Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Cape Town and Chios

For one person, living is cheaper in Chios: $1,429 a month against $1,586 in Cape Town, rent and utilities included – about $1,900 less a year. Higher rent and utilities in Cape Town outweigh lower spending on other living expenses.

77

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

Cost of Living Index in Chios
Learn more

Chios Living Index

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Cape Town

🇿🇦 South Africa

$1,586

/mo nomad

Chios

🇬🇷 Greece

$1,429

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

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

A single person spends $1,586 per month in Cape Town vs $1,429 in Chios, rent included.

Cape Town $1,586
Chios $1,429

A couple spends around $2,425 per month in Cape Town vs $2,099 in Chios, rent included.

Cape Town $2,425
Chios $2,099

A family of three spends $3,263 per month in Cape Town vs $2,770 in Chios, rent included.

Cape Town $3,263
Chios $2,770

Cape Town costs about 11% more than Chios, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Both Cape Town and Chios sit above the global median – Cape Town by 17%, Chios by 6%.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$12.14 R 200

$13.92 €12.38

-12.79%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$45.34 R 747

$43.95 €39.09

3.16%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$5.88 R 96.9

$13.98 €12.44

-57.94%

Cappuccino

$2.50 R 41.18

$3.64 €3.24

-31.32%

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

$1.27 R 20.94

$2.36 €2.10

-46.19%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.98 R 16.14

$0.91 €0.81

7.69%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.99 R 49.33

$4.51 €4.01

-33.70%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.72 R 61.4

$4.37 €3.89

-14.87%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.30 R 21.40

$1.57 €1.40

-17.20%

White Bread (500g)

$1.25 R 20.68

$1.37 €1.22

-8.76%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.23 R 36.76

$2.58 €2.30

-13.57%

Eggs

$3.11 R 51.2

$4.54 €4.04

-31.50%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$9.06 R 149

$13.11 €11.66

-30.89%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$6.92 R 114

$9.76 €8.69

-29.10%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$9.30 R 153

$13.93 €12.39

-33.24%

Apples (1kg)

$1.84 R 30.25

$2.23 €1.98

-17.49%

Banana (1kg)

$1.96 R 32.29

$2.04 €1.81

-3.92%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.67 R 27.45

$1.34 €1.20

24.63%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.17 R 35.70

$1.99 €1.77

9.05%

Potato (1kg)

$1.57 R 25.81

$1.12 €1.00

40.18%

Onion (1kg)

$1.48 R 24.45

$1.06 €0.94

39.62%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.30 R 21.41

$1.05 €0.93

23.81%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.13 R 18.60

$0.85 €0.76

32.94%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$3.60 R 59.3

$6.00 €5.33

-40.00%

Wine (Bottle)

$6.15 R 101

$7.06 €6.28

-12.89%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.38 R 22.66

$1.98 €1.76

-30.30%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.14 R 35.20

$2.67 €2.37

-19.85%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.50 R 24.65

$1.31 €1.16

14.50%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$60.8 R 1,001

$43.37 €38.57

40.07%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$0.59 R 9.71

$4.07 €3.62

-85.50%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.50 R 24.65

$1.22 €1.08

22.95%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$5.11 R 84.2

$16.42 €14.61

-68.88%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.55 R 25.50

$2.07 €1.84

-25.12%

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

$36.2K R 596.5K

$31.4K €28.0K

15.23%

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

$31.2K R 514.8K

$22.2K €19.8K

40.66%

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

$114 R 1,883

$199 €177

-42.58%

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

$28.91 R 476

$20.12 €17.90

43.69%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$39.73 R 654

$27.27 €24.26

45.69%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$49.01 R 808

$51.7 €46.01

-5.26%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$10.99 R 181

$24.23 €21.55

-54.64%

Cinema Ticket

$9.15 R 151

$9.92 €8.83

-7.76%

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

$259 R 4,264

$432 €384

-40.04%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$6,794 R 111.9K

$6,719 €5,977

1.11%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$56.2 R 926

$77.4 €68.9

-27.44%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$32.41 R 534

$42.43 €37.75

-23.62%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$121 R 1,987

$78.9 €70.2

52.79%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$108 R 1,781

$118 €105

-8.08%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,021 R 16.8K

$541 €482

88.58%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$717 R 11.8K

$393 €349

82.52%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,824 R 30.1K

$688 €612

165.16%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,327 R 21.9K

$552 €491

140.48%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,391 R 39.4K

$2,409 €2,143

-0.74%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,542 R 25.4K

$2,499 €2,223

-38.30%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,639 R 27.0K

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

10.97

4.46

145.96%

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

Last update for Cape Town: October 10, 2026

Last update for Chios: October 13, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Cape Town

$717 45.2%

Chios

$393 27.5% 45.2% $324

Groceries & Markets

Cape Town

$225 14.2%

Chios

$276 19.3% 22.7% $51

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Cape Town

$183 11.5%

Chios

$246 17.2% 34.7% $64

Eating Out

Cape Town

$176 11.1%

Chios

$241 16.9% 37.1% $65

Clothing & Footwear

Cape Town

$143 9%

Chios

$142 10% 0.3% $0.4

Getting Around

Cape Town

$75 4.7%

Chios

$59 4.1% 21.5% $16

Sport & Entertainment

Cape Town

$67 4.2%

Chios

$72 5% 6.3% $4.3

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $1,021 in Cape Town versus $541 in Chios. Rent is usually the largest line item in a monthly budget, so the gap here sets the tone for the overall comparison.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $45.00 in Cape Town versus $44.00 in Chios. Groceries tell a different story – $225 in Cape Town vs $276 in Chios – so Cape Town wins on supermarket bills even if dining out costs more.

Good to know

🇿🇦 Cape Town

🇬🇷 Chios

🕒 Local time

22:10 10:10 PM

23:10 11:10 PM

1 h ahead of Cape Town

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

3,740,026 Capital

53,408

💱 Currency

South African Rand ZAR R

Euro EUR €

📈 Exchange rate

100 ZAR = 6.07 USD

100 ZAR = 5.4 EUR

1 EUR = 1.12 USD

Exchange rates and currency converter

EUR, USD to ZAR – South African Rand Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇿🇦 South African Rand (R)

South African Rand exchange rates as of October 17, 2026: 1 USD = 16.48 ZAR (100 ZAR = 6.07 USD). 1 EUR = 18.52 ZAR (100 ZAR = 5.4 EUR).

Euro exchange rates as of October 17, 2026: 1 USD = 0.889 EUR (1 EUR = 1.12 USD).

USD to ZAR in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Cape Town Chios 8,080 km ≈ 11 h nonstop flight

From you

Cape Town
Chios

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 Chios: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Cape Town costs about 11% more than Chios, and outside of rent the gap comes mainly from eating out. That's enough to noticeably affect everyday spending and lifestyle for anyone choosing between the two.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $2,379 per month in Cape Town and $2,144 in Chios. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

Rent is clearly cheaper in Chios, especially for central apartments. Housing is actually the single biggest factor behind the overall cost gap between these two cities.

Monthly expenses with rent come to $1,586 in Cape Town and $1,429 in Chios. That's a gap of about 11%.

Public transport costs about 40% less in Chios. For daily commuters, that gap adds up to noticeable savings over a year.

A $1,000 monthly budget goes further in Chios, where all-in costs run around $1,429, than in Cape Town at $1,586. In Chios it covers expenses comfortably, while in Cape Town it requires careful planning or may not stretch far enough.

For digital nomads, it depends on budget. Chios costs $1,429 versus $1,586 in Cape Town. Both have workable remote work infrastructure, but the cost gap matters when income varies month to month.

Both have safer and rougher neighborhoods, but overall safety is comparable to other large cities. Neighborhood choice matters more than the city-level comparison – central, well-trafficked areas feel secure in both.

If budget matters most, go with Chios. If higher salaries, better infrastructure, or specific career opportunities are the priority, Cape Town makes more sense. Both are solid long-term options with distinct trade-offs.