Last update: Nov 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Cape Town and Dietikon

For one person, living is cheaper in Cape Town: $1,527 a month against $3,492 in Dietikon, rent and utilities included – about $23,600 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
171

Cost of Living Index in Dietikon
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Dietikon Living Index

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Cape Town

🇿🇦 South Africa

$1,527

/mo nomad

Dietikon

🇨🇭 Switzerland

$3,492

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

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

A single person spends $1,527 per month in Cape Town vs $3,492 in Dietikon, rent included.

Cape Town $1,527
Dietikon $3,492

A couple spends around $2,417 per month in Cape Town vs $5,295 in Dietikon, rent included.

Cape Town $2,417
Dietikon $5,295

A family of three spends $3,306 per month in Cape Town vs $7,099 in Dietikon, rent included.

Cape Town $3,306
Dietikon $7,099

Cape Town is about 56% cheaper than Dietikon, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Both Cape Town and Dietikon sit above the global median – Cape Town by 13%, Dietikon by 158%.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$12.01 R 198

$30.11 CHF 24.55

-60.11%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$42.92 R 707

$123 CHF 100

-65.01%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$6.15 R 101

$16.04 CHF 13.08

-61.66%

Cappuccino

$2.37 R 39.04

$6.12 CHF 4.99

-61.27%

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

$1.27 R 20.96

$5.13 CHF 4.19

-75.24%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.94 R 15.46

$5.41 CHF 4.41

-82.62%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.96 R 48.77

$7.21 CHF 5.88

-58.95%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.69 R 60.8

$6.86 CHF 5.60

-46.21%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.32 R 21.73

$2.24 CHF 1.83

-41.07%

White Bread (500g)

$1.21 R 19.87

$3.29 CHF 2.69

-63.22%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.20 R 36.26

$3.56 CHF 2.90

-38.20%

Eggs

$3.10 R 51.1

$7.41 CHF 6.04

-58.16%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$8.73 R 144

$25.06 CHF 20.44

-65.16%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$6.89 R 114

$25.31 CHF 20.64

-72.78%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$9.26 R 153

$36.95 CHF 30.13

-74.94%

Apples (1kg)

$1.83 R 30.08

$3.57 CHF 2.91

-48.74%

Banana (1kg)

$1.95 R 32.12

$1.71 CHF 1.40

14.04%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.66 R 27.32

$2.50 CHF 2.04

-33.60%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.14 R 35.19

$4.44 CHF 3.62

-51.80%

Potato (1kg)

$1.58 R 26.01

$1.75 CHF 1.43

-9.71%

Onion (1kg)

$1.47 R 24.29

$2.10 CHF 1.71

-30.00%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.35 R 22.18

$2.25 CHF 1.84

-40.00%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.14 R 18.85

$1.19 CHF 0.97

-4.20%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$3.58 R 59.0

$11.11 CHF 9.06

-67.78%

Wine (Bottle)

$6.05 R 99.7

$10.48 CHF 8.54

-42.27%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.39 R 22.95

$3.56 CHF 2.90

-60.96%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.18 R 35.90

$2.50 CHF 2.04

-12.80%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.40 R 23.02

$4.50 CHF 3.67

-68.89%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$60.8 R 1,001

$88.7 CHF 72.4

-31.53%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$0.93 R 15.26

$12.25 CHF 9.99

-92.41%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.90 R 14.83

$4.99 CHF 4.07

-81.96%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$4.96 R 81.7

$87.4 CHF 71.2

-94.32%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.54 R 25.37

$2.32 CHF 1.89

-33.62%

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

$35.4K R 582.8K

$39.3K CHF 32.0K

-10.01%

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

$33.4K R 549.9K

$39.9K CHF 32.5K

-16.30%

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

$117 R 1,929

$342 CHF 279

-65.79%

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

$25.71 R 424

$41.59 CHF 33.92

-38.18%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$39.41 R 649

$58.8 CHF 47.95

-32.98%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$51.6 R 850

$73.9 CHF 60.2

-30.13%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$11.35 R 187

$50.2 CHF 40.91

-77.38%

Cinema Ticket

$8.89 R 146

$20.66 CHF 16.85

-56.97%

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

$308 R 5,069

$2,884 CHF 2,352

-89.33%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$8,141 R 134.2K

$34.8K CHF 28.4K

-76.61%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$57.4 R 946

$101 CHF 82.5

-43.29%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$31.75 R 523

$98.5 CHF 80.3

-67.76%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$116 R 1,911

$164 CHF 134

-29.46%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$101 R 1,660

$198 CHF 161

-49.14%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,047 R 17.2K

$1,718 CHF 1,401

-39.09%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$669 R 11.0K

$1,534 CHF 1,251

-56.39%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,861 R 30.7K

$3,248 CHF 2,648

-42.71%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,407 R 23.2K

$2,644 CHF 2,156

-46.77%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,410 R 39.7K

$15.2K CHF 12.4K

-84.16%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,570 R 25.9K

$12.8K CHF 10.4K

-87.73%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,630 R 26.9K

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

10.89

2.31

371.43%

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

Last update for Cape Town: November 2, 2026

Last update for Dietikon: November 3, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Cape Town

$669 43.8%

Dietikon

$1.5K 43.9% 129% $865

Groceries & Markets

Cape Town

$223 14.6%

Dietikon

$549 15.7% 146% $325

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Cape Town

$182 11.9%

Dietikon

$443 12.7% 143% $260

Eating Out

Cape Town

$174 11.4%

Dietikon

$454 13% 161% $280

Clothing & Footwear

Cape Town

$138 9%

Dietikon

$253 7.2% 83.8% $115

Getting Around

Cape Town

$72 4.7%

Dietikon

$144 4.1% 101% $72

Sport & Entertainment

Cape Town

$69 4.5%

Dietikon

$115 3.3% 66% $46

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $1,047 in Cape Town versus $1,718 in Dietikon. 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 $123 in Dietikon. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $223 vs $549 – making Cape Town the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇿🇦 Cape Town

🇨🇭 Dietikon

🕒 Local time

10:04 10:04 AM

09:04 9:04 AM

1 h behind Cape Town

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

3,740,026 Capital

27,904

💱 Currency

South African Rand ZAR R

Swiss Franc CHF Fr

📈 Exchange rate

100 ZAR = 6.07 USD

100 ZAR = 5.4 EUR

1 CHF = 1.23 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 = 16.48 ZAR (100 ZAR = 6.07 USD). 1 EUR = 18.51 ZAR (100 ZAR = 5.4 EUR).

Swiss Franc exchange rates as of November 6, 2026: 1 USD = 0.815 CHF (1 CHF = 1.23 USD). 1 EUR = 0.916 CHF (1 CHF = 1.09 EUR).

USD to ZAR in detail →

On the map

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Highest

Between locations

Cape Town Dietikon 9,100 km ≈ 12 h nonstop flight

From you

Cape Town
Dietikon

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 Dietikon: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Dietikon costs about 129% 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 $5,238 in Dietikon. 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 $1,718 in Dietikon.

Monthly expenses with rent come to $1,527 in Cape Town and $3,492 in Dietikon. That makes Cape Town about 56% cheaper.

Public transport costs about 32% 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 $3,492 in Dietikon. 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 56% less, which matters a lot on a fixed budget or early-career salary.