Last update: Nov 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Cape Town and Dubendorf

For one person, living is cheaper in Cape Town: $1,527 a month against $3,771 in Dubendorf, rent and utilities included – about $26,900 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
179

Cost of Living Index in Dubendorf
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Dubendorf Living Index

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Cape Town

🇿🇦 South Africa

$1,527

/mo nomad

Dubendorf

🇨🇭 Switzerland

$3,771

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

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

A single person spends $1,527 per month in Cape Town vs $3,771 in Dubendorf, rent included.

Cape Town $1,527
Dubendorf $3,771

A couple spends around $2,417 per month in Cape Town vs $5,573 in Dubendorf, rent included.

Cape Town $2,417
Dubendorf $5,573

A family of three spends $3,306 per month in Cape Town vs $7,375 in Dubendorf, rent included.

Cape Town $3,306
Dubendorf $7,375

Cape Town is about 60% cheaper than Dubendorf, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Both Cape Town and Dubendorf sit above the global median – Cape Town by 13%, Dubendorf by 179%.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$12.01 R 198

$30.36 CHF 24.76

-60.44%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$42.92 R 707

$122 CHF 99.2

-64.72%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$6.15 R 101

$16.64 CHF 13.57

-63.04%

Cappuccino

$2.37 R 39.04

$5.93 CHF 4.84

-60.03%

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

$1.27 R 20.96

$5.48 CHF 4.47

-76.82%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.94 R 15.46

$4.92 CHF 4.01

-80.89%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.96 R 48.77

$8.44 CHF 6.88

-64.93%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.69 R 60.8

$6.55 CHF 5.34

-43.66%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.32 R 21.73

$2.23 CHF 1.82

-40.81%

White Bread (500g)

$1.21 R 19.87

$3.83 CHF 3.12

-68.41%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.20 R 36.26

$4.51 CHF 3.68

-51.22%

Eggs

$3.10 R 51.1

$7.09 CHF 5.78

-56.28%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$8.73 R 144

$32.14 CHF 26.21

-72.84%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$6.89 R 114

$25.90 CHF 21.12

-73.40%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$9.26 R 153

$42.48 CHF 34.64

-78.20%

Apples (1kg)

$1.83 R 30.08

$3.46 CHF 2.82

-47.11%

Banana (1kg)

$1.95 R 32.12

$2.11 CHF 1.72

-7.58%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.66 R 27.32

$3.17 CHF 2.58

-47.63%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.14 R 35.19

$6.74 CHF 5.49

-68.25%

Potato (1kg)

$1.58 R 26.01

$2.29 CHF 1.86

-31.00%

Onion (1kg)

$1.47 R 24.29

$2.28 CHF 1.86

-35.53%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.35 R 22.18

$2.37 CHF 1.93

-43.04%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.14 R 18.85

$1.39 CHF 1.13

-17.99%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$3.58 R 59.0

$11.16 CHF 9.10

-67.92%

Wine (Bottle)

$6.05 R 99.7

$13.32 CHF 10.86

-54.58%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.39 R 22.95

$2.80 CHF 2.28

-50.36%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.18 R 35.90

$3.09 CHF 2.52

-29.45%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.40 R 23.02

$2.46 CHF 2.01

-43.09%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$60.8 R 1,001

$48.17 CHF 39.28

26.12%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$0.93 R 15.26

$4.46 CHF 3.64

-79.15%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.90 R 14.83

$3.01 CHF 2.46

-70.10%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$4.96 R 81.7

$61.0 CHF 49.71

-91.86%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.54 R 25.37

$2.29 CHF 1.86

-32.75%

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

$35.4K R 582.8K

$39.3K CHF 32.1K

-10.09%

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

$33.4K R 549.9K

$39.3K CHF 32.1K

-15.10%

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

$117 R 1,929

$235 CHF 192

-50.20%

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

$25.71 R 424

$29.24 CHF 23.84

-12.07%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$39.41 R 649

$67.4 CHF 55.0

-41.55%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$51.6 R 850

$120 CHF 98.1

-57.09%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$11.35 R 187

$79.2 CHF 64.6

-85.67%

Cinema Ticket

$8.89 R 146

$24.07 CHF 19.63

-63.07%

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

$308 R 5,069

$1,514 CHF 1,234

-79.67%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$8,141 R 134.2K

$25.2K CHF 20.6K

-67.74%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$57.4 R 946

$139 CHF 113

-58.76%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$31.75 R 523

$89.7 CHF 73.2

-64.62%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$116 R 1,911

$146 CHF 119

-20.54%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$101 R 1,660

$175 CHF 143

-42.42%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,047 R 17.2K

$1,827 CHF 1,490

-42.72%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$669 R 11.0K

$1,864 CHF 1,520

-64.11%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,861 R 30.7K

$2,872 CHF 2,342

-35.23%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,407 R 23.2K

$2,880 CHF 2,348

-51.13%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,410 R 39.7K

$12.4K CHF 10.1K

-80.53%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,570 R 25.9K

$7,387 CHF 6,024

-78.75%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,630 R 26.9K

$3,876 CHF 3,161

-57.96%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

10.89

2.36

361.44%

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

Last update for Cape Town: November 2, 2026

Last update for Dubendorf: October 31, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Cape Town

$669 43.8%

Dubendorf

$1.9K 49.4% 179% $1.2K

Groceries & Markets

Cape Town

$223 14.6%

Dubendorf

$621 16.5% 178% $398

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Cape Town

$182 11.9%

Dubendorf

$332 8.8% 82.1% $150

Eating Out

Cape Town

$174 11.4%

Dubendorf

$461 12.2% 165% $287

Clothing & Footwear

Cape Town

$138 9%

Dubendorf

$247 6.6% 79.8% $110

Getting Around

Cape Town

$72 4.7%

Dubendorf

$78 2.1% 8.1% $5.8

Sport & Entertainment

Cape Town

$69 4.5%

Dubendorf

$168 4.5% 143% $99

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $1,047 in Cape Town versus $1,827 in Dubendorf. Rent is usually the largest line item in a monthly budget, so the gap here sets the tone for the overall comparison.

Salaries in Dubendorf are about 2.4 times higher, 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 $43 in Cape Town versus $122 in Dubendorf. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $223 vs $621 – making Cape Town the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇿🇦 Cape Town

🇨🇭 Dubendorf

🕒 Local time

12:03 12:03 PM

11:03 11:03 AM

1 h behind Cape Town

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

3,740,026 Capital

26,759

💱 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 Dubendorf 9,100 km ≈ 12 h nonstop flight

From you

Cape Town
Dubendorf

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 Dubendorf: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Dubendorf costs about 147% 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 $5,657 in Dubendorf. 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 $1,827 in Dubendorf.

Monthly expenses with rent come to $1,527 in Cape Town and $3,771 in Dubendorf. That makes Cape Town about 60% cheaper.

Public transport costs about 21% less in Dubendorf. 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 $3,771 in Dubendorf. 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.

If budget matters most, go with Cape Town. If higher salaries or specific career opportunities are the priority, Dubendorf makes more sense. Both are solid long-term options with distinct trade-offs.