Last update: Nov 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Cape Town and Dabas

For one person, living is cheaper in Dabas: $1,282 a month against $1,527 in Cape Town, rent and utilities included – about $2,900 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
62

Cost of Living Index in Dabas
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Dabas Living Index

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Cape Town

🇿🇦 South Africa

$1,527

/mo nomad

Dabas

🇭🇺 Hungary

$1,282

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

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

A single person spends $1,527 per month in Cape Town vs $1,282 in Dabas, rent included.

Cape Town $1,527
Dabas $1,282

A couple spends around $2,417 per month in Cape Town vs $1,940 in Dabas, rent included.

Cape Town $2,417
Dabas $1,940

A family of three spends $3,306 per month in Cape Town vs $2,598 in Dabas, rent included.

Cape Town $3,306
Dabas $2,598

Cape Town costs about 19% more than Dabas, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in transport.

Cape Town sits 13% above the global median, while Dabas is 5% below – they fall on opposite sides of the world average.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$12.01 R 198

$11.32 Ft 3,670

6.10%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$42.92 R 707

$36.91 Ft 12.0K

16.28%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$6.15 R 101

$9.03 Ft 2,926

-31.89%

Cappuccino

$2.37 R 39.04

$1.50 Ft 487

58.00%

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

$1.27 R 20.96

$1.30 Ft 420

-2.31%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.94 R 15.46

$0.44 Ft 142

113.64%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.96 R 48.77

$1.71 Ft 554

73.10%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.69 R 60.8

$1.54 Ft 498

139.61%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.32 R 21.73

$1.19 Ft 386

10.92%

White Bread (500g)

$1.21 R 19.87

$1.49 Ft 483

-18.79%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.20 R 36.26

$2.46 Ft 798

-10.57%

Eggs

$3.10 R 51.1

$3.32 Ft 1,076

-6.63%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$8.73 R 144

$10.09 Ft 3,271

-13.48%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$6.89 R 114

$6.74 Ft 2,185

2.23%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$9.26 R 153

$15.89 Ft 5,152

-41.72%

Apples (1kg)

$1.83 R 30.08

$2.44 Ft 791

-25.00%

Banana (1kg)

$1.95 R 32.12

$2.26 Ft 733

-13.72%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.66 R 27.32

$2.65 Ft 860

-37.36%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.14 R 35.19

$3.87 Ft 1,254

-44.70%

Potato (1kg)

$1.58 R 26.01

$1.14 Ft 369

38.60%

Onion (1kg)

$1.47 R 24.29

$1.39 Ft 450

5.76%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.35 R 22.18

$1.87 Ft 605

-27.81%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.14 R 18.85

$0.54 Ft 174

111.11%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$3.58 R 59.0

$7.70 Ft 2,497

-53.51%

Wine (Bottle)

$6.05 R 99.7

$4.53 Ft 1,467

33.55%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.39 R 22.95

$1.30 Ft 421

6.92%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.18 R 35.90

$2.63 Ft 851

-17.11%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.40 R 23.02

$1.20 Ft 390

16.67%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$60.8 R 1,001

$26.73 Ft 8,665

127.27%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$0.93 R 15.26

$3.34 Ft 1,082

-72.16%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.90 R 14.83

$1.32 Ft 428

-31.82%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$4.96 R 81.7

$24.60 Ft 7,975

-79.84%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.54 R 25.37

$1.49 Ft 484

3.36%

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

$35.4K R 582.8K

$27.2K Ft 8.8M

29.82%

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

$33.4K R 549.9K

$35.5K Ft 11.5M

-6.10%

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

$117 R 1,929

$167 Ft 54.2K

-29.93%

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

$25.71 R 424

$20.52 Ft 6,652

25.29%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$39.41 R 649

$20.78 Ft 6,735

89.65%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$51.6 R 850

$50.4 Ft 16.3K

2.36%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$11.35 R 187

$18.35 Ft 5,948

-38.15%

Cinema Ticket

$8.89 R 146

$8.78 Ft 2,845

1.25%

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

$308 R 5,069

$423 Ft 137.1K

-27.25%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$8,141 R 134.2K

$7,536 Ft 2.4M

8.03%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$57.4 R 946

$98.5 Ft 31.9K

-41.77%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$31.75 R 523

$51.9 Ft 16.8K

-38.85%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$116 R 1,911

$96.7 Ft 31.3K

19.90%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$101 R 1,660

$109 Ft 35.3K

-7.44%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,047 R 17.2K

$532 Ft 172.5K

96.64%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$669 R 11.0K

$391 Ft 126.9K

70.96%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,861 R 30.7K

$766 Ft 248.4K

142.81%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,407 R 23.2K

$660 Ft 214.0K

113.16%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,410 R 39.7K

$3,203 Ft 1.0M

-24.75%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,570 R 25.9K

$2,475 Ft 802.1K

-36.57%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,630 R 26.9K

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

10.89

36.13%

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

Last update for Cape Town: November 2, 2026

Last update for Dabas: October 31, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Cape Town

$669 43.8%

Dabas

$391 30.5% 41.5% $278

Groceries & Markets

Cape Town

$223 14.6%

Dabas

$258 20.1% 15.7% $35

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Cape Town

$182 11.9%

Dabas

$208 16.3% 14.4% $26

Eating Out

Cape Town

$174 11.4%

Dabas

$154 12% 11.4% $20

Clothing & Footwear

Cape Town

$138 9%

Dabas

$160 12.5% 16.4% $23

Getting Around

Cape Town

$72 4.7%

Dabas

$41 3.2% 42.2% $30

Sport & Entertainment

Cape Town

$69 4.5%

Dabas

$68 5.3% 2% $1.4

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $1,047 in Cape Town versus $532 in Dabas. 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 $37 in Dabas. Groceries tell a different story – $223 in Cape Town vs $258 in Dabas – so Cape Town wins on supermarket bills even if dining out costs more.

Good to know

🇿🇦 Cape Town

🇭🇺 Dabas

🕒 Local time

10:17 10:17 AM

09:17 9:17 AM

1 h behind Cape Town

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

3,740,026 Capital

17,542

💱 Currency

South African Rand ZAR R

Hungarian Forint HUF Ft

📈 Exchange rate

100 ZAR = 6.07 USD

100 ZAR = 5.4 EUR

1,000 HUF = 3.09 USD

1,000 HUF = 2.75 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

HUF, 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 = 16.48 ZAR (100 ZAR = 6.07 USD). 1 EUR = 18.51 ZAR (100 ZAR = 5.4 EUR).

Hungarian Forint exchange rates as of November 6, 2026: 1 USD = 324 HUF (1,000 HUF = 3.09 USD). 1 EUR = 364 HUF (1,000 HUF = 2.75 EUR).

USD to ZAR in detail →

On the map

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Highest

Between locations

Cape Town Dabas 9,020 km ≈ 12 h nonstop flight

From you

Cape Town
Dabas

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 Dabas: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Cape Town costs about 19% more than Dabas, and outside of rent the gap comes mainly from transport. 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 $1,923 in Dabas. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

Rent is clearly cheaper in Dabas, especially for central apartments: a one-bedroom in the center costs $532 there versus $1,047 in Cape Town.

Monthly expenses with rent come to $1,527 in Cape Town and $1,282 in Dabas. That makes Dabas about 16% cheaper.

Public transport costs about 56% less in Dabas. 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 $1,282 in Dabas. You’ll need shared housing and careful budgeting no matter which city you pick.

It depends on your priorities. Cape Town has an edge in some lifestyle areas, with costs from $1,282 in Dabas to $1,527 in Cape Town. Climate, culture, job market, and personal taste all factor in.