Last update: Nov 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Cape Town and Duque de Caxias

For one person, living is cheaper in Duque de Caxias: $754 a month against $1,527 in Cape Town, rent and utilities included – about $9,300 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
36

Cost of Living Index in Duque de Caxias
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Duque de Caxias Living Index

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Cape Town

🇿🇦 South Africa

$1,527

/mo nomad

Duque de Caxias

🇧🇷 Brazil

$754

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Cape Town and in Duque de Caxias

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 Duque de Caxias actually costs, broken down by who's living it.

A single person spends $1,527 per month in Cape Town vs $754 in Duque de Caxias, rent included.

Cape Town $1,527
Duque de Caxias $754

A couple spends around $2,417 per month in Cape Town vs $1,296 in Duque de Caxias, rent included.

Cape Town $2,417
Duque de Caxias $1,296

A family of three spends $3,306 per month in Cape Town vs $1,839 in Duque de Caxias, rent included.

Cape Town $3,306
Duque de Caxias $1,839

Cape Town costs about 102% more than Duque de Caxias, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Cape Town sits 13% above the global median, while Duque de Caxias is 44% below – they fall on opposite sides of the world average.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$12.01 R 197

$6.59 R$36.03

82.25%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$42.92 R 703

$36.94 R$202

16.19%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$6.15 R 101

$7.86 R$42.94

-21.76%

Cappuccino

$2.37 R 38.81

$2.09 R$11.41

13.40%

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

$1.27 R 20.84

$1.37 R$7.50

-7.30%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.94 R 15.37

$0.96 R$5.27

-2.08%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.96 R 48.48

$1.97 R$10.76

50.25%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.69 R 60.5

$3.25 R$17.76

13.54%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.32 R 21.61

$1.07 R$5.85

23.36%

White Bread (500g)

$1.21 R 19.75

$1.82 R$9.92

-33.52%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.20 R 36.05

$1.06 R$5.79

107.55%

Eggs

$3.10 R 50.8

$2.13 R$11.63

45.54%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$8.73 R 143

$8.20 R$44.78

6.46%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$6.89 R 113

$4.14 R$22.61

66.43%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$9.26 R 152

$8.90 R$48.61

4.04%

Apples (1kg)

$1.83 R 29.90

$2.52 R$13.75

-27.38%

Banana (1kg)

$1.95 R 31.94

$1.63 R$8.90

19.63%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.66 R 27.16

$1.52 R$8.29

9.21%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.14 R 34.99

$1.74 R$9.49

22.99%

Potato (1kg)

$1.58 R 25.86

$1.12 R$6.13

41.07%

Onion (1kg)

$1.47 R 24.15

$0.99 R$5.41

48.48%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.35 R 22.05

$0.70 R$3.81

92.86%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.14 R 18.75

$0.60 R$3.27

90.00%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$3.58 R 58.6

$2.50 R$13.67

43.20%

Wine (Bottle)

$6.05 R 99.2

$7.58 R$41.39

-20.18%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.39 R 22.82

$1.12 R$6.10

24.11%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.18 R 35.69

$2.21 R$12.08

-1.36%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.40 R 22.88

$0.97 R$5.32

44.33%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$60.8 R 995

$42.19 R$231

43.99%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$0.93 R 15.18

$1.17 R$6.40

-20.51%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.90 R 14.75

$1.23 R$6.74

-26.83%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$4.96 R 81.3

$6.80 R$37.15

-27.06%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.54 R 25.23

$1.17 R$6.37

31.62%

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

$35.4K R 579.4K

$21.7K R$118.7K

62.74%

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

$33.4K R 546.7K

$30.9K R$169.0K

7.92%

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

$117 R 1,918

$45.63 R$249

156.56%

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

$25.71 R 421

$9.89 R$54.1

159.96%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$39.41 R 646

$17.20 R$94.0

129.13%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$51.6 R 846

$23.82 R$130

116.67%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$11.35 R 186

$26.25 R$143

-56.76%

Cinema Ticket

$8.89 R 146

$7.24 R$39.56

22.79%

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

$308 R 5,040

$393 R$2,150

-21.82%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$8,141 R 133.4K

$6,949 R$38.0K

17.16%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$57.4 R 940

$38.02 R$208

50.92%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$31.75 R 520

$45.08 R$246

-29.57%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$116 R 1,900

$90.2 R$493

28.53%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$101 R 1,650

$76.7 R$419

31.34%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,047 R 17.1K

$279 R$1,525

275.07%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$669 R 11.0K

$159 R$870

320.42%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,861 R 30.5K

$730 R$3,988

154.88%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,407 R 23.1K

$415 R$2,267

239.11%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,410 R 39.5K

$1,182 R$6,458

103.91%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,570 R 25.7K

$538 R$2,940

191.69%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,630 R 26.7K

$274 R$1,499

494.19%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

10.89

11.12

-2.07%

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

Last update for Cape Town: November 2, 2026

Last update for Duque de Caxias: October 31, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Cape Town

$669 43.8%

Duque de Caxias

$159 21.1% 76.2% $510

Groceries & Markets

Cape Town

$223 14.6%

Duque de Caxias

$191 25.3% 14.4% $32

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Cape Town

$182 11.9%

Duque de Caxias

$73 9.6% 60.1% $109

Eating Out

Cape Town

$174 11.4%

Duque de Caxias

$127 16.9% 27% $47

Clothing & Footwear

Cape Town

$138 9%

Duque de Caxias

$113 14.9% 18.2% $25

Getting Around

Cape Town

$72 4.7%

Duque de Caxias

$53 7.1% 25.6% $18

Sport & Entertainment

Cape Town

$69 4.5%

Duque de Caxias

$38 5.1% 44.8% $31

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $1,047 in Cape Town versus $279 in Duque de Caxias. Rent is usually the largest line item in a monthly budget, so the gap here sets the tone for the overall comparison.

Salaries in Cape Town are about 5.9 times higher. Purchasing power depends on which expenses matter most to you.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $43 in Cape Town versus $37 in Duque de Caxias. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $223 vs $191 – making Duque de Caxias the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇿🇦 Cape Town

🇧🇷 Duque de Caxias

🕒 Local time

20:05 8:05 PM

15:05 3:05 PM

5 h behind Cape Town

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

3,740,026 Capital

808,161

💱 Currency

South African Rand ZAR R

Brazilian Real BRL R$

📈 Exchange rate

100 ZAR = 6.1 USD

100 ZAR = 5.43 EUR

1 BRL = 0.183 USD

1 BRL = 0.163 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

BRL, USD, EUR to ZAR – South African Rand Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇿🇦 South African Rand (R)

South African Rand exchange rates as of November 5, 2026: 1 USD = 16.38 ZAR (100 ZAR = 6.1 USD). 1 EUR = 18.41 ZAR (100 ZAR = 5.43 EUR).

Brazilian Real exchange rates as of November 5, 2026: 1 USD = 5.46 BRL (1 BRL = 0.183 USD). 1 EUR = 6.14 BRL (1 BRL = 0.163 EUR).

USD to ZAR in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Cape Town Duque de Caxias 6,080 km ≈ 8 h nonstop flight

From you

Cape Town
Duque de Caxias

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 Duque de Caxias: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Cape Town costs about 102% more than Duque de Caxias, and outside of rent the gap comes mainly from eating out. 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 $1,132 in Duque de Caxias. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

Rent is clearly cheaper in Duque de Caxias, especially for central apartments: a one-bedroom in the center costs $279 there versus $1,047 in Cape Town.

Monthly expenses with rent come to $1,527 in Cape Town and $754 in Duque de Caxias. That makes Duque de Caxias about 51% cheaper.

Public transport costs about 31% less in Duque de Caxias. For daily commuters, that gap adds up to noticeable savings over a year.

It depends on your priorities. Cape Town has an edge in some lifestyle areas, with costs from $754 in Duque de Caxias to $1,527 in Cape Town. Climate, culture, job market, and personal taste all factor in.

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