Last update: Nov 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Cape Town and Brasilia

For one person, living is cheaper in Brasilia: $907 a month against $1,527 in Cape Town, rent and utilities included – about $7,400 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
43

Cost of Living Index in Brasilia
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Brasilia Living Index

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Cape Town

🇿🇦 South Africa

$1,527

/mo nomad

Brasilia

🇧🇷 Brazil

$907

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,527 in Cape Town versus $907 in Brasilia.

Cape Town $1,527
Brasilia $907

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,417 in Cape Town versus $1,501 in Brasilia.

Cape Town $2,417
Brasilia $1,501

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,306 in Cape Town versus $2,094 in Brasilia.

Cape Town $3,306
Brasilia $2,094

Living in Cape Town is roughly 68% more expensive than in Brasilia, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in utilities.

The two cities straddle the global median: Cape Town is 13% above, Brasilia is 33% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$12.01 R 198

$8.23 R$45.18

45.93%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$42.92 R 707

$37.50 R$206

14.45%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$6.15 R 101

$8.00 R$43.91

-23.12%

Cappuccino

$2.37 R 39.04

$2.44 R$13.37

-2.87%

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

$1.27 R 20.96

$1.37 R$7.53

-7.30%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.94 R 15.46

$0.97 R$5.34

-3.09%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.96 R 48.77

$2.27 R$12.43

30.40%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.69 R 60.8

$3.58 R$19.67

3.07%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.32 R 21.73

$0.94 R$5.17

40.43%

White Bread (500g)

$1.21 R 19.87

$1.93 R$10.60

-37.31%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.20 R 36.26

$1.22 R$6.68

80.33%

Eggs

$3.10 R 51.1

$2.25 R$12.33

37.78%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$8.73 R 144

$10.96 R$60.1

-20.35%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$6.89 R 114

$3.68 R$20.21

87.23%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$9.26 R 153

$8.16 R$44.78

13.48%

Apples (1kg)

$1.83 R 30.08

$2.28 R$12.51

-19.74%

Banana (1kg)

$1.95 R 32.12

$1.37 R$7.50

42.34%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.66 R 27.32

$1.24 R$6.81

33.87%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.14 R 35.19

$1.50 R$8.20

42.67%

Potato (1kg)

$1.58 R 26.01

$1.09 R$5.97

44.95%

Onion (1kg)

$1.47 R 24.29

$1.02 R$5.62

44.12%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.35 R 22.18

$0.76 R$4.17

77.63%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.14 R 18.85

$0.94 R$5.16

21.28%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$3.58 R 59.0

$2.34 R$12.83

52.99%

Wine (Bottle)

$6.05 R 99.7

$7.68 R$42.14

-21.22%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.39 R 22.95

$1.24 R$6.78

12.10%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.18 R 35.90

$2.22 R$12.20

-1.80%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.40 R 23.02

$0.77 R$4.24

81.82%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$60.8 R 1,001

$30.34 R$166

100.23%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$0.93 R 15.26

$1.20 R$6.58

-22.50%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.90 R 14.83

$0.84 R$4.63

7.14%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$4.96 R 81.7

$7.22 R$39.63

-31.30%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.54 R 25.37

$1.20 R$6.57

28.33%

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

$35.4K R 582.8K

$21.4K R$117.4K

65.29%

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

$33.4K R 549.9K

$31.7K R$173.7K

5.41%

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

$117 R 1,929

$87.9 R$482

33.25%

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

$25.71 R 424

$11.11 R$61.0

131.41%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$39.41 R 649

$20.19 R$111

95.20%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$51.6 R 850

$30.40 R$167

69.77%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$11.35 R 187

$25.58 R$140

-55.63%

Cinema Ticket

$8.89 R 146

$7.23 R$39.67

22.96%

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

$308 R 5,069

$765 R$4,200

-59.81%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$8,141 R 134.2K

$16.6K R$91.3K

-51.06%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$57.4 R 946

$53.1 R$291

8.14%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$31.75 R 523

$41.52 R$228

-23.53%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$116 R 1,911

$78.7 R$432

47.36%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$101 R 1,660

$81.4 R$446

23.80%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,047 R 17.2K

$508 R$2,785

106.21%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$669 R 11.0K

$246 R$1,352

171.60%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,861 R 30.7K

$1,132 R$6,211

64.37%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,407 R 23.2K

$584 R$3,207

140.77%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,410 R 39.7K

$2,281 R$12.5K

5.68%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,570 R 25.9K

$1,623 R$8,907

-3.31%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,630 R 26.9K

$859 R$4,716

89.65%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

10.89

12.12

-10.15%

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

Last update for Cape Town: November 2, 2026

Last update for Brasilia: November 1, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Cape Town

$669 43.8%

Brasilia

$246 27.2% 63.2% $423

Groceries & Markets

Cape Town

$223 14.6%

Brasilia

$196 21.6% 12.2% $27

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Cape Town

$182 11.9%

Brasilia

$119 13.1% 34.6% $63

Eating Out

Cape Town

$174 11.4%

Brasilia

$147 16.2% 15.5% $27

Clothing & Footwear

Cape Town

$138 9%

Brasilia

$115 12.6% 16.7% $23

Getting Around

Cape Town

$72 4.7%

Brasilia

$39 4.3% 45.9% $33

Sport & Entertainment

Cape Town

$69 4.5%

Brasilia

$45 5% 35.4% $25

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,047 in Cape Town and $508 in Brasilia. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Cape Town pays 90% more on average. How far that income stretches comes down to housing choices and lifestyle.

Dining out: $43 in Cape Town vs $38 in Brasilia for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $223 vs $196 per month, with Brasilia cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇿🇦 Cape Town

🇧🇷 Brasilia

🕒 Local time

15:29 3:29 PM

10:29 10:29 AM

5 h behind Cape Town

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

3,740,026 Capital

2,817,381 Capital

💱 Currency

South African Rand ZAR R

Brazilian Real BRL R$

📈 Exchange rate

100 ZAR = 6.07 USD

100 ZAR = 5.4 EUR

1 BRL = 0.182 USD

1 BRL = 0.162 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

BRL, 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).

Brazilian Real exchange rates as of November 6, 2026: 1 USD = 5.49 BRL (1 BRL = 0.182 USD). 1 EUR = 6.16 BRL (1 BRL = 0.162 EUR).

USD to ZAR in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Cape Town Brasilia 6,870 km ≈ 9 h nonstop flight

From you

Cape Town
Brasilia

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 Brasilia: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Total monthly costs including rent come to $1,527 in Cape Town and $907 in Brasilia, so Brasilia is about 41% cheaper – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

Average pay runs 90% higher in Cape Town, which matters when comparing affordability. Whether that higher income actually nets you more depends on your spending habits and housing choices.

Rent for a central apartment: $1,047 in Cape Town versus $508 in Brasilia. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Dining out is cheaper in Brasilia – a meal for two runs $38 versus $43 in Cape Town. 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 $907 in Brasilia – Brasilia is about 41% cheaper, which adds up to real savings over time.

At $907 in Brasilia versus $1,527 in Cape Town, a $1,200 budget is realistic in Brasilia but tight or insufficient in Cape Town. The gap between the two cities makes Brasilia the clear choice for anyone on this budget.

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.

Expats usually find Brasilia gentler on the wallet – expenses run 41% less than in Cape Town. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.