Last update: Nov 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Cape Town and Bydgoszcz

For one person, living costs are similar in Cape Town and in Bydgoszcz: $1,527 and $1,497 a month, rent and utilities included.

74

Cost of Living Index in Cape Town
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Cape Town Living Index
71

Cost of Living Index in Bydgoszcz
Learn more

Bydgoszcz Living Index

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Cape Town

🇿🇦 South Africa

$1,527

/mo nomad

Bydgoszcz

🇵🇱 Poland

$1,497

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,527 in Cape Town versus $1,497 in Bydgoszcz.

Cape Town $1,527
Bydgoszcz $1,497

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,417 in Cape Town versus $2,281 in Bydgoszcz.

Cape Town $2,417
Bydgoszcz $2,281

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,306 in Cape Town versus $3,065 in Bydgoszcz.

Cape Town $3,306
Bydgoszcz $3,065

Monthly costs are close between Cape Town and Bydgoszcz; which city is cheaper depends on the spending category.

Both cities are pricier than the global median: Cape Town 13% above, Bydgoszcz 11% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$12.01 R 199

$11.82 zł 46.47

1.61%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$42.92 R 709

$62.2 zł 245

-31.02%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$6.15 R 102

$7.54 zł 29.66

-18.44%

Cappuccino

$2.37 R 39.16

$3.32 zł 13.05

-28.61%

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

$1.27 R 21.03

$2.09 zł 8.22

-39.23%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.94 R 15.50

$1.67 zł 6.59

-43.71%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.96 R 48.92

$3.97 zł 15.63

-25.44%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.69 R 61.0

$3.77 zł 14.82

-2.12%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.32 R 21.80

$1.00 zł 3.94

32.00%

White Bread (500g)

$1.21 R 19.93

$1.65 zł 6.50

-26.67%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.20 R 36.37

$0.91 zł 3.57

141.76%

Eggs

$3.10 R 51.3

$3.74 zł 14.72

-17.11%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$8.73 R 144

$9.11 zł 35.81

-4.17%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$6.89 R 114

$7.08 zł 27.83

-2.68%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$9.26 R 153

$11.39 zł 44.80

-18.70%

Apples (1kg)

$1.83 R 30.17

$1.29 zł 5.05

41.86%

Banana (1kg)

$1.95 R 32.22

$1.68 zł 6.62

16.07%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.66 R 27.40

$1.55 zł 6.08

7.10%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.14 R 35.30

$3.06 zł 12.05

-30.07%

Potato (1kg)

$1.58 R 26.09

$1.00 zł 3.93

58.00%

Onion (1kg)

$1.47 R 24.37

$1.30 zł 5.13

13.08%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.35 R 22.25

$1.11 zł 4.36

21.62%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.14 R 18.91

$0.69 zł 2.71

65.22%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$3.58 R 59.1

$5.42 zł 21.33

-33.95%

Wine (Bottle)

$6.05 R 100

$8.26 zł 32.49

-26.76%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.39 R 23.02

$1.01 zł 3.96

37.62%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.18 R 36.01

$1.36 zł 5.35

60.29%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.40 R 23.09

$0.92 zł 3.61

52.17%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$60.8 R 1,004

$26.86 zł 106

126.17%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$0.93 R 15.31

$2.25 zł 8.86

-58.67%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.90 R 14.88

$0.93 zł 3.64

-3.23%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$4.96 R 82.0

$10.21 zł 40.15

-51.42%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.54 R 25.45

$1.63 zł 6.41

-5.52%

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

$35.4K R 584.6K

$30.2K zł 118.6K

17.27%

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

$33.4K R 551.6K

$28.4K zł 111.6K

17.61%

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

$117 R 1,935

$282 zł 1,108

-58.45%

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

$25.71 R 425

$7.86 zł 30.92

227.10%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$39.41 R 651

$19.16 zł 75.4

105.69%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$51.6 R 853

$42.28 zł 166

22.07%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$11.35 R 188

$16.41 zł 64.5

-30.83%

Cinema Ticket

$8.89 R 147

$7.38 zł 29.01

20.46%

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

$308 R 5,085

$323 zł 1,272

-4.86%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$8,141 R 134.6K

$7,292 zł 28.7K

11.65%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$57.4 R 948

$82.2 zł 323

-30.19%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$31.75 R 525

$36.87 zł 145

-13.89%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$116 R 1,917

$87.1 zł 343

33.12%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$101 R 1,665

$102 zł 400

-1.02%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,047 R 17.3K

$704 zł 2,769

48.63%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$669 R 11.1K

$533 zł 2,095

25.62%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,861 R 30.8K

$1,296 zł 5,098

43.53%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,407 R 23.3K

$999 zł 3,927

40.92%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,410 R 39.8K

$2,919 zł 11.5K

-17.44%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,570 R 25.9K

$2,185 zł 8,595

-28.18%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,630 R 26.9K

$1,571 zł 6,177

3.76%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

10.89

6.89

58.06%

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

Last update for Cape Town: November 2, 2026

Last update for Bydgoszcz: November 3, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Cape Town

$669 43.8%

Bydgoszcz

$533 35.6% 20.4% $136

Groceries & Markets

Cape Town

$223 14.6%

Bydgoszcz

$223 14.9% 0.3% $0.6

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Cape Town

$182 11.9%

Bydgoszcz

$309 20.6% 69.5% $127

Eating Out

Cape Town

$174 11.4%

Bydgoszcz

$199 13.3% 14.6% $25

Clothing & Footwear

Cape Town

$138 9%

Bydgoszcz

$139 9.3% 0.7% $0.9

Getting Around

Cape Town

$72 4.7%

Bydgoszcz

$37 2.5% 47.9% $34

Sport & Entertainment

Cape Town

$69 4.5%

Bydgoszcz

$57 3.8% 17.8% $12

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,047 in Cape Town and $704 in Bydgoszcz. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Cape Town pays 4% more on average. How far that income stretches comes down to housing choices and lifestyle.

Dining out: $43 in Cape Town vs $62 in Bydgoszcz for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $223 vs $223 per month, with Cape Town cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇿🇦 Cape Town

🇵🇱 Bydgoszcz

🕒 Local time

23:17 11:17 PM

22:17 10:17 PM

1 h behind Cape Town

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

3,740,026 Capital

359,428

💱 Currency

South African Rand ZAR R

Polish Złoty PLN zł

📈 Exchange rate

100 ZAR = 6.05 USD

100 ZAR = 5.41 EUR

1 PLN = 0.254 USD

1 PLN = 0.228 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

PLN, 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 = 16.53 ZAR (100 ZAR = 6.05 USD). 1 EUR = 18.47 ZAR (100 ZAR = 5.41 EUR).

Polish Złoty exchange rates as of November 6, 2026: 1 USD = 3.93 PLN (1 PLN = 0.254 USD). 1 EUR = 4.4 PLN (1 PLN = 0.228 EUR).

USD to ZAR in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Cape Town Bydgoszcz 9,680 km ≈ 13 h nonstop flight

From you

Cape Town
Bydgoszcz

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 Bydgoszcz: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Average pay runs 4% 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 $704 in Bydgoszcz. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

A monthly transit pass in Bydgoszcz runs roughly 56% less than in Cape Town. The price difference matters if you commute daily and watch your budget.

Dining out is cheaper in Cape Town – a meal for two runs $43 versus $62 in Bydgoszcz. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

Both cities are expensive relative to $1,000. Bydgoszcz 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 – Bydgoszcz wins on affordability, Cape Town on earning potential. Factor in climate, language, visa rules, and proximity to places that matter to you before deciding.