Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Cape Town and Dealu

For one person, living is cheaper in Dealu: $1,045 a month against $1,586 in Cape Town, rent and utilities included – about $6,500 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
51

Cost of Living Index in Dealu
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Dealu Living Index

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Cape Town

🇿🇦 South Africa

$1,586

/mo nomad

Dealu

🇷🇴 Romania

$1,045

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

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

A single person spends $1,586 per month in Cape Town vs $1,045 in Dealu, rent included.

Cape Town $1,586
Dealu $1,045

A couple spends around $2,425 per month in Cape Town vs $1,738 in Dealu, rent included.

Cape Town $2,425
Dealu $1,738

A family of three spends $3,263 per month in Cape Town vs $2,430 in Dealu, rent included.

Cape Town $3,263
Dealu $2,430

Cape Town costs about 52% more than Dealu, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in utilities.

Cape Town sits 17% above the global median, while Dealu is 23% below – they fall on opposite sides of the world average.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$12.14 R 200

$13.97 RON 66.1

-13.10%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$45.34 R 747

$85.6 RON 405

-47.02%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$5.88 R 96.9

$8.64 RON 40.87

-31.94%

Cappuccino

$2.50 R 41.18

$1.95 RON 9.21

28.21%

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

$1.27 R 20.94

$1.92 RON 9.09

-33.85%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.98 R 16.14

$1.89 RON 8.94

-48.15%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.99 R 49.33

$2.53 RON 11.97

18.18%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.72 R 61.4

$3.31 RON 15.65

12.39%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.30 R 21.40

$1.69 RON 8.00

-23.08%

White Bread (500g)

$1.25 R 20.68

$1.35 RON 6.41

-7.41%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.23 R 36.76

$1.71 RON 8.10

30.41%

Eggs

$3.11 R 51.2

$4.47 RON 21.14

-30.43%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$9.06 R 149

$8.44 RON 39.94

7.35%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$6.92 R 114

$5.27 RON 24.92

31.31%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$9.30 R 153

$9.84 RON 46.55

-5.49%

Apples (1kg)

$1.84 R 30.25

$1.14 RON 5.39

61.40%

Banana (1kg)

$1.96 R 32.29

$1.43 RON 6.77

37.06%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.67 R 27.45

$1.60 RON 7.56

4.37%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.17 R 35.70

$2.62 RON 12.38

-17.18%

Potato (1kg)

$1.57 R 25.81

$0.69 RON 3.25

127.54%

Onion (1kg)

$1.48 R 24.45

$0.66 RON 3.10

124.24%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.30 R 21.41

$0.76 RON 3.62

71.05%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.13 R 18.60

$0.87 RON 4.10

29.89%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$3.60 R 59.3

$5.32 RON 25.19

-32.33%

Wine (Bottle)

$6.15 R 101

$6.20 RON 29.35

-0.81%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.38 R 22.66

$1.51 RON 7.15

-8.61%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.14 R 35.20

$1.94 RON 9.20

10.31%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.50 R 24.65

$0.72 RON 3.41

108.33%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$60.8 R 1,001

$21.36 RON 101

184.41%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$0.59 R 9.71

$0.56 RON 2.67

5.36%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.50 R 24.65

$0.66 RON 3.14

127.27%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$5.11 R 84.2

$7.13 RON 33.75

-28.33%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.55 R 25.50

$1.87 RON 8.86

-17.11%

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

$36.2K R 596.5K

$28.2K RON 133.6K

28.25%

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

$31.2K R 514.8K

$28.8K RON 136.3K

8.49%

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

$114 R 1,883

$107 RON 505

7.06%

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

$28.91 R 476

$10.67 RON 50.5

170.95%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$39.73 R 654

$4.85 RON 22.96

719.18%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$49.01 R 808

$37.68 RON 178

30.07%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$10.99 R 181

$20.63 RON 97.6

-46.73%

Cinema Ticket

$9.15 R 151

$10.51 RON 49.73

-12.94%

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

$259 R 4,264

$589 RON 2,785

-56.03%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$6,794 R 111.9K

$6,879 RON 32.5K

-1.24%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$56.2 R 926

$60.9 RON 288

-7.81%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$32.41 R 534

$35.71 RON 169

-9.24%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$121 R 1,987

$128 RON 605

-5.73%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$108 R 1,781

$105 RON 497

2.83%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,021 R 16.8K

$379 RON 1,795

169.07%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$717 R 11.8K

$281 RON 1,332

154.71%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,824 R 30.1K

$590 RON 2,789

209.38%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,327 R 21.9K

$453 RON 2,143

192.94%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,391 R 39.4K

$1,878 RON 8,885

27.33%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,542 R 25.4K

$1,342 RON 6,349

14.88%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,639 R 27.0K

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

10.97

6.97

57.39%

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

Last update for Cape Town: October 10, 2026

Last update for Dealu: October 12, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Cape Town

$717 45.2%

Dealu

$281 26.9% 60.7% $435

Groceries & Markets

Cape Town

$225 14.2%

Dealu

$211 20.2% 6.3% $14

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Cape Town

$183 11.5%

Dealu

$122 11.7% 33.2% $61

Eating Out

Cape Town

$176 11.1%

Dealu

$196 18.7% 11% $19

Clothing & Footwear

Cape Town

$143 9%

Dealu

$148 14.2% 3.9% $5.6

Getting Around

Cape Town

$75 4.7%

Dealu

$28 2.7% 62.4% $47

Sport & Entertainment

Cape Town

$67 4.2%

Dealu

$59 5.6% 12.8% $8.6

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $1,021 in Cape Town versus $379 in Dealu. 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 $86.0 in Dealu. Groceries tell a different story – $225 in Cape Town vs $211 in Dealu – so Dealu wins on supermarket bills even if dining out costs more.

Good to know

🇿🇦 Cape Town

🇷🇴 Dealu

🕒 Local time

22:07 10:07 PM

23:07 11:07 PM

1 h ahead of Cape Town

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

3,740,026 Capital

3,800

💱 Currency

South African Rand ZAR R

Romanian Leu RON lei

📈 Exchange rate

100 ZAR = 6.07 USD

100 ZAR = 5.4 EUR

1 RON = 0.211 USD

1 RON = 0.188 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 17, 2026: 1 USD = 16.48 ZAR (100 ZAR = 6.07 USD). 1 EUR = 18.52 ZAR (100 ZAR = 5.4 EUR).

Romanian Leu exchange rates as of October 17, 2026: 1 USD = 4.73 RON (1 RON = 0.211 USD). 1 EUR = 5.32 RON (1 RON = 0.188 EUR).

USD to ZAR in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Cape Town Dealu 8,960 km ≈ 12 h nonstop flight

From you

Cape Town
Dealu

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 Dealu: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Cape Town costs about 52% more than Dealu, 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 $1,568 in Dealu. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

Rent is clearly cheaper in Dealu, 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 $1,045 in Dealu. That's a gap of about 52%.

Public transport costs about 184% less in Dealu. For daily commuters, that gap adds up to noticeable savings over a year.

A $1,500 monthly budget goes further in Dealu, where all-in costs run around $1,045, than in Cape Town at $1,586. In Dealu 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. Dealu costs $1,045 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 Dealu. 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.