65%

Eggs

$3.10 R 51.1

$3.30 €2.94

-6.06%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$8.73 R 144

$15.64 €13.92

-44.18%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$6.89 R 114

$8.29 €7.38

-16.89%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$9.26 R 153

$14.34 €12.77

-35.43%

Apples (1kg)

$1.83 R 30.08

$2.87 €2.56

-36.24%

Banana (1kg)

$1.95 R 32.12

$2.09 €1.86

-6.70%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.66 R 27.32

$2.52 €2.25

-34.13%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.14 R 35.19

$2.57 €2.29

-16.73%

Potato (1kg)

$1.58 R 26.01

$1.57 €1.40

0.64%

Onion (1kg)

$1.47 R 24.29

$2.48 €2.21

-40.73%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.35 R 22.18

$1.31 €1.17

3.05%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.14 R 18.85

$0.87 €0.78

31.03%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$3.58 R 59.0

$6.61 €5.89

-45.84%

Wine (Bottle)

$6.05 R 99.7

$8.01 €7.13

-24.47%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.39 R 22.95

$1.56 €1.39

-10.90%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.18 R 35.90

$2.57 €2.28

-15.18%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.40 R 23.02

$1.88 €1.67

-25.53%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$60.8 R 1,001

$50.8 €45.23

19.59%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$0.93 R 15.26

$5.63 €5.01

-83.48%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.90 R 14.83

$1.03 €0.92

-12.62%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$4.96 R 81.7

$24.72 €22.01

-79.94%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.54 R 25.37

$1.84 €1.64

-16.30%

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

$35.4K R 582.8K

$33.4K €29.8K

5.73%

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

$33.4K R 549.9K

$32.3K €28.8K

3.17%

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

$117 R 1,929

$142 €126

-17.35%

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

$25.71 R 424

$20.39 €18.16

26.09%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$39.41 R 649

$29.72 €26.46

32.60%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$51.6 R 850

$51.2 €45.55

0.88%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$11.35 R 187

$15.08 €13.43

-24.73%

Cinema Ticket

$8.89 R 146

$10.08 €8.98

-11.81%

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

$308 R 5,069

$525 €467

-41.39%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$8,141 R 134.2K

$17.5K €15.6K

-53.49%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$57.4 R 946

$102 €90.6

-43.61%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$31.75 R 523

$36.90 €32.85

-13.96%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$116 R 1,911

$75.9 €67.6

52.80%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$101 R 1,660

$144 €128

-30.05%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,047 R 17.2K

$1,355 €1,206

-22.75%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$669 R 11.0K

$1,092 €972

-38.72%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,861 R 30.7K

$2,061 €1,835

-9.71%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,407 R 23.2K

$1,560 €1,389

-9.77%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,410 R 39.7K

$5,729 €5,101

-57.93%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,570 R 25.9K

$3,749 €3,338

-58.14%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,630 R 26.9K

$2,361 €2,102

-30.97%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

10.89

2.98

265.44%

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

Last update for Cape Town: November 2, 2026

Last update for Bilbao: November 1, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Cape Town

$669 43.8%

Bilbao

$1.1K 50.6% 63.2% $423

Groceries & Markets

Cape Town

$223 14.6%

Bilbao

$284 13.2% 27.2% $61

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Cape Town

$182 11.9%

Bilbao

$192 8.9% 5.3% $9.6

Eating Out

Cape Town

$174 11.4%

Bilbao

$288 13.3% 65.2% $114

Clothing & Footwear

Cape Town

$138 9%

Bilbao

$161 7.5% 17.2% $24

Getting Around

Cape Town

$72 4.7%

Bilbao

$69 3.2% 3.7% $2.7

Sport & Entertainment

Cape Town

$69 4.5%

Bilbao

$71 3.3% 2.8% $1.9

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,047 in Cape Town and $1,355 in Bilbao. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Bilbao pays 45% more on average. How far that income stretches comes down to housing choices and lifestyle.

Dining out: $43 in Cape Town vs $73 in Bilbao for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $223 vs $284 per month, with Cape Town cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇿🇦 Cape Town

🇪🇸 Bilbao

🕒 Local time

04:47 4:47 AM

03:47 3:47 AM

1 h behind Cape Town

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

3,740,026 Capital

346,096

💱 Currency

South African Rand ZAR R

Euro EUR €

📈 Exchange rate

100 ZAR = 6.07 USD

100 ZAR = 5.41 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 = 16.48 ZAR (100 ZAR = 6.07 USD). 1 EUR = 18.5 ZAR (100 ZAR = 5.41 EUR).

Euro exchange rates as of November 6, 2026: 1 USD = 0.89 EUR (1 EUR = 1.12 USD).

USD to ZAR in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Cape Town Bilbao 8,850 km ≈ 12 h nonstop flight

From you

Cape Town
Bilbao

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 Bilbao: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Total monthly costs including rent come to $1,527 in Cape Town and $2,157 in Bilbao, so Cape Town is about 29% cheaper – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

On paper, salaries run 31% 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 $1,355 in Bilbao. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $308 in Cape Town versus $525 in Bilbao. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Supermarket bills run roughly 27% higher in Bilbao. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

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.

It comes down to priorities – Cape Town wins on affordability, Bilbao on earning potential. Factor in climate, language, visa rules, and proximity to places that matter to you before deciding.