Last update: Nov 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Cape Town and Bourges

For one person, living is cheaper in Bourges: $1,294 a month against $1,527 in Cape Town, rent and utilities included – about $2,800 less a year. Higher rent and utilities in Cape Town outweigh lower spending on other living expenses.

74

Cost of Living Index in Cape Town
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Cape Town Living Index
62

Cost of Living Index in Bourges
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Bourges Living Index

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Cape Town

🇿🇦 South Africa

$1,527

/mo nomad

Bourges

🇫🇷 France

$1,294

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,527 in Cape Town versus $1,294 in Bourges.

Cape Town $1,527
Bourges $1,294

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,417 in Cape Town versus $2,365 in Bourges.

Cape Town $2,417
Bourges $2,365

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,306 in Cape Town versus $3,436 in Bourges.

Cape Town $3,306
Bourges $3,436

Living in Cape Town is roughly 18% more expensive than in Bourges, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in transport.

The two cities straddle the global median: Cape Town is 13% above, Bourges is 4% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$12.01 R 198

$16.67 €14.85

-27.95%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$42.92 R 707

$77.0 €68.6

-44.28%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$6.15 R 101

$13.30 €11.84

-53.76%

Cappuccino

$2.37 R 39.04

$5.23 €4.65

-54.68%

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

$1.27 R 20.96

$4.65 €4.14

-72.69%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.94 R 15.46

$2.66 €2.37

-64.66%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.96 R 48.77

$8.02 €7.14

-63.09%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.69 R 60.8

$6.54 €5.82

-43.58%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.32 R 21.73

$1.09 €0.97

21.10%

White Bread (500g)

$1.21 R 19.87

$2.59 €2.31

-53.28%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.20 R 36.26

$2.22 €1.97

-0.90%

Eggs

$3.10 R 51.1

$4.36 €3.88

-28.90%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$8.73 R 144

$22.45 €19.99

-61.11%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$6.89 R 114

$13.12 €11.68

-47.48%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$9.26 R 153

$22.75 €20.26

-59.30%

Apples (1kg)

$1.83 R 30.08

$3.27 €2.91

-44.04%

Banana (1kg)

$1.95 R 32.12

$2.24 €1.99

-12.95%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.66 R 27.32

$2.98 €2.65

-44.30%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.14 R 35.19

$4.35 €3.87

-50.80%

Potato (1kg)

$1.58 R 26.01

$1.90 €1.69

-16.84%

Onion (1kg)

$1.47 R 24.29

$2.50 €2.23

-41.20%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.35 R 22.18

$1.79 €1.59

-24.58%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.14 R 18.85

$0.83 €0.74

37.35%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$3.58 R 59.0

$14.52 €12.93

-75.34%

Wine (Bottle)

$6.05 R 99.7

$8.73 €7.78

-30.70%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.39 R 22.95

$2.64 €2.35

-47.35%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.18 R 35.90

$3.63 €3.23

-39.94%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.40 R 23.02

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$60.8 R 1,001

$20.38 €18.14

198.09%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$0.93 R 15.26

$6.51 €5.79

-85.71%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.90 R 14.83

$1.46 €1.30

-38.36%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$4.96 R 81.7

$46.11 €41.05

-89.24%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.54 R 25.37

$2.21 €1.97

-30.32%

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

$35.4K R 582.8K

$35.3K €31.5K

0.10%

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

$33.4K R 549.9K

$37.6K €33.4K

-11.14%

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

$117 R 1,929

$242 €215

-51.57%

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

$25.71 R 424

$7.93 €7.06

224.21%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$39.41 R 649

$29.55 €26.31

33.37%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$51.6 R 850

$39.45 €35.13

30.82%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$11.35 R 187

Cinema Ticket

$8.89 R 146

$15.74 €14.02

-43.52%

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

$308 R 5,069

$1,756 €1,564

-82.48%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$8,141 R 134.2K

$29.1K €25.9K

-72.06%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$57.4 R 946

$114 €102

-49.81%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$31.75 R 523

$51.0 €45.43

-37.78%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$116 R 1,911

$117 €105

-1.29%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$101 R 1,660

$157 €140

-35.77%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,047 R 17.2K

$641 €571

63.27%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$669 R 11.0K

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,861 R 30.7K

$1,173 €1,044

58.67%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,407 R 23.2K

$561 €499

151.03%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,410 R 39.7K

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,570 R 25.9K

$1,027 €914

52.89%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,630 R 26.9K

$2,834 €2,524

-42.50%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

10.89

3.45

215.65%

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

Last update for Cape Town: November 2, 2026

Last update for Bourges: November 2, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Cape Town

$669 43.8%

Bourges

- * 0% 100%

Groceries & Markets

Cape Town

$223 14.6%

Bourges

$393 30.4% 76.3% $170

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Cape Town

$182 11.9%

Bourges

$279 21.6% 53.2% $97

Eating Out

Cape Town

$174 11.4%

Bourges

$318 24.6% 83% $144

Clothing & Footwear

Cape Town

$138 9%

Bourges

$198 15.3% 43.8% $60

Getting Around

Cape Town

$72 4.7%

Bourges

$34 * 2.6% 52.3% $38

Sport & Entertainment

Cape Town

$69 4.5%

Bourges

$71 5.5% 2.2% $1.5

Categories marked with * are only partly priced – their share counts the items that do have prices.

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,047 in Cape Town and $641 in Bourges. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Bourges pays 74% more on average while also being the cheaper of the two. The combined effect is a noticeably stronger local purchasing power.

Dining out: $43 in Cape Town vs $77 in Bourges for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $223 vs $393 per month, with Cape Town cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇿🇦 Cape Town

🇫🇷 Bourges

🕒 Local time

05:25 5:25 AM

04:25 4:25 AM

1 h behind Cape Town

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

3,740,026 Capital

63,702

💱 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 Bourges 9,150 km ≈ 12 h nonstop flight

From you

Cape Town
Bourges

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 Bourges: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Bourges wins on cost – living expenses run 15% lower than in Cape Town. Housing and daily spending are where you’ll feel the difference most, making Bourges the obvious pick if budget is a priority.

On paper, salaries run 42% 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 $641 in Bourges. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Dining out is cheaper in Cape Town – a meal for two runs $43 versus $77 in Bourges. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

All in, you’ll spend $1,527 per month in Cape Town versus $1,294 in Bourges – Bourges is about 15% cheaper, which adds up to real savings over time.

Both cities are expensive relative to $1,000. Bourges 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.