Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Cape Town and Craiova

For one person, living is cheaper in Craiova: $1,187 a month against $1,568 in Cape Town, rent and utilities included – about $4,600 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
58

Cost of Living Index in Craiova
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Craiova Living Index

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Cape Town

🇿🇦 South Africa

$1,568

/mo nomad

Craiova

🇷🇴 Romania

$1,187

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

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

A single person spends $1,568 per month in Cape Town vs $1,187 in Craiova, rent included.

Cape Town $1,568
Craiova $1,187

A couple spends around $2,438 per month in Cape Town vs $1,763 in Craiova, rent included.

Cape Town $2,438
Craiova $1,763

A family of three spends $3,307 per month in Cape Town vs $2,338 in Craiova, rent included.

Cape Town $3,307
Craiova $2,338

Cape Town costs about 32% more than Craiova, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in utilities.

Cape Town sits 17% above the global median, while Craiova is 11% below – they fall on opposite sides of the world average.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$11.78 R 194

$7.53 RON 35.62

56.44%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$46.55 R 768

$41.41 RON 196

12.41%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$5.96 R 98.4

$7.20 RON 34.05

-17.22%

Cappuccino

$2.47 R 40.80

$2.62 RON 12.40

-5.73%

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

$1.33 R 21.91

$2.21 RON 10.44

-39.82%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.03 R 16.99

$1.80 RON 8.51

-42.78%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.01 R 49.72

$2.36 RON 11.14

27.54%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.66 R 60.4

$3.46 RON 16.35

5.78%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.39 R 22.96

$1.32 RON 6.26

5.30%

White Bread (500g)

$1.19 R 19.60

$0.87 RON 4.09

36.78%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.11 R 34.84

$1.38 RON 6.54

52.90%

Eggs

$3.01 R 49.58

$3.41 RON 16.12

-11.73%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$8.96 R 148

$7.11 RON 33.61

26.02%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$6.65 R 110

$6.46 RON 30.57

2.94%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$9.29 R 153

$11.35 RON 53.7

-18.15%

Apples (1kg)

$1.83 R 30.13

$1.04 RON 4.90

75.96%

Banana (1kg)

$1.90 R 31.31

$1.44 RON 6.82

31.94%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.75 R 28.83

$1.46 RON 6.90

19.86%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.09 R 34.41

$1.83 RON 8.66

14.21%

Potato (1kg)

$1.55 R 25.64

$0.77 RON 3.64

101.30%

Onion (1kg)

$1.49 R 24.53

$0.84 RON 4.00

77.38%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.30 R 21.41

$0.69 RON 3.24

88.41%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.16 R 19.19

$0.75 RON 3.56

54.67%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$3.71 R 61.2

$6.36 RON 30.08

-41.67%

Wine (Bottle)

$6.06 R 100

$6.27 RON 29.66

-3.35%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.39 R 22.85

$1.20 RON 5.66

15.83%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.20 R 36.32

$1.47 RON 6.96

49.66%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.51 R 24.98

$0.82 RON 3.87

84.15%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$61.0 R 1,006

$25.32 RON 120

140.76%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$0.63 R 10.33

$0.64 RON 3.04

-1.56%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.53 R 25.29

$0.61 RON 2.89

150.82%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$4.81 R 79.4

$6.40 RON 30.25

-24.84%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.58 R 26.08

$1.92 RON 9.09

-17.71%

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

$35.5K R 585.7K

$28.0K RON 132.6K

26.66%

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

$31.7K R 523.8K

$26.2K RON 124.0K

21.09%

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

$116 R 1,920

$214 RON 1,011

-45.56%

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

$28.37 R 468

$9.61 RON 45.43

195.21%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$40.69 R 671

$11.51 RON 54.5

253.52%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$48.85 R 806

$44.51 RON 211

9.75%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$11.13 R 184

$21.43 RON 101

-48.06%

Cinema Ticket

$8.83 R 146

$7.46 RON 35.30

18.36%

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

$261 R 4,314

$421 RON 1,992

-37.92%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$6,702 R 110.6K

$8,039 RON 38.0K

-16.63%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$55.4 R 914

$63.1 RON 298

-12.13%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$32.27 R 532

$50.9 RON 241

-36.65%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$118 R 1,939

$82.9 RON 392

41.77%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$107 R 1,766

$102 RON 481

5.29%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,015 R 16.7K

$503 RON 2,379

101.75%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$715 R 11.8K

$391 RON 1,851

82.83%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,801 R 29.7K

$874 RON 4,132

106.13%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,330 R 22.0K

$602 RON 2,845

121.16%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,331 R 38.5K

$2,655 RON 12.6K

-12.21%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,513 R 25.0K

$2,024 RON 9,575

-25.26%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,636 R 27.0K

$941 RON 4,449

73.96%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

10.97

6.84

60.38%

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

Last update for Cape Town: October 4, 2026

Last update for Craiova: October 3, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Cape Town

$715 45.3%

Craiova

$391 32.7% 45.3% $324

Groceries & Markets

Cape Town

$222 14.1%

Craiova

$195 16.3% 12.4% $28

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Cape Town

$185 11.7%

Craiova

$235 19.7% 26.7% $49

Eating Out

Cape Town

$174 11%

Craiova

$148 12.4% 14.8% $26

Clothing & Footwear

Cape Town

$141 8.9%

Craiova

$134 11.2% 4.4% $6.2

Getting Around

Cape Town

$75 4.8%

Craiova

$32 2.7% 57.1% $43

Sport & Entertainment

Cape Town

$67 4.2%

Craiova

$59 5% 10.6% $7.1

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $1,015 in Cape Town versus $503 in Craiova. Rent is usually the largest line item in a monthly budget, so the gap here sets the tone for the overall comparison.

Salaries run about 74% higher in Cape Town, which partly offsets the higher cost of living there. Purchasing power depends on which expenses matter most to you.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $47.00 in Cape Town versus $41.00 in Craiova. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $222 vs $195 – making Craiova the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇿🇦 Cape Town

🇷🇴 Craiova

🕒 Local time

13:21 1:21 PM

14:21 2:21 PM

1 h ahead of Cape Town

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

3,740,026 Capital

269,506

💱 Currency

South African Rand ZAR R

Romanian Leu RON lei

📈 Exchange rate

100 ZAR = 6.06 USD

100 ZAR = 5.41 EUR

1 RON = 0.211 USD

1 RON = 0.189 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 = 16.5 ZAR (100 ZAR = 6.06 USD). 1 EUR = 18.49 ZAR (100 ZAR = 5.41 EUR).

Romanian Leu exchange rates as of October 10, 2026: 1 USD = 4.73 RON (1 RON = 0.211 USD). 1 EUR = 5.3 RON (1 RON = 0.189 EUR).

USD to ZAR in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Cape Town Craiova 8,720 km ≈ 11 h nonstop flight

From you

Cape Town
Craiova

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 Craiova: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Cape Town costs about 32% more than Craiova, and outside of rent the gap comes mainly from utilities. That's enough to noticeably affect everyday spending and lifestyle for anyone choosing between the two.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $2,352 per month in Cape Town and $1,780 in Craiova. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

Rent is clearly cheaper in Craiova, 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 $1,568 in Cape Town and $1,187 in Craiova. That's a gap of about 32%.

Public transport costs about 141% less in Craiova. For daily commuters, that gap adds up to noticeable savings over a year.

A $1,000 monthly budget goes further in Craiova, where all-in costs run around $1,187, than in Cape Town at $1,568. In Craiova 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. Craiova costs $1,187 versus $1,568 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 Craiova. 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.