Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Cape Town and Bucharest

For one person, living is cheaper in Bucharest: $1,351 a month against $1,568 in Cape Town, rent and utilities included – about $2,600 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

76

Cost of Living Index in Cape Town
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Cape Town Living Index
65

Cost of Living Index in Bucharest
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Bucharest Living Index

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Cape Town

🇿🇦 South Africa

$1,568

/mo nomad

Bucharest

🇷🇴 Romania

$1,351

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,568 in Cape Town versus $1,351 in Bucharest.

Cape Town $1,568
Bucharest $1,351

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,438 in Cape Town versus $2,033 in Bucharest.

Cape Town $2,438
Bucharest $2,033

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,307 in Cape Town versus $2,715 in Bucharest.

Cape Town $3,307
Bucharest $2,715

Living in Cape Town is roughly 16% more expensive than in Bucharest, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Both cities are pricier than the global median: Cape Town 17% above, Bucharest 1% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$11.78 R 195

$14.46 RON 68.9

-18.53%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$46.55 R 772

$57.7 RON 275

-19.25%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$5.96 R 98.9

$7.50 RON 35.72

-20.53%

Cappuccino

$2.47 R 41.01

$3.43 RON 16.32

-27.99%

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

$1.33 R 22.03

$2.46 RON 11.72

-45.93%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.03 R 17.08

$2.33 RON 11.09

-55.79%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.01 R 49.98

$3.80 RON 18.10

-20.79%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.66 R 60.8

$4.10 RON 19.56

-10.73%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.39 R 23.08

$1.65 RON 7.85

-15.76%

White Bread (500g)

$1.19 R 19.70

$1.35 RON 6.44

-11.85%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.11 R 35.02

$1.78 RON 8.48

18.54%

Eggs

$3.01 R 49.84

$3.66 RON 17.46

-17.76%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$8.96 R 149

$8.57 RON 40.84

4.55%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$6.65 R 110

$6.80 RON 32.41

-2.21%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$9.29 R 154

$11.72 RON 55.8

-20.73%

Apples (1kg)

$1.83 R 30.28

$1.29 RON 6.16

41.86%

Banana (1kg)

$1.90 R 31.47

$1.56 RON 7.43

21.79%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.75 R 28.98

$1.54 RON 7.34

13.64%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.09 R 34.59

$2.48 RON 11.84

-15.73%

Potato (1kg)

$1.55 R 25.78

$0.83 RON 3.95

86.75%

Onion (1kg)

$1.49 R 24.65

$0.80 RON 3.80

86.25%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.30 R 21.53

$0.84 RON 4.01

54.76%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.16 R 19.29

$0.93 RON 4.42

24.73%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$3.71 R 61.5

$6.44 RON 30.68

-42.39%

Wine (Bottle)

$6.06 R 101

$6.32 RON 30.13

-4.11%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.39 R 22.97

$1.26 RON 5.99

10.32%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.20 R 36.51

$1.60 RON 7.65

37.50%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.51 R 25.11

$0.81 RON 3.88

86.42%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$61.0 R 1,011

$21.13 RON 101

188.50%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$0.63 R 10.38

$0.60 RON 2.88

5.00%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.53 R 25.42

$0.61 RON 2.93

150.82%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$4.81 R 79.8

$6.17 RON 29.41

-22.04%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.58 R 26.22

$1.96 RON 9.34

-19.39%

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

$35.5K R 588.7K

$28.1K RON 134.2K

26.11%

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

$31.7K R 526.6K

$26.3K RON 125.3K

20.77%

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

$116 R 1,930

$197 RON 938

-40.88%

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

$28.37 R 471

$8.34 RON 39.74

240.17%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$40.69 R 675

$9.19 RON 43.80

342.76%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$48.85 R 810

$49.87 RON 238

-2.05%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$11.13 R 185

$24.99 RON 119

-55.46%

Cinema Ticket

$8.83 R 146

$8.46 RON 40.31

4.37%

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

$261 R 4,336

$639 RON 3,046

-59.10%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$6,702 R 111.2K

$14.4K RON 68.6K

-53.43%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$55.4 R 919

$90.6 RON 432

-38.85%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$32.27 R 535

$38.05 RON 181

-15.19%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$118 R 1,949

$79.7 RON 380

47.51%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$107 R 1,775

$93.2 RON 444

14.81%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,015 R 16.8K

$673 RON 3,209

50.75%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$715 R 11.9K

$449 RON 2,139

59.36%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,801 R 29.9K

$1,098 RON 5,234

63.98%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,330 R 22.1K

$729 RON 3,474

82.51%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,331 R 38.7K

$3,740 RON 17.8K

-37.68%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,513 R 25.1K

$2,189 RON 10.4K

-30.88%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,636 R 27.1K

$1,323 RON 6,306

23.64%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

10.97

6.74

62.76%

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

Last update for Cape Town: October 4, 2026

Last update for Bucharest: October 3, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Cape Town

$715 45.3%

Bucharest

$449 33.5% 37.3% $266

Groceries & Markets

Cape Town

$222 14.1%

Bucharest

$222 16.5% 0.3% $0.7

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Cape Town

$185 11.7%

Bucharest

$214 16% 15.6% $29

Eating Out

Cape Town

$174 11%

Bucharest

$226 16.8% 29.9% $52

Clothing & Footwear

Cape Town

$141 8.9%

Bucharest

$136 10.1% 3.4% $4.8

Getting Around

Cape Town

$75 4.8%

Bucharest

$28 2.1% 62.7% $47

Sport & Entertainment

Cape Town

$67 4.2%

Bucharest

$67 5% 0.4% $0.3

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,015 in Cape Town and $673 in Bucharest. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Cape Town pays 24% more on average. The extra income cushions the higher costs, though housing choices and lifestyle decide how much of the gap is truly closed.

Dining out: $47.00 in Cape Town vs $58.0 in Bucharest for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $222 vs $222 per month, with Cape Town cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇿🇦 Cape Town

🇷🇴 Bucharest

🕒 Local time

04:47 4:47 AM

05:47 5:47 AM

1 h ahead of Cape Town

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

3,740,026 Capital

1,883,425 Capital

💱 Currency

South African Rand ZAR R

Romanian Leu RON lei

📈 Exchange rate

100 ZAR = 6.03 USD

100 ZAR = 5.38 EUR

1 RON = 0.21 USD

1 RON = 0.187 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

RON, USD, EUR to ZAR – South African Rand Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇿🇦 South African Rand (R)

South African Rand exchange rates as of October 10, 2026: 1 USD = 16.59 ZAR (100 ZAR = 6.03 USD). 1 EUR = 18.6 ZAR (100 ZAR = 5.38 EUR).

Romanian Leu exchange rates as of October 10, 2026: 1 USD = 4.77 RON (1 RON = 0.21 USD). 1 EUR = 5.35 RON (1 RON = 0.187 EUR).

USD to ZAR in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Cape Town Bucharest 8,750 km ≈ 11 h nonstop flight

From you

Cape Town
Bucharest

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 Bucharest: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Cape Town and Bucharest differ by about 16% in total monthly costs ($1,568 vs $1,351 including rent). Bucharest is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

Average pay runs 24% 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: $1,015 in Cape Town versus $673 in Bucharest. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

All in, you'll spend $1,568 per month in Cape Town versus $1,351 in Bucharest – a 16% gap that adds up to real savings over time for anyone picking the cheaper option.

A monthly transit pass in Bucharest runs roughly 188% less than in Cape Town. Both cities have functional networks, but the price difference matters if you're watching your budget.

At $1,351 in Bucharest versus $1,568 in Cape Town, a $2,000 budget is realistic in Bucharest but tight or insufficient in Cape Town. The gap between the two cities makes Bucharest 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 Bucharest gentler on the wallet – expenses run 16% less than in Cape Town. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.