Last update: Nov 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Cape Town and Calama

For one person, living is cheaper in Calama: $593 a month against $1,527 in Cape Town, rent and utilities included – about $11,200 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
28

Cost of Living Index in Calama
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Calama Living Index

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Cape Town

🇿🇦 South Africa

$1,527

/mo nomad

Calama

🇨🇱 Chile

$593

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,527 in Cape Town versus $593 in Calama.

Cape Town $1,527
Calama $593

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,417 in Cape Town versus $1,202 in Calama.

Cape Town $2,417
Calama $1,202

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,306 in Cape Town versus $1,812 in Calama.

Cape Town $3,306
Calama $1,812

Living in Cape Town is roughly 158% more expensive than in Calama, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in clothing.

The two cities straddle the global median: Cape Town is 13% above, Calama is 56% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$12.01 R 197

$6.95 CLP 6,704

72.81%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$42.92 R 703

$31.55 CLP 30.4K

36.04%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$6.15 R 101

Cappuccino

$2.37 R 38.81

$2.10 CLP 2,025

12.86%

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

$1.27 R 20.84

$0.96 CLP 922

32.29%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.94 R 15.37

$0.91 CLP 876

3.30%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.96 R 48.48

$3.03 CLP 2,917

-2.31%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.69 R 60.5

$5.14 CLP 4,951

-28.21%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.32 R 21.61

$1.09 CLP 1,050

21.10%

White Bread (500g)

$1.21 R 19.75

$0.78 CLP 754

55.13%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.20 R 36.05

$2.70 CLP 2,607

-18.52%

Eggs

$3.10 R 50.8

$4.85 CLP 4,673

-36.08%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$8.73 R 143

$9.10 CLP 8,776

-4.07%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$6.89 R 113

$6.14 CLP 5,917

12.21%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$9.26 R 152

$7.73 CLP 7,449

19.79%

Apples (1kg)

$1.83 R 29.90

$1.23 CLP 1,187

48.78%

Banana (1kg)

$1.95 R 31.94

$1.04 CLP 1,003

87.50%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.66 R 27.16

$1.58 CLP 1,519

5.06%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.14 R 34.99

$1.10 CLP 1,064

94.55%

Potato (1kg)

$1.58 R 25.86

$0.89 CLP 857

77.53%

Onion (1kg)

$1.47 R 24.15

$0.93 CLP 900

58.06%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.35 R 22.05

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.14 R 18.75

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$3.58 R 58.6

$5.15 CLP 4,966

-30.49%

Wine (Bottle)

$6.05 R 99.2

$3.96 CLP 3,816

52.78%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.39 R 22.82

$1.00 CLP 963

39.00%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.18 R 35.69

$1.25 CLP 1,202

74.40%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.40 R 22.88

$0.89 CLP 861

57.30%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$60.8 R 995

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$0.93 R 15.18

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.90 R 14.75

$1.43 CLP 1,383

-37.06%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$4.96 R 81.3

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.54 R 25.23

$1.45 CLP 1,399

6.21%

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

$35.4K R 579.4K

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

$33.4K R 546.7K

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

$117 R 1,918

$41.47 CLP 40.0K

182.30%

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

$25.71 R 421

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$39.41 R 646

$13.20 CLP 12.7K

198.56%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$51.6 R 846

$50.4 CLP 48.6K

2.40%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$11.35 R 186

$20.09 CLP 19.4K

-43.50%

Cinema Ticket

$8.89 R 146

$4.47 CLP 4,307

98.88%

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

$308 R 5,040

$303 CLP 292.2K

1.52%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$8,141 R 133.4K

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$57.4 R 940

$35.44 CLP 34.2K

61.91%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$31.75 R 520

$28.01 CLP 27.0K

13.35%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$116 R 1,900

$45.68 CLP 44.0K

153.85%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$101 R 1,650

$60.1 CLP 58.0K

67.49%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,047 R 17.1K

$336 CLP 323.6K

211.91%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$669 R 11.0K

$104 CLP 100.2K

544.15%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,861 R 30.5K

$808 CLP 779.5K

130.13%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,407 R 23.1K

$619 CLP 596.5K

127.46%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,410 R 39.5K

$1,401 CLP 1.4M

72.05%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,570 R 25.7K

$1,217 CLP 1.2M

28.96%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,630 R 26.7K

$1,133 CLP 1.1M

43.84%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

10.89

117.80%

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

Last update for Cape Town: November 2, 2026

Last update for Calama: November 2, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Cape Town

$669 43.8%

Calama

$104 17.5% 84.5% $565

Groceries & Markets

Cape Town

$223 14.6%

Calama

$174 * 29.4% 22% $49

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Cape Town

$182 11.9%

Calama

$55 * 9.2% 70% $128

Eating Out

Cape Town

$174 11.4%

Calama

$114 * 19.2% 34.7% $60

Clothing & Footwear

Cape Town

$138 9%

Calama

$76 12.9% 44.6% $61

Getting Around

Cape Town

$72 4.7%

Calama

$11 * 1.8% 85% $61

Sport & Entertainment

Cape Town

$69 4.5%

Calama

$59 10% 14.5% $10

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 $336 in Calama. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Cape Town pays 44% 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: $43 in Cape Town vs $32 in Calama for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $223 vs $174 per month, with Calama cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇿🇦 Cape Town

🇨🇱 Calama

🕒 Local time

22:31 10:31 PM

17:31 5:31 PM

5 h behind Cape Town

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

3,740,026 Capital

157,575

💱 Currency

South African Rand ZAR R

Chilean Peso CLP $

📈 Exchange rate

100 ZAR = 6.1 USD

100 ZAR = 5.44 EUR

10,000 CLP = 10.37 USD

10,000 CLP = 9.24 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

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

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇿🇦 South African Rand (R)

South African Rand exchange rates as of November 5, 2026: 1 USD = 16.38 ZAR (100 ZAR = 6.1 USD). 1 EUR = 18.39 ZAR (100 ZAR = 5.44 EUR).

Chilean Peso exchange rates as of November 5, 2026: 1 USD = 964 CLP (1,000 CLP = 1.04 USD). 1 EUR = 1,082 CLP (10,000 CLP = 9.24 EUR).

USD to ZAR in detail →

On the map

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Highest

Between locations

Cape Town Calama 8,410 km ≈ 11 h nonstop flight

From you

Cape Town
Calama

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 Calama: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Calama wins on cost – living expenses run 61% lower than in Cape Town. Housing and daily spending are where you’ll feel the difference most, making Calama the obvious pick if budget is a priority.

Average pay runs 44% 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 $336 in Calama. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Supermarket bills run roughly 28% higher in Cape Town. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

All in, you’ll spend $1,527 per month in Cape Town versus $593 in Calama – Calama is about 61% cheaper, which adds up to real savings over time.

At $593 in Calama versus $1,527 in Cape Town, a $800 budget is realistic in Calama but tight or insufficient in Cape Town. The gap between the two cities makes Calama 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.

It comes down to priorities – Calama wins on affordability, Cape Town on earning potential. Factor in climate, language, visa rules, and proximity to places that matter to you before deciding.