Last update: Nov 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Cape Town and Boras

For one person, living is cheaper in Cape Town: $1,527 a month against $1,913 in Boras, rent and utilities included – about $4,600 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
92

Cost of Living Index in Boras
Learn more

Boras Living Index

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Cape Town

🇿🇦 South Africa

$1,527

/mo nomad

Boras

🇸🇪 Sweden

$1,913

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,527 in Cape Town versus $1,913 in Boras.

Cape Town $1,527
Boras $1,913

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,417 in Cape Town versus $2,241 in Boras.

Cape Town $2,417
Boras $2,241

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,306 in Cape Town versus $2,568 in Boras.

Cape Town $3,306
Boras $2,568

Living in Cape Town costs roughly 20% less than in Boras, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Both cities are pricier than the global median: Cape Town 13% above, Boras 42% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$12.01 R 198

$13.05 SEK 128

-7.97%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$42.92 R 707

$90.8 SEK 891

-52.74%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$6.15 R 101

$10.38 SEK 102

-40.75%

Cappuccino

$2.37 R 39.04

$4.25 SEK 41.72

-44.24%

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

$1.27 R 20.96

$2.12 SEK 20.77

-40.09%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.94 R 15.46

$2.06 SEK 20.24

-54.37%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.96 R 48.77

$6.95 SEK 68.2

-57.41%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.69 R 60.8

$6.99 SEK 68.6

-47.21%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.32 R 21.73

$1.78 SEK 17.51

-25.84%

White Bread (500g)

$1.21 R 19.87

$2.60 SEK 25.53

-53.46%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.20 R 36.26

$3.00 SEK 29.40

-26.67%

Eggs

$3.10 R 51.1

$4.54 SEK 44.53

-31.72%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$8.73 R 144

$12.39 SEK 122

-29.54%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$6.89 R 114

$11.94 SEK 117

-42.29%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$9.26 R 153

$15.78 SEK 155

-41.32%

Apples (1kg)

$1.83 R 30.08

$3.09 SEK 30.33

-40.78%

Banana (1kg)

$1.95 R 32.12

$2.67 SEK 26.15

-26.97%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.66 R 27.32

$2.88 SEK 28.27

-42.36%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.14 R 35.19

$3.69 SEK 36.16

-42.01%

Potato (1kg)

$1.58 R 26.01

$1.50 SEK 14.67

5.33%

Onion (1kg)

$1.47 R 24.29

$1.40 SEK 13.78

5.00%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.35 R 22.18

$2.30 SEK 22.58

-41.30%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.14 R 18.85

$1.41 SEK 13.82

-19.15%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$3.58 R 59.0

$6.84 SEK 67.1

-47.66%

Wine (Bottle)

$6.05 R 99.7

$8.35 SEK 81.9

-27.54%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.39 R 22.95

$1.76 SEK 17.22

-21.02%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.18 R 35.90

$1.67 SEK 16.38

30.54%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.40 R 23.02

$3.72 SEK 36.48

-62.37%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$60.8 R 1,001

$79.2 SEK 777

-23.29%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$0.93 R 15.26

$5.19 SEK 50.9

-82.08%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.90 R 14.83

$1.08 SEK 10.56

-16.67%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$4.96 R 81.7

$42.40 SEK 416

-88.30%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.54 R 25.37

$1.85 SEK 18.15

-16.76%

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

$35.4K R 582.8K

$25.7K SEK 252.6K

37.34%

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

$33.4K R 549.9K

$15.3K SEK 150.2K

117.96%

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

$117 R 1,929

$61.0 SEK 598

92.04%

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

$25.71 R 424

$29.01 SEK 285

-11.38%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$39.41 R 649

$40.54 SEK 398

-2.79%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$51.6 R 850

$35.84 SEK 352

44.00%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$11.35 R 187

$25.06 SEK 246

-54.71%

Cinema Ticket

$8.89 R 146

$15.21 SEK 149

-41.55%

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

$308 R 5,069

$163 SEK 1,598

88.82%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$8,141 R 134.2K

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$57.4 R 946

$50.3 SEK 494

14.01%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$31.75 R 523

$51.5 SEK 505

-38.34%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$116 R 1,911

$80.5 SEK 790

44.05%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$101 R 1,660

$101 SEK 992

-0.38%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,047 R 17.2K

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$669 R 11.0K

$891 SEK 8,738

-24.86%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,861 R 30.7K

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,407 R 23.2K

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,410 R 39.7K

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,570 R 25.9K

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,630 R 26.9K

$3,054 SEK 30.0K

-46.64%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

10.89

4.8

126.88%

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

Last update for Cape Town: November 2, 2026

Last update for Boras: November 2, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Cape Town

$669 43.8%

Boras

$891 46.5% 33.1% $221

Groceries & Markets

Cape Town

$223 14.6%

Boras

$342 17.9% 53.2% $119

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Cape Town

$182 11.9%

Boras

$131 6.8% 28.4% $52

Eating Out

Cape Town

$174 11.4%

Boras

$252 13.2% 44.8% $78

Clothing & Footwear

Cape Town

$138 9%

Boras

$128 6.7% 7.3% $10

Getting Around

Cape Town

$72 4.7%

Boras

$105 5.5% 45.8% $33

Sport & Entertainment

Cape Town

$69 4.5%

Boras

$66 3.5% 4.5% $3.1

Cost Breakdown

Boras pays 87% more on average. How far that income stretches comes down to housing choices and lifestyle.

Dining out: $43 in Cape Town vs $91 in Boras for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $223 vs $342 per month, with Cape Town cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇿🇦 Cape Town

🇸🇪 Boras

🕒 Local time

03:27 3:27 AM

02:27 2:27 AM

1 h behind Cape Town

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

3,740,026 Capital

66,273

💱 Currency

South African Rand ZAR R

Swedish Krona SEK kr

📈 Exchange rate

100 ZAR = 6.07 USD

100 ZAR = 5.41 EUR

100 SEK = 10.19 USD

100 SEK = 9.08 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

SEK, 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).

Swedish Krona exchange rates as of November 6, 2026: 1 USD = 9.81 SEK (1 SEK = 0.102 USD). 1 EUR = 11.01 SEK (100 SEK = 9.08 EUR).

USD to ZAR in detail →

On the map

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Highest

Between locations

Cape Town Boras 10,200 km ≈ 13 h nonstop flight

From you

Cape Town
Boras

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 Boras: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Cape Town is about 20% cheaper overall, especially in groceries, eating out, and transport. That difference adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

On paper, salaries run 47% 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.

All in, you’ll spend $1,527 per month in Cape Town versus $1,913 in Boras – Cape Town is about 20% cheaper, which adds up to real savings over time.

A monthly transit pass in Cape Town runs roughly 23% less than in Boras. The price difference matters if you commute daily and watch your budget.

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, Boras on earning potential. Factor in climate, language, visa rules, and proximity to places that matter to you before deciding.