Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Cape Town and Cricova

For one person, living is cheaper in Cricova: $1,022 a month against $1,586 in Cape Town, rent and utilities included – about $6,800 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
50

Cost of Living Index in Cricova
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Cricova Living Index

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Cape Town

🇿🇦 South Africa

$1,586

/mo nomad

Cricova

🇲🇩 Moldova

$1,022

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

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

A single person spends $1,586 per month in Cape Town vs $1,022 in Cricova, rent included.

Cape Town $1,586
Cricova $1,022

A couple spends around $2,425 per month in Cape Town vs $1,858 in Cricova, rent included.

Cape Town $2,425
Cricova $1,858

A family of three spends $3,263 per month in Cape Town vs $2,693 in Cricova, rent included.

Cape Town $3,263
Cricova $2,693

Cape Town costs about 55% more than Cricova, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in utilities.

Cape Town sits 17% above the global median, while Cricova is 24% below – they fall on opposite sides of the world average.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$12.14 R 200

$8.25 MDL 146

47.15%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$45.34 R 747

$27.53 MDL 489

64.69%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$5.88 R 96.9

$10.30 MDL 183

-42.91%

Cappuccino

$2.50 R 41.18

$1.08 MDL 19.20

131.48%

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

$1.27 R 20.94

$1.05 MDL 18.59

20.95%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.98 R 16.14

$0.68 MDL 12.14

44.12%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.99 R 49.33

$2.00 MDL 35.55

49.50%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.72 R 61.4

$2.21 MDL 39.25

68.33%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.30 R 21.40

$2.39 MDL 42.52

-45.61%

White Bread (500g)

$1.25 R 20.68

$0.46 MDL 8.18

171.74%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.23 R 36.76

$1.09 MDL 19.38

104.59%

Eggs

$3.11 R 51.2

$1.25 MDL 22.22

148.80%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$9.06 R 149

$6.90 MDL 123

31.30%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$6.92 R 114

$4.59 MDL 81.5

50.76%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$9.30 R 153

$12.35 MDL 219

-24.70%

Apples (1kg)

$1.84 R 30.25

$1.08 MDL 19.14

70.37%

Banana (1kg)

$1.96 R 32.29

$0.86 MDL 15.21

127.91%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.67 R 27.45

$1.03 MDL 18.33

62.14%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.17 R 35.70

$1.09 MDL 19.29

99.08%

Potato (1kg)

$1.57 R 25.81

$0.76 MDL 13.44

106.58%

Onion (1kg)

$1.48 R 24.45

$1.09 MDL 19.36

35.78%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.30 R 21.41

$1.08 MDL 19.24

20.37%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.13 R 18.60

$1.09 MDL 19.37

3.67%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$3.60 R 59.3

$3.31 MDL 58.8

8.76%

Wine (Bottle)

$6.15 R 101

$4.45 MDL 79.1

38.20%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.38 R 22.66

$2.58 MDL 45.88

-46.51%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.14 R 35.20

$4.28 MDL 75.9

-50.00%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.50 R 24.65

$0.53 MDL 9.48

183.02%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$60.8 R 1,001

$22.39 MDL 398

171.33%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$0.59 R 9.71

$1.10 MDL 19.57

-46.36%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.50 R 24.65

$0.26 MDL 4.63

476.92%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$5.11 R 84.2

$6.53 MDL 116

-21.75%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.55 R 25.50

$1.30 MDL 23.12

19.23%

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

$36.2K R 596.5K

$29.2K MDL 517.9K

24.16%

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

$31.2K R 514.8K

$23.8K MDL 422.4K

31.36%

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

$114 R 1,883

$235 MDL 4,176

-51.38%

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

$28.91 R 476

$7.70 MDL 137

275.45%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$39.73 R 654

$11.02 MDL 196

260.53%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$49.01 R 808

$56.5 MDL 1,003

-13.26%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$10.99 R 181

$11.20 MDL 199

-1.87%

Cinema Ticket

$9.15 R 151

$7.42 MDL 132

23.32%

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

$259 R 4,264

$111 MDL 1,972

133.12%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$6,794 R 111.9K

$5,220 MDL 92.7K

30.15%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$56.2 R 926

$56.2 MDL 998

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$32.41 R 534

$27.60 MDL 490

17.43%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$121 R 1,987

$82.5 MDL 1,464

46.27%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$108 R 1,781

$114 MDL 2,021

-5.03%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,021 R 16.8K

$884 MDL 15.7K

15.50%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$717 R 11.8K

$222 MDL 3,943

222.92%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,824 R 30.1K

$1,373 MDL 24.4K

32.86%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,327 R 21.9K

$1,108 MDL 19.7K

19.75%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,391 R 39.4K

$2,775 MDL 49.3K

-13.84%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,542 R 25.4K

$1,943 MDL 34.5K

-20.65%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,639 R 27.0K

$562 MDL 9,989

191.36%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

10.97

56.71%

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

Last update for Cape Town: October 10, 2026

Last update for Cricova: October 13, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Cape Town

$717 45.2%

Cricova

$222 21.7% 69% $495

Groceries & Markets

Cape Town

$225 14.2%

Cricova

$191 18.7% 15.1% $34

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Cape Town

$183 11.5%

Cricova

$254 24.8% 38.7% $71

Eating Out

Cape Town

$176 11.1%

Cricova

$131 12.8% 25.5% $45

Clothing & Footwear

Cape Town

$143 9%

Cricova

$126 12.3% 11.7% $17

Getting Around

Cape Town

$75 4.7%

Cricova

$27 2.6% 64% $48

Sport & Entertainment

Cape Town

$67 4.2%

Cricova

$71 7% 6% $4

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $1,021 in Cape Town versus $884 in Cricova. 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 191% 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 $45.00 in Cape Town versus $28.00 in Cricova. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $225 vs $191 – making Cricova the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇿🇦 Cape Town

🇲🇩 Cricova

🕒 Local time

03:39 3:39 AM

04:39 4:39 AM

1 h ahead of Cape Town

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

3,740,026 Capital

10,642

💱 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 Cricova 9,070 km ≈ 12 h nonstop flight

From you

Cape Town
Cricova

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 Cricova: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Cape Town costs about 55% more than Cricova, 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 $2,379 per month in Cape Town and $1,533 in Cricova. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

Rent is clearly cheaper in Cricova, 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 $1,022 in Cricova. That's a gap of about 55%.

Public transport costs about 171% less in Cricova. For daily commuters, that gap adds up to noticeable savings over a year.

A $2,000 monthly budget goes further in Cricova, where all-in costs run around $1,022, than in Cape Town at $1,586. In Cricova 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. Cricova costs $1,022 versus $1,586 in Cape Town. Both have workable remote work infrastructure, but the cost gap matters when income varies month to month.

If budget matters most, go with Cricova. 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.