Last update: Nov 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Cape Town and Crans-Montana

For one person, living is cheaper in Cape Town: $1,527 a month against $3,523 in Crans-Montana, rent and utilities included – about $24,000 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
165

Cost of Living Index in Crans-Montana
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Crans-Montana Living Index

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Cape Town

🇿🇦 South Africa

$1,527

/mo nomad

Crans-Montana

🇨🇭 Switzerland

$3,523

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Cape Town and in Crans-Montana

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 Crans-Montana actually costs, broken down by who's living it.

A single person spends $1,527 per month in Cape Town vs $3,523 in Crans-Montana, rent included.

Cape Town $1,527
Crans-Montana $3,523

A couple spends around $2,417 per month in Cape Town vs $5,081 in Crans-Montana, rent included.

Cape Town $2,417
Crans-Montana $5,081

A family of three spends $3,306 per month in Cape Town vs $6,639 in Crans-Montana, rent included.

Cape Town $3,306
Crans-Montana $6,639

Cape Town is about 57% cheaper than Crans-Montana, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Both Cape Town and Crans-Montana sit above the global median – Cape Town by 13%, Crans-Montana by 161%.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$12.01 R 199

$18.40 CHF 15.06

-34.73%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$42.92 R 709

$105 CHF 86.3

-59.30%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$6.15 R 102

$18.59 CHF 15.21

-66.92%

Cappuccino

$2.37 R 39.16

$3.74 CHF 3.06

-36.63%

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

$1.27 R 21.03

$4.83 CHF 3.96

-73.71%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.94 R 15.50

$4.08 CHF 3.34

-76.96%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.96 R 48.92

$9.89 CHF 8.09

-70.07%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.69 R 61.0

$9.54 CHF 7.80

-61.32%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.32 R 21.80

$2.33 CHF 1.91

-43.35%

White Bread (500g)

$1.21 R 19.93

$3.34 CHF 2.73

-63.77%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.20 R 36.37

$3.34 CHF 2.74

-34.13%

Eggs

$3.10 R 51.3

$8.22 CHF 6.73

-62.29%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$8.73 R 144

$24.65 CHF 20.17

-64.58%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$6.89 R 114

$29.43 CHF 24.07

-76.59%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$9.26 R 153

$42.37 CHF 34.66

-78.14%

Apples (1kg)

$1.83 R 30.17

$3.63 CHF 2.97

-49.59%

Banana (1kg)

$1.95 R 32.22

$1.66 CHF 1.35

17.47%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.66 R 27.40

$2.89 CHF 2.37

-42.56%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.14 R 35.30

$4.76 CHF 3.89

-55.04%

Potato (1kg)

$1.58 R 26.09

$1.66 CHF 1.36

-4.82%

Onion (1kg)

$1.47 R 24.37

$2.23 CHF 1.82

-34.08%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.35 R 22.25

$2.29 CHF 1.87

-41.05%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.14 R 18.91

$1.70 CHF 1.39

-32.94%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$3.58 R 59.1

$10.91 CHF 8.92

-67.19%

Wine (Bottle)

$6.05 R 100

$12.10 CHF 9.90

-50.00%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.39 R 23.02

$3.10 CHF 2.54

-55.16%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.18 R 36.01

$3.42 CHF 2.80

-36.26%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.40 R 23.09

$4.96 CHF 4.06

-71.77%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$60.8 R 1,004

$101 CHF 82.9

-40.03%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$0.93 R 15.31

$7.66 CHF 6.26

-87.86%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.90 R 14.88

$2.97 CHF 2.43

-69.70%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$4.96 R 82.0

$64.4 CHF 52.7

-92.30%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.54 R 25.45

$2.45 CHF 2.01

-37.14%

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

$35.4K R 584.6K

$40.0K CHF 32.7K

-11.60%

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

$33.4K R 551.6K

$39.4K CHF 32.2K

-15.30%

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

$117 R 1,935

$289 CHF 237

-59.56%

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

$25.71 R 425

$35.25 CHF 28.84

-27.06%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$39.41 R 651

$58.7 CHF 48.06

-32.91%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$51.6 R 853

$86.9 CHF 71.1

-40.60%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$11.35 R 188

$40.59 CHF 33.21

-72.04%

Cinema Ticket

$8.89 R 147

$24.89 CHF 20.36

-64.28%

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

$308 R 5,085

$2,562 CHF 2,096

-87.99%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$8,141 R 134.6K

$39.0K CHF 31.9K

-79.14%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$57.4 R 948

$135 CHF 111

-57.52%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$31.75 R 525

$79.2 CHF 64.8

-59.93%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$116 R 1,917

$165 CHF 135

-29.51%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$101 R 1,665

$185 CHF 151

-45.55%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,047 R 17.3K

$2,094 CHF 1,713

-50.01%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$669 R 11.1K

$1,653 CHF 1,352

-59.52%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,861 R 30.8K

$2,846 CHF 2,328

-34.62%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,407 R 23.3K

$2,406 CHF 1,968

-41.50%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,410 R 39.8K

$13.2K CHF 10.8K

-81.71%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,570 R 25.9K

$10.4K CHF 8,470

-84.84%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,630 R 26.9K

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

10.89

1.98

450.00%

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

Last update for Cape Town: November 2, 2026

Last update for Crans-Montana: November 2, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Cape Town

$669 43.8%

Crans-Montana

$1.7K 46.9% 147% $984

Groceries & Markets

Cape Town

$223 14.6%

Crans-Montana

$600 17% 169% $377

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Cape Town

$182 11.9%

Crans-Montana

$383 10.9% 111% $201

Eating Out

Cape Town

$174 11.4%

Crans-Montana

$352 10% 102% $178

Clothing & Footwear

Cape Town

$138 9%

Crans-Montana

$254 7.2% 84.4% $116

Getting Around

Cape Town

$72 4.7%

Crans-Montana

$144 4.1% 100% $72

Sport & Entertainment

Cape Town

$69 4.5%

Crans-Montana

$137 3.9% 97% $67

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $1,047 in Cape Town versus $2,094 in Crans-Montana. 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 $43 in Cape Town versus $105 in Crans-Montana. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $223 vs $600 – making Cape Town the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇿🇦 Cape Town

🇨🇭 Crans-Montana

🕒 Local time

00:41 12:41 AM

23:41 11:41 PM

1 h behind Cape Town

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

3,740,026 Capital

10,218

💱 Currency

South African Rand ZAR R

Swiss Franc CHF Fr

📈 Exchange rate

100 ZAR = 6.05 USD

100 ZAR = 5.41 EUR

1 CHF = 1.22 USD

1 CHF = 1.09 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

CHF, 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).

Swiss Franc exchange rates as of November 6, 2026: 1 USD = 0.818 CHF (1 CHF = 1.22 USD). 1 EUR = 0.914 CHF (1 CHF = 1.09 EUR).

USD to ZAR in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Cape Town Crans-Montana 8,990 km ≈ 12 h nonstop flight

From you

Cape Town
Crans-Montana

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 Crans-Montana: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Crans-Montana costs about 131% more than Cape Town, and outside of rent the gap comes mainly from groceries. That’s enough to noticeably affect everyday spending and lifestyle for anyone choosing between the two.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $2,291 per month in Cape Town and $5,284 in Crans-Montana. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

Rent is clearly cheaper in Cape Town, especially for central apartments: a one-bedroom in the center costs $1,047 there versus $2,094 in Crans-Montana.

Monthly expenses with rent come to $1,527 in Cape Town and $3,523 in Crans-Montana. That makes Cape Town about 57% cheaper.

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

$1,000 is a stretch for both – monthly costs hit $1,527 in Cape Town and $3,523 in Crans-Montana. You’ll need shared housing and careful budgeting no matter which city you pick.

Families tend to lean toward Cape Town – lower housing and cheaper childcare make a real difference, especially on a single income or when paying for private education.

For expats, Cape Town is the easier option financially – housing and daily costs are lower, and overall it costs about 57% less, which matters a lot on a fixed budget or early-career salary.