Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Cape Town and Cahul

For one person, living is cheaper in Cahul: $635 a month against $1,586 in Cape Town, rent and utilities included – about $11,400 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

77

Cost of Living Index in Cape Town
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Cape Town Living Index
31

Cost of Living Index in Cahul
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Cahul Living Index

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Cape Town

🇿🇦 South Africa

$1,586

/mo nomad

Cahul

🇲🇩 Moldova

$635

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,586 in Cape Town versus $635 in Cahul.

Cape Town $1,586
Cahul $635

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,425 in Cape Town versus $927 in Cahul.

Cape Town $2,425
Cahul $927

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,263 in Cape Town versus $1,219 in Cahul.

Cape Town $3,263
Cahul $1,219

Living in Cape Town is roughly 150% more expensive than in Cahul, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in clothing.

The two cities straddle the global median: Cape Town is 17% above, Cahul is 53% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$12.14 R 200

$8.54 MDL 152

42.15%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$45.34 R 747

$23.42 MDL 416

93.60%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$5.88 R 96.9

$10.36 MDL 184

-43.24%

Cappuccino

$2.50 R 41.18

$1.67 MDL 29.62

49.70%

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

$1.27 R 20.94

$1.10 MDL 19.60

15.45%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.98 R 16.14

$0.58 MDL 10.39

68.97%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.99 R 49.33

$1.97 MDL 35.05

51.78%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.72 R 61.4

$1.80 MDL 32.05

106.67%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.30 R 21.40

$1.21 MDL 21.41

7.44%

White Bread (500g)

$1.25 R 20.68

$0.46 MDL 8.13

171.74%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.23 R 36.76

$1.55 MDL 27.58

43.87%

Eggs

$3.11 R 51.2

$2.15 MDL 38.13

44.65%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$9.06 R 149

$6.65 MDL 118

36.24%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$6.92 R 114

$4.69 MDL 83.3

47.55%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$9.30 R 153

$6.09 MDL 108

52.71%

Apples (1kg)

$1.84 R 30.25

$1.00 MDL 17.74

84.00%

Banana (1kg)

$1.96 R 32.29

$2.26 MDL 40.16

-13.27%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.67 R 27.45

$1.89 MDL 33.62

-11.64%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.17 R 35.70

$2.28 MDL 40.46

-4.82%

Potato (1kg)

$1.57 R 25.81

$0.77 MDL 13.69

103.90%

Onion (1kg)

$1.48 R 24.45

$0.48 MDL 8.51

208.33%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.30 R 21.41

$0.46 MDL 8.18

182.61%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.13 R 18.60

$0.55 MDL 9.76

105.45%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$3.60 R 59.3

$3.31 MDL 58.8

8.76%

Wine (Bottle)

$6.15 R 101

$4.54 MDL 80.7

35.46%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.38 R 22.66

$1.41 MDL 25.07

-2.13%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.14 R 35.20

$1.94 MDL 34.54

10.31%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.50 R 24.65

$0.27 MDL 4.78

455.56%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$60.8 R 1,001

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$0.59 R 9.71

$2.87 MDL 51.0

-79.44%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.50 R 24.65

$0.26 MDL 4.62

476.92%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$5.11 R 84.2

$5.69 MDL 101

-10.19%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.55 R 25.50

$1.57 MDL 27.84

-1.27%

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

$36.2K R 596.5K

$33.4K MDL 593.4K

8.36%

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

$31.2K R 514.8K

$23.8K MDL 422.6K

31.31%

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

$114 R 1,883

$225 MDL 3,990

-49.11%

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

$28.91 R 476

$8.06 MDL 143

258.68%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$39.73 R 654

$11.01 MDL 196

260.85%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$49.01 R 808

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$10.99 R 181

Cinema Ticket

$9.15 R 151

$7.74 MDL 137

18.22%

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

$259 R 4,264

$111 MDL 1,978

132.41%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$6,794 R 111.9K

$5,302 MDL 94.2K

28.15%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$56.2 R 926

$44.70 MDL 794

25.68%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$32.41 R 534

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$121 R 1,987

$55.5 MDL 985

117.34%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$108 R 1,781

$51.1 MDL 908

111.38%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,021 R 16.8K

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$717 R 11.8K

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,824 R 30.1K

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,327 R 21.9K

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,391 R 39.4K

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,542 R 25.4K

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,639 R 27.0K

$500 MDL 8,884

227.58%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

10.97

37.13%

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

Last update for Cape Town: October 10, 2026

Last update for Cahul: October 13, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Cape Town

$717 45.2%

Cahul

- * 0% 100%

Groceries & Markets

Cape Town

$225 14.2%

Cahul

$162 25.6% 27.8% $63

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Cape Town

$183 11.5%

Cahul

$244 38.4% 33.2% $61

Eating Out

Cape Town

$176 11.1%

Cahul

$140 22% 20.7% $37

Clothing & Footwear

Cape Town

$143 9%

Cahul

$68 * 10.7% 52.3% $75

Getting Around

Cape Town

$75 4.7%

Cahul

$5.3 * 0.8% 93% $70

Sport & Entertainment

Cape Town

$67 4.2%

Cahul

$15 * 2.4% 77% $52

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

Cost Breakdown

Cape Town pays 228% 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: $45.00 in Cape Town vs $23.00 in Cahul for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $225 vs $162 per month, with Cahul cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇿🇦 Cape Town

🇲🇩 Cahul

🕒 Local time

02:49 2:49 AM

03:49 3:49 AM

1 h ahead of Cape Town

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

3,740,026 Capital

39,500

💱 Currency

South African Rand ZAR R

Moldovan Leu MDL L

📈 Exchange rate

100 ZAR = 6.07 USD

100 ZAR = 5.4 EUR

100 MDL = 5.63 USD

100 MDL = 5.01 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

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

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇿🇦 South African Rand (R)

South African Rand exchange rates as of October 18, 2026: 1 USD = 16.48 ZAR (100 ZAR = 6.07 USD). 1 EUR = 18.52 ZAR (100 ZAR = 5.4 EUR).

Moldovan Leu exchange rates as of October 18, 2026: 1 USD = 17.76 MDL (100 MDL = 5.63 USD). 1 EUR = 19.97 MDL (100 MDL = 5.01 EUR).

USD to ZAR in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Cape Town Cahul 8,930 km ≈ 12 h nonstop flight

From you

Cape Town
Cahul

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 Cahul: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Cahul wins on cost – living expenses run 150% lower than in Cape Town. Housing and daily spending are where you'll feel the difference most, making Cahul the obvious pick if budget is a priority.

Average pay runs 228% 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.

Supermarket bills run roughly 39% higher in Cape Town. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

All in, you'll spend $1,586 per month in Cape Town versus $635 in Cahul – a 150% gap that adds up to real savings over time for anyone picking the cheaper option.

At $635 in Cahul versus $1,586 in Cape Town, a $1,000 budget is realistic in Cahul but tight or insufficient in Cape Town. The gap between the two cities makes Cahul the clear choice for anyone on this budget.

Both work as nomad bases, but Cahul delivers better value – similar infrastructure at $635 monthly. If stretching your runway or maximizing savings is the goal, the price difference makes Cahul hard to pass up.

Safety-wise, Cape Town and Cahul are on par. Petty crime is typical for cities this size, and most residents feel comfortable going about their daily routines in either place.

Expats usually find Cahul gentler on the wallet – expenses run 150% less than in Cape Town. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.